1 clearly articulated objective and expectations;
2 an easily navigable web site;
3 a course structure that facilitates collaborative learning;
4 assignments and activities that facilitate participation and communication among students, as well as between students and the instructor;
5 timely feedback for students from the instructor;
6 an appropriate use of technologies to enhance learning;
7 a discussion space for learners to talk openly about the course (expectations, uncertainty, what they like, dislike, their participation, progress, etc.);
8 an appropriate form of assessment that provides feedback regarding the student’s progress toward outcomes and goals.
To some reading this book, they’ll look at this list and think “that doesn’t sound very simple.” They would be right. Simple design does not necessarily mean simple execution. Good design is never easy, but the expression of the design should be simple.
Extreme programming also offers some principles that help work the simple design strategy. These principles may help e-learning designers as well.
1 Make small initial investment – You should make the smallest possible investment in the design before getting payback for it. For example, If your goal is for a student to memorize all the bones in the hand, then the smallest investment would be to assign a reference paper and test their memorization. That meets the objective. A larger investment might be to provide an interactive image of the hand with all the bones identified and to provide and interactive, electronic flashcard study guide to help them memorize the bones prior to taking the assessment. What is your goal? What is your time and budget? Both provide payback.
2 Assume simplicity – You should assume that the simplest design you can imagine possibly working actually will work. In the above example, the assessment of memorization doesn’t require the beautiful image. However, if your goal is for them not only to memorize but to recognize where these bones are located and point to them, then the most simple design may be the image with the interactive pieces. By choosing the simplest design, it will give you time to do a thorough job in case the design doesn’t work. In the meantime, you won’t have to carry along the cost of extra complexity.
3 Strive for incremental change – Embrace the concept of gradual change, or change over time, by building into your design strategy a feedback loop that initiates further design and provides payback. Incremental design allows you to design and provides payback. Incremental design allows you to design a little at a time. There will never be a time when the system is perfectly designed. It will always be subject to change in the future – though that future may be beyond the bounds of your immediate project.
4 Travel light – The design strategy should produce no “extra” design. There should be enough to suit the current purposes (the need to do quality work), but no more.