Online Course Design Guidelines

Online Course Design Guidelines

It is highly recommended that faculty take the Online Design and Facilitation short course offered through OTL and LAIC. The course is approximately 6-8 hours of time, and covers the basics of creating an online course. They offer HyFlex Design and Facilitation and Universal Design for Learning and Digital Accessibility short courses as well for those that are interested.

Why is Good Design Important?

• Adds credibility
• Makes content more engaging
• Improves retention
• Is more accessible (universal design)

Basic Design Principles

• One main thought per slide
• Keep design simple but attractive
• Visual hierarchy principles
• Include interactive content when possible
• Use high quality images, no more than one per slide
• Strong striking images are best at delivering complex information
• Data visualization when possible
• Make content as accessible as possible (universal design)
• Dark mode for screen viewing (easier on eyes)
• Limit font and color usage, carefully consider their impact on legibility
• Whitespace for clarity
• Avoid ‘gimmicky’ transitions/animations that can be distracting

When You Have Text on Slides

• Evaluate text by distinguishing main points from details
• Organize main points into bulleted lists
• Avoid more than 3 bullet points per slide
• Too much text distracts from your point
• Assess whether text is essential to comprehending learning objectives
• Talk to the listener through finer points and details verbally
• Slides should contain no more than 40 words, less is better
• Check for spelling errors (credibility)

When you Have Images on Slides

• The brain can process images and videos 60,000 times faster than text, making image-based communication remarkably valuable. Visual aids have been found to improve learning by up to 400 percent. The average person only remembers about a fifth of what they hear.
• Visuals should support you, not replace you
• Design each visual to make one major point so theme jumps out immediately
• Don’t throw in clip art just to have clip art

Video Production

• Shorter videos are much more engaging. Engagement drops sharply after 6 minutes.
• Videos that intersperse an instructor’s talking head with PowerPoint slides are more engaging than showing only slides.
• Videos produced with a more personal feel can be more engaging than high-fidelity studio recordings.
• Khan-style tablet drawing tutorials are more engaging than PowerPoint slides or code screencasts.
• Videos where instructors speak fast and with high enthusiasm are more engaging.
• Students engage differently with lecture and tutorial videos. Add more support for rewatching and skimming, such as inserting subgoal labels in large fonts throughout the video.