National Standards for Quality Online Teaching
National Standards for Quality Online Teaching is designed to provide states, districts, online programs, and other organizations with a set of quality guidelines for online teaching. This third version, published in 2011, provides indicators including what online teachers should know and understand, as well as what the online teachers should be able to do for evaluation purposes. These guidelines should be implemented and monitored by each district or organization, as they reserve the right to apply the guidelines according to the best interest of the population for which they serve.
There are twelve standards related to online instruction that indicate that the teacher…
- has appropriate licensure and academic credentials
- has the necessary technology skills
- uses strategies to encourage active learning
- provides clear expectations and provides prompt and regular feedback
- models and encourages healthy and ethical use of technology
- understands online learning from the perspective of the student
- is responsive to students with special needs
- creates valid and reliable assessments
- delivers assessments that measure learning goals
- appropriately modifies instruction based on data from assessments
- enables frequent self-assessments
- collaborates with colleagues
For teachers that have instructional design responsibilities, there is an additional standard which indicates the teacher…
- arranges media and content for effective knowledge transfer
Download a complete copy of the National Standards for Quality Online Teaching.
References for footnotes can be found on the resources page or click on the footnote number for a direct link.