Course Development Overview
Creating a course here is a collaborative, creative, and learner-focused adventure. We believe in a "shared stewardship" approach, where we all work together as a team to design amazing D2L course templates that are built to last and serve our students well.
Course development at National Louis University is a collaborative, creative, and learner-focused process. Guided by a philosophy of shared stewardship, we design D2L course templates that are inclusive, engaging, innovative, and built to last. Our process emphasizes quality standards and best practices in online and course development, ensuring that every course meets high expectations for accessibility, consistency, and student success. Faculty, academic leaders, librarians, and the Learning Experience Design (LxD) team work together to ensure each course master reflects both disciplinary expertise and proven approaches to teaching and learning.
It All Starts with a Shared Vision
Before we dive into an individual course, we start at the program level. By defining the big-picture learning outcomes and the key "signature experiences" that make your program unique, we ensure every course is a meaningful part of a bigger journey. This way, our course templates stay aligned with your program's goals for years to come.
- Your program's outcomes and signature experiences are our north star.
- We'll use your program's assessment strategy to guide how we measure learning in your course.
- Our courses are living documents, ready to be updated as your program evolves.
Meet the Team: Your Partners in Design
It takes a village to build a great course! Our Learning Experience Design team partners with faculty and experts from across the university. Here’s a look at the key players you'll be working with.
- Program Director or Chair: Your strategic guide who ensures the course is approved, scoped correctly, and perfectly aligned with your program’s needs.
- Program Leader: The champion for your program's overall coherence, who signs off on key milestones to keep us all on track.
- Subject Matter Expert (SME): That's you! As the heart of the project, you'll lend your expertise to craft the content, design engaging activities, and bring the Course Map to life.
- Learning Experience Designer (LxD): Your project manager and design coach. We're here to manage the timeline, advise on best practices, build your course in D2L, and coordinate all the reviews.
- Librarian: Your resource guru! Our librarians are wizards at finding current, accessible, and affordable materials, including Open Educational Resources (OER).
- Campus Partners: Our extended network of experts from teams like Assessment, IT, and Online Education who may lend their support along the way.
What We'll Create Together
By the end of our journey, we'll have a fantastic set of polished materials ready for your students. These are the core deliverables that form the backbone of every course build.
- A Comprehensive Course Map: The master blueprint that details everything from outcomes and topics to activities and materials.
- Engaging Learning Activities & Assessments: The hands-on experiences for your students, complete with crystal-clear instructions and helpful rubrics.
- A Curated Set of Learning Materials: A thoughtful collection of resources that are current, accessible, and affordable for all learners.
- The Credit Hour Compliance Form: A final check to ensure the course workload is fair, balanced, and in line with university standards.
- A Polished D2L Course Template: The final product! A beautiful, easy-to-navigate course in D2L, ready to be copied for your sections.
Our 5-Step Journey from Idea to Launch
We follow a clear, five-step process to keep things moving smoothly and ensure everyone is on the same page from start to finish.
- Kickoff: We'll start with a kickoff meeting to align on the project scope, clarify everyone's roles, and lock in our timeline. This is where we gather all the existing materials and get ready to roll.
- Design: This is the creative heart of the project! You'll work on your Course Map, design your activities and assessments, and partner with a librarian to select the perfect learning materials.
- Compliance Check: Once the design is stable, we'll complete the Credit Hour Compliance audit together to make sure the student workload feels just right.
- Build: This is where we step in. Your LxD will take your blueprint and build a beautiful, accessible, and consistent course template in D2L.
- Quality Review & Launch: Before we go live, we'll all do one final walkthrough of the course to make sure it meets our quality standards. After a final sign-off, you're ready for launch!
Need a Hand? We're Here to Help!
Whether you're just starting to brainstorm or putting the finishing touches on an activity, we're always here for you. Feel free to reach out anytime for a consultation on teaching strategies, new technologies, or anything else on your mind.
