What Does Quality Matters Certification Mean for Indiana Online?
Earning Quality Matters (QM) certification for our course template validates that Indiana Online’s virtual courses meet the highest national standards for design, accessibility, and learner engagement. High-quality digital education is never created by accident; it is the direct result of intentional design, deep pedagogical expertise, and an unyielding commitment to student success.
Achieving full compliance with the QM K–12 Rubric (Sixth Edition) represents a monumental milestone for our team, earning a perfect score of 39 out of 39 points on our foundational course template. Quality Matters certification is recognized nationwide as the gold standard in online learning, setting rigorous criteria for course usability, clear learning objectives, learner support, accessibility, and alignment.
That foundational template matters because it is where every Indiana Online course begins. Whether students enroll in mathematics, English, science, a career and technical education course, or an elective, they encounter a familiar course structure. Students can expect the same clear navigation, organization, expectations, and support across courses, regardless of the subject area. That consistency reduces unnecessary barriers for students and also gives parents and teachers a familiar framework when supporting learners across multiple Indiana Online courses.
The template, however, is only the starting point. Quality online learning requires much more than placing good classroom content into a learning management system. It requires designing the entire experience from the perspective of a student who may be working independently and asynchronously.
Why Is Designing an Online Course Different from Planning a Classroom Course?
Effective face-to-face teaching and effective online teaching share the same foundation: strong content, clear learning objectives, meaningful practice, and appropriate assessment. But the way those elements are delivered is fundamentally different.
In a classroom, teachers continuously make adjustments that students may barely notice. They elaborate on a direction when they see confused expressions. They provide another example when a concept does not connect. They pause, ask questions, redirect attention, change the pace, or explain an assignment differently. Those small interactions provide an enormous amount of instructional support.
In an asynchronous online course, the course must be designed to provide many of those supports before the student needs them. Directions cannot depend on a teacher being present to explain what they mean. Students need to understand what they are expected to do, how to do it, what resources they need, how their work connects to the learning objective, and what successful work looks like.
This is why converting a face-to-face lesson to an online lesson is not a matter of copying text, uploading a slideshow, or recording a lecture. Instructional designers and Subject Matter Experts must ask a different question: How will a student experience this learning when the teacher is not standing beside them? That question guides decisions about clarity, pacing, support, and how students interact with the content.
How Do Indiana Educators and Instructional Designers Build Online Courses?
The foundation of Indiana Online’s course development process relies on a direct, collaborative partnership between licensed Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and specialized instructional designers. Long before a single lesson is uploaded to Canvas LMS, our Instructional Design team partners with experienced SMEs. These SMEs are active, licensed Indiana educators who understand their content, their students, and the dynamic needs of today’s learners. Every SME also completes our Course Developer training program before building content alongside our Instructional Design team.
By pairing classroom expertise with instructional design expertise, Indiana Online translates complex state academic standards into engaging, student-centered digital learning experiences. Working side by side, the teacher and instructional designer dissect state requirements, establish learning outcomes, design assessments, develop lessons, and determine how students will interact with the content.
The partnership is critical. The Subject Matter Expert brings deep knowledge of what students need to learn. The instructional designer helps determine how that learning can be effectively experienced in an online environment. Together, they consider questions that extend beyond content accuracy: Where might a student become confused? What prerequisite knowledge is needed? Is the lesson appropriately paced? Is information presented in manageable chunks? Does the student have an opportunity to practice before being assessed? Are directions detailed enough for a student working independently? Does the assessment actually measure the stated learning objective? These questions help ensure that each course is not only accurate, but also clear, purposeful, and designed with the student experience in mind.
What Instructional Design Frameworks Power Indiana Online’s Curriculum?
Indiana Online integrates three proven educational frameworks—ADDIE, Understanding by Design (UbD), and Universal Design for Learning (UDL)—to guide every stage of course development. Rather than treating these frameworks as abstract theory, our team translates them into practical design decisions that shape how students engage with, process, and demonstrate learning.
Within the ADDIE development process and using UbD backward design principles, our team defines clear learning targets before creating assessments and lesson content. Instead of simply arranging textbook chapters sequentially, our designers start with Indiana Academic Standards and determine what students should know and be able to do. We then design assessments that measure those outcomes and develop lessons, practice opportunities, and resources that prepare students to demonstrate mastery.
UDL further challenges us to think beyond a one-size-fits-all learning experience. Accessibility is not simply about whether a student can technically access a page. It is about whether the student can truly access the learning.
That distinction influences how every lesson is built. A page filled with uninterrupted text may technically be accessible, but that does not necessarily make it effective instruction. The same is true of a lesson built almost entirely from videos. Online lessons need intentional variety and thoughtful chunking. Complex information is divided into manageable sections, important ideas are clearly accentuated, and text, visuals, audio, video, examples, interactives, and practice opportunities are selected according to what best supports the content and the learner.
Technology is never the learning objective. A video, interactive activity, graphic, or simulation earns its place in a lesson because it helps students understand, practice, apply, or connect with the content—not simply because the technology is available.
What Does Effective Online Assessment Look Like?
Assessments require the same shift in thinking. In a classroom, teachers can clarify directions, answer questions, show an example, or remind students of expectations in the moment. In an online course, those supports must be built into the experience from the start.
Students should be able to open any graded activity and clearly determine what they are being asked to demonstrate, what steps they need to complete, what resources or materials they may use, and how their work will be evaluated. Whether they are completing an assignment, discussion, quiz, or another type of assessment, clear directions and evaluation criteria are essential parts of the instructional design process. Rubrics, examples, and supporting resources are included when appropriate to help students understand expectations and demonstrate their learning.
When it aligns with the learning objective, we also look for opportunities to give students meaningful choice in how they demonstrate mastery. A student might demonstrate the same learning through a written explanation, presentation, infographic, recorded response, project, or another appropriate product. Choice should never change the academic expectation; all options must measure the same learning target at a comparable level of rigor.
This distinction is important. We are not asking, “How many different assignments can we offer?” We are asking, “What are we actually trying to measure, and are there multiple valid ways a student can demonstrate that mastery?” The goal is meaningful choice without changing the learning expectation.
How Does Indiana Online Guarantee Course Quality and Accessibility?
Indiana Online enforces a multi-tiered quality assurance process that evaluates both pedagogical soundness and technical execution before any course is published. Quality is built into the course from day one, but formal review checkpoints ensure that nothing is left to chance prior to student enrollment.
Our internal review evaluates every digital course shell against two rigorous national benchmarks: the Quality Matters K–12 Rubric and the National Standards for Quality (NSQ) for Online Courses. Our Instructional Design and Curriculum Manager conducts an exhaustive audit of the course shell, examining navigation consistency, visual hierarchy, mobile responsiveness, and digital accessibility. Every image is checked for screen-reader alt-text, every video is verified for closed-captioning accuracy, and every link is tested for functionality.
Our accessibility review also goes beyond those technical requirements. We examine accessibility from two interconnected perspectives: Can the learner access the course, and can the learner access the learning? Our goal is to create learning experiences that are usable and meaningful for students with a range of abilities, strengths, and learning needs.
That means examining cognitive load, readability, page organization, content chunking, media use, instructional clarity, opportunities for practice, and options for demonstrating mastery. Accessibility is not something added at the end of course development. It is part of the design process from the beginning.
A final curriculum verification conducted by Subject Matter Experts ensures academic accuracy, grade-level appropriateness, and instructional clarity prior to student launch. Only after a course successfully passes these layers of review is it ready for student enrollment.
Who Leads Indiana Online’s Instructional Design Strategy?
Indiana Online’s instructional design strategy is led by nationally recognized experts who actively shape K–12 digital learning across the United States.
Laura Garmire, Instructional Design and Curriculum Manager, is a QM Master Reviewer who served on the drafting committees for both the 5th and 6th Editions of the Quality Matters K–12 Rubric. Beyond guiding Indiana Online’s internal course design team, Laura contributes to national conversations about quality online education and regularly presents at events including the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA), the Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC), and Quality Matters symposiums.
Our dedicated instructional design team—including Amanda Domogalik, Dr. Taunya Kline, and Matt Schrieber—has engaged in advanced training and actively serves on national Quality Matters review panels. Their ongoing participation in national discussions about online course design keeps Indiana Online aligned with current research, standards, and best practices.
How Does Indiana Online Continuously Improve Virtual Courses Over Time?
Indiana Online is dedicated to a culture of continuous improvement through systematic course review. We analyze student achievement data, gather teacher feedback, consider updated state standards, and evaluate changing instructional needs. This process allows us to improve course content, incorporate emerging best practices, and respond to the changing educational landscape.
Online course development is therefore never truly finished. Students change. Technology changes. Standards change. Accessibility practices improve. New instructional strategies emerge. Quality requires us to continually ask whether the course is still providing the clearest, most engaging, and most accessible path to learning.
Dedicated to Creating Opportunities for Learning
At the end of the day, instructional design is not just about building a course—it is about creating opportunities for learning. As humans, we are wired to learn, and that learning happens in countless ways: through experiences, reflection, curiosity, challenges, and discovery. Every learner’s journey is different, but the desire to grow and understand is something we all share.
At Indiana Online, we believe that great instructional design honors that journey. We use data, standards, research, technology, and proven design practices to build high-quality courses, but we never lose sight of the people those courses are designed to serve. Behind every login is a learner with unique strengths, goals, and experiences, and our responsibility is to create pathways that help them succeed.
That is ultimately why consistency, accessibility, clear directions, thoughtful lesson design, meaningful assessment, and student choice matter. Each removes an unnecessary barrier between the learner and the learning.
When we place students—and learning itself—at the heart of the design process, we do more than create courses. We create experiences that inspire curiosity, build confidence, and support lifelong learning. And that is the true purpose of instructional design: not simply to deliver content, but to help learners grow, discover, and reach their full potential.
