E-learning Quality Standards for Consumer Protection and Consumer Confidence: A Canadian Case Study in E-learning Quality Assurance

Emerging concerns about quality of e-learning products and services animated a project in Canada to create quality standards that derived primarily from the needs of consumer, that could be used to guide the development and choice of e-learning at all levels of education and training, and that could be implemented in a simple manner. A set of quality standards were created to reflect best practices in learning technologies, distance learning, and student-centred learning. The standards, first labeled the Canadian Recommended ELearning Guidelines, are now available in the Creative Commons as the Open eQuality Learning Standards. To implement the standards, two tools were created: a Consumer’s Guide to E-learning and a certification mark — the eQcheck quality mark — to indicate that e-learning courses, modules, and programs, and elements of them, meet those quality standards. The purpose is to provide consumer confidence in the elearning enterprise and consumer protection for the investments made by individuals, agencies, and entire governments. This approach, a Canadian case study in e-learning quality assurance, differs substantially from other e-learning quality initiatives, making a unique contribution to the e-learning quality assurance dialogue.