Perhaps not as important, but still important. Particularly a course such as statistics, where maintaining student interest is critical. I have not taught online before, but I hope to make the the content in MathML, which looks nice on a screen.
agreed....we live in a very visually oriented society, it stands to reason that an online course should also have a positive current look and feel.
i do feel that an online course will be more successful with a strong and current visual style.
I completely agree.
Students have been inundated with HTML and web pages for over a decade now. Web surfers tend to scan for information rather than exhaustively reading every word and passage.
By creating a course that looks good, contains intuitive navigation, and breaks the content up into small, easily scanned pieces, you are increasing the chance that students are going to actually pay attention to the valuable content and skills you are trying to impart. Yes, this also increases the chances that a student may skip or gloss over parts of the content that do not currently interest them--but at least they can find the information that does.
This same issue is true in printed materials today as well, and it surprises me that so many higher ed publishers still try to push out books that may have terrific content, but they bury that content within pages of monochrome prose that cannot be easily scanned.
I agree. If you can design the course from the perpective of somone who is taking it rather than simply trying to get through some predetermined set of generic course information, it can be exciting and fun to learn.
Nice follow up Cathy. Technical problems or not being able to find the things they need to complete the course objectives will make most students give up if they can not get them resolved. Likewise, if the presentation and look are so complex or overwhelming the students will be too distracted to focus on the course objectives or lose the concepts you are conveying.
Although knowledge and skills are important, I agree that the look and feel is also important in a on-line course. These days it seems that most of our students are visual learners. If the online course is not stimulating visually then most are going to get bored with the presentations. The bells and whistles help to keep the student interested in the content of the course, if the course is just in black and white interest will be lost.
I agree the look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. Students get more out of a course that captures and holds their attention and interest. The more senses the learner uses the better the material will be retained. Interactive activities are important to challenge the students instead of having them just read screen after screen of monochrome text. The feel encompasses not only the ease of navigation, but also the level of learner engagement. I really liked the audio that accompanied text and pictures in this first module. The quiz was very engaging. To pass I had to draw on my experience as a classroom instructor and translate those activities to their corresponding online counterparts. I had to use higher level cognitive skills, not just recall.
Yes, I agree. Students must have belief in the courses that are being presented. If you have a course that has a poor appearance and presentation it can quickly turn a student into a negative student. Having an online course that is easy to access and navagate will assist the student in feeling good about the course, reduce frustrations, and give the student a feeling of accomplishment.
Courses that are not well presented, access to the courses, instructors can leave a student feeling devalued.
That is true. If you can present it in such a way that they can quickly engage with the course and get them to meet the objectives with fun activities they will keep going. Without these challenges students will drop out quickly.
I would agree but with some reservations or caveats. If too much attention is given to how something looks and feels, the media may take over at the expense of the message and influence the results or course objectives. A well coordinated approach in which the key objectives and content are blended with engaging and easy to access activities can draw students into an exciting and stimulating learning environment which is a thing of beauty to behold. If they are able to accomplish your key learning goals and objectives and not realize that it is part of a course you have succeeded!
I believe that the instructor interaction is part of the "feel" of the class. I think a student can determine in week 1 if an instructor is active or is just doing the minimum.
Yes, I believe the look and feel of an online class is extremely important. It is important that a student not get bogged down trying to navigate a course. A student may get frustrated. A student should be able to easily locate the information sought.
When I enter an online course, I like to see several menus. Videos on the front page with information about the course and how to navigate it can also be helpful. With adult learners, you can never be quite sure about the technology comfort level. Therefore, making it laid out in a “friendly†manner is essential in order to keep them from giving up or getting frustrated.
Yes, I agree. The look and feel of a course is important because it creates an impression with the student. I personally have little confidence in my instructor or a course if it is layed out in a confusing inconsistent manner. Things like spelling, grammar, and visual "Friendliness" have a big impact and communicate a lot about the instructor, the school and the quality of the course.
Good points - thanks for sharing! - Jon
Good points - thanks for sharing! - Jon
Sounds like a great experience - thanks for sharing! - Jon
Niel,
I agree it must be easy to use!
Jon
I agree that the look and feel of an online course is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. It is axiomatic in today's world of sound bites and short attention spans that if it looks good it has to be so. So many people are positively affected by style over substance, and the style is the look and feel where as the substance are the skills and knowledge.
And the design should be simple so the student does not feel overwhelmed which is possible when everything in the course is thrown at the student on the first day.
~Mike
