John,
Some E-Learners like a lot of "extras" and some simply like simple.
Shelly Crider
I totally agree with you. The worse thing that could ever happen to an audience is to have not only a boring lecturer but also boring power points. Each must augment and complement the other to significantly arouse your audience to want to continue listening to the speaker. Engaging an audience is not an easy accomplishment but require dedication and a desire to please. It is not about the size (quantity) of the power points but rather, (quality) how well the delivery has been.
Look and feel are adjectives that get its origin from sensory perceptions, the same sensory perceptions that are anchored in E-Learning. The E-learner must feel compelled to learn the course content as presented because he/she knows that the material is important and easy to comprehend. Observing the course content can be a turn-on or a turn-off for the E-learner depending upon how well it has been assembled and the ease at which one can comprehend the material and retain data.
Bryan,
Content may be the same, but there may end up being some different assessments or added games for the students.
Shelly Crider
Francis,
I like that....at the end of the day, knowledge is knowledge!
Shelly Crider
Hi Joe and all,
I think I've seen the "Fire extinguisher" PowerPoint. Okay, not literally, but just about every faculty meeting I attend has someone from administration that could use a class in how to make an engaging PowerPoint.
It is terribly important if you want someone to do something to model it. I hope that none of my PowerPoints earn this sort of reputation.
I would agree. In many ways form equals content. When the form is consistent and students become accustomed to the look and feel of a course (or a school) they know what to expect and spend less time worrying about how to learn and more time focused on the subject matter.
Disagree that they are equivalent. At the end of the day, knowledge and skills imparteed is the aim.
The look and feel of web sites are important to attract and keep the learner involved. What I find is Accessibility is the #1 barrier. Once in, Ease of Navigation. Third is - just like a brick-and-mortar institution the sense of welcoming persence, well organized.
The technology aspects are subject to the instructor and institutions' creativity. Application is uneven in the things I've seen. It is very important to keep up with the technology that is common to the learning ausdience. Skype while simultaneously playing an interactive game on-line is routine to my 11-year old. So, look and feel is vital to keep the audience emoptionally engaged and positioned to absorb the skills and knowledge being offered. But no matter the limitations of resources or technical ability, the measure is whether learning occurs.
Kimberly ,
We certainly tell the students how important professionalis is, so we should show the same.
Shelly Crider
The look and feel of your online training is VERY important. It gives an impression of professionalism and expertise. We look at things that attract our attention. Once we attract attention a learner may actually start to read the content. A good design adds to the course content and doesn’t “get in the wayâ€. It shouldn’t distract from the learning.
John,
The first few classes do feel a little overwhelming trying to decide on what is important. Put yourself in the student's seat and think of what the student needs to know.
Shelly Crider
Antonio,
Suggestions should always be taken into account. Glad someone was listening!!
Shelly Crider
This is all new to me so I am having some difficulty transferring live classes to on line courses.
I agree that the "Look and feel" experience needs to be there in order to insure that the student does not feel more overwhelmed.
I come from a diverse educational environment. I went back to school in my thirties for my BSIT. I looked at the Online schools, and even though I have a computer technical background, felt that I needed that face to face interaction. After I completed my BS I chose the online environment for my Master's. I knew I was moving and needed that flexibility that I did not have before.
Going back to the question, I have recently been allowed to evaluate the newer Blackboard at the Online school that I teach at. I looked at everything as if I had no idea on how to navigate. I highly criticize the location of several needed functions and at one point felt lost. I would hate for any student to have to navigate such a complexity. Good thing, the roll out has stopped and now there are looking into some of my request.
Tim,
An effective online instructor is very important to the student's learning. Excellent post.
Shelly Crider
I would hesitate to declare the look and feel of an online course to be AS important as the knowledge/skills it is designed to impart. I'll make the analogy of a course taught by an effective instructor and the same course taught by a monotone mumbler. While the mastery of the material by the students of the effective instructor will no doubt be greater, assimilated with less difficulty and overall be a more enjoyable experience, the value of the course material as a set of terminal objectives is not diminished by the poor performance of the second instructor.
Without a doubt, the the look and feel of an online course could be typified as an instructor who continually misspeaks (broken or poorly constructed links), instructional equipment that does not work (corrupted powerpoint files) or a boring speaker (pages of text instead of short videos or slide sets interspersed with activities).
The look and feel of an online course can be the spark of an inspiring instructor in an onsite course, or unfortunately, the reverse.
Victor,
You hit on a very good topic....intimidation. There are many students who look at something and become instantly afraid.
Shelly Crider
Yes, I do agree that the look and feel of an online course is extremely important. The less intimidating the look of the online course the better. I think a "very busy" looking online course (home page) may seem overwhelming to some students. I am particularly concerned with adult learners, many of whom (given my experience as an instructor) may not be computer savy and learning to navigate and operate computer much less an online course in it self is a challenge (and a separate learning experience). Distance learning has become a popular mode of education delivery due to many adult learners seeking to upgrade their human capital while trying to balance work, family, etc. The look and feel of an online course should come across as and feel user friendly. The effort and the work put into an online course should focus more on the subject matter presented versus working toward trying to figure out or navigate the different components of an online course. I would recommend keeping it simple and even breaking up the online content into weekly segments to narrow the presentation and the student's focus.
Jim,
Disengage......no show....no show....no education!
Shelly Crider
Absolutely agree! The look and feel of the course has to engage the learner from the start, otherwise you will lose them. If the learner dis-engages the best content in the world won't help much.
Jim
