Writing a research paper requires solid information literacy skills. This session will guide faculty to design a dedicated library focus into online courses to strengthen students' information literacy. Lesson ideas for embedding essential information literacy components into a course will be explored. Activities and assessments — Reference Building Challenge and Reference Scavenger Hunt, to name a couple — will help learners format sources, craft citations, and use advanced search techniques.
In this interactive session, participants will explore how AI can support the ethical creation of Open Educational Resources. Through live demonstrations, small-group collaboration, and guided prompting, participants will begin drafting their own OER content and walk away with practical strategies for using AI to generate high-quality, QM-aligned learning materials.
With standards and technology updates, maintaining the perfect union between an expansive catalog of fully online courses and educator sanity may be a daunting challenge. However, establishing processes for new design and course maintenance that leverages OER and partner resources can help your program sustain a catalog you can love, honor, and cherish for years to come. Don’t be a Bridezilla. Walk down the aisle of NCVPS’ course update and development process and catch a bouquet of new ideas.
Program leaders who engage teachers in the peer review process as Course Representatives may face time, focus, and educator capacity concerns. However, the experience of serving as a Course Representative and applying the rubric may provide an enduring professional development opportunity for K-12 teachers. In this session, findings of a qualitative case study of a K-12 state-led virtual program that leveraged teachers to serve as Course Representatives will be discussed.
Providing timely, meaningful feedback on student writing is one of the most challenging tasks in teaching at scale. In this session, you’ll learn practical lessons from Purdue building and evaluating Charlie, Purdue’s AI-powered rubric feedback tool. We’ll explore design strategies, pitfalls to avoid, and frameworks for integrating AI writing support into assignments — with a focus on preserving instructional quality and supporting student learning.
This session will unpack the WCAG 2.1 AA requirements and provides practical strategies for meeting accessibility standards in LMS-based courses. Participants will explore how WCAG aligns with QM and UDL, how to design accessible content from the start, and how to audit and improve existing materials. Key takeaways include applying WCAG principles, creating accessible LMS content, and using tools to support inclusive, learner-centered design.
The session will share practical, Community of Inquiry-based strategies to make RSI more manageable while meeting QM Standards 5.2 and 5.3 using more meaningful communication methods. Participants will explore communication plans, staggered grading, and low-stakes discussions to humanize online learning and build presence. Key takeaways include designing a communication plan, developing a staggered grading plan, and crafting purposeful discussions to support connection and engagement.
This session explores how K–12 organizations might implement Subscriber Managed Reviews (SMRs) as an alternative to QM-managed team reviews. As VLLA members begin this transition, we’ll invite post-secondary partners already using SMRs to share insights. Attendees will examine SMR pros and cons, compare them to current processes, and assess organizational readiness for adopting this model.
Do textbooks and often lengthy lecture videos truly "work" for today’s learners? Break free from traditional content and discover alternatives that captivate learners and cultivate critical thinkers. Ensure your learners are not just passive recipients, but active participants in their educational journey through seamlessly integrating engaging, inclusive, and interactive content into your curriculum. Plus, gain insights on prepping your course for General Standard 4: Instructional Materials.
Not all AI models are created equal! Curious about which one(s) perform better for different aspects of course design? Discover our matchmaking system that pairs specific AIs models and tools with the QM Standards they serve best. You'll learn why reasoning models excel at alignment and analysis while pre-training models shine at rapid content development and adaptation, and agentic models fulfill research needs. Leave with a matchmaking matrix to up your game with AI-integrated & QM-aligned course design, using tools to which you have access.
