Courseware

Online Learning Consortium, Tyton Partners Launch Courseware in Context

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/17/16

The Online Learning Consortium, in collaboration with Tyton Partners, has formally released the Courseware in Context (CWiC) Framework.

The framework is an open suite of resources "designed to help postsecondary decision-makers make informed selections of digital courseware products, and support effective adoption and implementation of these solutions," according to a news release from Tyton Partners. The consortium said it hopes the framework will help educators "cut through confusing marketing messages" and tap into "the growing body of efficacy research studies related to product capabilities."

Components of the framework include:

• A product taxonomy designed to give educators, instructional designers and administrators information about courseware product capabilities and attributes;
• A list of published research to help instructional designers and administrators make connections between courseware capabilities and related research; and
• Guides to help administrators assess practices and policies related to effective courseware implementation at the course and institution level.

To further assist educators, instructional designers and administrators, the consortium developed three freely downloadable instruments:

• The CWiC Product Primer to help identify courseware capabilities during the product exploration and evaluation phases;
• The CWiC Designer to help instructional designers conduct more thorough courseware reviews; and
• The CWiC Framework document, including the product taxonomy, research collection and course- and institution-level implementation guides.

The consortium released a pilot version of the framework in the summer and updated it based on feedback.The consortium will continue to update the framework as the market evolves and as it receives further feedback.

Further information about the framework is available on the Courseware in Context site.