Visual Design For Online Learning

Update the visual design of your course in pedagogically sound ways Visual Design for Online Learning spotlights the role that visual elements play in the online learning environment. Written for both new and experienced instructors, the book guides you in adding pedagogically relevant visual design elements that contribute to effective learning practices. The text builds upon three conceptual frameworks: active learning, multiple intelligences, and universal design for learning. This resource explores critical issues such as copyright, technology tools, and accessibility and includes examples from top Blackboard practitioners which are applicable to any LMS. Ultimately, the author guides you in developing effective visual elements that will support your teaching goals while reinforcing the learning materials you share with your students. There has been a steady increase of over 10% in online enrollment for higher education institutions since 2002, yet the visual look of online courses has not changed significantly in the last ten years. Adapting to the needs of students within online classes is critical to guiding your students toward success—and the right visual elements can play an integral role in your students' ability to learn and retain the information they need to thrive in their chosen programs. In fact, visual elements have been shown to increase student participation, engagement, and success in an online course. Leverage the best practices employed by exemplary Blackboard practitioners Explore three foundational conceptual frameworks: active learning, multiple intelligences, and universal design for learning Increase student retention and success Visual Design for Online Learning is an essential reference for all online educators—both new and experienced.

Enhance learners' interest and understanding with visual design for instructional and information products No matter what medium you use to deliver content, if the visual design fails, the experience falls flat. Meaningful graphics and a compelling visual design supercharge instruction, training, and presentations, but this isn't easy to accomplish. Now you can conquer your design fears and knowledge gaps with Visual Design Solutions: a resource for learning professionals seeking to raise the bar on their graphics and visual design skills. This informal and friendly book guides you through the process and principles used by professional graphic designers. It also presents creative solutions and examples that you can start using right away. Anyone who envisions, designs, or creates instructional or informational graphics will benefit from the design strategies laid out in this comprehensive resource. Written by Connie Malamed, an art educator and instructional designer, this book will help you tap into your creativity, design with intention, and produce polished work. Whereas most graphic design books focus on logos, packaging, and brochures, Visual Design Solutions focuses on eLearning, presentations, and performance support. Visual Design Solutions includes practical guidelines for making smart design choices, ways to create professional-looking products, and principles for successful graphics that facilitate learning. Ideal for instructional designers, trainers, presenters, and professors who want to advance from haphazard to intentional design, this book will help them realize their design potential. Gain the knowledge and confidence to design impressive, effective visuals for learning Increase learner comprehension and retention with visual strategies offered by an expert author Serves as a reference and a resource, with a wealth of examples for inspiration and ideas Addresses an intimidating topic in an informal, friendly style In four parts, the book provides a thorough overview of the design process and design concepts; explores space, image, and typography; and presents workable solutions for your most persistent and puzzling design problems. Get started and begin creating captivating graphics for your learners.

The essential e-learning design manual, updated with the latest research, design principles, and examples e-Learning and the Science of Instruction is the ultimate handbook for evidence-based e-learning design. Since the first edition of this book, e-learning has grown to account for at least 40% of all training delivery media. However, digital courses often fail to reach their potential for learning effectiveness and efficiency. This guide provides research-based guidelines on how best to present content with text, graphics, and audio as well as the conditions under which those guidelines are most effective. This updated fourth edition describes the guidelines, psychology, and applications for ways to improve learning through personalization techniques, coherence, animations, and a new chapter on evidence-based game design. The chapter on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning introduces three forms of cognitive load which are revisited throughout each chapter as the psychological basis for chapter principles. A new chapter on engagement in learning lays the groundwork for in-depth reviews of how to leverage worked examples, practice, online collaboration, and learner control to optimize learning. The updated instructor's materials include a syllabus, assignments, storyboard projects, and test items that you can adapt to your own course schedule and students. Co-authored by the most productive instructional research scientist in the world, Dr. Richard E. Mayer, this book distills copious e-learning research into a practical manual for improving learning through optimal design and delivery. Get up to date on the latest e-learning research Adopt best practices for communicating information effectively Use evidence-based techniques to engage your learners Replace popular instructional ideas, such as learning styles with evidence-based guidelines Apply evidence-based design techniques to optimize learning games e-Learning continues to grow as an alternative or adjunct to the classroom, and correspondingly, has become a focus among researchers in learning-related fields. New findings from research laboratories can inform the design and development of e-learning. However, much of this research published in technical journals is inaccessible to those who actually design e-learning material. By collecting the latest evidence into a single volume and translating the theoretical into the practical, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction has become an essential resource for consumers and designers of multimedia learning.

In spite of the proliferation of online learning, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them. The second edition of Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational, and visual design principles are presented and modeled throughout the book, and users will quickly learn from the guide’s hands-on approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline. The guide’s key features include: a practical approach informed by theory clean interior design that offers straightforward guidance from page one clear and jargon-free language examples, screenshots, and illustrations to clarify and support the text a checklist of online course design standards that readers can use to self-evaluate. a Companion Website with examples, adaptable templates, interactive learning features, and online resources: http://essentialsofonlinecoursedesign.com Essentials of Online Course Design serves as a best practice model for designing online courses. After reading this book, readers will find that preparing for online teaching is a satisfying and engaging experience. The core issue is simply good design: pedagogical, organizational, and visual. For more of Marjorie Vai in her own words, listen to this 2011 interview from the On Teaching Online podcast: http://onteachingonline.com/oto-16-essentials-of-online-course-design-with-marjorie-vai/

Educational practices have seen a wide array of technological advancements in recent years. As learning methods making the transition to online and virtual settings, instructors are required to develop teaching plans that conform to the new era of e-learning. Designing, developing, and deploying these new instructional plans remain a challenge for educators due to a lack of research and knowledge in graphic design techniques. Visual Approaches to Instructional Design, Development, and Deployment is a collection of innovative research on visual-forward approaches to instructional design and applications of visual planning methods in creating effective learning environments. This book focuses on the advancement of online learning techniques using visual design technologies. While highlighting topics including image curation, visual planning, and textual thinking, this book is ideal for instructional designers, researchers, practitioners, instructors, developers, administrators, graphic artists, academicians, and students seeking current research on advancements in instructional design through the use of visual thinking strategies.

Are you getting the most learning value from visuals? Thoroughly revised and updated, Graphics for Learning is the second edition of the bestselling book that summarizes the guidelines for the best use of graphics for instructional materials, including multimedia, texts, working aids, and slides. The guidelines are based on the most current empirical scientific research and are illustrated with a wealth of examples from diverse training materials. The authors show how to plan illustrations for various types of content, including facts, concepts, processes, procedures, and principles. The book also discusses technical and environmental factors that will influence how instructional professionals can apply the guidelines to their training projects. Praise for the First Edition "For years I've been looking for a book that links cognitive research on learning to graphics and instructional design. Here it is! Ruth Clark and Chopeta Lyons not only explain how to make graphics work—they've created a very interesting read, full of useful guidelines and examples." —Lynn Kearny, CPT, instructional designer and graphic communicator, Graphic Tools for Thinking and Learning "Finally! A book that integrates visual design into the larger context of instructional design and development." —Linda Lohr, Ed.D., author, Creating Graphics for Learning and assistant professor, University of Northern Colorado

Within every picture is a hidden language that conveys a message, whether it is intended or not. This language is based on the ways people perceive and process visual information. By understanding visual language as the interface between a graphic and a viewer, designers and illustrators can learn to inform with accuracy and power. In a time of unprecedented competition for audience attention and with an increasing demand for complex graphics, Visual Language for Designers explains how to achieve quick and effective communications. New in paperback, this book presents ways to design for the strengths of our innate mental capacities and to compensate for our cognitive limitations. Visual Language for Designers includes: —How to organize graphics for quick perception —How to direct the eyes to essential information —How to use visual shorthand for efficient communication —How to make abstract ideas concrete —How to best express visual complexity —How to charge a graphic with energy and emotion

Author Nichole Carter shows how sketchnotes can help students retain new material, develop skills to articulate empathy and build connections to larger concepts. Sketchnoting in the Classroom includes strategies for helping students feel successful as they develop their skills, for example, asking them what their brain is telling them, asking how they learn best and encouraging the process through specific note-taking strategies. The book includes: • Analysis of the brain science behind sketchnoting, including teaching students how to identify patterns and apply them effectively in their sketchnotes. • Lesson ideas for sketchnoting across content areas, including science, social studies, English language arts and math. • Tools and resources for both analog and digital sketchnoting techniques. • Tips for using sketchnotes for professional development, including at conferences and at department or staff meetings. • Examples from a variety of teachers with experience using sketchnotes in their classes. This book makes sketchnotes more accessible to all teachers and helps both teachers and students feel confident in visual note-taking.

A Guide to Online Course Design offers faculty and professional staff a practical and easy-to-follow model for creating exceptional online courses that focuses on quality standards in instructional design, transparency in learning outcomes, and learner persistence. A comprehensive resource, the book includes effective, research-based instructional strategies to motivate online learners and help them become more self-directed. A Guide to Online Course Design emphasizes quality standards and removing barriers to learners’ persistence, which ensures online courses meet the needs of online learners as well as distance education initiatives. “All faculty members and course designers, regardless of experience level, content background, or technology skills, can benefit from applying the approaches defined in this book. The authors have imparted a wealth of knowledge that can improve the quality of any online class and I highly recommend this book for all those involved with online learning.” - Anton G. Camarota, faculty, University of Denver “Anyone involved in developing online courses should read this book! Packed with great insights and the research to back them up, Stavredes and Herder guide readers with practical information that will support online course development.” - Brenda Boyd, director of professional development and consulting, Quality Matters Program “The blend of theory and application makes A Guide to Online Course Design and indispensable resource for any professional seeking to create high quality, outcomes-based learning experiences. I loved the action steps that close each chapter, as they lead the reader through the entire process of course design from analysis to implementation.” - Kathe Kacheroski, dean of curriculum and instruction, Rasmussen College

"Enrollments in online courses continue to grow. With this growth has come an increased need for instructors to develop content for their courses using digital technology. To address instructors’ abilities to develop content for a virtual environment, institutions have focused on the most effective and efficient ways to design online courses and programs. However, despite increased focus on the instructional design of online courses, little attention has been given to their visual design. This is problematic because research suggests that the visual design of online courses can improve the student learning experience. Given this problem, additional research is needed to understand the visual design of online courses, including page layout design and the integration of visual media. Three different studies were conducted to address this problem (a.) Study 1 is a literature review that synthesizes the relevant topics in visual communication design to online course development. The study addressed the mechanics of visual design but also external factors that influence visual design thinking. In this chapter, the authors seek to clarify the process of using visual design to improve the online learning experience. The chapter concludes by suggesting strategies that colleges and universities can use to help faculty and instructional designers learn visual design skills through the creation of a design studio. (b.) Study 2 is an exploratory qualitative study that investigates the ways in which educators in higher education apply visual design to their online courses through the design process framework of looking, thinking, doing, and critiquing (LTD+C). Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore instructor’s use of a visual design process, application of visual design thinking, and perceived barriers in designing online classrooms. Based on the findings of the study, it is suggested that the visual design process in online courses can fit within the LTD+C framework and activities associated with each part of the process should be further explored. (c.) Study 3 is a qualitative content analysis of images used in online courses. The study examined the current use of images in higher-education online classrooms along with the ability of instructors to create, select, and apply images to an online classroom learning management system by exploring well-known frameworks of image taxonomy in online classrooms. Based on the findings of this study it is suggested that the current framework of educational image taxonomy can be elaborated upon and that instructors need better training in appropriately handling using images in online classrooms. The general conclusion promoted in this dissertation is that visual design needs more emphasis within the field of education from both practical applications and research-based studies."--Boise State University ScholarWorks.