Get Your Students Hired
I would agree. There are lots of students that are visual learner because of this the course should look and feel appealing to students. I believe it will make the student want to learn more.
Shelly,
What employers "need" from my students would be a great portfolio, and an employee that is attentive to detail, meets deadline, honest and reliable! :)
Dr. Powell
Terry,
good point.....we keep saying we are keeping the "learner" in mind, but we also need to keep the perspective employer in mind. What do employers need from the new employee?
Shelly Crider
Terry,
Oh those assumptions.....they get us in trouble all the time!!
Shelly Crider
Oh, I definitely agree with that statement. I have experience with a few LMS and one in particular would not be a school for which I would like to study. It's the antithesis of navigational simplicity. There are areas that are apt to be missed by the student. If you can't find the educational materials, they don't do much good.
Cheryl
I definitely agree! I believe that from the time of conception of a course and after the final quiz within a course - that everything should include an on-going assessment of assignments, text, syllabus, objectives, learning outcomes and goals. Keeping the learner in mind while designing these courses helps the designer to better design and ask what goals and outcomes are indeed achievable for the learner within that specific course.
Hi Jim,
Let me ask you what you do within your classroom to help students feel more at ease within their course?
I agree. The idea behind an online course is to provide a classroom that functions well, navigation is user friendly and repetitive so a student can be at ease within their studies and not worry about where they have to post or question what their obligations are - to that course. As online instructors, we tend to take it for granted that every student coming into our classroom has knowledge of the work Learning Management System which is an assumption we need to stop. At the beginning of our courses - we need to find out where each of our students are within the online learning process. In doing so demonstrates to the student that we are approachable and willing to help. This again is a stress reliever for the student, allowing them to focus more on their work and feel better about their situation or their choice to take online courses.
Jim,
We want happy students so they will be productive in the work force.
Shelly Crider
Andrea,
And instructors simply do not have kind of hours to waste!!
Shelly Crider
The look and feel is absolutely critical. This is what the students see and interact with. If they are not happy with the look and feel, nothing one can do can make them happy.
I agree completely. It doesn't matter how great the content, if students can't get to it, then what is the point? Online course management systems need to be user-friendly and the material organized in a logical manner. Otherwise, the instructor can waste hours (or days) trying to direct students to the resources they need.
Kevin,
Frustration could even be a good discussion topic as technology will always be around and there are times when it simply does not work like we want it to.
Shelly Crider
William,
This is true, but then again, I have sat in some brick and mortar classes and have wondered about the instruction and content.
Shelly Crider
I would agree. Though there does seem to be a gap in the quality of online students to that of brick and mortar students. Not all mind you, but many that I have encountered. Why do you think that is?
I agree. I believe that the look and feel of the online course is life a "first impression", it it is designed in a way that captures students visual interest, they are more likely to embrace the course and will be eager to begin.
I agree 100%. I have taken many online courses. The feel I get right away really sets a tone. The colors, organization, and sounds can give me a good feel or they can leave me wondering why I ever took the course.
In an online format, we need to take even more responsibility to avoid frustration. We are missing the "human" connection that we have when interacting with student on-ground. Often times, there are technical issues that are beyond our ability to affect so we need to make sure that our content is engaging and clear to diminish the possiblity of frustration.
Hi Romanda,
I appreciate that you used the term "friendly format" this is an important part of interface design and especially relating to elearning.
Brian,
Professionalism is discussed with students, but to actually see it....that is a must!
Shelly Crider