Information Technology (IT) is updating the (default) student and instructor experiences within the MyCourses course navigation. Your input is needed!
As we continue to offer online, hybrid, and hyflex courses, the MyCourses experience must be designed to support the quality standards and best practices associated with delivering online courses.
Course navigation options have been prepared that incorporate standards/best practices from organizations such as Quality Matters (QM) and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC).
Best Practices and Standards Implemented in Course Navigation Options
Specific standards and best practices from QM and OLC have been referenced in the chart below along with examples of how the standard or best practice has been implemented in the course navigation options.
| Organization | Standard/Best Practice | Implementation Example |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Matters | Course Technology (6.2)- A variety of technology is used in the course. | The course navigation bar exposes most, if not all, the built-in MyCourses tools and features as well as the integrated technologies such as Kaltura, Zoom, and SL&L in a manner that makes it easier for instructors to incorporate the tools (fewer steps needed) and easier for students to locate the tools. See labels A in the Navbar Visuals document. |
| Quality Matters Online Learning Consortium | Learner Support (7.1)- The course instructions articulate or link to a clear description of the technical support offered and how to obtain it. Course provides access to online learner success resources (technical help, support services, orientation, academic honesty, tutoring). | The course navigation bar includes a link to Support Resources. The support resources include GGC Help Desk and the USG provided 24/7 D2L Help Center (DHC). See labels B in the Navbar Visuals document. |
| Quality Matters | Learner Support (7.3)- Course instructions articulate or link to the institution’s academic support services and resources that can help learners succeed in the course. | The course navigation bar includes a link to Support Resources. The support resources include links to AEC resources, counseling services and more. See labels B in the Navbar Visuals document. |
| Quality Matters | Learner Support (7.4)- Course instructions articulate or link to the institution’s student services and resources that can help learners succeed. | The course navigation bar includes a link to Support Resources. The support resources include links to AEC resources, counseling services and more. See labels B in the Navbar Visuals document. |
| Quality Matters Online Learning Consortium | Accessibility and Usability (8.1)- Course navigation facilitates ease of use. Frequently used technology tools are easily accessed. A logical, consistent, and uncluttered layout is established. The course is easy to navigate (consistent color scheme and icon layout, related content organized together, self-evident titles). | The course navigation bar uses link groups to group tools/features that are related. The navigation bar also surfaces commonly used tools so that it takes fewer clicks to locate them. e.g. Zoom. See labels C in the Navbar Visuals document. |
Course Navigation Options for Review
The NavBar Visuals document includes screenshots of the two course navigation options. This document includes examples of how the course navigation might look to an instructor, to a student, as well as what it might look like when viewed from a mobile device.
Instructors may also review the course navigation options in our live MyCourses Test Environment. The navigation experience will be from the student perspective in this live environment.
Timeline
IT expects to make changes to the (default) course navigation experience in time for the start of the Summer 2023 semester. The timeline for making this transition is as follows:
- November 2022-January 2023
- Solicit faculty input on course navigation bars
- February 2023
- Based on faculty input, finalize the course navigation bar
- March 2023
- Include the new course navigation bar as the default for Summer 2023 courses
- May 2023
- The new course navigation bar is the default for all courses moving forward.
- May 2023-July 2023
- Update support materials to reflect the new course navigation bar.
Next Steps
Faculty should review the navigation options and provide their input via the MyCourses Course Navigation Experience Survey by January 31, 2023.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to use this navigation bar in my course?
No, this navigation bar will be the default navigation bar. Instructors will still have the option to modify the navigation bar used in their courses. However, IT recommends that you use the default navigation bar to create a consistent MyCourses experience for students. Using the default navigation bar allows students to have the same navigation experience across all courses. A consistent MyCourses course is easy to learn and navigate, which means students can focus their energy on learning the course content.
Using the default navigation bar also means that when reviewing support materials such as knowledge base articles and videos, the support materials match what the students sees in their courses.
Why is MS Teams not included in the (default) course navigation bar options?
The MS Teams integration with MyCourses is a widget-based integration and as such it cannot be added to the course navigation bar.
Instructors may wish to move from using MS Teams to Zoom within MyCourses because of the features provided by the MyCourses-Zoom and Kaltura-Zoom integrations:
- MyCourses-Zoom integration adds scheduled Zoom sessions to the MyCourses calendar automatically
- Kaltura-Zoom integrations adds Zoom recordings automatically to the host’s Kaltura My Media account
Are these course navigation bar options intended to make things easier for students or instructors?
Both!
When looking at the course navigation bar options from the instructor perspective, IT added as many of the MyCourses tools and integrated tools as was technically possible to the navigation bar drop down menus. This was done purposefully to ensure that instructors would have fewer clicks to make to incorporate tools into their courses. It was also done with the intention of making some tools more visible to instructors to increase adoption of that tool.
From the student perspective, the course navigation bar options were organized with the understanding that the student navigational experience in MyCourses should be designed to primarily encourage students to interact with the course through the ‘Content Tool’. The ‘Content Tool’ can contain links to content, assessments (discussions, quizzes, assignments, etc.), publisher materials, and more. The ‘Content Tool’ should be the primary method that students use to navigate a course.