Navigation and Online Courses

Navigation is a vital part of the online learning experience and a poor navigation structure can impede students’ success as they get lost in the chaos of several pages and nested folders.  This gets exacerbated when there is no obvious route back or when the student does not immediately know what to look for or what to expect.   Some simple steps to improving a course’s navigation include:

1. Consistent naming systems that allow students to have a grasp of where they are. For example, consider naming all items in the first module with the prefix “M01”. This reminds the students where they are relative to the course.  Naturally, if the pages in the module get scrambled in a conversion, it makes putting them back together that much easier.
2. Having a detailed labelling system.  Instead of nesting an exam inside a folder with the generic name of "Exam”, consider adopting a consistent naming system. Descriptively title the test within Module 3 as “M03 Psychobotony Exam” and let the students know exactly what it is.
3. Allow for quick access of content. Try making the paths to any given page no more than 3 clicks away from the home page. Content isn’t a treasure hunt, it is there to be learned.
4. Ensure consistency of design.   Courses that have a consistent look allow students to focus on learning and not navigating.
5. Use headings and concise design elements. Subjects were 42% more likely to remember content when web pages had: concise text, headings, bullets, lists, text boxes, or relevant graphics (Nielsen and Morkes, 1997)
6. Module-at-a-Glance:  Having a roadmap for the course and at the beginning of any module (folder of content) helps students discern what they need to do to learn more effectively.   
7. Keep only material that is necessary to fulfil courses goals and objectives. Having optional readings is great, but having too much content available makes it difficult for the student to discern the relevant content. Sometimes, like an old closet, it is good to clean out your course and get rid of things you do not use.

Adopting these strategies now may help you develop a course with instructional design best practices that will carry over when the course is in Blackboard.  In fact, using these principles will help develop a strong course in any LMS.

Nielsen, J and J Morkes (1997), "Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web", Nielson Norman Group, Available: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/concise-scannable-and-objective-how-to-write-for-the-web/  (Accessed: 2016 February 28)