How To Design Learning Modules Technology

Items, folders and learning modules: places to put content and learning activities

Key Concept: Present on screen only what is required for completion of a specific learning task

Use items, folders and learning modules to present to students the content that is most relevant to them at that betoken in time, whether that is a specific learning activity or relating to a specific calendar week in the taught module. Presenting also much data reduces the bear upon of articulate instructions and can leave students unsure of what they should be focusing on. Items and folders structure your content to avoid this problem.

Items and folders

An Item on Blackboard is a single slice of content such as a file, link, written instructions or embedded media. Items bring together resources on a specific topic or instructions for a specific activity. In the example below, the lecturer has included links to resources with specific instructions for students to appoint with these resource within a single item:

Screenshot showing a content item with links to book chapters at the top and example instructions below.

Folders are ways to grouping items and links to Yorkshare tools together. If your weekly timetable often has more than one session or learning activity, construction your site with folders, for example one per week, to make your site expect neater and make information technology easier for students to navigate.

Screenshot of a Content Area showing items and folders

The video below provides guidance on the utilise of items and folders to back up educatee learning

Guides

Calculation a Content Item – Nuts [YouTube video]
How to create an detail [help.blackboard.com]
Adding a Content Folder [YouTube video]

Learning modules

Learning modules offer an alternative style to present sequential content. They are similar to folders, only prove items or links to tools one at a time to students. They are used more commonly in altitude learning where the structure of the site and social club of commitment of content is more important than quick access to specific downloadable files. In general, yous won't need to use learning modules to support lecture-based courses.

Beyond the baseline

Screenshot of four learning modules. The tool icon is a folder with paper tabs.

When using learning modules, the content needs to exist broken down into units of learning, typically one per topic. Each unit volition have a series of learning objects (items) that address a particular part of the topic. Yorkshare tools, for example quizzes, may be embedded into learning modules so that students have to consummate a task before they accept access to the next module using adaptive release.

Students navigate learning modules using next and previous buttons at the top right, or the tabular array of contents to the left.

Guides

How to create a Learning Module [from help.blackboard.com]
How to add together content to a Learning Module [Blackboard YouTube video]

Learning benefits

Accessibility

Poor site construction and labelling is a significant barrier to students who use screen-reading software and other assistive technologies to access Yorkshare. Aim for consistent structures that do not crave likewise many clicks, but also do non present pages with too much content on at in one case.

Enabling learning

Enable students to get to the learning materials quicker, reducing the need for guess-work equally to what to click next and reducing confusion over what should be downloaded. Poor navigation can lead to students not undertaking preparatory tasks, not finding reading or missing key data on assignments. If sites have complex structures, include an explanation on the opening page of the site and prove students the site in your kickoff face-to-face session.

Grouping resource and instructions together within i item reinforces the link between the resource and learning activity. This also reduces the number of headings and items on the page, which makes the site announced tidier.

Exposing the structure

Grouping content using items and folders based on the structure of the module, for example by topic, week or activity. The headings of the items and folders so nowadays a articulate path for the student to progress through the site. As the screenshot from the Seminars content area shows in a higher place, students work their way through the items/folders which are fix up one per week. Where additional resources are to be provided, these are added within a binder for that calendar week.

Guides

Where Practise I Start? – Basic Steps for Site Creation [from help.blackboard.com]
Creating Course Materials [from help.blackboard.com]

How To Design Learning Modules Technology,

Source: https://elearningyork.wordpress.com/learning-design-and-development/technology-enhanced-learning-handbook/2-module-site-design-structure-and-layout/2-3-items-folders-and-learning-modules/

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