An Open Course?

In reviewing the course "Mathematics Essentials Q1" from Open High School of Utah using the iNACOL standards I found this particular course to be a good resource for students who need remediation on certain mathematical concepts, however, if this is to be the equivalent to a freshman high school math class, I hope I am missing something.

From what I see, for Section A: Content I find this course has an average rating of "2." Although some objectives are stated and assignments are aligned, this course lacks rigor. Goals seem minimalistic ans shallow. I will admit, that I reviewed this course from a "guest" perspective, so I hope there are additional resources and materials that are not seen from this access.

The Instructional Design, Section B, fares a little better. I feel the activities are engaging to students and the organization in the lessons is very clear. For the "Communication and Interaction" piece of this section, I there is not sufficient material to evaluate this correctly.

Student Assessment, Section C, has an average rating of "3." Assessments are dispersed into each lesson along with activities. There are also self assessments imbedded into a number of these activities. Unit tests follow the individual lessons

Technology, Section D, rates a "3," at least for the "User Interface," as the course is easy to navigate. There are interesting media elements, such as videos, games, and online tests included in the course lessons. The "Course Architecture" is difficult to critique from the guest access, so I cannot rate this area. This is also true with Section E, "Course Evaluation and Support."

Although this seems to be a poor review, I am excited about what his course has to offer. Most of what I saw is Open Source materials used under a Creative Commons license. I feel this course is a good resource for students to master certain mathematical concepts. I do not see it as an alternative to a freshman high school math course, but I do think it has merit in helping students catch up or possibly, for younger students, advance.