Digital Learning Framework: Principles and Guidelines

This framework articulates a set of principles and guidelines that are intended to serve as both baseline and guidelines for digital teaching and learning at Waterloo. The goal is to ensure that digital teaching and learning is done in a manner that complies with university policies and Canadian law, meets Waterloo's standards for quality, and clearly communicates to students the expectations around mode of delivery.

The framework was approved by University of Waterloo Senate in June 2023.

General principles

These principles apply to any use of digital technology and materials for teaching and learning, including within on-campus, blended, and online modalities.

  1. Learning materials and delivery platforms must abide by all relevant University policies, including:
  2. Platforms and materials must comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) post-secondary requirements and related Waterloo accessibility guidelines and policies.
  3. Learning materials must conform to Canadian Copyright law and Waterloo's Copyright guidelines.*
  4. Platforms used for instruction should have both instructor and student supports available. Tiers include centrally (university) supported, Faculty/department/program-supported, instructor-supported, or vendor-supported tools that meet all other requirements described herein. The most commonly used supported tools should be prioritized to help foster consistency in the teaching and learning experience.
  5. Learning materials are subject to Policy 73: Intellectual Property (see brief) unless covered by separate development agreement or licensing (e.g., Creative Commons or Ontario Open License). In keeping with the spirit of Policy 73, the sharing and reuse of digital learning materials created at Waterloo is encourage, as is the use of high-quality third-party open educational materials (OERs), in order to reduce costs to students and the institution, while increasing efficiency and maintaining quality.     

 * Legal Framework: The Principles and Guidelines for Digital Learning, including platforms and learning materials, will be construed in accordance with applicable law:

  • Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005 c. 11 (AODA) and its regulations
  • Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42

If any of these legal provisions are modified, abrogated, superseded, or added to, the Principles and Guidelines for Digital Learning will be interpreted in accordance with the new legal framework.

 

Principles for an ONLINE class:

An online class refers to a specific offer and section of a course offered in this mode (i.e., other sections or classes of the same course may be offered in different modes).

  1. Is indicated in the schedule as "ONLN" and uses the appropriate components and scheduling
  2. Can be completed remotely via digital delivery and does not require in-person activity or on-campus presence, except for in-person final exams (which may be supported in the student's geographic location), although some online programs may have a short on-campus requirement (e.g., an orientation session or capstone).
  3. Has approval in principle to be offered in online mode from the Dean or delegate or Vice-President Academic and Dean (VPA) before development proceeds.
  4. Is recognized as equivalent to all other offers of the same course in terms of course credit, learning outcomes, and academic rigor, and meets the academic standards of the Faculty.ǂ
  5. Involves overall instructor efforts equivalent to sections of the same course delivered by all other modalities (i.e., is considered equivalent in terms of instructor workload).
  6. Provides regular and timely access to instructors, as well as opportunities for meaningful interaction with instructors, other students, and content.
  7. Has a schedule that conforms to the academic calendar for the term, including start and finish dates and any study breaks, and provides milestones and due dates for activities, assignments, and assessments.
  8. Uses the appropriate modality (asynchronous or synchronous) for the course content and learning outcomes, with consideration of the needs of the prospective/intended students. Waterloo encourages asynchronous delivery as it offers the greatest flexibility and access, among other benefits.

ǂ Online Principles 4 and 5 were established by the UW Online Learning Task Force, 2008.

 

Guidelines for specific online modes

An asynchronous ONLN class:

  1. Has no scheduled meets.
  2. May include limited synchronous elements, for which alternatives and/or flexible options exist.
  3. Has key content prepared sufficiently in advance of the course offer to (a) ensure sufficient time to achieve compliance with the above principles, and (b) to ensure that students have timely access to necessary content during the course.
  4. Has either been fully developed in partnership with CEL as a scheduled project, or undergoes a process as defined by the Faculty or affiliated institution that satisfies the approver (Dean or VPAD, or delegate, with input as defined in the process) that both the Principles and Guidelines and the academic standards of the Faculty or affiliated institution will be upheld, before they grant final approval for the course offer to proceed.

A synchronous ONLN class:

  1. Is primarily facilitated through regular (usually weekly) live online meets using a synchronous tool (e.g., Zoom or Teams) and scheduled in Quest.
  2. As appropriate, provides flexible alternatives for students who miss occasional individual classes (e.g., recording of lectures).
  3. Has a course design and delivery plan that satisfies the approval (Dean or VPAD, or delegate, with input as defined in the process) that both the Principles and Guidelines and the academic standards of the Faculty or affiliated institution will be upheld, before they grant final approval for the course offer to proceed.