How to Improve the Visual Appeal of an Online Program
Introductory note: In the early-to-mid 2010’s, I had lead an online learning program to drastically improve its collective visual appeal. In the early-to-mid-2010s, online video and graphics was not as easy and abundant as it would be a decade later. So, those insights and lessons learned were turned into a key presentation that I gave at a conference. While I can’t find the slide deck, I did find the presentation script (for some reason I have that!). So, below is a script from the presentation on how to improve the visual appeal of an online program – highlighting the need, the steps taken, and the lessons learned along the way.
Presentation Script
Let’s face it. Online learning can really stink. It can be so boring, monotonous, and unstimulating that it produces a colorless odor that sucks life and motivation out of our students. Online learning’s stench can fill the heavens above and permeate the plains below. As the leader of an online learning program, my goal is to do my best to develop an online program that does not stink. Instead of exposing them to a foul, repulsive odor, I would rather expose students to a pleasing aroma. But the question is how?
How can I help develop and create an online program that has a pleasing aroma and does not stink? That’s a huge question. It is also a broad one. To create an online program that leaves students with a please aroma–a successful learning experience, there are many factors to consider. We will need to save the answer to that huge, broad question for another article, another book, or another conference on another day. However, our purpose here is to examine one facet of this larger question. Here, we will examine the visual appeal of an online program. We will ask one key question: how can we improve the visual appeal of our online program?
We could answer this question with theory, but it may be more helpful, in this instance, to talk about how we did it at our institution. In this presentation, we will discuss first how we got started. Second, we will highlight four areas that we focused on improving. Third, we will discuss the results and effects of those improvements. Lastly, we will share some lessons that we learned along the way. But first, let us turn our attention to how we got started.
Starting From Somewhere
Every online program starts from somewhere. Unless you are just starting to build an online program from scratch, you are starting from somewhere. That somewhere may be visually good, visually decent, or visually bad or boring. But it is where your online program currently is. Some may see it as good; others may see it as bad, while others may be ambivalent about it. Regardless, of where your online program is, the key is to know the visual appeal of it. When I first stepped into the Director of Online Learning program, I inherited an online program that someone else had built. Using their best resources, support, and thoughts at the time, they built the online learning program that I am now responsible for. Like any leader or program, there are things they did well; things they did not do so well; and things that I likely would do differently. And that is ok. It is normal. Even now, with the program having been under my direction, there are things we have done well; things that we have not; and things that I would do differently. That is life. But when I first stepped into the role, my goal was to assess various aspects of the online program. One of the elements that I analyzed was the visual appeal. I wanted to see where it was. Did the online program have the best visual quality that it could? Were there common, generally accepted visual principles that were not being used? When I looked at the courses, webpages, etc., what did I think? What type of impression did it give me? What type of visual impression did it give others? I did my best to think through those types of questions.
After analyzing the online program was there, my next step was to envision what could be there. I began thinking of what could be instead of what was. Having a trained, knowledgeable eye helps immensely when both analyzing and envisioning what can be. From my previous study, experience, and staying current, I like to think I had somewhat of a knowledgeable, trained eye. I saw many areas that we could work on, but the majority of need seemed to revolve around four areas–course design, production, marketing, and technology.
Areas of Visual Improvement
The first area that we focused on visually improving was course design. An online program may be the larger whole, but it is made up of parts. And one of the biggest parts of any program are called online courses. To improve the whole, we had to improve the parts. As I looked at our online program, many of our online courses were not structured or laid out well. In some courses, links were just stacked on top of each other with no clear or coherent structure to speak of. Other courses may have had the links and text content in the right week/module, but it was dry, lifeless, and unappealing. To say this is not the fault of the faculty, former director or anyone involved per se. These were developed in time, in a model, doing the best they could with the resources and knowledge available. But it was clear that we needed to establish some common design and layout standards for our courses. By no means did we want them all to look the same, like they all had been cookie-cut from the same mold. But we did want to ensure that some common basics were there. On the course page, we made sure header text was the same size and used consistently. We used lines and breaks to separate content blocks. We added graphics and images to the top of each module. Each image was a high-definition image that was sized to an attractive pixel height and width that fit. We ensured the margins of all text, links, and graphics lined up. In short, we made sure the online course pages used the most basic web design standards. Just bringing our online course pages and layouts up to the most basic web design standards dramatically (and almost instantly) improved the visual appeal of our online program.
Along with our online course pages and ensuring they had a good structure and used basic web design principles, we also revamped our syllabi and core course documents. Personally, I am someone who does not like everything to always look the same. Knowing the courses and teachers vary, I did not want to make them fit a mold. However, our online course syllabi were too scattershot. There was no core consistency between them. So, our team began to work on them. We went through all the syllabi, drafting the visual improvements for the faculty (without changing any content), and gave them the visually improved syllabi to review. We also focused on one other core document–the course schedule. Almost every course had a schedule, but not every course had a clear table that clearly showed students what was due every week. We created an attractive, clear table that clearly identified how the course would flow. It gave them one central document that they could use to stay on track throughout the course. The revamped syllabi and course schedule–and the visual improvements that went into them–helped students to understand and navigate their online course more easily.
Production Standards
Improving course design standards goes a long way. It’s basically like an exterior makeover. However, there are other elements that needed to be improved as well.
The second general area that we wanted to improve visually was our production standards. In terms of production, we wanted to improve our online videos, PowerPoints (or notes), and any graphics used.
Due to limited staff, equipment, faculty time, and various other resources, some of our online videos were quite a bit dated. Many looked a decade or more old. Few were HD. Most videos were one long video instead of being chunked (or broken down) into smaller parts. To improve video visual appeal, we had to make a financial investment in new equipment (e.g., a new camera, new lighting, etc.). We invested the money needed to repurpose one classroom that could serve as both a classroom and quality recording studio. In this particular classroom/studio, we made sure it had a camera-friendly, visually appealing background that had the “image” or “quality” that we wanted to convey for our school. We had to invest in additional human resources to handle the added workload of filming both new courses and the one’s we needed to improve. Admittedly, our institution put a premium on online video. Not every institution needs to do this by any means. But we had decided to invest heavily in a high-end production model because of the particular brand image our institution wanted to achieve. There are cheaper, less studio-oriented development models that are very high quality and produce very good, visually appealing videos. Our institution chose to invest in the high-end studio production model. As a result of pursuing this high-end model, we have encountered various bumps and bruises along the way that could have been avoided had we triaged production needs differently and developed multiple production models to accommodate various production needs. But regardless of the trade-offs that any video production model brings with it, we did accomplish our goal and have drastically improved the visual appeal of the online learning videos that we are now producing.
In addition to improving the online videos, improving the visual aspects of PowerPoints (and course notes) and any graphics/images used in the course was another production area in need of improvement. To improve PowerPoints, we reviewed the characteristics of what made a quality PowerPoint. Next, we bought resources that we needed to improve our PowerPoint design. We purchased high-definition pictures, PowerPoint templates, and software that allowed us to alter, adjust, enhance, or create improved graphics. We trained staff on the software. We also had staff training on effective design principles. We now have staff that have PowerPoint and graphic enhancement or creation as part of their job responsibilities.
Technology
Improving the visual elements course design and production standards have great benefits. They are both vital parts to any visual improvement plan. However, to have visually improved courses and production elements and put them in an ugly Learning Management System (LMS) is like trying to put new wine into an old wineskin. To improve the visual appeal of the online program, you must also consider your technological delivery system (i.e., your LMS).
At our institution, we use Moodle. Yes, we could go back and forth for days, months, or years debating which LMS is the best. I may or may not agree with you. But regardless, at my institution, we use Moodle. And Moodle is an affordable, blue-collar workhorse that gets the job done. There are tradeoffs with Moodle, just like any LMS. But one the great thing about an open source LMS, particularly Moodle—it’s visually customizable. With Moodle, you can pick, modify, and/or create templates. Sure, there are certain limitations. But if you can envision a good look of what you want an LMS to look like, then you might be able to do it with Moodle.
To improve the visual appeal of Moodle, our LMS, we decided to create a customized template. We started with a piece of paper. Staff in our department brainstormed what a visually appealing Moodle design would be for us. We spent several hours over the course of a few weeks sketching a rough design out. Then, we created the template. After getting the right look and pushing our customizations as far as we could, we then installed it and did troubleshooting. The result: we were able to get the look and feel that we wanted from our LMS. Sure, we had to settle for a few things here and there—there’s always tradeoffs or limitations when it comes to design, especially one relying on open-source software—but we ended up with the vast majority of what we wanted.
By having our courses, the production elements in the courses, and the delivery system that sends them out all visually enhanced, we visually improved the academic offerings of our online program. However, in all the hustle and bustle of these major undertakings, there is one vital area that can be easily overlooked—marketing.
Marketing
If you improve all the other elements, your students will be thankful. However, if you fail to improve the visual appeal of your online marketing efforts, students may never make it into those courses. Yes, students choose schools for a variety of very important factors. But do not underestimate how visual appeal factors in.
The first thing a prospective student is likely to see about your school or your online program is its website. If there is one core element that should be functional, informative, and visually appealing, it is your school’s (or at least the online program’s) website.
To improve the visual appeal of our online learning website, we had to coordinate with our communications department. We first, in the Online Department, sketched out our ideas of what we wanted. Then, we coordinated with Communications. Thankfully, they were on board with what we wanted; what they wanted was not too far away from our thoughts. We worked with one of their designers on the website, and six months later, viola, we had a new, visually improved website.
As we worked with them on the website, there were other important marketing pieces we needed to work on with them on—print materials. Our admissions team had been traveling the country and did not have well-designed brochures or print pieces. We worked with our communications department and created print pieces that matched the good design we were using on the website.
Apart from the main website and print pieces, we also need to improve our advertising pieces. Just as we improved our graphics elsewhere, we also improved the design of our online advertising. We created very appealing, high-end marketing websites and advertisements.
Lessons Learned
By visually improving these four areas—course design, production, technology, and marketing, we have drastically improved the look and feel of online learning for our institution. But what has been the effect of these changes? Thus far, we have seen have heard faculty, administration, and students say the same thing (in various ways, of course)—significantly better!
We have talked about what we did–the visual improvements that we made. We talked about the good feedback that we received. But what lessons did we learn along the way? Let’s examine six lessons that we learned from conducting these visual improvements. Hopefully, as we discuss them, there will be a worthwhile nugget that can help you as you consider visually improving your online program.
1. It Takes Time.
The first lesson we learned is that visually improving an entire curriculum takes time. It takes us roughly between 2-3 months to fully develop a new course. Redeveloping every course is a lengthy process. We did not want to wait till all courses had been redeveloped. So, we conducted a visual improvement plan that went through every single course to bring them up to a minimal standard. We broke our entire online catalog into parts and assigned a window of time to make visual improvements on it. To achieve this systematic upgrade took a lot of time and energy. If you want or need to bring your curriculum up to a minimal visual standard, plan on it taking a lot of time, effort, and energy. But the good news: it is worth it!
2. It takes Investment.
The second lesson we learned is that visually improving an online program requires investment. It takes human resources. We had to make it a priority for our staff, which took them away from other efforts and projects. It takes institutional resources. In order to produce higher quality materials, we had to invest in software, hardware, production equipment, and services that made it possible. Word of advice: count the cost before you begin–in terms of both human and institutional resources. Your online program will not improve itself by itself. Estimate and consider the cost before starting.
3. It takes Good Project Management.
The third lesson we learned is that visually improving an online program takes good project management coordination and skills. To break the time, resources, and components down into their various parts and various entities who will do them requires project management. If you are going to take on the entire program, if it is large, then plan out everything. It is a big task. If you desire to just improve a piece or part of your program at a time, it will allow you and/or your team to prepare for the bigger project. Word of advice: know your resources, your team, and everyone’s project management strengths and weakness.
4. It takes Adaptability.
The fourth lesson we learned: production models can lock you into path, especially when institutional resources are in the mix. The institution and its administrators have likely invested quite a bit of money into a production model (or the new one that you will bring to them). Once money is invested, it is hard to veer off the path (unless you have very supportive administrators who realize that design and development needs can change). Word of advice: like the old wise tale, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Rather than sell your administration one catch-all solution and investing in one approach heavily, present them with a multi-pronged approach. Doing this will give you greater flexibility and options to produce online courses without locking you into just one or two production models.
5. It takes Placing Value in the Visual.
The fifth lesson we learned: graphics take time to develop. Improving PowerPoints, in a comprehensive fashion that does not just give them a blank template and give a lot of room, takes time and skill. Researching and finding images that look great in your online courses takes time and skill. Using software that makes the images/graphics you look the way you want and say the things you want takes time and skill. Word of advice: be sure you have someone with an eye for graphic design and who is willing to take it on. If you do not have someone like this, find someone. Taking on a visual improvement plan without someone with a flair for it can be challenging.
6. It takes a Village.
The sixth lesson we learned: it takes a village. One person or even two people cannot easily visually improve an entire program. It takes a team of instructional designers, administrators, assistants, production team, and subject matter experts all working together to make visual improvements. You need a great staff and team to work with as your backbone. Faculty are subject matter experts, not design experts, and nor should they be looked upon to carry the design/visual burden. Your online learning department’s staff will be needed. It takes everyone to accomplish it, but your online learning staff are the key ingredient. Word of advice: allow your online learning staff to drive the process. Turn them lose to work their visual magic and improve the visual quality of your online program.
