Designing for the audience of an online course

Will the content and page design be appropriate and accessible for the audience?

The statement prepared for your course-planning document can guide the design used in the course. For example:

Students are expected to be Year 5 students with age-appropriate language skills studying from home schooling situations with minimal support. All students must successfully complete a prerequisite course, delivered through Blackboard, before starting this course. There are no additional computing requirements.

The following features can be drawn from the above statement:

Font sizes may need to be slightly larger but students should be experienced readers

Headings should be clear and easy to read

Language should match the expected reading age of a 10-year-old student

Activities must be self-contained

Students need to know how to get support

Internet connections will vary

Computing facilities should meet the needs of the course

Students should have developed basic computing skills during their previous course

All plug-ins and viewers should already be installed on the computer

Students should have basic Blackboard navigation skills

Audience

Will the content and page design be appropriate and accessible for the audience?