[LON-CAPA-users] Course Navigation Design

[Felicia Berryman]

Hi Mark,

This will be covered at our Workshop this weekend.  If you will not be 
around for this, remind me after this weekend to send you my notes.

By the way, as I've been training people with DOCS, the two common 
scenarios have been:

1.)

* Homepage/Syllabus/ or some Simple Page
* Nav screen
* list of folders and/or maps

2.)

* Nav screen
* Homepage/Syllabus/ or some Simple Page
* list of folders and/or maps

I personally prefer the Nav screen as the first resource - but that's 
just me who's also not teaching.  I would suggest getting out of the 
"top-level sequence" idea of thinking and start using DOCS more.

Felicia



Mark Lucas wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Does anyone out there have examples of what they might consider good or 
> innovative course layouts? Or for that matter, what do people use?
> 
> We're looking for ideas that will help structure a course so that students
> have a clear idea what's where and can get at it easily.
> 
> I would classify this in two categories:
> 
> * structuring the sequences and using navmaps
> 
> * placing some hardlinks on the 'home page'
> 
> 
> We've been using a standard -
> 
>  * home page.html
>  * assign1.sequence
>     - intro1.html - for any custom comments on the assignment
>     - bunch of problems
>     - trailer1.html - to let students know they're at the end
>  * assign2.sequence
>      ....
>  * trailer.html
> 
> 
> This last quarter I used:
> 
>  * intro.html
>  * assignments.sequence
>     - assign1.sequence
>     - assign2.sequence
>        .....
>  * reading.sequence - list of reading assignments
>     - reading assignments by day, individual html files
>  * study.html - study guides
>  * lecture.sequence - lecture notes
>     - sequences for each week's material
>  * quiz.html - page directly linking to quiz solutions
>  * trailer.html
> 
> 
> We are considering a format:
> 
> * intro.html
> * Chapter 1
>    - lecture1.sequence
>    - study guide1.html
>    - reading1.sequence
>    - quickcheck1.sequence
>    - assign1.sequence
> * Chapter 2
>    - lecture2.sequence
>    - study guide 2.html
>    - ....
>  ............
> * Exams.html
> * trailer.html
> 
> I presume it would not be good to use assignment.sequence for everything 
> as that would cause some problems where maps are unique only by last name 
> in the sequence of sequences.
> 
> As far as placing direct URL links in the home page, what kinds of things
> have the biggest return on investement 8) ? Things that have to be 
> modified each week can be a pain.  If things are linked directly, when a 
> student presses NAV, will it expand properly? (I know, something I can go 
> and check.)
> 
> So - any comments on the above? Suggestions for alternate designs?
> Comments on how to put things together so students can wander around
> quickly and easily?
> 
> Thanks for sharing any ideas!
> 
> Later,
> Mark
> 
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Mark Lucas					email: lucasm@ohiou.edu
> 252D Clippinger Lab  				phone: (740)597-2984
> Department of Physics and Astronomy             fax:   (740)593-0433
> Ohio University
> Athens, OH 45701
> 
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-- 
Felicia Berryman
LON-CAPA Coordinator
Michigan State University
   Email:  felicia@lon-capa.org
   Phone:  (517)432-9866
http://www.lon-capa.org