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Incorporating Multimedia in Your Course
Multimedia, which helps create an engaging and interactive online learning environment, has been shown to contribute to improved student performance (Cheng, Basu, & Goebel, 2009, p. 1). Though many online courses incorporate videos, they neglect to feature other forms of multimedia. And, while videos are a staple of multimedia use, there are other exciting options to consider: podcast episodes, graphics, and animations can all enhance course content, enriching the student experience. To maximize the benefits multimedia can provide, consider including these underutilized forms of multimedia in your course.
Spreadsheet Accessibility
Spreadsheets are used for a broad array of data-related tasks and projects across numerous disciplines. Maximizing the utility of spreadsheets included as course materials requires careful attention towards their contents and formatting. In this post, we present recommendations for enhancing the clarity, consistency, and accessibility of course spreadsheets for students.
No Sweat Alt Text
What is “alt text”? Alt text is descriptive text linked to an image, graph, or other visual content that allows users to understand the visual without viewing it. Any image online should contain alt text, but guidelines differ depending on whether the image is simply decorative or related to other content on the page.
Leveraging White Space
Good page design requires balance between white space, or negative space, and positive space. Positive space encompasses all aspects and types of content; on a course page, these objects might include an introductory paragraph, video thumbnail, infographic, callout box, opinion poll, or provocative quotation. Relative to these course components, white space might seem like a nice-to-have. Because it promotes clarity and reduces distortion, however, white space is just as important to instructional page design as content.
Implementing Social Media
Many students use social media platforms in their daily lives, and “emerging evidence indicates that students express positive attitudes toward using social media for learning in general” (Baisley-Nodine, Ritzhaupt & Antonenko, 2018). However, there are also many concerns connected with using social media in an educational setting. These include issues related to a lack of familiarity with the platform, the potential for distraction, and privacy concerns. Therefore, it is important to carefully plan the use of social media in a course to address any potential issues or concerns.
Self-Recording Best Practices
While traditional lectures are delivered in front of a classroom, allowing you to read students’ engagement and adjust in real time to both content and pacing, online lectures do not afford the same flexibility. Therefore, it is important to carefully plan your videos in accordance with best practices in online learning. There are many video types and formats to choose from (See the Envision blog: Matching Video Production Style to Learning Goals), and one decision you'll need to make is whether you want to appear on camera. This guide covers best practices for videos that will include your webcam footage.
Video Planning Decision Tree
Before you record a course video, take a moment to consider whether video is the right medium for your message. Original videos can add value in a number of ways, but they can also be time-consuming to create and maintain, and sometimes other media types can accomplish the same goal. To ensure that your time creating videos is well spent, review the following decision tree. For more detail about each of the considerations in the tree, see the accompanying Envision article, Video Planning: To Record or Not to Record?