Klamath Community College

Klamath Falls, Oregon

As a new Instructional Designer at Klamath Community College (KCC), I have relied heavily on DesignPLUS to help me create user friendly, accessible course templates for faculty to use when creating new courses or revising existing coursework. Eventually, I would like to convert the templates to blueprint courses to encourage consistent use of DesignPLUS features in all KCC courses.

The templates I created using DesignPLUS have helped me to connect with faculty members, who have expressed enthusiasm and excitement for incorporating my designs into their courses. These interactions have helped me to build better relationships with faculty members and made me more confident and excited to learn.

The templates I created for faculty incorporate various DesignPLUS features. Here are some of the ways I am improving the accessibility, visual appeal, and usability of courses using DesignPLUS:

Entire Course:

• Icons and styled pictures are used throughout courses to add visual communication elements. Images are properly labeled or marked as decorative.
• Different views (e.g. browser, app, etc.) are examined to ensure content is accessible using various devices.

Home Page:

• Tabs are used to reduce student confusion when navigating courses. The Home page is broken down into 5 tabulated “Steps for Success” for students to follow.
• “Teacher & TA Details” Design Tools feature is utilized to input instructors’ photos and contact information.
• Cards are used for “Step 5: Begin Course” to add visual appeal and help students to easily navigate to specific modules. The cards are created using a combination of DesignPLUS features and coding.

Modules:

• Page themes are used for weekly agendas, quizzes, assignments, discussions, and wrap-ups to chunk content, add to visual appeal, and improve consistency.

Syllabus:

• Accordions are used to chuck information and make the syllabus easier to navigate.
• A policy content lock is used for institution-specific information.

I would like to thank the incredible faculty members at KCC who have tried my course templates and provided suggestions for feedback along the way. One of the faculty members who deserves special thanks is Nicole Mace, who is one of the first people who volunteered to let me revise a course using the templates (she is also the instructor of the Course Survival & Success course I submitted for the DesignPLUS Showcase).

My fellow Center for Teaching and Learning teammates also deserve thanks for encouraging me to create designs using DesignPLUS and supporting me throughout the design process.

Lastly, I would like to thank Cidi Labs for all of the design tools that have helped me to create accessible, creative, user friendly designs that I believe will maximize student success and satisfaction.

Link to view the course:  https://cidilabs.instructure.com/courses/5417