Faculty and/or instructional designers who work on online courses commonly utilize backward design practices (Grant & McTighe, 1998) to ensure alignment between course content, assessment, and learning practices. All of the aforementioned components are included within the development and delivery of the online course. Through the utilization of learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas, faculty and instructional designers have many options when it comes to the delivery of the content developed. While course organization and navigation have been shown to increase learner satisfaction, having a predictive influence on student depth of learning (Kishabale, 2021), this presentation will revolve around how to incorporate best practices of visual design into online courses to enhance the student experience and facilitate student learning.
This presentation will cover the theoretical basis as well as best practice recommendations for incorporating visual design foundations into online course design. Based on andragogical principles, this presentation will cover the design and content of a faculty development workshop on how to incorporate visual design into your online course. This will include the discussion of the research that supports the consideration of visual elements of online courses on student engagement and cognitive load. Included in this presentation will be an outlining of the definition of visual design, the importance of incorporating visual design, and three foundational visual design principles that can be implemented into online course design and delivery.
Lenore Porter