Support Materials and Visualization for Distance Education

1. Chapter Eight
Support Materials and
Visualization for Distance
Education
By Jett Even

2. Distance Education Syllabus
• Course Logistics
Course title, meeting dates, times, locations, instructor information,
materials, etc.
• Course Policies
Attendance policies, homework policies, and participation info.
• Instructional Activities
Class schedule with topic, goals and objectives, etc.
• Assessment Information
Grading Scheme, project evaluation criteria, grading contract.
• Additional Information

3. Interactive Study Guide (ISG)
Interactive Study Guide Components:
• Photographs
• Drawings
• Self-test
• Questions
• Lists
The ISG is a series of displays presented from the top to the
bottom on the left side of the handout page. Displays can consist
of the following:
• Word pictures with fill-ins completed by the student.
• Activities or exercises
• A set of directions
• A quote, poem, definition, or other short written item
• Problems - either
• Verbal or numerical
• Summaries of data
• Tables or figures

4. Steps necessary to produce an
ISG:
• Identify the behavioral objectives for the lesson.
• Create a detailed outline of topics that relate to each
objective.
• For narrative sections, identify the key words.
• Use geometric shapes to show relationships or visuals to
assist the learner in understanding each section.
• Create word pictures for the narrative sections by leaving
blanks in the narrative where students will fill in the key
words.
• Sequence the displays in the order that they will be presented
or that they will be discussed.
• Develop sub displays for topics that have more than one
visual or word picture.
• Produce the ISG using proper graphic design principles.

5. Graphic Design Principles
Appropriate design principles for ISGs
Size.
Font.
Color and Contrast.
Alignment.
Capitalization.

6. Elements of Design
Effective visuals for display presentations can be developed by applying
the elements and principles of design.
Line
Shape
Space
Texture
Value
Color

7. Principles of Design
• Balance
• Center of Interest
• Emphasis
• Unity
• Contrast
• Rhythm

8. Word Pictures
A word picture is a graphic representation of concepts,
principles, and information.
Each concept, principle, or item of information usually contains
key words that can be shown in nodes.

9. Word Pictures
Examples:

10. Structural vs. Functional
The connector is the critical element in the analogy and
demonstrates the creativity of the author of the analogy.
Connectors can be structural or functional.
• Structural relationships show the similarity in appearance and
design of the two concepts.
• Functional relationships describe what concepts do or how
they work. Functional relationships show not only what the
subject and the analog have in common but also what they do
that is similar.
The End.