NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— Dr. Anne Goodwin, Massachusetts College Of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Professor of Biology, has been awarded a 2023 Course of Distinction (COD) Award by the Massachusetts Colleges Online (MCO) consortium. 

 

Professor Goodwin will be recognized at the 18th annual MCO Conference on eLearning on June 15. 

 

The Course of Distinction awards are given annually to recognize excellence in designing and delivering online and hybrid courses across multiple categories. 

 

Goodwin's course, Medical Terminology, is a requirement of the Radiologic Technology program and an elective available for MCLA students. It uses interactive self-guided quizzing activities and a no-cost e-book sourced in collaboration with MCLA's Freel Library staff.  

 

Goodwin proactively used the Instructional Design Analysis service, in MCLA's Center for Academic Technology, to optimize course structure and workflow for user experience, accessibility, and mobile readiness in the asynchronous format. Goodwin's intentional design provides students with a robust curriculum, and authentic engagement, together with the well-documented practical benefits of asynchronous access. 

 

This is the third time MCLA's Biology Department has earned statewide recognition in recent years for online course design. Goodwin won a COD in 2022 for the course Nutrition for Healthy Living and adjunct instructor Maryann Schroder won a COD in 2019 for the course Human Growth and Development.