Link to academic resources, as appropriate (such as Office of Disability Services, Learnin

The content needs to be grounded instated course learning goals and be organized into content segments/modules.a. Structure the course to support the learning goals.b. Arrange the course content in a linear, logical structure, and organize the content intomanageable segments/modules.c. Use consistent organizational structure, color scheme, and textual components throughoutthe course to help students navigate the course.d. Provide course materials (graphics, media, documents, etc.) in accessible formats (ADACompliance for Online Course Design).

ate overall course learning goals clearly and measurably

Clarity is key: Provide crystal-clear instructions for assignments and grading criteria. Avoid confusing instructions. For example, students expressed frustration with assignment details being posted in the LMS but professors requesting submissions via email. Stay in the loop: Communicate with students by offering due dates, announcements, and calendar reminders. Timely and clear feedback on grades on the LMS empower students to track their progress effectively.

Post everything: Make sure all relevant course materials, such as the syllabus, grading scales, study guides, lecture slides, assignment instructions, and rubrics, are readily available on the LMS.

Structuring course materials in a clear and consistent manner is paramount. Use folders and course menus to group related materials, ensuring that everything is easily accessible. For example, some of our instructors have folders for each week with readings and assignments, while others choose to organize by chapters or units.

For completing tasks such as reading instructions, submit-ting an assignment, and posting to the discussion board,a chronological layout was more efficient. Figures 7 and 8are an example of individual participant’s gaze plot for eachgroup while completing the second task of reading the assign-ment instructions. The visualizations show that when giventhe instruction to complete a task by week or module, thechronological layout was more compelling at guiding partici-pant’s visual attention to the weekly modules on the naviga-tion menu. Not to mention, those in the Chronological groupcommitted fewer mistakes than participants in the Functionalgroup for all instructional activities, with the exception oflocating grades.What was les

Functional group completed the prescribed tasks fasterthan the participants in the Chronological group. In particu-lar, the completion time was faster in the Functional group forstudents to locate the syllabus, look up their grades, and findthe help link. With the precise name of the link to the coursesyllabus directly at the top of the main navigation area, it wasextremely easy for participants to find correctly without delay.Similarly, looking up grades and finding the help link wasstraight-forward in the functional layout.

Some participants alsocommented on the lack of organization with the menu items orhaving extra menu items that were not used in the course, whichled to confusion.

shown in Table 5. Overall, participants in theChronological group were more successful at finding thelocation for completing the prescribed instructional activities,than those in the Functional grou

As shown in Figure 3, participants reportedthat submitting assignments and checking their grades werethe most common activities, followed by reviewing classannouncements and completing quizzes or tests

The overarching motivation behind this line of research isan interest in developing course sites that are potentially moreintuitive to navigate for students, which could potentiallyenhance student learning experiences through the reductionof extraneous cognitive load (Sweller, 2016).

usability looks at how easy the interface is to use andconsists of five quality components: learnability, efficiency, mem-orability, errors, and satisfaction

One area that is typically not discussed in faculty training ishow to design a course in the LMS. Without sufficient training,courses tend to suffer from a lack of attention to design (R.Oliver, 1999) and design plays a key role in how learnersinteract with the LMS

such, it is reasonable to infer that if a student cannot interactwith the LMS or find the content required, then the student’ssatisfaction would decrease (Green, Inan, & Denton, 2012;Inversini, Botturi, & Triacca, 2006) or performance wouldbe hindered (Wang, 2010). Thus, faculty learning how todesign an intuitive user interface in an LMS is necessary inorder to ease the interaction between the learner and thecontent

Students in the Functional group completed a set of typical instructional activities slightly faster overall than participants in the Chronological group. However, students in the Chronological group reported a higher ease of use and needed less help completing the activities.

The lines between the design of content and the design ofthe functionality in future learning systems is becomingmore blurred. With ambitions of providing adaptive andcustom-designed learning experiences, even in face-to-facesettings, more and more instructional activities are delivereddigitally. It seems timely for the fields of education and userexperience (UX) to be integrated for the benefit of studentsacross all levels in all disciplines.

the ideal course layout is a balance of both functional andchronological elements. The findings directly apply to instruc-tors at universities and colleges who teach using an LMS, byway of possibly helping instructors design their course sites inan informed, intuitive way for students.

The designer of online courses needs to consider how he or she and others teachinga course will be able to leverage design features such as built-in interactions andavenues for communication

Clearly set expectations and how instructors see their role in class discussions (asDennen, 2005, found, there is not one right way to facilitate discussions) (Shea,Hayes, & Vickers, 2010)• Add humor when appropriate (e.g., post content-related comic strips) (seeGunawardena & Zittle, 1997; Rourke et al., 1999; Sung & Mayer, 2012; Wiseet al., 2004)

to design courses that reflect not only your personality but also,most importantly, your own instructional values

investigated instructor social presence in accelerated onlinecourses which the instructors did not design and in which they did not have authoringaccess to the courses. In courses like these, the instructors could only share things aboutthemselves—and that they were “real” and “there”—through the course discussions andthe grade book. In this mixed-methods exploratory study that focused solely on analyzingonline course discussions, Lowenthal found that instructors spent some time establishingtheir own social presence (e.g., greetings and salutations, inclusive language, empathy)but that they quickly shifted their focus from social presence behaviors to teaching pres-ence behaviors (e.g., dealing with course logistics), most likely because of the lack of timein eight-week accelerated online courses

concept of intimacy (Argyle & Dean, 1965), which in instructional terms can be thoughtof as supporting and meeting the needs of individual learners. Although an instructor’ssocial presence, and specifically this type of immediacy and intimacy, depends largelyon teacher-to-student interaction, it also depends on the design and development deci-sions that permeate all aspects of a course, including individual projects or assignments

posit that without specialconsideration, the typical asynchronous discussion format of many onlinecourses aligns poorly with constructivist theory and the nature of learningcomplex course material, such as that which is found in most MAEdcourses.

were significantly more likely to saythat assignments were the most important factor, and they ranked course organization significantly higherthan students who chose face-to-face classes

We need to walk the talk, and use technology to support professional development. Increasingly, centres for teaching and learning are creating web sites with ‘on-demand’ resources for faculty and instructors, such as best practices in using video, podcast production, or designing a course with technology.

a strong teacher presence and an adequate course design were the bestways to prevent dropouts from distance learning.

An orientation module survey

Handbook of Research on Student-Centered Strategies in Online Adult Learning Environments

Doctoral programs are often highly unstructured learning and training environments, where individual autonomy and freedom are highly valued. Decisions as to what counts as a good idea, a worthwhile project, or adequate progress are often left to the discretion of professors, and criteria for success can be opaque for students. This is even more so for those who are not already “in the know.”

Specifically, instructors should seek to minimize extraneous cognitive load and should consider the intrinsic cognitive load of the subject when constructing learn-ing experiences, carefully structuring them when the material has high intrinsic load.

As educational technologies, instructional design and online learning/content delivery platforms keep evolving, more learners with more needs and motives will be drawn to taking online courses – a growing demand that in turn will spur further improvements in technology and delivery.

From Peg Cheechi, an instructional designer at Rush University: informing faculty members about the advantages of working with experts in course design.

The design and the way courses are structured can be vital factors that are associated with students’ motiva-tion and positive/negative experiences of learning online.