omd – Virtual Campus

Welcome to MIC Online Module Page. E-learning has become one of the most favored means of learning in the current world. the primary purpose of this page is to provide a set of guidelines, bench marks and quality criteria against which the e-learning modules must be developed and judged. You may download the pdf version of the Module Development Guide from the left navigation pane. Here we present a summarized version.

Educational Approach

The online module developers must ensure the design and methods use for developing the e-learning are based on a good learning model that is good match for the level of the subject to be taught and the domains of learning. There are four three broad educational approaches that demands four different varieties of capabilities on the e-learning systems.

Synchronous Teaching and Learning: The e-learning platform must be equipped with a range of teaching and learning tools that will allow for
effective transaction of education in an interactive environment
Didactic Learning: Students work independently on self-determined schedulers. The e-learning system must provide structured teaching materials, interactive video lessons, automatic testing and feedback mechanisms.
Resource based Learning: Online learning systems must provide the students with resources that are exactly the same as that would be provided for face to face students.
Collaborative Learning: The e-learning platform shall be embedded with various online social media tools to allow for online collaborative learning

Module Design

There is constant worry among educators about how the individual interactivity that we provide can be met with in an e-learning approach. Hence the module design must confidently resolve this tension, while it gives the benefit of flexibility and cost-effectiveness for the students. The e-learning module developers must ensure that they use a wide range of educational approaches and fitting e-learning resources and support.
Two Possible Places to Get Started.

In your college you may have two possible situations:

You already have a developed program with the modules. Your are required to revise it and develop a complete module with outcomes, competencies, pedagogies, assessments schemes and learning resources. If this is your requirement, you may skip the section on “Taking the First Steps” and directly move on to the section on “Mapping the Module”

You may have the need to develop an entire new program. If this is your case, you should read, understand and attempt the exercises in the order presented here.

Finally, even if your requirement is the first case, it may well be a good idea to just go through this whole page as it will help you refresh.

Taking the First Steps

Program Analysis

Creating ELOs for the module begins with program analysis, in which you evaluate how your module aligns with the goals of a program or a sequence of modules. You will remember that when we discussed the development of a program, we used various techniques to arrive a set of goals and learning objectives for the program. The learning objectives decides the modular outcomes and the ultimate collection of modules.

To determine the purpose of your module within the context of the program, consider the following questions:

Professional goals

What professions and roles does the program of study prepare learners for?
How do those goals relate to learners’ fields of practice and future professions?
What kinds of experiences outside of the classroom might support the professional goals of this course

Program Goals and Outcomes

What are the overall goals and outcomes for the program of study your course is a part of?
What external standards, if any, do the program outcomes align with?
When do learners take your module in the program sequence?

Module learning outcomes

What skills, knowledge, and attitudes does this module equip students with?
What are the prerequisites for this module?
Are there any core proficiency skills or competencies that are addressed in the module?

The Three Domains of Learing

When developing your module ELOs, it is necessary to have them mapped on the three domains of learning activities. This will help you in mapping them onto specificlevel descriptors that we will address later in this document.

Cognitive Domain

The cognitive domain, is the information base. Module competencies that address the cognitive domain include facts, concepts, important terminology from the field of study, classifications, principles, theories, models, and structures.

It is important to consider these questions and to take notes as you evaluate the goals and vision for your module. Utilize these notes when determining the competencies, module learning outcomes, and learning outcomes of the various themes that you include in the module in the next few steps.

Skills (Psychomotor Domain)

Skills, or the psychomotor domain, includes meta cognitive skills to support critical thinking and problem solving techniques.

Attitudes (Affective Domain)

Attitudes, or the affective domain, often relates to ethics in the field or valuing different knowledge and skills as they relate to practice. This type of competency helps learners understand how to act using ethics, morals, and values in the professional field.

Level Descriptors

According to SEEC (2016) level descriptors as the he level of challenge, complexity, and autonomy expected of a learner on completion of a defined and bounded learning activity such as a module or course of study.

The SCQF which is the standard followed in the Maldives, defines level descriptors as broad terms that describe what learners should be able to do or demonstrate at a particular level of studies.

The level descriptors set out the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes which define/recognize learning and ascribe it to a particular academic level. They are designed to help assign credit to higher education-level learning defined by the MNQF as levels 1 through to 10.

The descriptors set out the characteristic generic outcomes of every level. They are intended to provide a general, shared understanding of every level and to allow broad comparisons to be made between qualifications and learning at different levels.

Characteristics of Level Descriptors

Each level descriptor has five characteristics which provide a reference point for determining the level of a qualification, learning program, module and unit of learning or for the recognition of prior learning (RPL). They are not intended to give precise or comprehensive statements of required learning for individual qualifications. The five characteristics are:

Knowledge and understanding
Practice: applied knowledge, skills and understanding;
Generic cognitive skills;
Communication, numeracy and ICT skills; and
Autonomy, accountability and working with others.

Please refer the pdf document for complete analysis of the use of descriptors and examples showing how they are used in formulating the right ELOs for the right level of the module taking credit hours into account.

Minimum credit requirements at specific descriptor level for various levels of Programs

It is important that you know the minimum credit requirements for each level of program and also the minimum credits at a given are level that are mandatory for that level. The table below summarized this.

Program Level	Minimum Credit	Minimum Credits at program level
Level 1: Certificate	10 credits
Level 2: Certificate	30 credits
Level 3: Certificate	40 credits
Level 4: Advanced Certificate	120 credits	At least 90 credits shall fall at or above descriptor level 4
Level 5 Diploma, Advanced Diploma, Professional Diploma, Higher Professional Diploma	120 credits	All credits shall fall at least at descriptor level 5 Specific qualifier depends on the level of highest 90 credits.
Level 6 Associate degree	240 credits	No credit should be below descriptor level 5 At least 90 credits should match descriptor level 6
Level 7 Bachelor’s Degree	360 credits	No credit should be below descriptor level 5 At least 90 credits should match descriptor level 6 At least 90 credits should match descriptor level 7
Level 7 Bachelor’s Honors Degree	480 credits	No credit should be below descriptor level 5 At least 90 credits should match descriptor level 6 At least 150 credits should match descriptor level 7
Level 8	120 credits	No credit should be below descriptor level 8
Level 9 Master’s Degree	120 credits	No credit should be below descriptor level 8 At least 90 credits should match descriptor level 9

Competencies and Level Descriptors

Competencies are broad, long-range outcomes that refer to the general aims or purposes of education, such as clear communication and problem-solving skills. Competencies are typically visionary and are used to develop learning outcomes,
Module competencies target not only the educational goals, but they address the professional and interpersonal goals for the learner. They help identify the general facts and principles (Knowledge), procedures and methods (skills), and values and characteristics (Attitudes) that learners will attain from completing the module.

Each characteristic of a module descriptor has different level of competencies that must be achieved at each level.

For each characteristic and for each level, you must identify the competency that you intend to develop among the learners.

It is most essential to target the maximum possible characteristics of the module descriptors and identified competencies at the desired level, addressing at least the minimum credit requirements for the level of the module.

Here is one way you can achieve this:

Scan the entire module list and identify the purpose this module will serve in the broader sense of contributing to the main goals and objectives of the program.

Please refer the document, Module Development Guideline pdf for demonstration example.

PRACTICE EXERCISE ONE:

In the left navigation Pan you will find Module Mapping Exercise docx: Download that and do the exercise 1. The example 1 shown in the pdf document will help you get a good idea of how to do this exercise.

Identify if the purpose of the module is:
- To serve as an introductory course such as that fitting a level 5 descriptor
- To serve as a core course for the program fitting a level 6 or level 7 descriptor
- To serve as an applied course that aims to develop key competencies necessary for level descriptor characteristics such as character 3, 4, or 5
- To serve as an elective to broaden the understanding of inter-related or inter disciplinary fields and the expected descriptor level.

When identifying your course competencies, think about the long-term impact you want this module to have on your students and why this course will be meaningful to them in both their educational and professional outlook.

Once you have identified sound answers for the above, it is time to launch the module competency mapping.

By now you should be able to answer the following questions.

What do you want learners to take with them from this module?
What are the core skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to the purpose of those module (does your department have program goals and/or outcomes)?
How are those skills, knowledge, and attitudes related to the learners’ educational goals and profession?

PRACTICE EXERCISE TWO:

Please refer the document, Module Development Guideline pdf for demonstration example 2.

In the left navigation Pan you will find Module Mapping Exercise docx: Download that and do the exercise 2. The example 2 shown in the pdf document will help you get a good idea of how to do this exercise.

Module Leaning Out Comes the Expected Learning Outcomes (ELOs)

Now that we have learnt how to map our key competencies that we want to achieve form the module onto the desired level of descriptors and their characteristics, it is time that we look at closely on Module Learning Outcomes and see how they can be mapped onto our key competencies and the respective level descriptors and their characteristics. Please note that as at MQA these are referred to as Expected Learning Outcomes, we will use the terms Module Learning Outcomes (MLOs) and ELOs interchangeably.

It may be good for you to now read this section on the pdf document for a more in depth treatment.

By the time you have completed reading the pdf document section you will have a good idea of how to transform your module competencies into good Expected Learning Outcome Statements.

PRACTICE EXERCISE THREE:

Please refer the document, Module Development Guideline pdf for demonstration example 3

Continue using The Online Module Mapping Exercise and complete the Exercise 3. With your completed module competencies, fill out the Expected Learning

Refining your ELOs

Once the ELOs are worked out and mapped on to the competencies and Level descriptors, you may find that more than one competency and level descriptor can be achieved through one outcome. On the other hand, scanning of the outcomes may show that some important areas that you feel are not addressed.
So you must revise your mapping, until you get a satisfactory set of outcomes that gives an appropriate coverage of the subject, before finalizing the outcomes.
Also you must carefully scrutinize the verbs and phrases used in the outcome to see if they fit the level of difficulty and depth expected by the level descriptors. It maybe a good idea to revisit the section on level descriptors and see if your outcome statements match with the corresponding level descriptors.
Finally it may be a good idea to submit your work to a colleague for second opinion.
Once all this is done, you are now ready to write down your ELOs for the module.

PRACTICE EXERCISE FOUR:

Please refer the document, Module Development Guideline pdf for demonstration example 4

Now on your Mapping Module Outcomes Worksheet, attempt to filter and refine you module outcomes or the ELOs.

Mapping Your Module and Developing the Outline

Mapping Your Module

This is the second entry point for your Online Module Mapping. Now that you’ve created expected learning outcomes based upon foundational competencies and program outcomes, you are ready to start mapping your course
Module Mapping and Outline Template

Download the Module Map and Outline Sample attached.

This template is created according to the MQA Guidelines

The following fields are mandatory for you to fill appropriately.

The following are mandatory fields that you must report in the order given:
1. Module:
2. Module Code Number:
3. Credits, learning hours and contact hours:
4. Mode(s) of delivery:
5. Minimum qualification and experience of instructors/lecturers:
6. Pre-requisites:
7. Co-requisites:
8. Expected learning outcomes:
9. Curricula content:
10. Specific assessment methods and grading criteria:
11. List of reference materials, if relevant: Information
It is very important that you understand what each of the fields stand for. You may very well read the following documents
1. Guideline for Program Accreditation (October 17, 2022) published on www. mqa.gov.mv
2. Module mapping Guideline pdf provided on this page.
Once you have read and understood the requirements for each of the fields, read carefully, through the content on the Module Mapping Guide under the heading, :How to Map Your Module?

This Section will guide you through:

Creating Topics

Scaffolding

Organizing Your Module Topics

Alignment

Backward Design

Assessments:

Learning Activities

PRACTICE EXERCISE FIVE:

Please refer the document, Module Mapping and Outline Sample pdf for demonstration

Now on your Module Mapping and Outline Worksheet, which you can download from the left pane of this page, develop a complete Module Outline.

Congratulations…

By the time you complete all the exercises you will have developed a very good understanding of the total process of developing an e-learning Program

Your next endeavor will be to develop the teaching and learning resources that you will use to populate your LMS. We provide a range of support. Please surf through our pages and find out what best suits for your development. You may also register for a training through our Faculty Support Page.

Also You will need to learn how to develop your LMS platform .
We provide a range of support. Please surf through our pages and find out what best suits for your development. You may also register for a training through our Faculty Support Page.

Head of Virtual Campus is the in-charge of managing all the activities of Virtual Campus. We have a fully dedicated team of member working in our VC, to ensure that our e-learning platforms, programs, and activities are optimized. Please visit our Head of Virtual Campus sub page to learn more about the roles, and responsibilities of our Head of VC