Nikki,
Oh so true! We have all been on the customer end at one point!
Shelly Crider
Diane,
Having great feedback from an instructor helps with the understanding of the material as well.
Shelly Crider
I do agree that the look and feel of an online course is important to a student who develops from its content. The online course must have a structure that makes sense and is fluid. The material must be presented in various fashions to address different learning styles. It is also very helpful to provide an interactive mechanism for students to determine how well they understand the material.
I agree because a student can become distracted by the ineffective layout of a course.
Thank you Shelly,
When we create the dynamics of a forum, we must think about our customers (students). If the forums are too "messy" then we will not have a good retention rate. Like you, the students (customers) will leave.
Nikki,
Love this analogy! There have been stores I have walked out of due to being messy.
Shelly Crider
James,
Thank you for all of your insight. I appreciate your thoughts!
Shelly Crider
James,
We certainly want the content of knowledge to be absorbed by the students....first and foremost. A clean, non-frustrating class hopefully will do just this.
Shelly Crider
Suzie ,
Indeed!! We want students to go out and tell others what they learned, not what gave them problems.
Shelly Crider
Christopher,
We want students to remember content and not problems!
Shelly Crider
kalysa,
Most of us are on a time crunch and want to finish on our own time, no room for frustration!
Shelly Crider
Ricardo,
Slow loading leads to a quick exit!!
Shelly Crider
I agree the look and feel of the online course is important. Think of this like the stores we visit. The look and design of the stores are important as it helps us to get to areas we need, we have to have a psychological comfort of the store, and we must also must have the know exactly what is being offered. In essence, the students must appreciate the set-up which may include the color of the forums and so forth, there canno tbe too much information on the forums at once as this will overstimulate the students and cause anxiety,and know that there are help tools for each student to be successful.
Hi Shelly,
I have already responded to this and the three other forum questions.
Let me know if you want more.
Dr. James F. De Bouno Jr., ND, PhD
Adjunct Instructor - Sanford Brown Online
I disagree with the contention that the 'look and feel' of the online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. The 'look and feel' of the course is mostly indicated by the structural integrity and navigational simplicity.
The structural integrity will be the organization of modules and lessons for each topic. The ease of navigation will be achieved mostly through a variety of easy links. These factors are both very important for the learner in the online course.
However, the most important components will be the active learner-centered learning and intellectual interaction. These two components of the online course will actually be more important to the actual knowledge acquired by the learner.
In the final assessment the learner will ask himself the following question: Did the knowledge acquired meet the outlined course objectives? This is more important than the alternative question as follows: Did the online course look and feel good to me?
I agree that the look and feel of the online course is very important to assist with imparting the knowledge and skills.
As a graphic designer, my opinion here is just the tiniest bit bias...but I emphatically agree. Good visual communication of any kind does more than simply provide information, it does so in a way that guides the reader without them realizing they are being guided. Good design should allow for maximum gain of the function of the item being designed, via the form it is given. In my opinion this includes everything from the curriculum and course content, right down to the interface itself. The smoother the experience both visually and functionally, the fewer obstacles we have in the learning process.
I would agree that the look and feels a good part because it makes it easy for learners to access the information easily and not become frustrated with finding information through out the course.
Yes, I do agree that the look and feel of an online course is very important. It should be visually clean easy to read. Clear and easy to read font. Images should be ideal for web viewing. Colors should not distract. Site should also load fast, and not feel like there is a lag time or slow loading of data.
Tanya,
Even if instructors are online wearing their pajamas.....communication is still professional.
Shelly Crider
