Blackboard recently awarded an Eastern Kentucky University Online homeland security course with a 2020 Exemplary Course Award. The course, HLS 461 Disaster Resilience, was created by instructional designer Mikah Hughes and homeland security professor and online homeland security program coordinator Dr. Chad Foster. The class covers topics pertaining to disaster mitigation, government programs, planning for disaster, hazard and threat modeling, and team building.
Blackboard has been awarding the Exemplary Course Award to schools and universities all over the world since 2000. The award highlights online courses that are dedicated to engaging students through technology, creating an enriching online learning environment.
Blackboard evaluated courses on the following criteria:
- Course design — the structure and organization of the course, including an assessment of learning objectives and strategies to achieve those objectives
- Interaction and collaboration — the online class format and how collaboration and engagement are encouraged, including the type and amount of interaction in the course
- Assessment — the quality of the means of measuring progress, ranging from the evaluation of grading to student and faculty feedback
- Learner support — the availability of resources provided to students to ensure their success in the course
When asked about the strengths of the HLS 461 Disaster Resilience course, Dr. Foster discussed the weekly activities and assignments, including online videos and case studies, along with voice threads, Google slides, traditional assessment activities, and collaborative activities that students seemed to enjoy. The instructional designer for the course, Mikah Hughes, felt that the strengths of the course came from instructor involvement and dedication throughout the entirety of the class.
“We are extremely proud of all our faculty and staff who were recognized by Blackboard. They create outstanding courses and provide exceptional levels of student support,” said Tim Matthews, executive director, Office of e-Campus Learning.
Eastern Kentucky University is a recognized leader in homeland security education and our online homeland security program has been awarded numerous accolades from Security Degree Hub, Intelligent, Best Colleges and more.
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