(V) Irrelevant material. Advertisement of goods and
services shall not appear during the actual instructional times of
the course. Distracting material that is not related to the topic
being presented shall not appear during the actual instructional times
of the course.
(VI) Minimum content. The online course shall present
sufficient content so that it would take a student 360 minutes to
complete the course. In order to demonstrate that the online course
contains sufficient minutes of instruction, the online course shall
use the following methods.
(-a-) Word count. For written material that is read
by the student, the course shall contain the total number of words
in the written sections of the course. This word count shall be divided
by 180, the average number of words that a typical student reads per
minute. The result is the time associated with the written material
for the sections.
(-b-) Multimedia presentations. For multimedia presentation,
the online course shall calculate the total amount of time it takes
for all multimedia presentations to play, not to exceed 150 minutes.
(-c-) Charts and graphs. The online course may assign
one minute for each chart or graph.
(-d-) Time allotment for questions. The online course
may allocate up to 90 seconds for questions presented over the Internet
and 90 seconds for questions presented by telephone.
(-e-) Total time calculation. If the sum of the time
associated with the written course material, the total amount of time
for all multimedia presentations, and the time associated with all
charts and graphs equals or exceeds 330 minutes, the online course
has demonstrated the required amount of minimum content.
(-f-) Alternate time calculation method. In lieu of
the time calculation method, the online course may submit alternate
methodology to demonstrate that the online course meets the 330-minute
requirement.
(v) Personal validation. The online course shall maintain
a method to validate the identity of the person taking the course.
The personal validation system shall incorporate one of the following
requirements.
(I) School-initiated method. Upon approval by the department,
the online course may use a method that includes testing and security
measures that validate the identity of the person taking the course.
The method must meet the following criteria.
(-a-) Time to respond. The student must correctly answer
a personal validation question within 90 seconds.
(-b-) Placement of questions. At least two personal
validation questions shall appear randomly during each instructional
hour, not including the final examination.
(-c-) Exclusion from the course. The online course
shall exclude the student from the course after the student has incorrectly
answered more than 30 percent of the personal validation questions.
(-d-) Correction of answer. The online course may correct
an answer to a personal validation question for a student who inadvertently
missed a personal validation question. In such a case, the student
record shall include a record of both answers and an explanation of
the reasons why the answer was corrected.
(II) Third party data method. The online course shall
ask a minimum of twelve (12) personal validation questions randomly
throughout the course from a bank of at least twenty (20) questions
drawn from a third party data source. The method must meet the following
criteria.
(-a-) Time to respond. The student must correctly answer
a personal validation question within 90 seconds.
(-b-) Placement of questions. At least two personal
validation questions shall appear randomly during each instructional
hour, not including the final examination.
(-c-) Exclusion from the course. The online course
shall exclude the student from the course after the student has incorrectly
answered more than 30 percent of the personal validation questions.
(-d-) Correction of answer. The online course may correct
an answer to a personal validation question for a student who inadvertently
missed a personal validation question. In such a case, the student
record shall include a record of both answers and an explanation of
the reasons why the answer was corrected.
(vi) Content validation. The online course shall incorporate
a course content validation process that verifies student participation
and comprehension of course material, including the following.
(I) Timers. The online course shall include built-in
timers to ensure that 330 minutes of instruction have been attended
and completed by the student.
(II) Testing the student's participation in multimedia
presentations. The online course shall ask at least one course validation
question following each multimedia clip of more than 180 seconds.
(-a-) Test bank. For each multimedia presentation that
exceeds 180 seconds, the online course shall have a test bank of at
least four questions.
(-b-) Question difficulty. The question shall be short
answer, multiple choice, essay, or a combination of these forms. The
question shall be difficult enough that the answer may not be easily
determined without having viewed the actual multimedia clip.
(-c-) Failure criteria. If the student fails to answer
the question correctly, the online course must require the student
to view the multimedia clip again. The online course shall then present
a different question from its test bank for that multimedia clip.
The online course may not repeat a question until it has asked all
the questions from its test bank.
(-d-) Answer identification. The online course shall
not identify the correct answer to the multimedia question.
(III) Course participation questions. The online course
shall test the student's course participation by asking at least two
questions each from Chapter Four, Topics Two through Eight in the
POI-Adult Six Hour.
(-a-) Test bank. The test bank for course participation
questions shall include at least ten questions each from Chapter Four,
Topics Two through Eight in the POI-Adult Six-Hour.
(-b-) Placement of questions. The course participation
questions shall be asked at the end of the major unit or section in
which the topic is covered.
(-c-) Question difficulty. Course participation questions
shall be of such difficulty that the answer may not be easily determined
without having participated in the actual instruction.
(IV) Comprehension of course content. The online course
shall test the student's mastery of the course content by administering
at least 30 questions covering the highway signs and traffic laws
required under Texas Transportation Code, §521.161.
(-a-) Test banks (two). Separate test banks for course
content mastery questions are required for the highway signs and traffic
laws examination as required under Texas Transportation Code, §521.161,
with examination questions drawn equally from each.
(-b-) Placement of questions. The mastery of course
content questions shall be asked at the end of the course (comprehensive
final examination).
(-c-) Question difficulty. Course content mastery questions
shall be of such difficulty that the answer may not be easily determined
without having participated in the actual instruction.
(vii) Retest the student. If the student misses more
than 30 percent of the questions asked on an examination, the online
course shall retest the student using different questions from its
test bank. The student is not required to repeat the course, but may
be allowed to review the course prior to retaking the examination.
If the student fails the comprehensive final examination three times,
the student shall fail the course.
(viii) Student records. The online course shall provide
for the creation and maintenance of the records documenting student
enrollment, the verification of the student's identity, and the testing
of the student's mastery of the course material. The school shall
also ensure that the student record is readily, securely, and reliably
available for inspection by a department representative. The student
records shall contain the following information:
(I) the student's first, middle, and last name;
(II) the student's date of birth and gender;
(III) a record of all questions asked and the student's
responses;
(IV) the name or identity number of the staff member
entering comments, retesting, or revalidating the student;
(V) both answers and a reasonable explanation for the
change if any answer to a question is changed by the school for a
student who inadvertently missed a question; and
Cont'd... |