Quality Matters Spotlight: Jessika Valentine
The Office of Digital Learning congratulates Professor Jessika Valentine for the high-quality certification of her online course, IDS 3450 – Through an Arab Lens: The Intersection of Film and Culture. Valentine received her master of science degree in foreign language curriculum and instruction from FSU in 2014 and is a teaching faculty member in the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics Arabic program. She participated in the FSU Online Quality Initiative, where online courses undergo a rigorous peer-review process based on the nationally recognized Quality Matters rubric. In the following Q&A, Valentine shares her insights about the certification process.
How do you think the Quality Matters (QM) review process has improved your course?
The QM process prompted me to revamp the course as part of the required annual maintenance and take into consideration my students’ perspectives, kinds of intelligences, and diverging modes of thinking and learning. It also helped homogenize my work so that each module element—whether film analysis or engaging with regional discourse on various issues—fulfills and aligns with the overall course arc and learning objectives. I wanted the course to accommodate all my students and to streamline their learning journey so that it becomes smoother and more effective.
What did you value most about the instructional design support you received from your ODL faculty liaison?
Primarily, the fact that the course is peer-reviewed by professors within and outside the profession and from within and beyond FSU’s university community. This system of checking and certification means a lot to me, because it ensures that the course not only passes on technical aspects but also functions as a complete medium that provides students with both concepts and their applications. It also helps enhance students’ critical reasoning skills so they can acquire a deeper sense of culture, film, and the Arab world as a region and its peoples.
What did you value most about the accessibility support you received from your ODL course design specialist?
I owe the ODL course design and instructor specialists many appreciations for their support over the years. They have been by my side ever since I transformed my in-person course into an asynchronous online course back in Spring 2020. It was a very opportune time, because I was trained in online course design just as online teaching became a reality and a new medium that many of us found daunting.
I have also benefited from multiple opportunities to update my introductory video for students and to create more professional videos for critical class assignments. This year, the QM design and instructor specialists worked with me whenever I needed them, assisting me to ensure the class measures exactly what it aims to and fulfills its educational goals first and foremost.
If you were to encourage a peer to participate in the QM review process, how would you communicate its value?
Designing courses that are accessible, high-quality, and where learning outcomes match the objectives is not an easy task. QM helps you navigate how to align objectives with assessments and activities. Getting your online course reviewed by peers from within and outside your institution is an additional advantage, providing helpful feedback to improve the course overall and make the students’ learning experience more effective.
For information about online course design and the FSU Online Quality Initiative, visit odl.fsu.edu/quality.
