Online Course Design CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Jennifer Freeman ACADEMIC ■ IMPRESSIONS

Recognize the logistics involved when developing online courses as a team; executing the course development plan Understand the importance of the Syllabus in online courses Review content sequencing and the instructional design blueprint Explore storyboarding as a tool for lesson construction Identify accessibility and usability issues; planning for scalability Session Goals

The Lifecycle of a course –Writing and designing the course –Developing materials –Validating instruction Development scheduling Tasks chart Logistics and Processes for the Course Development Team

course is released

Why it’s so important What should be included Sample syllabus checklist Developing the Syllabus

Things to keep in mind –Sequencing –Linear vs. Hypertext –Granularity + Portability = Reusability Storyboarding and Lesson Construction

Lesson Model #1: Linear noyes advance organizer      summary  multimedia discussion notes textbook reading www resource  test     

Lesson Model #2: Non-Linear (Open)    summary  multimedia discussion notes textbook reading www resource  test advance organizer   ______________ _________ ____ ______________ quiz __ ___________ ______________ test  

Storyboarding steps: 1.Consider your goals/objectives 2.Evaluate and organize existing content and identify gaps 3.Develop a navigation plan 4.“Chunk” content 5.Add text to your storyboard Storyboarding and Lesson Construction

Storyboarding steps 6.Add multimedia and graphics 7.Add activities 8.Build linkages 9.Review entire layout Storyboarding and Lesson Construction

Consistency of Style –Bullets vs. paragraphs –Straightforward language –Formal vs. informal Fonts Text Color, Formatting Whitespace-to-text-to-graphics ratio Usability: Effective Text in the Online Course

Usability: Why Use Graphics in the Online Course?

Clip art vs. photos Fit with overall color scheme (link to an online color wheel resource)link to an online color wheel resource Decorative vs. instructional Examples of interactive graphics Graphics and media resources literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.htmlhttp:// literacy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.html Usability: Effective Graphics in the Online Course

Audio, video, animation, interactive Examples Instructionally appropriate? Talking head syndrome Limitations –Accessibility issues (provide transcripts) –Usability issues (plug-ins, broadband) –Length of clips (2-3 minutes) Usability: Effective Media in the Online Course

Usability: Navigation and Organization Use icons as visual cues Make use of orders and horizontal rules On long, vertical pages, make use of _____________links “Next” and “Previous” Too much hypertext = too many choices…sometimes linear organization is good “back to top” Best Practices – Web Design Principles

Navigation Provide ______________________________ options Provide descriptive page titles Use clear, unique, descriptive headings Use a clickable list of contents on long pages Provide a site map Best Practices – Web Design Principles navigational

Navigation Use “glosses” to assist navigation…Glosses are: ______________________________________________ Use “breadcrumbs” to assist navigation…Breadcrumbs are: ________________________________________________ Highlight critical information with formatting Use headings in the appropriate HTML order Best Practices – Web Design Principles text that identifies the “path” taken to arrive at a page short phrases that pop-up when hovering over a link

Accessibility Always provide ______________________ for non-text elements (alt tags for images, captions for media) Be sure to title all of your pages; also title all of your links Allow students to skip repetitive navigation links Don’t use color alone to convey information Limit the use of tables and frames Best Practices – Web Design Principles text equivalents

Page Layout Make sure everything is appropriately aligned Allow for enough ____________________ to keep the page from looking cluttered, but not so much that students have to scroll excessively Consistently place important information near the top of the page Use fluid layouts, as screen resolution and monitor size will vary Best Practices – Web Design Principles white space

Scrolling NO ____________________ scrolling; limit vertical scrolling Facilitate rapid scrolling while reading Consider using _________________ rather than scrolling Best Practices – Web Design Principles paging horizontal

Links Use meaningful text link labels Match link names with their destination pages Avoid misleading or inconsistent cues to click (blue or underlined text) Within an LMS, external links should _______________________________ so that students can easily return to their place in the course Include title tags Best Practices – Web Design Principles open a new browser window

Text Use familiar, common ____________ Use plain, high-contrast backgrounds Use consistent formatting Don’t use ALL CAPS…on the internet, it’s the equivalent of SHOUTING AND IS CONSIDERED RUDE Use BOLD sparingly, or it ceases to draw attention and clutters the page Use text color sparingly, as it can be distracting Use at least _____________ fonts, or provide for users to enlarge text Best Practices – Web Design Principles fonts 12-point

Color, Graphics and Media Use background colors to group related information Use simple background images or none at all Label clickable images ____________________ images for download Use images and media meaningfully Use thumbnail images to preview larger images Best Practices – Web Design Principles Optimize

Course Design –Flexible structure –Use of objective testing Discussions vs. –FAQs –Student-led help thread –Student discussion leaders Group projects vs. individual –Less grading –Peer assessment –Self assessment Planning for Scalability

The logistics involved when developing online courses as a team The importance of the Syllabus in online courses Storyboarding as a tool for lesson construction Existing instructional materials Important web design principles What We’ve Learned

Jennifer Freeman