A115: Online Learning and Educational Technology

DEFINITIONS

Educational Technology: The use of software, technologies, processes, procedures, resources, and strategies for the purposes of teaching and learning. Use of these tools facilitates the process of integrating technology into education to build better teaching and learning experiences that help achieve learning outcomes.

Learning Management System (LMS): A cloud-based system provided and supported by the College that facilitates provision of organized, consistent, and timely course-related communication between professors and students; assists professors with course administration; supports student engagement; promotes quality learning experiences; and provides a vehicle for ongoing formative student feedback. The Fanshawe College Learning Management System is provided by the D2L system and is branded as FanshaweOnline (FOL).

Online: A course where all or almost all of the content is web-based with either no or a limited number of face-to-face meetings. In the Online model, course content delivery is dependent on the same computer and network-based technologies used in web-facilitated and Blended courses, but here they become the principal method of engagement between professors and students.

Blended: A term often used interchangeably with "hybrid learning." Blended is a model of course design that combines traditional, face-to-face class time with Online and out-of-class course work. Blended courses typically replace face-to-face class time with Online or out-of-class teaching methodology. This definition is largely dependent on the subject matter and overall nature of the course.

POLICY

Fanshawe College is committed to supporting a culture of digital innovation that advances excellence in online learning and educational technology in College programs and courses.

Scope

This policy applies to all programs and courses which are delivered in online and blended formats and/or those that use the LMS.

Principles

• Online learning and educational technology will be utilized to empower students through equality of access to learning that is flexible in nature and meets the differing needs of learners.
• Online learning and educational technology will support student learning and enable effective teaching and evaluation.
• Successful online learning processes will be conducted in a manner that adheres to strong quality assurance guidelines.
• The College will support the security and privacy needs of students while ensuring an open and engaging platform of communication with professors.

Administration

Associated addenda to this policy may be amended by authority of the Policy Sponsor.

REFERENCES

Legislation

• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
• Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

College Policy

• A103: Fanshawe College Credentials
• A113: Programs and Courses
• A126: Program Excellence
• A131: Evaluations
• A204: Copyright
• C202: Acceptable Use of College Technology
• C304: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy

College Documents

• Digital & eLearning Strategy

ADDENDA

• Guideline A: QUALITY ASSURANCE
• Guideline B: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
• Guideline C: LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
• Standard 1: LMS MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
• Standard 2: STUDENT RECORDINGS AND PRIVACY

Guideline A: QUALITY ASSURANCE PRINCIPLES/GUIDELINES

Issued by: Sr. Vice-President Academic
Effective: 2022-02-23

PURPOSE

The College relies on a quality assurance framework that supports teaching and learning in an online and blended format. This framework is intended to create a culture of continuous improvement in online and blended learning that keeps students engaged in the teaching and learning process without being impeded by the technology.

CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

All programs and courses at the College engage in continuous quality improvement through processes set in A113: Programs and Courses and A126: Program Excellence. Online and blended teaching and learning also reinforce the following criteria as institutional best practices:

• Utilization of the LMS. The student-centered learning environment provides essential information in static form. The LMS content addresses the need for a course outline and course plan including student support services, technical training, equipment needs, and explicit communication on course expectations as components of student-centered learning.
• Creating an active and engaging learning environment. Dynamic activities are facilitated to promote interactions and engagement through what is identified as social, teaching, and content presence as well as the creation of online and blended courses.
• Maintaining an active presence in the course. Online and blended education is enhanced through the professor's interactions with students and the maintenance of an online presence. Active presence can be achieved through the use of text-based technologies like forums, wikis, and instant messaging technologies, or media rich applications like video-conferencing technologies.
• Ensuring timely responses to student inquiries. Communication is identified as critically important in online and blended courses and professors are required to post the expected email response times to student inquiries on weekdays and weekends.
• Promotion of student learning success through course organization and feedback requires online and blended courses that are well organized, easy for students to navigate, are predictable, and provide ongoing student feedback in accordance with A131: Evaluations.
• Communication that is clear, polite, and widely disseminated. Providing polite, precise, careful, constructive, and widely disseminated communication throughout online and blended courses and programs is an essential component of promoting student learning success.
• College-endorsed quality assurance practices. These actions need to be started prior to initiation of the course and maintained throughout the course through the use of student evaluations and comments regarding online and blended experiences. Like all courses, online and blended modalities must align with course objectives specified in the course approval process. Demonstration of teaching effectiveness must be consistent with A113: Programs and Courses and A126 Program Excellence.

Guideline B: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Issued by: Sr. Vice-President Academic
Effective: 2022-02-23

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Guideline is to establish foundational expectations for the use and support of Educational Technology.

DEFINITIONS

Evaluation: A formal measurement of student learning that may include, but is not limited to, any examination, test, culminating assignment or project.

INNOVATION WITH EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

The College acknowledges the dynamic nature of emerging Educational Technologies which may enhance and support the achievement of learning outcomes.

The College evaluates Educational Technologies beyond the Learning Management System (LMS) in the following four categories:

• additional costs associated with technology for students and/or the College;
• security and confidentiality of student information;
• support required for the technology;
• integration with the College's LMS, and compliance with policy C202: Acceptable Use of College Technology.

Professors who use Educational Technologies beyond the LMS must comply with the criteria set out in Sections 3, 4, and 5.

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT

With support of their relevant Academic Manager, professors who wish to use Educational Technologies which integrate into the LMS should contact Learning Systems Services to help determine whether that technology can be used in accordance with Section 3.2 above.

With support of their Academic Manager, professors who wish to use Educational Technologies beyond the LMS should contact their relevant Educational Support Technologist, who will work with the IT Service Desk to help determine whether that technology can be used in accordance with Section 3.2 above.

As noted in sections 3.1 and 3.2 above, in some cases, use of the technology may require a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the College and the Technology provider. Educational Technology may not be used if it requires any costs to the student beyond those included in their tuition or Program Specific fees.

EVALUATIONS WITH EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Professors who use Educational Technology to support Evaluations will comply with the requirements for Online Evaluations set in A131: Evaluations.

Guideline C: LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Issued by: Sr. Vice-President Academic
Effective: 2022-02-23

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Guideline is to establish expectations for the effective use and support of the College's Learning Management System.

PROVISION OF THE LMS

The LMS will be utilized in all credit courses used at the College.

The LMS will be flexible in its use and application and will support the achievement of learning outcomes for students.

The LMS will be a primary means by which the College meets institutional and provincial requirements for online and blended course delivery.

When requested by a student, content hosted or created in the LMS will be made available in an accessible format, in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

UTILIZATION OF THE LMS

Professor Responsibilities:

• Professors ensure that the LMS is utilized as the primary method of communication with students.
• Professors provide all student grades through the LMS.
• Professors ensure that all of their course sites within the LMS contain the required elements in Standard 2: LMS Minimum Requirements.
• Professors ensure that any use of copyrighted materials in the LMS comply with policy A204: Copyright.

Student Responsibilities:

• Students navigate standard LMS components.
• Students seek help from the IT Service Desk when encountering technical difficulties.

TRAINING FOR LMS USE

Organizational Development and Learning provides training for LMS use to professors.

• Academic Managers are responsible for determining LMS training needs for professors.
• Professors are responsible for identifying training needs with their Academic Manager and accessing LMS training as directed.

Learning Systems Services provides resources and supports for LMS use at www.fanshaweonline.ca.

• The College will provide information to students through orientation materials about how to access resources and supports for the LMS.
• Students are responsible for accessing resources as needed.

Standard 1: LMS MINIMUM COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Issued by: Sr. Vice-President Academic
Effective: 2022-02-23

PURPOSE

This Standard establishes the minimum content requirements of all course sites within the LMS.

STANDARD

The Fanshawe Online (FOL) course blueprint is the College standard for course configuration. Professors must ensure that all courses will include the following content by the first day of the class:

Standard 2: STUDENT RECORDINGS AND PRIVACY

Issued by: Sr. Vice-President Academic
Effective: 2022-02-23

PURPOSE

The purpose of this Standard is to provide guidance to professors regarding privacy in online and blended learning.

STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS

College Requirements

The College will comply with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) as described in C304: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy. This policy ensures that the College collects, uses, maintains, discloses, and disposes of personal information in a manner consistent with the legislation.

PROFESSOR RECORDED COURSE ACTIVITY

Overview

Professors and staff may choose to record course activities for the purpose of evaluation, accessibility, or other educational purposes. These recordings are typically described as:

• Recordings that occur while students take part in live-streamed course activities, such as lectures, labs, or tutorials; and
• Live streamed or pre-recorded content (created by students), including oral presentations, group discussions, or oral examinations.

Recordings may contain information about students in a number of ways including their direct participation in discussions using video, audio, chat; or indirectly through displays of an online identifier, such as name or telephone number.

Context

Before recording course activities, professors should consider:

• Whether student evaluation cannot feasibly occur in the absence of recording (e.g., grading is based on class participation within the full class or break-out groups, oral examinations, and/or another requirement to evaluate student performance);
• Whether a particular type of recording is necessary for the course (e.g., video recording being necessary in the assessment of a performing art or practical skill);
• Whether the recording will successfully enhance study or review;
• Whether there are recording requirements for accrediting or regulatory bodies.

Notice

• When course activity is recorded, notice to students of the recordings will be present in the Course Outline and listed on the LMS course site.
• Notice of the course recordings will clearly indicate the activities being recorded and the necessity of the particular type of recording (e.g., video, audio, and/or screen capture).

Alternatives

• Students may be unable to be recorded for technological reasons, non-consent to the recording, or have an accommodation-related exemption to being recorded.
• Where the recording is of an evaluation, professors will make available alternate arrangements to the recording in a manner that does not disadvantage the student and provides an appropriate alternative evaluation that meets the learning outcomes.

Remote Proctoring

• Guidelines regarding the use of remote proctoring may be found in policy A131: Evaluations.
• Some formal evaluations require the use of Educational Technology. For specific information about mandated use, refer to course and program information.

STUDENT-RECORDED COURSE ACTIVITY

Students may not record any portion of a lecture, class discussion or course-related learning activity without the prior and explicit written permission of the professor or as an accommodation obtained under A101: Accommodation of Applicants and Students With Disabilities.

Students creating unauthorized recordings or distributing course recordings without the professor's authorization will be subject to disciplinary actions under A130: Student Code of Conduct.

If permission to record is obtained, for whatever reason, then:

• The professor will describe the allowed uses of the recording to the student who has obtained permission to record;
• The professor must notify all other students and guests in the class that the event is being recorded for personal uses only and will not be distributed;
• The professor should not disclose for whom the recording is being made in order to protect the privacy of the individual for whom the recording is being made;
• If a student or guest wants to take steps to protect privacy, and does not want to be recorded, the professor must provide the individual(s) with an alternative means of participating and asking questions (e.g., passing written notes with questions).

DATA MANAGEMENT

Record Collection

• The College acknowledges that classroom recordings constitute records that are subject to C304: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy and 1-I-03 Retention of Records and Correspondence.
• Classroom recordings may only be used for the purpose for which they were obtained and were notified of in the notice on the Course Outline.

Record Storage and Disposal

• Classroom recordings should never be stored long term on a professor's personal device or personal cloud service.
• Classroom recordings will be retained by the College and will be accessible by Academic Managers for one year after the end of the semester in which the recording occurred.
• Professors that choose to pre-record lectures should review A201: Research and Innovation regarding the management of those recordings.

REFERENCES

College Policy

• A101: Accommodation of Applicants and Students with Disabilities
• A130: Student Code of Conduct
• A201: Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity
• C304: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy