Mid-South Instructional Technology
Conference 1999
Proposal #6

Title: Putting Design Back in Curriculum Design

Aud_Level: Beginning

Name: Jody Strauch

Length: 60 minutes

Description: My proposal will focus on four steps to successful online curriculum "design":

1. Organization of the site structure
2. Individual page design and theme consistency
3. Basic design principles for the WWW

a. color choices
b. typography choices

4. Adding graphics and multimedia

In presenting the information, the presenter will examine a variety of current online courses to evaluate their use of basic design principles.

It is the presenter's hope that this presentation will encourage faculty to improve the design of their current online courses or perhaps better prepare new teacher/webmasters has they design their new online offerings. After all, improving design is improving communication.

Abstract: This presentation will look at applying basic communication design principles as they apply to designing online course content. The focus will be less on content and delivery but the actual design of the web sites including structure, typography, graphics, etc.

The author of this proposal contends that the organization and design of the online course (the aesthetic presentation) is important to student understanding of the materials and thus motivation for self-directed learning. Just as newspaper designers design the page to allow the reader to progress through at their own pace, but in a directed manner, so too should the instructor design their site and individual pages to maximize reader usefulness.

Unfortunately the majority of educators have been taught to design curriculum as it would be carried out in a classroom, not carried across an internet, in a print-style form.

Preferred Track: Track 1

Session Type: Lecture/Presentation

Address:
231 Wells Hall
Maryville, MO 64468

Affiliation: Northwest Missouri State University

Equipment: overhead projector or lcd projector

Email: jody@mail.nwmissouri.edu

Phone: 660-562-1823

Audience: Faculty

Fax: 660-562-1521


Proposal Evaluation Form

1. Do you think this proposal is acceptable?

Definitely
Maybe
Definitely Not

Comments on Proposal Acceptability:

2. Do you think the topic is relevant to the theme of the conference?

Yes
No

Comments on Topic:

3. Do you think the track is appropriate?

Yes
No

Comments on Track:

4. Do you think the length is appropriate?

Yes
No

Comments on Length:

5. Do you think the audience and audience level are appropriate?

Yes
No

Comments on Audience/Audience Level:


Return to Proposals '99 List