10 Ways to Improve Student Navigation in Your LMS Course

Concurrent Session 2
Streamed Session

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Session Materials

Brief Abstract

Use these 10 tips in your LMS to create more intuitive and friendly course navigation for students.  Tips include organization, accessibility, and user-centered design.

 

Presenters

Lead Presenter: Heidi Echols, North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Co-presenter: Beth Shepherd, North Carolina State University at Raleigh Poole College of Management

Beth spends her days helping the faculty and staff at Poole College of Management create great online courses and programming using a variety of instructional technologies. She spends her evenings and weekends playing with her 2 wonderful daughters, her husband, their dog, and their new kitten. She received her master’s degree from NC State’s College of Education and has worked in higher education for almost 20 years. Go Pack!

Extended Abstract

Course navigation is a critical component for student success and satisfaction.  Online learners should be able to complete course activities seamlessly with well-defined time frames and expectations.  This session will explore 10 user-centered design tips that can be incorporated in your LMS to create a framework for exemplary online instruction.  This action-oriented session is designed for all instructors and will apply best practices in online learning.  Topics include: course organization, time management, course aesthetics and accessibility, and empowering students with clear expectations.  

At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to 

  1. Implement user-centered navigation techniques in their LMS course.

  2. Approach online teaching with best practices around systematic LMS course organization.

  3. Apply strategies that increase student access and overall satisfaction in their LMS course design.

  1. Organize Topic/Module blocks by date. 

  2. Use images to break up the text

  3. Include a brief overview of what students will learn each week.

  4. Sort information within blocks by “Learning vs. Doing”, and repeat. 

  5. Include action verbs in item names. 

  6. Use easy-to-understand file names. 

  7. Include the video length in the file name. 

  8. Make links open in new windows. 

  9. Include a Quick Link block with your important items such as the syllabus.

  10. Use activity completion to let students check off their progress.