Online Learning

Checklists Provide Guidance for Emergency Remote Instruction

• By Rhea Kelly
• 03/13/20

Quality Matters, a nonprofit focused on standards for online learning, has created a set of checklists for rapidly moving classes online in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Remote Instruction Checklists — one for higher education and one for K–12 — provide "considerations, tips, and actionable strategies to enact during an institutional move to temporary remote instruction of classroom-based courses." The advice is prioritized by phases: starting points, next steps and longer-term considerations.

Starting points for higher education include:

• Provide explicit directions and information on the course structure and components;
• Address expectations on how students should communicate and interact;
• Tell students what they can expect from their instructor and when;
• Explain how students can access their grades;
• Identify any changes to course and institutional policies;
• Inform students what technologies will be required for the course and where they can receive tech support;
• Provide information on academic and student services support resources; and
• Explain how to access accessibility services.

Next-step recommendations include:

• Create a sense of community through online collaboration tools;
• Explain how the course materials are linked to learning objectives;
• Explain how each assignment is related to the course objectives; and
• Provide students with timely feedback.

And for the longer term:

• Consider using multimedia content;
• Organize the course online to be easily navigable;
• Plan active learning opportunities;
• Inform students about protecting their privacy and personal data; and
• Use appropriate citations for any course materials.

The full checklists, including additional tips, guidance and connections to course design rubrics, are freely available on the Quality Matters site. The organization has also released a video with additional explanation.