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- 1. Information Design for Online Courses Uzma Bhatti Learning Technologies Division
- 2. What is Information Design? Information design "is the defining, planning, and shaping of the contents of a message and the environments in which it is presented, with the intention to satisfy the information needs of the intended recipients” (International Institute of Information Design, October 2014)
- 3. Why is it important? The challenge should lie within the instructional content. Not within the structure or the layout of the course.
- 4. Information Design Will Create consistency Create a seamless layout Increase focus on instructional content
- 5. Information Design Will Not Water down the content Reinforce passive learning Create a boring learning environment
- 6. The Great Easter Egg Hunt
- 7. Syllabus: Assignment name, No Due Date Complete Assignment Details Module Checklist: Limited Info Dropbox: More detailed info, not linked in CL News Item: Contains updates
- 8. Syllabus: Contains assignment name & due date Complete Assignment Details Module Checklist: Lists assignment and links to DB Dropbox: Contains the complete instructions News Item: Reflects changes, links back to all pieces Change from the news item is reflected through each piece of information.
- 9. “Heavy Reading” by Jill Clardy via Flickr The War and Peace Model
- 11. Know your route
- 12. Information Chunks, Patterns and Icons Break up long pieces of text Create visual patterns in your text Consider using icons as guide markers Use visuals to anchor your text Use formatting to create emphasis
- 13. Proximity Alignment Repetition Contrast
- 14. Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity The inverse of P.A.R.C. is…
- 15. What does FONT HAPPY mean? It means you use way too many fonts. This creates a lot of visual dissonance which makes the text look more like holiday lights rather than well formatted text. Think bold yet simple to emphasize. Choose crisp and clear rather than fancy-shmancy. Remember, less is more and more is typically A MESS. Like this slide, .
- 16. I (do not) Animations • Too many animations • Can be very distracting • And time consuming • And annoying • Again, less is more
- 18. Think Brevity. Write Concisely. Inform Effectively.
Editor's Notes
- Information design serves as a bridge between your voice and your students in your online course. Unlike your f2f course where you can add and revise information on the fly, the information flow within and online course requires a bit more planning. It provides a fluidity within the structure of your course by removing the extraneous noise that can cloud your message.
- If your information is not presented clearly, then the message will be lost. Time will be wasted combing thru documents, downloads and other sources of information. Time that could be devoted to the instructional content will be taken away to make sense of the design and layout of the course. This is what ID helps you avoid.
- An online course with challenging content that is created using sound information design guidelines puts the challenge in the right place. The challenge lies within the information and not the layout, structure or distribution of the information. Consistency creates a sense of order. Students can expect reliability from a consistent course framework. Create a functional workspace through a well designed layout Increase the time students spend on the course content
- Practicing good design will not make your course Too easy Watered down This does not encourage passive learning We know that information design is important. It helps you clearly relay your message to your students. Other benefits may include: Less time spent explaining requirements and expectations to students More time for productive activities like office hours, grading or kayaking Easier transport of content from semester-to-semester But what does an information design challenge look like?
- What are some ideas that come to mind when you hear “easter egg hunt”? Confusing, hard to find, hidden, time consuming When we talk about online learning, these are not the kinds of things you want to associate with your course. Easter egg hunts lead to frustrated students, countless emails to the instructor, and a mutual sense of frustration. In turn, this leads to a lack of motivation to participate fully in the course and with the content. Not a good position to be in.
- Syllabus Contains a course schedule with the assignment [dropbox name] listed within a module. No due date is given. Module Checklist Contains information about the submission process and some details about the assignment. Dropbox The Dropbox is not linked in the checklist or the content module. Contains more information including details about resources and due date. Content does not mirror the checklist. News Item Contains some minor changes to the assignment along with some more resources.
- Syllabus Contains a course schedule with the assignment [dropbox name] listed within a module. Due date is given. Module Checklist Lists assignment by name with a due date. No specific details are given. Item is treated purely as a checklist item. Dropbox Dropbox contains detailed information about the assignment instructions, resources and submission process. Due date is reiterated. News Item Due date is changed. This change is reflected across the course as a change. Formatting of text is used to highlight the change. Change should be repeated through every piece of information – syllabus, checklist, dropbox and news item Use consistent formatting across different places to reflect change uniformly. Ex: strikethrough the old date and add the new date in bold font
- A course that follows the W&P model is dense. Not content dense, but information dense. Avoid lengthy write ups of assignments, news items, or any other course component that deals with the “mechanics” of the course. Unlike the academic content that students will engage with, “mechanical” information should be concise and consistent. Create a template for assignment information. Example: Provide a brief statement about the goal. Write the directions and expectation with enough information to provide a solid structure. Avoid lengthy text which can muddle the intent of the message. Keep news items brief. If you need more space for your message, link to a page with the full text. The same rule applies to course documents like the syllabus. Think brevity. Write concisely. Read quickly.
- Opting for a familiar technology Word docs are familiar. PDFs are familiar. Why not use them? With enough Word docs and PDFs, the course begins to look more like an eBook rather than a course. There is a definite time and place for both of these file types, but they should be used as the main method of information dissemination. Here are a few reasons why a high volume of downloads is problematic : They create virtual “litter”. Numerous files that must be cross referenced by the student. This is another potential easter egg hunt. Your file manager size grows quickly from semester to semester creating larger and larger backup files. Increase the amount of time you spend updating your course. Hunt for the original document or download it. Edit the file. Upload it to your new course. Link the file in your course to the correct module. Instead, consider using the web based tools available in your LMS. Create web pages that can be edited directly in the course.
- Plot out the path of your course. In other words, write up a course plan before you begin to build. This will help ensure that you are designing the course in a clear, concise and easy to navigate course environment. A course plan will help you see how information flows through your course. It serves as a map of your course. You will be able to see if the information in your course is: If it is redundant If it is incomplete If it is confusing If it is irrelevant And so on… Typically most people are reluctant to spend time on the course plan because it seems like an added step or waste of time as opposed to just diving in. In the long run, it is going to save you a lot of time. Instead of untangling knots of information, you will be able to build things quickly and confidently with a course plan.
- Chunks, patterns and icons are visual tools that help the user quickly go through information and get the intended message. The SYLLABUS A great example of a source of information that can benefit from these design principles. Syllabi can get pretty large, online course syllabi can get even larger. Break up your syllabus. Separate your course schedule from the syllabus and make it a stand alone document. Use distinct and consistent formatting to create visual flow. For example if you decide to use Helvetica, 12 pt, bold for your sub-headings on the first page of your syllabus, continue using that formatting across the document. This repetition it easier for the reader to discern the between different sections. Recent COE presentation – power of images – it makes sense – image makes the info “sticky”
- PARC is a well know information design principle. Proximity is the distance from one element to another. Add or subtract space to create relationships and hierarchies. White space is a great way to break up content. Alignment is the placement of the element in contrast to another. This text is left aligned and the image is right aligned. Centered text belongs on a web page from 1995 – I had one that did this. Repetition goes back to our previous slide. Repetition creates unity and familiarity across content. Contrast – how many times have you gone to a conference presentation and you cant make out the text from the background. This is where contrast comes in. Creating enough contrast between the background and the information enhances its readability. Black text on a white background, white text on a dark background. All make the things easier on your eyes Applying PARC to the course design will help your course look like this, instead of…
- What information looks like when PARC is defied What is more chaotic and infuriating than a pile of tiny legos? Notice: The different color/font letter at the start of each word. Difference in sizes Busy background Center alignment Light text on a light background. Background transparency makes it difficult to read the text. Do tamp down the chaos in your course, practice parc. Encourage your students to practice PARC when submitting assignments or posting to a discussion board. Good design is not limited to the instructor.
- Adding this much text too a slide is not the best idea either.
- Animations take up a lot of space If you have a PPT w/ voice, animations will just increase the size of an already enormous file. Animations are also better suited for real-time presentations where the presenter controls the animations in time with the audio component. In an online course, students are viewing the presentations asynchronously. Animations that have to be triggered by the viewer are not the best way to bring focus to a particular point in the slide. Creating automatically timed animations that are in line with recorded audio is very time consuming and often does not add a lot to the message.
- You can’t upload them. They can’t download them. Don’t even think about emailing them. Typically, these are PPT w/ voice overs or short video clips. Remember animations from the previous screen? Compress your files. Look for alternate methods to deliver your content. Not sure how? Ask us for help.
- Plan ahead – or at least a few weeks in advance LESS is MORE – this is the mantra for all aspects of information design for an online course