With all the changes going on in education today, it is more than likely you will be building a lesson, response sheet, or presentation for your students at some point. Students are using Google products (Slides, Doc, Forms) or platforms such as Canvas, SeeSaw, or BrightSpace more than ever before. Although there may be some of you who have avoided technology for as long as humanly possible, it is with the start of this school year that you may at long last be forced to face the inevitable: creating within and working intricately with digital resources and platforms.
For me, I wanted to consider the most streamlined approach to creating and sharing content for my students. However, I also recognize that I need to make that content accessible for any learner (think IEPs and 504s) that may be sitting in front of a screen. With that in mind, I have put together a list of 7 Rules To Follow When Creating Digital Resources.
Use the following 7 Rules to keep your students' cognitive load where it belongs. To read more about Cognitive Load click this link ---> Cognitive Load Theory. These digital design tips will apply whether you are simply writing the directions for the students or are building an entire unit from scratch and creating the content the students will be reading and using.
1. Use Simple Colors
In reality, the fewer the colors, the better. But if you feel a burning need to incorporate color, stick to simple colors. Avoid neon or high contrasting colors that can be hard on the eyes.
Consider: students (and you) will be spending hours looking into a screen. If you open something and you immediate "squint", then reconsider the colors you have chosen. Again, black and white is best...but I know there are those of you out there that absolutely need color. So, choose colors wisely.
2. Use Bullets
Bulleted lists help the students know the sequence and/or expectations. Bullets also help highlight the important information that you want the student to focus in on. If there is too much text, you will lose the reader.
Consider: large blocks and columns of text will be intimidating for many students. When giving instructions, make it possible for the student to understand what is needed with as few words or sentences as possible.
3. Use Simple English
Keep your instructions clear and minimal. Using metaphors or hyperbole will add to the student's cognitive load and disrupt the energy needed for the task. Your goal is to communicate instructions and what is required, not create a lesson within a lesson's directions or instructions.
Consider: instructions work best when a student can comprehend what is needed. Flowery, verbose instructions detract from the task. Keep the focus on the task.
4. Use A Consistent Layout
I try to use the same graphic organizers with my students to reduce cognitive load; using consistent layouts will do the same. When I assign tasks, the layout in the CRE (Content Rich Editor) is uniform. Every assignment's directions looks the same (or nearly the same). It helps the students work through the instructions and clarifies what is expected.
Consider: every time you change a font, color, size, etc... you are asking the brain to process new information. The goal is to keep the brain focused on the task itself, not the instructions for the task.
5. Break Up The Text
Just as any magazine or newspaper (or blog...) will format and break up the text, you should do the same with your content. Long strings of words and sentences will fatigue the students. Work will take longer, patience will grow thin. In fact, when opening up instructions or text, some students may feel automatically defeated if it looks complicated or exhausting.
Consider: the visual layout of the materials you are creating and/or sharing with your students is going to directly impact their ability to learn the information. Give your students' brains and eyes small breaks when they will be working with a large amount of text.
6. Use Large Clickable Buttons
If you are techie enough that you will be creating clickable buttons and links, think about the layout of those pieces. Using a broader, more-easily clickable button will work better than one than requires precise motor skill.
Consider: have you ever been frustrated when trying to click on a small button? Couple that frustration with other kinds of fatigue (eye strain, cognitive load, anxiety) and your students may not make it through the task.
7. Use Graphics
Graphics are your friend. Use images or diagrams to support the text, help students make connections, and give them one more pathway to their long term memory. Charts and graphs are a huge benefit to the visual learners out there and gives every student an additional avenue to learn the content.
Consider: not only do graphics help solidify the content, it helps ease the visual strain of the reader. Graphics also help the reader remember "where" they read information and better enable to student to go back and find the information they may need when working on a response.
Please Note: the use of underlines, italics, or CAPITAL LETTERS will make reading and understanding information more difficult for some students; impossible for others. These changes to type are a usual go-to for many people and seem innocuous. However, consider the possibility that using them may hinder your students from understanding your message if you choose to use them.