With our increasingly diverse population of students, creating a more inclusive learning environment can be challenging, especially in online courses. However, inclusivity is an important element for any successful learning environment in any modality. In this session, participants will learn about ways in which they can facilitate a cross-cultural and inclusive online environment for their students. The presenters will cover strategies, best practices, and online course tools which we can be used to help establish and maintain inclusion. Additionally, a UCF professor will share her experience and course examples.

Whether you are looking to save your students money on high-priced course materials or leverage learning content that offers you the freedom to customize the learning experience for your highly-diverse student demographic, open educational resources (OER) can help you to achieve your goals. In this session, participants will learn about the richness of openly-licensed educational materials, where to find them, and potential use cases for implementation in their courses. Additionally, a UCF professor will share his story about his journey to OER and how his idea began a chain of events that turned his static text to life for his students.

Providing a course overview, offering accessible and relevant content, encouraging meaningful interaction, and challenging students to think critically are all elements that contribute to a quality online learning experience. However, designing for quality may feel like a moving target and thus an elusive goal to achieve. To address this, the Instructional Design team at UCF has created a Quality and High Quality online course review process based on our own practices as well as nationally recognized standards. Session presenters will showcase select items included in the Quality and High Quality course review process and describe beneficial outcomes from a faculty member’s perspective. A key resource will be the Quality and High Quality items which participants can use to meet their unique needs.