Module 2

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When designing an online course, one of the most important factors for success is clear and consistent course navigation. While it might seem like a minor detail, the way your Canvas course is structured plays a critical role in helping students stay engaged and on track. Research shows that students perform better when they can easily navigate through the course, find important materials, and understand the course’s overall structure. When an Institution or program has a preset course navigation, students can engage with content faster vs figuring out what is where. In this section, we’ll break down why navigation matters, explore best practices for organizing your Canvas course, and look at examples to highlight the difference between cluttered and well-organized course shells. We’ll also look at ways to make the process easier, such as using templates and course checklists.

Why Navigation Matters

Imagine walking into a physical classroom where everything is scattered: the whiteboard has old notes, piles of outdated textbooks are in every corner, and the seating arrangement changes every day. It would be confusing, right? The same goes for an online course. If students can’t quickly and easily find what they need, they become frustrated, disengaged, and may even struggle to keep up. It's frustrating and time consuming for faculty. Consistent and intuitive course navigation is key to reducing this frustration.

A study by California State University showed that students in courses with clear, consistent navigation structures reported higher satisfaction and engagement levels. They felt more confident in their ability to complete assignments on time because they knew exactly where to find important information. This is backed by research from Pennsylvania State University, which found that clear navigation not only improves student retention but also reduces the number of errors students make in completing assignments, such as missing deadlines or submitting the wrong file.

In online learning, students often navigate the course on their own, without the in-person guidance of an instructor. This means they rely heavily on the layout of the course to understand the flow of the semester, what’s expected of them, and how to prioritize their workload. When navigation is unclear, it can cause confusion, anxiety, and lead to students falling behind.

To ensure consistent navigation across different courses or departments within an institution, it’s essential to develop standardized course templates that faculty can easily customize for their specific needs. Each program or department should provide a preset starter template that offers a clear and structured layout, ensuring uniformity in how students experience the course interface. These templates should include common Quality Matters elements such as a homepage with links to the syllabus, instructor contact information, weekly or unit-based modules, and a predetermined left sidebar navigation. By standardizing these key components, students benefit from a familiar and intuitive navigation experience, regardless of the course they are taking, which reduces confusion and improves their ability to focus on content.

To support faculty in effectively implementing these templates, a course checklist can be used to help faculty save time when prepping for a new session. This checklist should guide instructors through the process of ensuring that all key areas—such as assignments, due dates, external links, and multimedia—are properly set up and functional. By checking these elements before the course begins, faculty can identify and fix potential issues that might otherwise cause delays or confusion once the course is live. The combination of standardized templates and a checklist helps maintain consistency across courses, simplifies the setup process for instructors, and ensures a smoother experience for students from the start. It boils down to working smarter...not harder.

Best Practices for Clear Course Navigation

The good news is that creating a well-organized course doesn’t require complicated design skills—just a thoughtful approach to how materials are presented. Let’s dive into some best practices that will help ensure your students can easily navigate your Canvas course from start to finish.

Organize Your Modules Logically

One of the simplest but most effective strategies for improving course navigation is organizing your modules in a logical, sequential order. This can be by week, unit, or topic, depending on your course structure. By presenting content in an intuitive flow, you guide students step-by-step through the material, making it easier for them to stay on track.

For example, Oregon State University encourages faculty to organize their courses by weekly modules, starting each module with an overview of the week’s topics and assignments. This method ensures that students know exactly what to expect and can plan their time accordingly. Additionally, OSU research found that students are more likely to complete their work on time when the course is laid out in a way that mirrors the natural progression of the semester.

To help faculty achieve this consistency, programs or departments can implement preset starter templates that provide a structured foundation for course development. These templates ensure that key areas—such as modules, assignments, and discussions—are organized clearly and logically from the start, reducing the time faculty spend reinventing the wheel and promoting consistency across courses.

Avoid Multiple Versions of the Same Assignment or Resource

A common mistake in course design is leaving behind multiple versions of assignments or resources. Perhaps you’ve made edits over the years or kept an older version “just in case.” While this may seem harmless, it actually causes a lot of confusion for students. They may not know which version to complete or could accidentally submit the wrong assignment.

Instead, it’s best to stick with a single, updated version of each resource or assignment. If you’re unsure whether to include something, consider whether it’s necessary for the current iteration of your course. Harvard University advises instructors to archive old content rather than keeping it visible in the course shell, ensuring that students only interact with the most relevant and up-to-date materials.

To assist with this, faculty can use a course checklist before launching their course. The checklist can include key areas such as making sure there is only one version of each assignment, ensuring all links are working, and that all necessary materials are in place. By checking these elements before the course begins, you can reduce confusion and limit the number of student inquiries once the semester starts.

Use Standardized Canvas Naming Conventions to Improve Clarity

Consistency is key in creating a clear learning path for students. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using standardized naming conventions across your course. Whether you’re naming modules, assignments, or discussion boards, a clear and consistent approach helps students immediately understand what’s expected of them.

For example, naming each week’s module “Week 1: Introduction to Supply Chain” or “Unit 1: Materials Management” sets clear expectations. Compare that to naming one module “Week 1” and another “Introduction to Supply Chain”—the lack of uniformity can throw students off. Stanford University encourages instructors to develop and stick to consistent naming patterns, which has led to improved student satisfaction in their online programs.

QM and Clear Course Navigation

Applying consistent navigation in an online course directly supports meeting Quality Matters (QM) essential standards, particularly those related to course design and accessibility. QM standards emphasize the importance of clear organization and ease of navigation so that students can easily locate course components and understand the flow of the course without confusion. By implementing consistent navigation, instructors ensure that all course elements—such as learning modules, assignments, and resources—are logically organized and easy to access. This reduces cognitive load on students, allowing them to focus on learning rather than navigating the platform. Consistent navigation aligns with QM’s focus on supporting learner engagement and ensuring accessibility, as it enables all students, regardless of experience with online learning, to navigate the course efficiently and meet learning objectives without unnecessary barriers.

Accessibility and Clear Course Navigation

Using consistent navigation in an online course helps meet Federal Accessibility and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards by ensuring that all students, including those with disabilities, can easily navigate and access course materials. WCAG guidelines emphasize the importance of providing clear, predictable navigation to improve accessibility for users with various needs, such as those using screen readers or keyboard-only navigation. By maintaining consistent placement of links, buttons, and content structures across all pages of a course, instructors reduce the complexity of navigating the content, making it easier for students with visual, motor, or cognitive impairments to interact with the course effectively. Consistent navigation also aligns with federal accessibility laws, like Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires that all online content be accessible to people with disabilities. Implementing predictable navigation pathways ensures compliance with these standards while promoting an inclusive learning environment for all students.

Examples of Course Navigation: Before and After

Let’s look at two examples that illustrate the impact of clear and consistent course navigation:

Before: A Cluttered, Disorganized Course Shell
Jane logs into her philosophy course and is greeted by an empty homepage. The content for week 1 is hard to find, with old links scattered throughout the page with no apparent structure or flow. Everything is just one long list of content. She clicks into the assignments section, only to see three versions of the same essay prompt, all labeled differently. There are dates back to 2021 on material headers. Discussions are missing and there’s no clear order to the modules. After 30 minutes of searching, she’s frustrated and emails the instructor for clarification.

After: A Streamlined, Minimalist Course Shell
Now, imagine Jane logs into a different course. Right away, she sees a clean homepage with links to the syllabus, course modules, and contact information. Each week’s content is organized into clearly labeled modules, such as “Week 1: Introduction” and “Week 2: Key Concepts.” Within each module, the assignments and readings are listed in a specific order, making it easy for her to move from one task to the next. There are no duplicate assignments, and every resource is up-to-date. Jane is confident in navigating the course and doesn’t feel the need to ask for help.

Case Study: Clear Course Navigation

At Pennsylvania State University, faculty across various departments implemented a standardized course navigation model for all online courses. This model included clear module structures, consistent naming conventions, and minimal use of unnecessary content. After one year, the university reported a 25% drop in student emails related to confusion about course structure. Additionally, students in courses with standardized navigation had a higher completion rate than those in more disorganized courses.

Penn State also found that organizing courses in a sequential, predictable manner allowed students to take more responsibility for their learning. By knowing exactly where to find resources, assignments, and discussion boards, students were able to manage their time more effectively and engage more deeply with the course content.

By using a combination of preset starter templates and course checklists, Penn State ensures that instructors can easily create organized, student-friendly courses that reduce confusion and improve the overall learning experience.

Course Navigation Example at LincolnU

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