麻豆传媒

University Technology

Universal Course Navigation and Interface (UCNI) Shell

The purpose of the UCNI shell is to maintain consistent navigation, graphical user interface, syllabus, and structural organization across all online courses. The UCNI shell will aid with accessibility and compliance issues while continuing to meet 麻豆传媒 online course standards. This shell will not inhibit the instructor鈥檚 academic freedom as it does not dictate the educational content of the course. The UCNI shell provides an overall structure for the course organization to assist students in navigating the online classroom with familiarity and commonality, improving the online learning experience. The UCNI shell does not include faculty-developed content, assessments, materials, or activities for the course. This information will still be created by the individual faculty teaching the course.

The UCNI will include student and faculty resources developed by OTL to help navigate the online course. Instructor resources include guidance documents and tip sheets for creating content, assessments, materials, and activities. Student resources include documents and tip sheets on how to engage within the course, information on where to locate course material, common terminology used within the course, and information regarding various types of course materials, creating a standard format.

Popular Topics

    • What does the UCNI Provide/Include?聽
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      The UNCI provides customizable templates to fit your needs and fixed (unchangeable) elements that will enhance accessibility, consistency, and usability for all instructors and learners. The UCNI out-of-the-box is accessible.

    • Simplified Fixed Navigation Bar
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      The new simplified course navigation is a fixed (unchangeable) element of the UCNI. Do not modify or change this navigation bar. If in the past you have customized your navigation bars in 麻豆传媒 Online, we have provided the ability to add QuickLinks to the Instructor Information and QuickLinks widget on the homepage, and a Course Resources area under the Resources Module where you can locate commonly used materials, links, etc.

    • Instructor Information and Quick Links Widget
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      The Instructor Information and Quick Links widget is where you will list your contact information, and provide links to any additional information that you feel is extremely important to your students. The quick links area serves those that used to put their own links in the navigation bar. Keep these limited to no more than 3-4 links.

    • Virtual Table of Contents (VTOC) Widget
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      The new and improved Content widget (a.k.a Virtual Table of Contents) displays the four main elements of your course: Welcome Information, Lessons, Resources, and Conclusion. It is a fixed element of the UCNI and should not be changed. Please, do not change the images, order, or name of these four modules. Such changes will interrupt the consistency and usability for 麻豆传媒 students.

    • Content Structure (Instructional Modules)
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      The four main content modules in the UCNI are fixed (cannot be changed). Note: our main shell contains 16 鈥渕odules鈥� under Instructional Modules. While the initial name of that module will always remain Instructional Modules for consistency, we realize that not everyone uses that terminology. Therefore, we have designed a template that can be added to your course with the content inside of Instructional Modules named (Weeks, Units, or Lessons as opposed to Modules). Before requesting such a change, please ensure that your college/department does not have a set option being used across the board. If you would like to have an alternative option loaded under Instructional Modules, please contact OTL at support@wiu.edu and specify which of the following you would like to change to: Weeks, Units, or Lessons.

      The modules/weeks/lessons/units are where you will build your course by developing and uploading your instructional materials, activities, and assessments within the structure provided.

      Instructional Modules contain an overview, readings, multimedia, activities, assessments, and other items aligned with the course learning objectives. Best practices and research show that learners prefer modules that contain task-based submodules.

    • Content Structure (STUDY, APPLY, and REVIEW Submodules)
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      Best practices and research show that learners prefer modules that contain task-based submodules.

      Adopting and adapting Georgia Southern University鈥檚 use of the Study, Apply, and Review model, our new UCNI incorporates this practice to actively direct and scaffold learners through the completion of the module without overwhelming them. Our action/task-based sub-modules are Study, Apply Knowledge, and Review. This is a new concept at 麻豆传媒.

      The Study submodule contains materials, including but not limited to readings, slide presentations, weblinks, videos, etc. It also includes a student guidance link to prepare them for studying and engaging with online content such as Videos, Presentations, Lectures, Articles and Readings, and Websites. Do not change the image, text, or links provided in the Study Submodule description.

      Consider the following tips when setting up your Study submodules for each instructional module.

          • List the items to study in the order that learners should study them, based on how they are to be used.
          • Connect materials to how and when they will be used throughout the module. Point out what assignments, assessments, and activities they are needed for, and when and if they will be continued to be used throughout the entirety of the course. Note: it is recommended that materials meant to be used continually throughout the course or referred to often be placed in the Course Resources folder under Resources and linked to from the resources folder within the particular submodules, assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc., where they will be used.
          • Include a 1 - 3 sentence description of each material (item). This description should inform the learner what the material is, how they will use it for their learning, and how they will access it (remember, if added correctly to content, D2L will supply the type of content name with the link.) Additionally, within your description, provide key ideas or questions that the learner should consider as they engage with the content.

      The Apply Knowledge submodule includes activities such as Assignments and Projects, Discussions, Quizzes and Exams, Surveys, etc., designed to assess learner understanding of the course content and mastery of the module learning objectives/outcomes. Just like the Study submodule, the Apply Knowledge submodule includes a guide for your students.

      Consider the following tips when setting up your Apply Knowledge submodules for each instructional module.

          • Provide thorough explanations (prompts) for Assignments, Assessments, Discussions, etc. When drafting these, consider what you would do or say in a face-to-face class when you introduce an assignment, assessment, project, or some other type of course activity.
          • When creating folders or documents for course activities with multiple pieces of information (past examples, rubrics, detailed instructions, etc.), place them under course resources and then link to them from the module(s) where they will be used. You can also highlight/list the information provided in course resources in your course syllabus.

      The Review submodule allows instructors to recap what the student studied and learned in the module, a list of key points and/or takeaways, and information on how the learner will use what they have learned in their future academic, professional, and life endeavors. Instructors may also wish to include an anonymous formative module review.

      Within the Review Submodule for each instructional module, you will find a Conclusion HTML template that provides a prompt for developing your module conclusion.

    • Resources
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      The Resources area includes two sub-modules: Course and Institution. Within the Course sub-module, provide information that your learners will need to access multiple times throughout the course, regardless of the lesson they are currently working on. Examples include Project Guidelines, Instructions, Rubrics, Recurring Assignments, Discussions, Quizzes, Exam Instructions, Digital Articles or Books, etc., and Weblinks that students will frequently access throughout the semester.

      Within the Institution sub-module, include institutional resources learners may need throughout the semester, such as links to services (e.g., Department Website, Library, Writing Center, Online Student Resources website, etc.).

    • HTML 5.0 Templates
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      The UCNI provides built-in accessible HTML templates for the following types of pages, and more will be added in the future!

        • Basic Blank Page with Heading Styles
        • Course Welcome
        • Instructor Information
        • Course Conclusion
        • Module Overview
        • Module Conclusion
        • Video Content
        • Blockquote
        • Jumbotron

      Learn more about using the HTML 5.0 templates in the HTML 5.0 template under the Tip Sheets section of this web page.

Tip Sheets