High-Impact Design for Online Courses (HIDOC) Framework

Choosing and Creating Effective Content 

Instructional materials serve as the foundation for student learning by providing the resources needed to engage with course concepts, develop skills, and demonstrate mastery. A well-designed online course includes varied, accessible, and engaging materials that align with learning outcomes and assessments to ensure students receive the support they need for success. 

Key Considerations 

• Align materials with learning outcomes and assessments.Select resources that directly support course activities and assessments. Focus on what students need to know to succeed in summative assignments rather than adding unnecessary content.  
• Use varied media formats for accessibility and engagement. Incorporate a mix of text-based resources, multimedia, and interactive elements to accommodate different learning preferences. Ensure materials are mobile-friendly so students can access content easily on any device. 
• Curate and create high-quality instructional content. Determine what content to create and what to source from existing materials. When possible, use Open Educational Resources (OER) or library materials to reduce costs. Keep recorded lectures short and focused and integrate interactive elements like quizzes or scenario-based activities to promote active learning. 
• Cite sources and comply with copyright laws. Include references for all posted resources and materials, including (but not limited to) images, journal articles, publisher content, websites, presentations, audio, and videos. 
• Ensure accessibility and varied representation. Select materials that reflect a range of perspectives and real-world applications. Provide captions, transcripts, alternative text for images, and screen reader-friendly documents to ensure accessibility. Use Blackboard Ally and follow WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) for compliance. Consider Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. 
• Maintain instructor presence for student support. Uploading course materials in advance is important, but instructor presence remains essential. Plan ways to actively engage with students through discussions, timely feedback, and check-ins to provide support and foster meaningful connections. 
• Rethink your lecture approach. Keep lecture videos under 20 minutes and ensure they are structured for clarity and engagement. Use a relevant title, provide context by connecting to previous course topics, and clearly indicate the assessment the lecture supports. Highlight key points, explain them thoroughly, and incorporate visuals to reinforce main ideas. 

Why It Matters 

Well-organized, high-quality instructional materials enhance student engagement, comprehension, and application of course content. Materials should support learning without unnecessary complexity or distraction so students can focus on achieving the course’s learning outcomes. 

Action Steps 

• Review your modules, assessments, and activities.  
  • This step is essential for selecting materials that support your assessments and activities. Keep your outcomes and assessments readily available to ensure alignment throughout your course. 
• Determine the types of instructional materials needed for student success.  
  • Focus on the kinds of materials that will support learning rather than their sources. 
• Identify the content source.  
  • Decide whether you will create the materials, use existing content, or source them from textbooks or online resources. 
• Assess content representation.  
  • Ensure materials include a range of perspectives and provide examples that are relevant and meaningful to a broad audience.
• Evaluate content accessibility.  
  • Determine whether materials are already accessible or need modifications to meet accessibility standards. 

You Try It 

Use the Step 5 - Instructional Materials and Step 5 - Bonus-Online Topical Lectures documents from the HIDOC library to guide the selection and development of instructional materials and online topical lectures that align with Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). The Instructional Materials document provides a structured approach to identifying content that supports summative assessments, evaluating sources, and ensuring accessibility and representation. The Online Topical Lectures document offers a framework for designing effective lecture content by incorporating clear structure, relevant context, key points, and supporting visuals. Together, these resources help create engaging and accessible learning experiences.