The #1 Enemy of Course Design

As instructors and instructional designers, we can sometimes get enamored with all of the whizbang doodlebops that technology provides. Lately, I’ve been seeing powerpoints with embedded .gifs (pronounced with a hard G, bt dubs) and apps that link to other apps within apps. The problem with having a lot of icons that link out to apps or a lot of visual noise is that it can distract learners from their tasks within the course. This especially applies to those with ADHD or other disabilities. Students who struggle with focus may not actually benefit from images that entertain without enlightening or from basically being encouraged to leave the course and go to another platform. I will be bold and say that clutter is the #1 enemy of course design.

I used to take Chinese brush painting courses with Gail Racy in Atlanta, and she always taught us to value the negative space within the painting. If you look at Chinese or Japanese artwork, you will see a lot of white space. The image is usually only taking up a third or so of the page. This is not easily captured on the internet, which tends to crop the white space that is vital to the original. The bamboo branch or plum blossom really pops against this white background, which is why you don’t see a lot of background in this particular style.

I think we can learn something here as designers. Having a clean design can help the students or trainees to see what we want them to see. If your graphic has too many bullet points or a huge wall of text or text within an image, it becomes overwhelming and may also be less accessible. Likewise, the path through the course should be clear and step-by-step. Participants should know where to start, what comes next, and where they stand in relation to completion. This is basically the same process used in project management. It becomes difficult to complete something if you don’t know where you are and where you are going.

Presentations will include complex, technical information sometimes, but the presentation on the page / screen should be neat and orderly. If you have to add a Dilbert cartoon or a picture of your cat or a golf joke, let it have its own slide and its own time. Personality matters in classrooms. Selective vulnerability is good. But insert that at key moments and do not muddle the presentation by mixing together in one space information meant for different purposes. There should be a sense of transition before moving from one tone to another or one topic to another.?

As educators, we tend to learn design on the fly. By and large, we don’t have graphic design degrees. But we are thrown into doing design and are, in fact, designers. I think a really good way of thinking is to cut the clutter, make the course path clear, and give guides to transitions. We should all begin to think of ourselves as designers and gain the competencies needed to create the best course materials that we can to serve our students or trainees.