Our Approach

Segmenting is a useful technique to break down the content and the materials into segments or bit-sized learning. According to the segmenting principle, learning is more effective when material is broken down into chunks and when learners can move through these chunks at their own pace. Keeping this principle in mind, you will break-down your course content into bite-sized learning segments guided by the learning objective/s.

Choose a module, a content page, or a video that you would like to work on. You are welcome to choose all three. Each topic is in a different tab.

For instructions on organizing modules, open the module tab.
For instructions on organizing pages, open the content page tab.
For instructions on making videos interactive, open the Video tab.

Reference: Mayer, Richard E. (2001). Multi-media Learning. Cambridge University Press.

Module
Content Page
Video

Modules As Table of Content

Think of your modules as a book and the Module View as table of contents. Learners can get an overview of the learning by looking at the Module View. They can see the different segments of the learning unit and choose which activity to work on. Movement within a module is chronological, which helps students move in a manner that best supports their learning. Well designed modules have a structure where material is segmented into Content Pages, Activities, and Assignments. Consistency is key to ease in understanding and navigation as it helps students predict the flow of activities and content and reduces anxiety- helping students to focus on the learning.

Your Modules List View is like your course outline that gives students an understanding of your course. If the pages, activities, and assignments are organized and named well within a module, your students will be able to find materials quickly and have a clear understanding of the activities and content.

Let's Get to Work

Let's organize a module in easy to understand segments. To segment the course content and scaffold the learning you will start with a plan. Use the module planning sheet to plan and segment one module in your course. Let's think of it as a learning unit. This can be covered in one week or more. Once you create your plan, using the planning sheet, you will move towards the building phase and build a module (you can use place holders if needed).

Step 1:

Use the Module Planning Template and fill in information about one learning unit from your course. Think about how you are segmenting and scaffolding the learning.

Are your segments easy to follow?
Are there any missing pieces that you can fill? Look at your module template from a student perspective.
Will your students be able to move through the module easily and come back to content if they need to?

Step 2:

Transfer your module plan to build a module in your Sandbox or your course. Be sure to have the following:

Meaningful module title and names of module content
Orientation/Overview section (including tasks and activities)
Content chunked into meaningful segments
Activities (these could be discussion board, assignments)
Module Wrap Up/Summary (this can have reminders)

Example

This module planning video provides an overview of how to use the module planning sheet and shows an example of a completed module that is segmented, in chronological order, and has item names in student centered language.

Remember the importance of your module structure. Some key things to remember are:

Consistency- to create a predictable flow for students.
Chronology - to walk your students through the series of activities and resources.
Naming - to make your content (remember modules are like a table of contents) clear.

Check out the resource page to access resources on Modules in Canvas.

Design & Context

There are many ways to design your pages so that the content flow is easy to navigate. We will be organizing content pages in two ways- through page design and by providing context. You can choose to do both or one for this challenge.

Let's Get to Work

Page Design

The main aim is to chunk the content and design the page to be easily navigable and accessible for all students.

Steps:

You can redesign an existing page or start with a new one- the choice is yours. There are number of things that can help you create a well-designed and easy to navigate page. You can:

Segment content into bite-sized chunks, so that your page is not text heavy.
Use headings structure your page.
Use lines, text boxes and lists to segment the content. (Check out the resources page in this challenge for details)
Use lists where applicable.
Provide context or a brief description for uploaded documents, slides, and videos and external links.

Providing Context and Clear, Consistent Instructions

I also want to bring your attention to adding context and clear directions to all your activities, assignments, and pages. Are you uploading documents or files? Provide context and a brief description of how these are related to the course and the learning and explain what do you want students to do with these? What is the purpose of these and how will the students use this information?

It is also important to have clear, concise, and consistent instructions throughout your course. Doing so, reduces the anxiety level of the students and empowers them to complete tasks independently. I mentioned before that consistency is key in course design.

Steps:

To make your activities and tasks consistent and clear, add the following:

an introduction that includes goals or brief context
clear and concise instructions
rubric, grading, and feedback information
additional resources
due dates

Example

Watch this short video that provides an example of pages and activities that chunk information and provide clear instructions.

Remember less is more! Plan ahead how and where you want to place images, text boxes, and content boxes. Leverage white space!

Check out the resource page to access resources on Page Design.

Source: @ONE Course: Introduction to Course Design

Interactive Studio Videos

Segmenting videos by adding pop-up questions or annotation cards makes them interactive. You can add questions to your videos or to chunk them by adding note cards thoughtfully for a number of reasons-to break up the video into different sections, to add an explanation or description, or to provide links to additional resources and materials.

Let's Get to Work

To make course videos interactive , we will focus on Studio videos, either Studio created or uploaded to Studio. Watch the video to add questions or to annotate you video. Let's dive right into the challenge.

Studio Quiz and Annotation by Nadia Khan

Steps:

Follow instructions in the video to add questions to your video or to annotate your video

When adding videos with quizzes or annotation, make sure to select 'Quiz Embed' so that the quiz and annotation appear on the video.

Check out the resource page to access resources on Videos in Studio.

→ Make sure to open all the relevant tabs before moving to the next page.