e-Learning Module Proposal

My e-Learning module will be a reunion website of “the old neighborhood” – south Harlem in the 1940s and 1950s. My father – and his friends and family – grew up, went to school and married in this neighborhood. Nearly all of them moved away, and year by year, some of them pass away.

But they all still talk about this neighborhood, which really exists only in their minds now. Like any community, the north end of Manhattan has changed and evolved. Gone are the places with which they can connect and visit – all but for the Church of the Annunciation. The group still meets at reunion masses each year, and holds reunion dances every few years.

The group stayed connected through a periodic newsletter a group of them produced. Usually, the newsletter was eight pages and contained feature stories from the old days, and photos from recent gatherings.

The group is aging now, and producing the newsletter became too much work for too few people.

As the age of Web 2.0 teaches us, websites aren’t always a product built by one, to be viewed by many. A community website can start with a core, and expand as the group adds contents and features.

My module will produce the content of those few newsletters, and invite the community to participate in ongoing discussions, plans and communications.

The group is elderly, and will require usability practices from Section 508 compliance. In meeting with some of this group, I’ve found they’ve missed the learning curve of the Internet almost completely. They’re at a level where they have difficulties opening PDFs in e-mails, and choosing in a complex navigation system.


I’ve been thinking about:

• Large point sizes
  
• Simple, clean navigation
  
• Large target areas for hyperlinks and linked images
  
• Brief text on introduction areas, with long content in detailed pages (like feature stories)
  
• Using a very simple design, as though this was a children’s project. The navigation would be a combination of words, images and symbols.
  

I see this project as a blend of modes: tutorial and a bit of instructional games.

I believe my design, imagery and the users’ high interest in the content will gain attention. I think an early, clean and simple introduction will inform the learners of the site’s objectives.

I see two challenges: Providing learning guidance and encouraging feedback.

If I can’t adequately teach the user to use the Flash-based tools early, I’ll lose them. One idea is to have a Google maps page, cleanly displaying the old neighborhood, and inviting users to “mark” their former home, job or school. If I can make this simple and engage the user, I’ll succeed.

Feedback is essential to the success of this project. For this to work, the community of the user must participate and own the project – not a few. If the chat board doesn’t fill with a few ideas, suggestions and participation, the site will wither.

I’m intrigued by two of Kevin Kruse’s ideas in Designing e-Learning User Interfaces: Chunking information and using multiple access points.

This audience may be unique. Web designers are encouraged to follow web standards in navigation and presentation, such as the logo goes top left and developing a navigation hierarchy going three and four levels deep. This group may not have any learned knowledge of the Internet. Yes, blue links are always a good idea (and this group would get underlined, blue hyperlinks), but perhaps this navigation should only go one-deep in each area; any more may be too complex.

I like the idea of multiple access points. Breadcrumbs would be a large help.

These are my early ideas. Thanks.