STEVEN REESE - Online Module Remix

ONLINE MODULE REMIX

For this design task, I was given the “raw materials” of the first week of my WRD 550 course, and I was asked to re-create the module in my own way on D2L, our learning management system. The purpose of this task was to examine the individual parts of the module and figure out how I’d put them back together if it were my own course. A secondary goal for this task was to learn how to navigate the back-end of a learning management system and make use of documentation resources.

To start this project and to get my bearings, my first approach was to simply replicate the organization of the module overall. My strategy was to get all of the raw materials up onto the site so I could ensure that I had all the required components, and then I went through and made adjustments as I saw fit. In the introduction to the module, I included the learning outcomes and learning activities (aligned to the learning objectives) as well as a grid detailing how much time I estimate students will spend on their tasks.

I didn’t feel a need to reorganize any of the components – I like the progression of the syllabus and course information being first, followed by the readings and the reflection, and finally the design task. This progression mimics the order I completed these tasks this week, and I found the design task to make more sense after doing the readings.

In thinking about fonts, colors, and layouts, I opted to keep things simple and easy to ingest. I employed a white background, dark grey text, and a clean layout for each of the pages I created. I also used the ‘Headings’ feature to create legible titles and sub-headings for each page. While I could’ve used more color to perhaps create a more creative experience for the user, I focused instead of using basic colors that contrast to increase accessibility for those with visual impairments.

Thinking about accessibility, I chose to include links showing the full web address in brackets. This allows the user to see the actual web address, which is hidden when including the link behind a word and can be missed by screen readers. In addition, I included a note that the video has been closed captioned and can be turned on by clicking the "CC" button.

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