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Joseph


Having experienced the imposition of institution wide 'template' it can be a rather negative experience which can alienate some staff and set back the process of adopting and enhancing eLearning.


I might questions as to whether there is a need from a pedagogic perspective, it is far easier from the central point to have identical sites for ease of access - but the layout of the site in one academic area might be different from that in another area for some sound reasons, also the top menu terms might need to be different.


On a practical point from the users perspective if students and staff are moving between identical units, as we frequently do, it is very easy to become disoriented - so perhaps you could consider insisting that units are personalized within the parameters set by a style guide - perhaps with a logo as a header?


However I would suggest that softly softly approach is best by offering support for new staff or staff wishing to develop their use of the vle, develop a style guide and a set of cases illustrating best practice. What ever you do should be developed jointly with the users.


Peter





  


P. Waterhouse. MA, FHEA
Senior Lecturer; Faculty of Business
University of Bedfordshire
Room B1.07
Polhill Avenue
Bedford, MK41 9EA

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>>> On 1/9/2013 at 12:32 PM, in message <[log in to unmask]>, Joseph Gliddon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Dear All
As part of our Technology Enhanced Learning strategy we are looking at the
consistency of our Blackboard courses.  Like most institutions now, the
vast majority of our staff use our VLE.
So we are looking at moving from a situation where each individual course
has its own individual style to a more standardised look and feel so that
as students start new courses they already know where everything is and can
hit the ground running.

As well as layout we are considering what is essential in a successful
course (and if the data already exists for a course can we pull it in – I
am thinking some building blocks).

Ideally we want to do this while at the same time as not restricting the
freedom of the individual academic to innovate and not destroying any
existing good practice.  (we are planning a consistent look for each school
rather than the whole Uni to allow for differences in approach for
different disciplines)

So I know a number of you have already done things similar to this – do
you have any suggestions/lessons learned/feedback from
staff&students/things to avoid like the plague, that you would be willing
to share.

Regards
Joseph
----------------------
Joseph Gliddon
e-Learning Implementation Officer
Education Support Unit
University of Bristol
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