Assess Navigational Simplicity
Maybe the students could be given a brief survey at the end of the first week of each course to assess how well they are navigating various components of the course. The instructional designers can use their feedback to make changes in the courses or create specific learning platform navigation tutorials.
Monica,
In order to help with frustration, have several self-help videos or links for students to access.
Shelly Crider
Monica,
The higher the course level, then you can make the course a little more challenging.
Shelly Crider
Monica,
There are many students who have never been on the computer before and they are feeling uncomfortable. Extra instructions would be good.
Shelly Crider
I agree that the students will become frustrated if they cannot easily navigate through the on-line course. Some students are not computer savvy and feel very intimidated if the system is too complex.
Based on the demographics of the student population especially those who have not taken on-line courses can pose as a challenge. I feel that the structural design should be geared towards simplicity making it user friendly. I also feel that there should be a prerequisite teaching the students how to navigate through Blackboard or whatever operating system the school uses.
I do agree that the first three weeks should be spent ensuring the student has successfully mastered navigating through each module in the course. Successfully navigating through the on-line course is half the battle in addition to student retention and student engagement.
One of the biggest problems for students taking an on-line course is navigating through the course.This is especially true for students who have never taking an on-line course before. Therefore, the structural design should be user friendly. The modules should be organized in a fashion that allows the students the option to navigate through the course by topics and or subjects.
We utilize Blackboard to manage and facilitate the course. Blackboard is very user friendly however, if the student does not read and follow the instructions the process of learning how to maneuver through the course can be a challenge.
Kimberley,
Monkey Survey is a nice free survey program that allows for anonymous responses. There are times when students do not want their name attached to a survey!
Shelly Crider
I argee with you. Sometimes it is hard to see what students are having trouble with when it comes to naviagting through the course. This survey will surely help instructors and also course designers make the online learning process easy.
So true, Shelly! They also don't want to waste their time trying to figure out how to navigate the system. I am amazed how many students don't know how to access instructor feedback in the gradebook. A brief tutorial on how to retrieve this information can also improve their grades.
Catherine,
Oh I like that! If the student does not feel safe and secure in the first three weeks, the ease of giving up increases tremendously.
Shelly Crider
