Save Time, Energy with Moodle Suggested Layout

Building an online course is a time investment, to say the least.

In addition to ensuring your content is delivered in the best possible format, certain parameters need to be met to comply with Quality Matters standards — the ruler by which UL Lafayette’s online and hybrid courses are measured.

“Quality Matters provides a rubric based on best practices for online teaching and learning developed through years of research on how to design a course for the best student experience,” said Instructional Designer Angela Lee.

However, by using the Moodle Suggested Layout designed by the Instructional Support Team at the Office of Distance Learning, instructors not only meet some standards but are also free to focus on their course material instead of building a course from the ground up.

“The layout was designed to provide a template for faculty so they wouldn’t have to start from scratch when designing a course,” Lee said.

Here are three reasons to adopt this layout:

Mobile-friendly

A recent survey, produced by Learning House and Aslanian Market Research, found “36 percent of prospective online college students would like to complete all or most of their online course-related activities on a mobile device.”

Some aspects of online learning are just not possible. For instance, proctored exams require a desktop or laptop. However, it’s clear more and more students are doing what they can on the go from a smartphone or tablet. 

“Ensuring course content and websites are optimized for mobile is vital for colleges and universities that are pushing to grow and retain their online student population,” according to the report.

The Distance Learning-designed course template is formatted so that blocks and banners automatically scale for whatever screen students are using.

Student support

The Moodle Suggested Layout includes a “Learner Support Block” that connects students to Technical Support, Moodle help, Academic Support, Student Services, the Distance Learning Librarian, and accessibility information.

“An on-campus student can walk to the (Office of Disabilities Services) department, whereas we provide a link and contact information to the ODS department for the online student,” Lee said.

In providing those features, the course meets several of the Quality Matters standards.

Consistency

By adopting this format, students are able to hit the ground running from the moment they log in to a course because the format is the same as others they’ve taken.

“If a whole program uses the layout, students in any program course know where to go for information; it’s all located in the same place,” Lee said.

There are blocks for navigation (menu) and instructor information along with banners, placeholders for objectives, and checklists, for instance.

The layout can be imported into an empty course, as well as a course that already has content.

Instructors interested in applying the suggested layout can complete this form from the website or email their request to distancelearning@louisiana.edu. Lee said the layout can be applied to the course in a matter of hours.