Web site Development Outside of WebCT or Olive

If you want the Flexible Learning Team to create or further develop a web site outside of WebCT (whether for learning or some other purpose), we would be happy to assist with

• planning your site
• arranging specialists to help actually create it
• providing feedback on what you already have.

You might like to ask for particular assistance with:

• Navigation design - Both print materials and web based materials rely on a range of 'devices' to help students understand where they are, what else they can access, and how to access it as efficiently as possible. While many of these have become almost automatic within print resources, the complexities of hyperlinks on the web have made navigation design a more defined skill. The nature of the information design within a resource and the content mapping you have undertaken will often inform your decisions about this.

• Information design - This has to do with identifying the best structures and sequences to use in conveying information. Often an editor helps writers deal with this area by providing feedback on draft manuscripts. However, planning can be undertaken before writing, with decisions being informed by discussion of the strengths and limitations of different technologies and particular types of writing, initial course needs analysis, and content mapping.

• Interaction design - Teaching online opens up a range of new possibilities for interactions: student-student, student-teacher, or student-machine. Self paced online activities where students interact solely with a computer ('interactivity' rather than 'interaction') are becoming increasingly common, particularly to support content areas that students find difficult.

• Graphic design - This could range from developing an overall look and feel for a course to creating an effective diagram to describe a particular process or producing a simple banner. Both a graphic designer and an educational designer could be involved in helping you with this.

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