Designing Educational Resources
Melanie Formaneck
Final Exam in partial fulfillment of the requirements for EDEL 518A
Throughout this course, we have explored design principles and considerations when creating instructional technologies and resources. Learning theory is keystone when developing instructional products. Designers must decide if they are creating with behaviorist principles in mind, from a constructivist viewpoint, or a combination. Although there are additional considerations when designing instructional software (help, exit ability, and so on), instructional products such as powerpoints, poster sessions, and other presentations share many basic design principles with educational technologies.
Fonts & Typeface
Fonts can change the look and feel of your product. For formal looks, combine serif and sans-serif fonts to make a statement. Select fonts that complement your tone and theme of the work. And make sure that the users can read the font! Scripts and handwriting fonts are useful. But if the user cannot read the text, the learning can't happen.
Color & Graphics
Select colors and images that convey the tone and message of your product. Color psychology can play an important
role in your choices, so keep color theory and color connotations in mind (blue is calming, grey suggests professionalism, Orange is, well, orange). Use color as one tool to visualize your thinking.
Less is more!
Work to achieve a contemporary, uncluttered look in your product. Clean lines and fonts, color blocking, and selective images can make the difference between cramped and classy. Even if your audience is the K-5 set, choose the best images to convey your point, not just clip art for the sake of cuteness.
Pillars of Design
Functional
Educational technology and resources have a primary purpose - to support and enrich learning experiences. Design characteristics must be considered, but the ultimate goal of any product is to educate. Does the product meet this goal, or does it distract from learning? Ask yourself, "is this (image, fact, sentence) essential to learning the concept?" If the answer is no, leave it out!
Aesthetic
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but a designer can influence the perspective of the user. Select designs that promote organization through easy to navigate menus, different but complementary fonts and typefaces to identify headings vs. body text. Aesthetics can make challenging content approachable for new learners. Chunk text, use bullets or numbers to add organization, and only include the most essential information.
Experience
Will users still benefit if the first two design principles are are not met? These two principles, along with the content itself, combine together to create the third pillar, user experience. The ultimate judge of usefulness aid the learner. Many qualities come into play to shape the user's experience, including the seven shown in the image above. Learners evaluate their experience based on all off these characteristics: is the product credible? Can I find it, is it accessible, and can I use it?
About me
Email: Melanie@formaneck.com
Website: mrs.formaneck.com
Location: California State University, Fullerton
Phone: 949. 232.4512
Twitter: @mrsformaneck
Event Information
See us at CUE!
When?
Thursday, Mar 19, 2015, 04:00 PM
Where?