OLLIE Iowa

It's important to think like the end user. It might be a good idea to enlist the help of a second set of eyes. Like proofreading an article, having someone "test drive" your website might be a good idea before actually sharing it with the intended audience. 

Again, it's so important to keep the end user in mind. Consistency helps the end user know how to use and navigate your site. In web design, and also in Soft Chalk created lessons, users really don't like to be surprised. They want to know what to expect. 

What is your message or goal?  After determining that, you can plan how to prominently place the most important items on your web page. Size and color are two ways of creating hierarchy. I guess I had never really given much serious consideration to this. 

Does Fitt's law have something to do with the number of clicks it takes to get to information from the homepage? Is there a rule of thumb that says no more than 3 clicks? 

I don't know much about photography, but I have heard about the rule of thirds. Again, something I didn't really think this when I considered adding photos to a web site or to a Soft Chalk page. Not all photos automatically ascribe to the rule of thirds, so it might be helpful to know a little bit about photo editing as well. Just one more thing to consider! 

Sorry, I don't see the dog. :-)

In the center below the large dark section. His head is down like he is smelling the ground sniffing toward the upper left.

This is essential to remember. What we are trying to say is so much more important than making something "pretty." We always need to start with the message or content. 

Not much more to say about this. It's all about the content!!

Collaboration is so important. Ask for another pair of eyes to help you. Make sure as well, that your colleague will be willing to critique your work. Sometimes that's difficult to do, but it key to the success of your design and usability. 

No matter what is done, the message still needs be visible. Enhancement helps to engage viewers.

This is something that I have never considered. Surface feel is an interesting concept.

The designer is in control of what the viewer sees. This reminds me that I need to look at my work from the eyes of those viewing content and what the take aways should be. 

I have found this to be true for all viewers. It used to be just kids but now adults as well. Once additional component to remember is the load speed. Resize your images before they are uploaded.

I would also suggest consistency so they don't need to relearn the site with each page.

It's important for me to remember all of these tools...moving from a face to face environment to an online setting is vastly different, and these tools are what I as a student need, so I need to be incorporating them as well. Without a good position, color that catches my eye and various design elements I've lost interest. If I've lost interest with the lack of tools, then so will my students.

I find this very frustrating as well. I took an online class a few years ago, (not an AEA class:)), and the various links were not embedded. So, when I would click on those links, I'd be taken completely out of the course and would have to constantly log back in.  

This is such an interesting statement - as I parent I know and agree with this statement, but it seems we're often encouraged to give students as many choices as possible for assessment and/or project purposes.

This is so interesting and I've noticed the importance of this "white space" as I've been looking at Softchalk lessons. It also reminds me how we've learned that when designing our lessons, using shorter paragraphs (separated by white space) is better than traditional paragraphs given on a handout in a face to face classroom. 

This is so true as well and it's important for me to remember as I move forward with my Softchalk lesson - if they can't figure out how to move around, they will become frustrated and give up. It's not that we should not teach them to problem solve, but the training in how to move around the lesson will be important.

White space on a page can make the really important content stand out. My issue is that sometimes, I have a difficult time finding images that allow me to hit the "right" amount of white space and the text I want/need to have on the page.

When I'm looking for something, the logo or branding is so important to me. I want to know immediately if I'm in the right spot. Logos help me do this. When I see the logo I'm looking for or that I expect to see, it puts me at ease, because I know I'm in the "right" spot.

Buttons or menus across the top of a webpage are very helpful when it comes to navigating a website. One issue I've had is that sometimes my buttons make sense to me, but to the new visitor the language I use to explain where it is taking the visitor doesn't make sense. Take for example, on our website we have something called "Instructor Center". This is the place our instructors who teach PD for us go to get information. To me this makes complete sense. That being said, I know that we consistently get questions about where to find instructor information. The label, "instructor center" doesn't resonate with the visitor. I have seen websites where there is a brief description appears on the screen when you roll over the button, but before you click. I'm not sure if these things help or if they add clutter.

A rule never rang more true, but at the same time it is so hard to follow. So often I find myself getting lost in the complexity of what I'm trying to do. Add this to my love of "little bells and whistles" and I find myself creating things that lack real substance.

This makes me think of what I call the "learning curve". If the learning curve is to long, people just move on to find something different that doesn't have this learning curve. Take for example graphic design tools. Over the years, I've downloaded gimp and seashore, but for some reason I've never quite gotten the hang of them. Instead I use a web-based tool called pixlr. It is easy and I've met with some success. That being said, would Gimp or Seashore provide me with more options and features, probably, but the learning curve is steeper so I've chosen to use pixlr. When I think of learners, I wonder how we can scaffold things so that the learning curve isn't so steep.

There are lots of ways to achieve unity: theme, banners, fonts colors, and object placement all contribute to a unified feel.

Also consider the space between chunks of information. Sometimes changing the size of a "blank" line greatly affects the overall design.

This final polish is an attention to detail that really makes a difference in professional looking design and audience appeal. It is worth the time and effort!

For educators, this would translate to "educational objective." Is the truly important educational information given prominence?

Yes, choice within limits so as not to overwhelm to the point of inaction...

Limiting the number of words per line is a design strategy that I hadn't considered before. 

"Typography" -https://diigo.com/08f26r I'm curious about different typography.  I was always told to use very readable font and avoid anything fancy. 

Students are even less patient than adults, so it becomes imperative that overall flow and navigation makes sense. 

This is important to remember.  I don't have to pack every slide/page on Soft Chalk full of stuff.  It was really overwhelming to create a power point presentation and stick an image on every slide - I thought it was too repetitive, esp. based on all the examples we've seen.  

This idea came up last week - and even in video examples that white space is ok, it is also ok to only have an idea, or a few key words on a slide/page, etc.

I'm not sure if the Fibonacci sequence is the same as the golden ratio, but it reminds of the rule of thirds in photography. 

Great!  Less pressure to feel like we have to cram a page full of content. 

interesting!

Does right or left make a difference? I think I'd be more likely to push what's on the right, regardless of what it says, making the assumption it's "submit" and what I want to click.

Just like photography. Easy.

Um....no I didn't.

I've always thought Craigslist to be poorly designed - too busy, way too many words, nothing stands out

Great!  Less pressure to feel the need to cram a page full of content. 

If only that image weren't a tiny question mark in a giant empty box on my computer screen.

As I've been reading I've been thinking of my own website habits, and I'm not sure I'm a typical user...I'll read everything, and although I'll only click what I think is pertinent to what I'm looking for, I do it in a very linear fashion. (Well, as linear as web clicking can be, anyway. It's very systematic.)

EVERY WEB DESIGNER SHOULD KNOW AND FOLLOW THIS!!!

It definitely is for me - given how I seem to approach web pages (and after reading these I'm thinking I could be a lot more efficient) - registration to even use a site is a deal breaker. I can't think of a signal time that I haven't moved on.

However, I doubt this applies to SoftChalk in any way shape or form. I'm just sharing my thoughts as I read.

This will definitely apply to SoftChalk and will definitely be hard for my loquacious self.

Students are even less patient than adults, so it become imperative that overall flow and navigation makes sense. 

I think this is a good idea to remember.  I felt so overwhelmed during the power point assignment (having to add an image to every slide) that it was just too much.  This idea came up last week - and even in video examples that white space is ok, it is also ok to only have an idea, or a few key words on a slide/page, etc. 

Although I feel like I have a good grasp of this, I love how this image literally pulls it all together.

I agree, having all these elements pointed out on a concrete visual "page" makes a lot of sense. 

Although this section is a bit different (and is clarified with the graphic below) - I'm used to lines and shapes to define stage areas and force audience focus. I suppose this isn't much different - it will just look different as it's 2D instead of 3D

I"m curious to learn about different typography - I was always told to use a very readable font and avoid anything too fancy.  

Hm. Just like poetry - the white space - the space not filled - can be just as meaningful or important as the space filled.

Who the heck is David Carson? OK - I searched him and found his site, and it's really.....difficult to look at -- all tiny words and horizontal scrolling. Yuck. Not for me.

And not open another page...and another page....and another page. I've been through more than a few LMS's that do this.

?

There's a new font designed to be good for those with dyslexia. Is this commonly available? Easy to use? Would it fit the bill for typography rules?

I've always wondered why that was...

I skimmed this article - I'm still not sure where the author is going with this, but I'm also thinking it probably won't matter in SoftChalk.

I would like to see an example of such a timeline for a secondary English classroom. I understand the concept but would love to see it in full application to gauge how I can make this work in my own classroom. It seems like a good idea to also have students keep some sort of reflective journal tracking their progress as well. This can be beneficial for the student and the teacher in guiding/creating future tasks.

It seems like this type of learning would require a lot of technology support for both teachers and students; technology courses and/or training would be really helpful for all involved in the personalized learning process.

I like what this says about how writing does not always need to be in essay form. I also like how the writer points out that there are several ways students can express what they have learned. My main question is: when do students "feel they are ready?" Eventually, grades are due, how does one motivate those who are not just paced slowly.

I have always encouraged the kids to ask why they are to do some task. They now are sure to ask how their [writing] task will apply to them later. I tell them the practical application of analysis or persuasion. Sometimes it is just an extension to high school or college, other times it is a real life application. Either way, I think making the project relevant and purposeful gives them more of a buy in.

Personalized learning also helps the student take control of their learning. I think they also feel pride when they succeed in areas they have previously failed. 

Creating the same lesson for 2 different delivery methods will be so helpful in seeing the difference between what is needed with face to face and online instruction.

While different strategies and techniques are needed for F2F settings and online design, one thing that is the same is the need to plan and develop strong lessons first. 

How do we model in a way to engage students? When they are watching a "how to" video, they are engaged, but in LA, don't have many of those types of videos...often I am modeling paragraph structure or textual citation which isn't very interesting to many.

Doing both will only make the lesson more effective and make it much easier to understand if the end goal/objective is attainable and clear. I really like this comparison model.  

I like this as well.  This will definitely help with clear goals and targets for the learners. 

I wonder if the designs features in this dated article are still relevant to instructional design in 2016. 

I think this is reassuring that we don't have to cover each method for every lesson. How can each section, when applicable, be truly engaging for the online learner?

I wonder if this goes back to Evan's post about Divergent or Convergent lessons. Depending on your general purpose you might vary which parts of the lesson you would include.

The difficulty in lesson planning for e-learners is dealing with the unknown.  What if one of the technology aspects of the lesson plan is unsuccessful, or instructions aren't clear?  

Just like when we are using technology in a F2F class, we need to make sure the technology fits the lesson and is not just used for it's wow factor. Again, always thinking about why and how the technology fits will make it much more effective. 

What happens behind the scenes is often much more important than what we actually see! No matter what format or platform we use, that will probably never change! 

How do new online instructors ensure that their lessons have clear instructions, engaging content, and meaningful learning outcomes?

Educators transitioning to creators of online content may find great value in using comparative and detailed lesson plans to ensure development of quality course content.

I think it is often difficult for instructors moving from face-to-face to online environments to accurately gauge student understanding and reactions to online instructional strategies, which makes lesson planning a challenge.

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Love using screencasts for anticipatory sets.  Give them a little snip of what you are teaching toward.

I have tried for what feels like forever to have students storyboard their work. They do not like it and some have even done the work then created the storyboard for grade. When I talk about storyboarding or graphically organizing work for adults they often don't want to spend the time doing it. I would be interested how others are getting students and adults to storyboard.

I have a hard time storyboarding, Denise!  I think it has to do with how different people process information and plan!  I like to think of myself as a backwards designer and start very big picture.

Great idea! This is very helpful online and something we forget about but fairly easy to do.

Very important. I like that addition of simulations in the example.

This is a big a-ha for me!  I think this is an interesting concept - if people struggle moving from F2F instruction this seems like a good scaffold help IDs bridge the gap between F2F and eLearning.  I occasionally offer the ISU class I teach as an online module and really struggle the weeks we are online - thinking through what it would like look F2F always helps me (even if I don't formally lesson plan them out).

As a district, we have spent a lot of time exploring two Fisher and Frey frameworks - Productive Group Work and Gradual Release of Responsibility.  I'm wondering how these frameworks would fit into an eLearning structure.

I love the comment about different learning zones and flexible learning spaces. I agree that having different learning areas is a must for classrooms. Even though I am in the learning stage of personalized learning, there are some things including room lay out that I already have in place. Looking forward to the next steps.