I agree. The look and feel of the course it is extremely important. Student will be more enthusiastic about learning if the environment is pleasant, fun, easy and accessible. The look of the course should also reflect the subject matter and the graphics and color should be of quality. The design should be attractive to the learner as any other online environment.
Love that answer. I so agree with you! Many times...less is more!
Clutter due to attempting to post several apps in one area. I believe as the fonts/text size decrease so do the interest of our students. If we attempt to display too many resources in one area it can get cluttered, complicated and discouraging for our e-learners.
What really makes a complicated look? Too many widgets? Too many links?
I agree if the set up is too complicated it can be discouraging to our online students.
Nicely stated and I have to agree with you that some classes I have seen have been overshadowed.
The knowledge and skills are paramount and first priority; however, I would tend to agree the look and feel of an online course is as important to the learning process as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. I perceive this to be the analog of pleasant classroom surroundings of on-ground courses – educators and education administrators go to great lengths to ensure a comfortable environment conducive to facilitating learning. The students are primarily in school to gain knowledge and skills, and history as taught it is certainly possible to gain knowledge and skills without such environments. However, such environments certainly do make the attainment of knowledge and skills more pleasant. Too much emphasis on the surroundings and environment can potentially overshadow the value of, and emphasis on, the knowledge and skills.
The knowledge and skills are paramount and first priority; however, I would tend to agree the look and feel of an online course is as important to the learning process as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. I perceive this to be the analog of pleasant classroom surroundings of on-ground courses – educators and education administrators go to great lengths to ensure a comfortable environment conducive to facilitating learning. The students are primarily in school to gain knowledge and skills, and history as taught it is certainly possible to gain knowledge and skills without such environments. However, such environments certainly do make the attainment of knowledge and skills more pleasant. Too much emphasis on the surroundings and environment can potentially overshadow the value of, and emphasis on, the knowledge and skills.
Oh so true Mary....I have had several students in gen ed course who simply do not like the info and think it is not for them. You have to keep them interested.
It should look and feel like the information is important to the student. The course beginning information should entice the student to want to learn more about the subject being taught. If the student feels this is a waste of time, he/she will not put effort into the assignments and therefore will not get out of it what was intended. Revelance is a great part of delivering a course whether on ground or on line.
Great example and use of key words.
In one of the CEE classes I took last year, I was surprised to learn of a fourth learning style--"written word." I have been familiar with the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic styles, but "written word" was new to me. I have done some research, and I think this newer category is an important consideration for online classes. The words presented and the styles in which they are presented can impact what they communicate, such as Marshall McLuhan's statement, "The medium is the message."
In a class that I am taking, for one of the first lessons, the professor asked that we use bold font for the assigned key terms that we used in our papers. I think the classroom platform may not have supported a variety of font choices, so "key terms" was writing in all capitals but not in bold font. So, in my first paper, even though the use of all capitals is not viewed as a good choice for common nouns, I placed my key terms in all capital letters. The capital letters seemed to stick with me more than the concept of bold font because of the example given.
I don't know that I would say that it is just as important, but I do agree that the look and feel is an important part of making students feel engaged and to reduce confusion.
Excellent point Barbara. We never want to dummy down any class whether it is face to face or online.
Appearances do count, but I am concerned about the dumbing down of the curriculum to keep my online students entertained. I continue to fear the online course will narrow the focus and even partially snuff the life out of it (anthropology.) However, I shall see.
As I stated before, I envision a hybrid version where students participate in the same field trips and view the same videos as my real time students, but they do them at their convenience. I do see a positive of many more individual conversations and discussions.
That is frustrating. Kind of like when you have a whole list of commands on a phone....press 1 for...press 2 for....
I know that I have personally participated in training using resources that didn't load properly and the technology seemed clumsy. I didn't feel comfortable with the content due to the presentation.
Yes, it is important to have an eye appealing site for sure.
Today most of the students are very technologically savvy and can get bored easily.
Having an online course with vibrant colors, easy navigation, and an engaging instructor all help to make the students more comfortable.
I completely agree with you Susan...having studied and taught internet marketing for the past several years, it is easy to see the persuasive power behind the design of the medium.
Jeremy
We certainly want the students to feel confident so they will be successful.
