Get Your Students Hired
Lyn,
Just like fishing.....throw the bait out there, let the student swim around and then hook them!!
Shelly Crider
Robert,
I would like to think that even though a class is nice to look at and easy to manipulate, that knowledge would be the bottom line!
Shelly Crider
The look and feel of an online course is very important. As educators, it is our job to get students involved and keep them engaged in learning all that is offered within the course. To me, that begins with enticing them to get involved and stay around to find out more. The look and feel of an online course should give learners a good 'first impression' of what they can expect throughout the course.
While, the look and feel is very important in the ultimate success of the class, I'm not sure it's as important as the knowledge and skills the course provides. I would venture to say that even classes with subpar looks and feel can impart important knowledge and skills and thus is more important.
Mountasser,
Good point....we all like nice things! Being in school should be the exact same way...a "nice" thing!
Shelly Crider
Cally,
Who does not love extra resources????? We all do!!! I love the fact that you throw out there the extra resources!
Shelly Crider
I agree. Simple design of online courses should be the corner stone of effective online learning. Why Apple is successful because it focuses on creating products that have excellent look and feel. Online courses that are too crowded/complex and do not look or feel simple can confuse students and sometimes faculty.
I agree that the look and feel of an on-line course is very important for the following reasons.
Different colors or contrasting colors used in on-line content could make for a pleasant or unpleasant reading experience.
The size and type fonts used may positively or negatively affect a students learning.
Also the type of or lack of graphics also affect the experience the student has while taking an on-line course.
If wording of content is not easily understood by the student the student may not be interested in going on-line and participating in the course.
I believe it is super important to have the look and feel of the course consistent throughout as it creates a structural environment that the students can count on. By saying that, they know where to find everything, know where to find resources, messages etc. It makes it less of a stress on them, if they know what is expected and where to hand everything in you automatically have better retention.
I like to have all my assignments laid out the same also, a description, deliverables section, extra resources and also a rubric.
Amer,
Good point.....if a student walks into a classroom as a school and sees a room hot, messy, and stinky.....they do not want to stay!
Shelly Crider
Elias,
Class size can certainly make or break a class. I am hoping that most of us do not see 40 in an online class. The more students in an online course, the less communication.
Shelly Crider
Daron,
Not just neatly presented, but professionally presented as well. This helps with the soft skills we are trying to pass along as well.
Shelly Crider
Absolutely! Interactions between students and their instructor , as well as their peers will be done online. In other words, that is their classroom. So the look and feel of an online course is just as important as the look and feel of the actual physical classroom in a ground setting. No campus student would be comfortable sitting in a cold classroom, or a hot classroom, just how no online student would be happy if the look and feel of the online course does not meet their expectations.
How can one disagree with the statement? The qualification of the relative importance comes from two factors, audience and course/program. One of the thread participants noted that an Art course should have a different feel [than an Accounting course]. In general though, I think that the "feel" is part look/navigation/media and part instructor class management. One of the factors that "forces" an injustice on a great layout because of inappropriate/insufficient management is the fact that some courses which are rich in their design can only be properly managed if the instructor has unlimited time on her/his hands. How can one manage a class with rich resources and provide equally rich and individualized feedback when there are 40 students in the class? So, class size also qualifies class feel -I guess that would be the third factor...:-)
In my web design course I teach the methodology of CONES.
Content
Organization
Navigability
Economy
Security
These are the measurements we use to determine if a site is a "good" site. I see much common ground with good online course design.
I absolutely agree that the look and feel aid the learning in an online course. If your materials neatly presented in an organized manner within 1 screen your can participate regardless of your computer skills. Many older student's went to school before computers had taken over and they do not need to feel overwhelmed by that when the decide to further education.
Margaret,
I like that....."the medium is the message".....oh so true and I do not see any change in this statement in the near future!!
Shelly Crider
Heather,
The more comfortable a student is, the more comfortable the instructor will be which will lead to a wonderful class!
Shelly Crider
Aaron,
I like the word threatened as this could be exactly what happens. A threatened student will give up and not try again.
Shelly Crider
Aubrie,
Thanks for bringing up type size as there are several learners out there that need a larger font so we need to be able to let the student know how to do so.
Shelly Crider