Principle One - Consistency

 Principle One - Consistency:

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In an online course it is very important for the structure to be logical and consistent. We want students to be able to know what they are looking for,where to find it, and what to expect when they find it. 

To keep an online course consistent the following suggestions will help:

  • Consistent Naming:
    • Modules, however named, should be name consistently. For example: Module 1, Module 2, Module 3; or Unit One, Unit Two, Unit Three, or Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3. We should never mix and match these identifiers.

    • Also, how we name the modules should be consistent with how the course instruction is organized. If your curriculum centers around the chapters of a textbook, and chapters are given a relatively consistent focus, then name your modules for the chapters. However, if your curriculum focuses on topics or concepts, then perhaps you want to divide your course into "units" or "modules". Perhaps your curriculum is divided into more calendar-related units in which a specific set of concepts or topics are covered each week, and you would want to sequentially name those unit for the weeks of the quarter: Week One, Week Two, etc.

    • Learning materials or resources such as handouts, website links, videos, etc. should be consistently named, and their names should reflect their applicable learning units. For example: Chapter One Readings, Chapter One Web Resources, and Chapter One Videos. Whatever naming scheme you choose it should be consistent throughout the course.

    • Learning Activities such as course discussions, assignments, interactive tutorials and discussions should follow the same conventions recommended for learning materials above. For example: Week 1 Quiz, Week 1 Assignments, and Week 1 Discussion.

  • Consistent Location, Placement and Ordering:
    • Students should expect to find similar items in the same places throughout the duration of the course, and the placement of learning objects and activities should reflect the logical flow of student learning within the course.

    • Typically students should access learning materials such as readings, videos, or web resources before engaging in graded or ungraded assignments, and would typically engage in those activities before attempting a unit assessment activity.

    • However you choose to sequence learning in your course, that sequence should be the same in every learning unit.

    • It is often necessary to include content and activities outside the established course structure - Midterm and Final Exams, Capstone projects, Term projects or papers, etc. - can be placed outside the structure, but you should regularly reference them within the established structure. For example: a midterm exam that falls in week five of the typical community college quarter structure could be placed between the weeks five and and six modules (say in its own module with a study guide), but regular reference to this item and its location should be made during weeks 1 -\through 5.

  • Consistent Text, Icons, and Document Formats:
    • When creating textual content for your courses, use the same font, font color and font size throughout the course except in the rare instances where a different font, color or size is necessary for emphasis or navigation. Not only is this important for the accessibility of online courses for the visually impaired, but it improves readability for all students.

    • Whenever possible, text should be at least 12 to 14 point size, and established text-heading formats should be used. Colors used for emphasis, visual appeal or navigation should be consistent - if one external link is blue, then all external links should be blue.

  • Consistent Scheduling:
    • If appropriate to the curriculum, scheduling in an online course should also be consistent. If each unit of study has an assignment, a quiz and an exam, then scheduling these to be due on the same days of the week can greatly enhance the student's ability to plan their learning and meet deadlines and due dates.

    • Not surprisingly, a consistent schedule also helps the instructor manage their time.

 

On the next page, we will be looking at modularization or containerization.