Image Source: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/principles-visual-design/
I am creating a Microsoft Teams Asynchronous Training for both a school and work project. This week I needed to discuss design principles for my training, and come up with a KASI map (Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills, and Interpersonal Skills) for my training. Below is my KASI map (click image to view full size), as well as some discussion on the importance of design principle and instructional design.
Note: Click image to view full size
Topics from this week's course material that stuck out to me:
What really stood out to me this week was the isolation of essential content and prioritization of content that is critical to the terminal goal (Larson, 2014). Creating the KASI map really helped me outline how I want to present my material, and in doing so, I found myself designing a hierarchy of processes that need to be followed to reach the end goal. Classifying content that is nice to have vs. what is essential (Larson, 2014), and also designing content on a unit basis that builds off of the previous unit allowed me to develop my KASI map. The KASI map will help me ensure that material that is not necessary to the terminal goal of the Microsoft Teams Asynchronous training is omitted. As Larson (2014) stated, students often resent learning material that is not necessary.
Why ID technology?
One of the major reasons I am taking the ID technology track is because I enjoy technology, the world of education, and aesthetics; ID technology unites those concepts into one profession. I find it very satisfying to put together well-organized material, and give it a flair that is both clean, stylish, but also relevant. I feel that design principals such as the ones I value help foster engagement and allow for more effective learning.
I am a firm believer in the (Universal Design for Learning) UDL approach to learning, and UDL aims to present content in multiple different mediums to remove barriers to learning. To me, finding creative ways to use imagery, videos, graphics, and so on, is extremely satisfying. I find more traditional-based textbook instruction to be very unfriendly to the UDL ideology given the lack of imagery, effective visuals and examples textbooks often lack; which is one reason I consider effective design a bridge, and not a barrier to effective learning. Simply put, I am of the firm belief that poor design can make or break the learning experience.
Discuss at least two or three different principles of visual design that you will heed particular attention to in your project.
Scale:
Gorand (2020) defines scale as utilizing size to signal importance and rank. Gordan (2020) further goes on the state that a visually pleasing design generally uses no more than three different sizes when scaling. Through bolded and italicized headers in this very discussion, I am applying the principle of scale to design
Visual Hierarchy:
Gorand (2020) also states that visual hierarchy guides the eye on the page so that it attends to different design elements in order of importance. Visual hierarchy includes the aforementioned scale, in addition to variations in color, spacing and placement. Again, this very discussion is following a visual hierarchy. :)
Contrast:
Gorand (2020) states that contrast is used to differentiate material of visually dissimilar elements to separate material, conveying the difference between the material(s). Size or colors are part of the contrast design principle, and not surprisingly, fall into the visual hierarchy category as well.
I find it so much easier to digest and chunk the information I organize, present, and/or consume when I follow design principles utilizing the three aforementioned design methods. I will utilize the noted methods in the design of my Microsoft Teams Asynchronous Training.
Question for my Peers:
Do you feel design makes or breaks a course? Even if the material is sound and not overbearing on a unit to unit basis, can poor design elements cause students to fail who would otherwise succeed?
References:
Larson, M. B. (2014). Streamlined ID: A Practical Guide to Instructional Design. Routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203118757
Gordan, K. (2020). 5 Principles of Visual Design in UX. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/principles-visual-design/