Cell Biology BB Site Comparison
One of the strengths of ETEC 565A was that we were able to put some of the learned material directly into practice in designing an LMS course site. This has been helpful in “cementing” that knowledge and I have noticed that it has had a very clear, immediate impact on my preparation of course materials.
A quick visual comparison of BlackBoard sites for the courses I’m teaching this Fall with the sites of the same courses from previous years shows a very clear improvement in the visual appeal of the sites this year.
Not only have I made more of an effort to make the online learning environment more inviting, I have also simplified the the user interface by removing any unused parts of the course navigation menu that are included by default (something I didn’t do in the past).
In an effort to further assist students, I included an overview of the sections/features of the course website in the welcome message, which I e-mailed to the students and also “pinned” to the top of the “Announcements” page to make it easy to find.
I also reorganized the section containing the teaching materials to make it easier to find various types of documents, and set up online homework drop-boxes. This last addition also automatically added the assignment due dates to the student calendars and allowed for the possibility of reminders being shown to them by the LMS.
All of this was heavily influenced by Tony Bates’ SECTIONS framework that was introduced to me in ETEC 565A; specifically, the “Students” (S) and “Ease of Use” (E) components of that framework. There, Bates points out that first and second-year students may need more support, and cautions the reader against making assumptions about the abilities of “digital natives” (Bates, 2014).
Additionally, while Bates’ discussion of user interfaces in the “Ease of Use” section focused on teachers’ use of technological tools (Bates, 2014), I felt that this was equally relevant to how a student experiences the learning environment prepared by his or her instructor.
Having recently dealt with a very poorly organized LMS interface from a student perspective, I know how frustrating it can be, so I really feel that my efforts will allow my students to spend more time on actual learning instead of trying to figure out “what next?” or “where do I find X?”
