Clear expectations and intuitive navigation are important components of good online course design. We can design courses with transparency so technology is NOT an obstacle to learning. The design structure and interface of online courses can benefit (1) learners, (2) educators, and (3) organizations when intentionally designed.
Students only have so much cognitive load – where do you want them to spend their time?
•Intrinsic Cognitive Load – the specific information about X you are trying to learn.
•Extrinsic Cognitive Load – annoying web interface for the online course requiring extra effort and time without adding to your knowledge of X.
•Germane Cognitive Load – students design their own X activity (hands-on learning) – this is an entirely different presentation
Julie Dirksen in Design for How People Learn said (page 167), “you want to figure out ways to increase friction (germane cognitive load) while minimizing extraneous cognitive load.”
Look at the word extraneous, it has extra in it, why do we need to give the students extra load?
Clear expectations and intuitive navigation are important components of good online course design so student can focus on the content not the technology.
We can design courses with transparency so technology is NOT an obstacle to learning. This decreases the cognitive load to benefit learner success.
The design structure and interface of online courses can benefit (1) learners, (2) educators, and (3) organizations when intentionally designed.
Design templates from three different institutions will be shown from bachelor to master degrees.