This is a great reason to use multimedia and games/activities.
Jon
First I would say that the look and feel of an online course is very important but do not agree that it is as important as the knowledge and skills it is designed to impart. In fact, many online institutions believe that if you make it PRETTY, they will come. In a perfect world where no compromises are made, the ideal is a logically based (moving from point A to point B), attractive interface with solid educational principles bound together to comprise the course. Today where economics are the limiting factor in course design, it is imperative that the content be the priority and the remaining resources are then allocated to make it attractive. The objectives must be met at all costs.
Donald,
I agree - "Content before Beauty!"
Jon
Jon,
Come from a Business Training background where it has to be done yesterday, under budget, and it must work (results oriented) so may be a bit tainted. :)
I strongly agree with that statement. It is very important that we "keep the student coming back for more" in my opinion with on-line courses. If the presentation is not there that will lead to immediate bordem and frustration on the student's part and they will have very limited success in the class. It is amazing how we now live in a society that has embraced technology they it has and that there are not more on-line classes being presented. I am looking forward to designing my business classes and putting them up on-line.
yes, I agree. If the look and feel of an on-line course is critical.
It is part of the process of engaging the student.
I agree that the look and feel of an on line course is important, but it depends at which level. The younger the age, the more important the look and feel is. Graduate students are more interesting in contents than gimmicks. That is my humble opinion.
I agree with your *humble* opinion! - Jon
Yes,I agree, I took an online class only to drop out of it very quickly. The online class was not intuitive and user friendly; on top of it, when I had contacted the instructor with questions she was not patient and made rude comments on “how could you not know about “this”; I guess she forgot that not all of us were born with a mouse in our hands.
I definitely agree because the look and feel of the course is essentially the first impression students have with the course. A professional, well-designed course should have great presentation and content to make the experience for the student as enjoyable as possible. Plus, the look and feel equates to how easy it is for students to quickly ascertain how to navigate the course.
I agree. How any intellectual property looks - whether it's an online course, a book, or a magazine - can set the tone for what the consumer can expect. If a course looks poorly designed, if it's hard to navigate, etc., then the learner will assume that the content is equally poor. This may lower learner expectations, which may also, in turn, lower learner participation.
Great points, style may not be first priority, but it is important - Jon
I agree with this statement because if the course is difficult to navigate or confusing then the student may not get as much out of it as they could. For example, if a student is confused as to what is due or what needs to be read each week all of their focus is simply on figuring out how to fulfill the course requirements. This leaves them little time to reflect on the course content and really achieve and apply the week's objectives to the real world.
Jon, I definitely must agree with this answer. I've been an online student for an endless number of courses with a variety of different schools and online course platforms. One of the primary reasons why I stayed with my alma mater from beginning to end was due to the fact that the course structure and ease of navigation fit my needs very well. During my graduate run, a couple of schools I attended had very poor and confusing online platforms to run their program on, and it was like putting on an uncomfortable pair of shoes. I mean, they may have looked nice on the outside, but once I put them on I knew that it wasn't for me right away.
I ended up returning to my alma mater for my graduate program as well. For the short time I was in a doctoral program, it so happened to be the same platform and format as my undergrad and masters program.
In conclusion, I absolutely agree that look and feel are imperative and just as important as the knowledge and skills it imparts on the student.
D.B.
Yes, I agree. One also has to be able to include extras because students will not have that face-to-face interaction with an instructor or other classmates as you would in a normal, on ground setting.
The online course is very important because if that is all you are doing to continue with your education, the student wants to make sure they are receiving as much information as they would if they were a student in an on ground class.
I totally agree with this statement. It has been my experience that the kinds of fonts and colors used in an on online course set the mood for the course. This type of setting is important because it can set the mood for the students’ learning as well. Students will be able to better absorb the material if we highlight the content of course. Again, this is just from my experience.
I agree. The student must feel invited to participate. The student must feel that they want to come back and continue, and the student must feel that they can navigate their way around the course.
It should not take all of their concentration to understand the "online" part of the class, they need to be concentrating more on the knowledge and skills that we want them to be learning.
-Chris
