{"id":9834,"date":"2016-06-29T14:04:41","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T19:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/?p=9834"},"modified":"2019-12-08T08:25:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-08T14:25:35","slug":"create-a-user-friendly-elearning-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/create-a-user-friendly-elearning-course\/","title":{"rendered":"Create a User-Friendly eLearning Course"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent<\/p>\n<p><div align=\"center\"><a title=\"user friendly\" href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14751\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/create-a-user-friendly-elearning-course\/user-friendly-maze\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png?fit=922%2C851&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"922,851\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"user-friendly-maze\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png?fit=300%2C277&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png?fit=625%2C577&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png?resize=369%2C340\" alt=\"maze with arrow showing path from entrance to the exit that is on the outside of the maze\" width=\"369\" height=\"340\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14751\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Course designs that are not user-friendly can make it very difficult for students to be successful in a course. <\/p>\n<p>Undoubtedly you spent a great deal of time crafting your course content and perfecting your layout, which is why it's crucial to focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Usability\">usability<\/a>. Students have a lot going on in their lives and don\u2019t want to go through a maze-like course; click on dead-end links; have to use too many mouse clicks to get to the content; or scroll through long pages of information. <\/p>\n<p>If you want students to be successful in your online\/hybrid course, the course should be intuitive, well organized, and easy to navigate.<\/p>\n<p>In a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/elearningindustry.com\/\">eLearning Industry<\/a> blog post, Christopher Pappas shared eight tips that can help you create a user-friendly eLearning course for your students. Christopher\u2019s tips are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide detailed instructions<\/li>\n<li>Keep text short and succinct<\/li>\n<li>Opt for brief bursts of information<\/li>\n<li>Create an effective course menu<\/li>\n<li>Test out your course navigation<\/li>\n<li>Integrate supplemental links<\/li>\n<li>Include optional tips and tricks that can help students to complete the course<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If this has piqued your interest, you can read more in Christopher\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/elearningindustry.com\/8-tips-towards-user-friendly-elearning-course\">8 Tips Towards \u0391 User-Friendly eLearning Course<\/a> blog post for more information.<\/p>\n<p><small>Image credit: \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/user-friendly-maze.png\">user friendly<\/a>\u201d by jflorent is licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY 4.0<\/a> and is a deravitive of \"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/9709824@N08\/11284799355\">maze<\/a>\" by naveed.butt licensed under <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Janice Florent Course designs that are not user-friendly can make it very difficult for students to be successful in a course. Undoubtedly you spent a great deal of time crafting your course content and perfecting your layout, which is why it's crucial to focus on usability. Students have a lot going on in their <a href=\"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/create-a-user-friendly-elearning-course\/\" class=\"more-link\">...continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \"Create a User-Friendly eLearning Course\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[120,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-9834","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-online","7":"tag-elearning","8":"tag-online-teaching","9":"h-entry","10":"hentry","11":"h-as-article"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p82MQk-2yC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9752,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/engaging-students-in-elearning\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":0},"title":"Engaging Students in eLearning","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Engaging students in eLearning can be more challenging than in a face-to-face class. Follow the 5 do's presented in the Engaging Students in eLearning Infographic to create an engaging online course for your students. 5 Tips To Engage Your Students in eLearning Stay Relevant - All content,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"engaging students in eLearning infographic","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/elearninginfographics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/5-Do%E2%80%99s-for-Engaging-Students-in-eLearning-Infographic.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7138,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/improve-online-discussions-using-abcs\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":1},"title":"Improve Online Discussions Using ABCs","author":"Janice Florent","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent In a recent eLearning Industry blog post, Dr. James W. Brown suggests using ABCs of high quality online discussions as a starting point for feedback that impacts student performance. Acknowledge the student's input. A quick response by the instructor helps to begin the interaction with the students\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/laptop-820274_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/laptop-820274_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/laptop-820274_640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13600,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/ideas-to-keep-your-online-course-interesting-redux\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":2},"title":"Ideas to Keep Your Online Course Interesting Redux","author":"Janice Florent","date":"April 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The underlying theme for the Sloan Consortium International Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Online Learning (ET4Online) was on how instructors can refresh their online course to keep it interesting for students. In an Online Colleges blog post about the symposium, Dr. Melissa Venable writes, The primary goal of keeping an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/light-681540_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/light-681540_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/light-681540_640.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6426,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/moving-from-in-person-to-online-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":3},"title":"Moving from In-Person to Online Teaching","author":"Janice Florent","date":"April 20, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Are you thinking about moving a face-to-face course to online? A recent Faculty Focus article suggests five steps to quickly transition your in-person curriculum into a creative and successful online course. Those steps are: Start by Chunking: Simplify your content by breaking it up into smaller, more\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8360,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/metacognition-for-effective-online-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":4},"title":"Metacognition for Effective Online Learning","author":"Janice Florent","date":"September 30, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Janice Florent Students who succeed academically often rely on being able to think effectively and independently in order to take charge of their learning. They are thinking about their own thinking; mastered the knowledge about their own learning. This is referred to as metacognition. Metacognition is about understanding how\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The thinker statue in Stuttgart","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/live.staticflickr.com\/4152\/4992814838_d3d395fcef_b.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11934,"url":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/humanizing-tool-buffet\/","url_meta":{"origin":9834,"position":5},"title":"Humanizing Tool Buffet","author":"Janice Florent","date":"May 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Taking an online course can be an isolating experience for students, but it doesn\u2019t have to be. Humanized learning increases the relevance of the course content and improves students' motivation to log-in to the course week-after-week. Are you looking for ways to humanize your online course? Check out this Humanizing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"CAT &amp; Mouse: E-Learning","link":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/topic\/online\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"buffet with food in chafing dishes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/eat-3614411_640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9834"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14753,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9834\/revisions\/14753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cat.xula.edu\/food\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}