Navigation & Organization

Well-designed online content can help students access and understand important course information. This ensures that students can easily locate the information and materials they need in order to be successful.

Overview

18. Navigation throughout the course is logical, consistent, and efficient for students.

19. Students are reminded to access Cambrian’s academic, wellness, and technical support services using the “Student Resources” and “Academic Resources” links at the top of all Moodle pages.

20. The course contains no broken links or images.

21. Course sections have self-evident titles and are organized consistently. Related content is organized together.

22. Titles and headings break up large amounts of text or activities to enhance readability and organization.

23. Students have opportunities to provide feedback regarding the course design, content, use of technology, and their own experiences in the course.

Quality Criteria Quick Links

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Course Overview Quality Criteria
Accessibility Quality Criteria
Assessments Quality Criteria
Content & Activities Quality Criteria
Technology Quality Criteria

18. Navigation throughout the course is logical, consistent, and efficient for students.

Explanation:

Well-designed, consistent, and clear course navigation will allow students to spend less time trying to figure out where to find materials and more time engaging with the content, which results in a positive and productive learning experience.

Recommendations:

  • Consider using the Cambrian Moodle template for your courses. This template was developed by the Instructional Design team in the Teaching & Learning Innovation Hub and includes the recommended sections and naming conventions. It is particularly useful for brand new courses, but you may want to incorporate parts into your existing Moodle shell.
  • Provide a “Getting Started” or “Start Here” section in Moodle. This section can include policies, instructions on how to navigate Moodle navigation, a course tour, technology and software requirements for the course, explanation of the course delivery type, etc.
  • Organize your course by weeks/topics/units/modules to help students quickly find the information they need.
  • Use self-evident titles for all Moodle sections. Consider adding the week’s topic as the section title. For example, “Week 1: Skeletal System”.
  • Use consistent naming conventions. Create naming conventions for lessons, resource links, assessments, and file names that are simple and stay consistent throughout the course. For example, you could add a heading for “Readings” and another for “Assessments” in each section of your course.
  • Use a consistent colour scheme and the icons throughout the course. Reach out to the Teaching & Learning Hub for support with integrating these items into your course.
  • Establish a routine by including clear steps or instructions at the beginning of each Moodle section to guide students on the order of tasks they need to complete for that specific section. You can use a Moodle Checklist.
  • Be consistent with content structures. Ensure all activity or assessment descriptions are formatted the same for clarity and familiarity.

Resources:

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19. Students are reminded to access Cambrian’s academic, wellness, and technical support services using the “Student Resources” and “Academic Resources” links at the top of all Moodle pages.

Explanation:

Indicating where students can find resources available to them can alleviate questions surrounding academic, wellness, and technical support services at Cambrian. It can also familiarize students with the resources and services available to them. Encouraging students to take advantage of these resources can enhance their well-being and academic performance.

Recommendations:

  • Include text in the “Getting Started” or “Start Here” section in Moodle to suggest students review the “Student Resources” and “Academic Resources” menus.
  • Provide a walkthrough (video or live) to explain the “Student Resources” and “Academic Resources” tabs for your students in the first class of the semester.
  • If you record a welcome video, refer to the resources and demonstrate where students can find them in Moodle.

Resources:

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20. The course contains no broken links or images. 

Explanation:

Ensuring that all links and images throughout a course are functional is important so students can access all the resources without encountering any errors or missing any important content. Working links and images improve the quality of the course and its content.

Recommendations:

  • Manually review all content in the course before a new semester begins to ensure all links and images are relevant and work correctly. Correct all broken links as needed.
  • Remind students to notify you if they encounter any broken links or images, missing files, or inaccessible resources.

Resources:

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21. Course sections have self-evident titles and are organized consistently. Related content is organized together.

Explanation:

A well-organized course enhances effective learning through clear and consistent structure. Self-explanatory titles ensure that names accurately convey the contents and can help students locate the information they need. Consistent organization ensures a predictable format across all course sections. This clarity in organization streamlines the learning experience, enabling students to navigate the course easily and focus on understanding the material.

Recommendations:

  • Use consistent titles when naming modules, assessments, and activities. For example, “Week 1: Introduction to Child Development Theories, Week 2: Prenatal Development”.
  • Specify what the students will be accessing by including a name and file type in parentheses for any items that link to resources. For example, “Promoting Healthy Growth in Toddlers [PDF]”.
  • If students are required to watch videos, post the video title and the length of video in parentheses. This will help students prioritize their time. For example, “Children’s Treatment Centre at Health Sciences North [Video; 11:40 duration]”.
  • Post all content, resources, activities, and assessments in the appropriate section with similar content. Avoid having items in multiple areas of the course to avoid confusion.
  • Organize related content together. Create a Moodle Page to list links to multiple resources rather than listing each link separately in Moodle. This will avoid confusion and clutter within the section.

Resources:

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22. Titles and headings break up large amounts of text or activities to enhance readability and organization.

Explanation:

Titles and headings are text elements that can be used to break up larger amounts of content into smaller chunks that are more digestible. Organizing with titles and headings can make a clear hierarchy of what should be completed in what order and can define sections of content that are more accessible and easier to navigate through.

Recommendations:

  • Add prominent heading titles within a Moodle section. For example, headings like “Readings, Activities, and Assessments”, can help distinguish an order the student should complete the content, and have a better understanding of what is expected of them.
  • Use colour coded headings or icons accompanying the headings so students can quickly and easily recognize different sections.

Resources:

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23. Students have opportunities to provide feedback regarding the course design, content, use of technology, and their own experiences in the course.

Explanation:

Giving students opportunities to provide feedback allows them to express their opinions and suggestions on various aspects of the course. They can provide valuable insights of what they found engaging or challenging, what activities helped them learn best, and what they would like to see more or less of in future courses. It can also assist faculty with understanding particular parts of the course that are working well or may need improvement. Faculty can make better informed decisions on how to modify course design, content, and use of technology to better meet the needs of their students. Overall, student feedback can lead to a more positive learning experience for everyone involved.

Recommendations:

  • Give frequent opportunities for students to provide feedback within the course. Do not rely solely on course evaluations for gathering feedback.
  • Develop learning activities that ask students to reflect upon what has helped them learn in the course, and what has hindered their learning process and progress.
  • Ask students to share three things that they like about the course, and three things that are not working well for them. Consider conducting this activity a few weeks after startup, at mid-term, and/or at the end of the course.
  • Invite students to specifically share what they would like other students to do to engage the course as a group.
  • Have one designated spot in the course where students can always go to share course feedback, improvements, suggestions, etc. Moodle Discussion Forums or Questionnaires, Padlets, and Microsoft Forms work can all accomplish this task. All of these tools can be made anonymous, if necessary.
  • Host a class focus group to discuss their likes and dislikes, suggestions, and ideas for improvements about the course.

Resources:

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