Get Your Students Hired
The look and feel of an online course is very important. The online learner should be able to quickly navigate the site in an almost intuitive mode for easy access and manageability that will allow retention of content more easily. Much like reading the Sunday edition of the New York Times in a managable time frame due to good design and usability.
I believe the look and feel of a classroom makes all the difference in the world for online students. If students find the layout to be confusing to navigate they will be lost before they can get started. The course rooms should be simplistic in their design. In this way, we are distracting the student from the real mission.
Sandra Stuart
Yes, I have to agree that the design and feel of any online course will have an impact on the learners. If the design is to complicated to navigate or the feel does not allow the learners to seem like they are engaged with the course then they will not participate and start to withdraw.
Caitlin,
There are many online schools a student can enroll in. We need to have them to want to be in our classes!
Shelly Crider
Terry,
That is what we want for a student...knowledge transfer, not frustration.
Shelly Crider
Natalie,
Nice comments. If a student does not pick up the content....was the course worth it?
Shelly Crider
Shelly,
I do agree that the look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. I noticed that several of the other instructors mentioned the importance of consistency in course design. I think this is incredibly important and helps ease some of the anxiety of our less "tech-savvy" students. The look and the feel of our course contributes to the students' first impressions of us. I want to be seen as professional and want my course to reflect this as well. If our courses are not easy to navigate our students are more likely to drop out and thus leave before learning the material.
James,
I could not agree more. When I first started teaching I fell into the trap of answering any and all questions my students had. I realized I wasn't doing them any favors. When my class was over they still had no knowledge of the resources and services available to them (ex. Writing Centers and Tech Support).
Laurie,
Thank you for sharing your personal experience. I was glad to see that this course addressed how navigational simplicity related to student retention. The graduate program I attended was primarily online. I was used to an online format prior to teaching. However, recently I began teaching at another college that utilized a platform I was unfamiliar with. I can't even begin to describe the anxiety I felt. I felt like I was already behind and I knew the material! I have a totally new appreciation now for what my students experience.
Hello!
Yes, I do agree to the statement "the look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart". A student needs to feel comfortable when they enter an online course, just as if they were entering a F2F course. The course needs to be designed in a logical and efficient manner. Students need to be able to easily and readily locate the course objectives, each module, and the requirements of each module.
A student needs to come away from the course feeling comfortable (not frustrated) and more knowledgable than when they entered the course.
I agree. I do feel that sometimes content gets compromised when there is too much of a focus on the look of an online course. When not executed correctly, the look can be a distraction from what is to be learned. I have engaged in online courses that have too much going on- too aesthetically focused, as opposed to just using a convenient and simple navigation. For learners who learn better by reading content or hearing words get over stimulated by some of the components added to online courses.
I think any online course where the platform itself or the look and feel can replicate the content is not only creative but extremely effective. For example, teaching about designing an online course using the look and feel of the bare bones of an LMS and creating content along the way; creating a theme, if you will, and sticking with that as a learning mechanism.
I agree! The look and feel of a course is like a first impression. No matter how good the content/knowledge is if the look and feel are not there the perception of the entire class is lowered. Students are going to form an opinion within moments of entering the course and this opinion is formed well before they get into the content.
We have the opportunity to make a good impression and have them engage in the course right away, it is the look and feel that will get them to engage then hopefully the content will keep them engaged!
Karen,
If the instructor comes across as knowledgeable and professional, students will ask more questions and then soak up the info!
Shelly Crider
Gemma ,
I can see that you push for critical thinking as well! I love that!
Shelly Crider
Gemma ,
This is true. Students do like to "hear and see" their online instructor!
Shelly Crider
Marilyn ,
We have all been frustrated working with various items....when my car does not work....grrrrrr I like it to work!
Shelly Crider
Shlomo,
Oh so true about the textbook. If a textbook is not enjoyable, it is not read!
Shelly Crider