Intro
Indicators
Canvas Tools
Examples
Try It!
Resources

Introduction

The purpose of this standard is to encourage you to reflect on the ease of navigation for students in your course. In this sense, navigation refers to how students move through the online learning space or online classroom. A well-organized course will be much easier for students to navigate than a course that has an ill-defined structure, that is cluttered with unused tools, and that lacks consistency in layout.

Why it Matters to Students...

Izaz doesn't own a computer and usually accesses classwork primarily from a smartphone but has taken many online courses and feels confident navigating in Canvas. Despite this level of comfort, Izaz sometimes struggles to find things. In the “Start” module Izaz finds some written directions for how to navigate the course but they don't make much sense and Izaz is very confused about where certain things, like assignments and activity worksheets might be found. (5.2.a) The course navigation menu is really long and there are a lot of places to look. (5.2.d) After some serious hunting around, Izaz finally finds the list of assignments for the week, but the list is not where the teacher said it would be because the mobile display is a little different. Happy to have found it, Izaz sees that the first assignment is to complete an orientation worksheet but when Izaz clicks the link to the worksheet, it produces a "404" file not found error. Izaz is getting frustrated and decides to post a question for the teacher, but waiting for an answer and a working file link will delay Izaz in completing the activity. (5.2.b) Izaz also notices that the modules are really long which requires a lot of scrolling and makes it hard to tell what goes with what because there are no headers in the module. (5.2.c)

Consider This ...

What types of questions do your students typically ask at the beginning of and throughout the quarter?
How do you ensure students in your course can find what they need without getting lost or confused?
How do you find and fix non-working content and navigation links in your course so students have access to the resources they need?

Indicators Explained

The Indicators for Standard 5.2 are organized by Essential, Best Practice, and Exemplary. Click the menu bars below to expand and read about the Indicators in each section.

Essentials

Meeting all Essential Indicators demonstrates that your course design includes the basic foundational elements that must be present for students to succeed in an online course.

5.2.a - Course includes working hyperlinks, files, videos, external URLs, and course navigation menu items.

Not being able to open or access the resources needed to complete a task can be very frustrating for students, often delaying completion of their work and sometimes even preventing them from completing it at all. Because links to external content outside your course can change over time, it’s a good idea to check all of the URLs (aka links) in your course before each new term begins. Checking internal links within your course when copying content from course to course within the LMS is important too. Be sure to check your work in Student View. This will help you see what students see and what is and isn’t working and what is and isn’t visible to them.

5.2.b - Course navigation menu includes only the navigation items students will use in the course.

Most learning management systems (LMSs) contain a lot of amazing instructional tools. However, having access to all of these tools at the same time, especially those not being used in a course, can be extremely overwhelming for students. Removing any unused or excess tools from the navigation menu in your course will simplify navigation for your students and more efficiently direct them to the tools you do plan to use. Further organizing your course navigation tools by what you want students to do or see first and/or by the frequency they will use the tools along with providing an explanation of the tools you are planning to use can be helpful to students as well.

5.2.c - Course design allows for content use across a variety of devices.

Students access their online courses using a variety of devices including computers, smartphones, and tablets. In some cases, a mobile device may even be the only access your students have to do their coursework. Because the course display and overall course experience can vary for students when accessed from a phone or tablet, it is a good idea to consider how your course may look and function on a mobile device.

Mobile users frequently access their coursework from environments full of distractions and/or when their time is limited so breaking content down into small chunks that take less time to read or complete can help your mobile students stay on task. Software, websites, or other web-based tools that require the use of Java or Flash are not compatible with mobile and your mobile students will not be able to use them. Having to download multiple large files from Word, PDF, or PowerPoint can take quite a bit of time and can also eat up a student's data and cost them extra money. Building your content directly into your course, for example in the form of a page rather than an external file, can help resolve the file size and download difficulties experienced by mobile students. Limiting the file size for downloads will also help students with slow internet access. Always be sure to let students know upfront if your course contains content that cannot be accessed via mobile so they can try to make an arrangement to access it through another means. And, be careful giving device specific directions within the course materials as your course may look and act differently in mobile view.

Next Steps

Applying all Essential Indicators for this Standard combined with one or more of the following Next Steps Indicators demonstrates that your course design includes the basic foundational elements necessary for students to succeed in an online course plus additional elements that are intentionally designed to increase student success in your online course.

5.2.d - Course includes a welcoming Home page.

XXX

5.2.e - Course includes an invitation for students to offer feedback on the ease of course navigation.

XXX

Canvas Tools

These Canvas tools can help you meet this standard and made your work easier:

Course Settings: Use the Validate Links in Content feature to check your course for broken links. Use the Navigation tab to rearrange, hide, or enable course navigation menu items for students.
Modules + Text Headers + Pages: Use text headers in a module to create visual hierarchy and better organize content for mobile users. Use Pages in a module to house content so students can view it without downloading anything.
Student View: Use Student View to check your work and see what your students will see and what they can or can’t access.
Canvas Student and Canvas Teacher Apps: Use the Canvas Student and Canvas Teacher Apps to see how your course displays on a mobile device.
Canvas Student Guides: Use links from the Guides to provide relevant how-to directions for students.

Examples of Standard 5.2

Want to see how other instructors have applied this Standard in their course? Check out these examples!

Example 1

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Example 2

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Example 3

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Example 4

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Example 5

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Ways to Apply Standard 5.2

Need some ideas for how to apply this standard to your course? Try one of these!

5.2.a - Functioning hyperlinks, files, videos, external URLS, and course navigation

(5.2.a) Run the Link Validator in Canvas to help identify non-working URLs in your course. Check and replace any identified non-working links as needed.
(5.2.a) Enter student view and try the links and files in your course to ensure they are operational. Replace any non-working links and check your file share settings as needed.
(5.2.a) Review the published and unpublished items in your course. Be sure to check your Modules, Pages, Discussions, Assignments, and Files. Adjust your publish status on any items students should be able to view.
(5.2.a) Check the settings on your modules to ensure students have access to the content they need to stat learning. Be sure to check the module open date, sequencing requirements, prerequisites, and completion requirements. Adjust any settings that may be preventing students from accessing the content they need to start learning. Double-check your work using student view.

5.2.b - Removing excess navigation items

(5.2.b) Visit your course Settings and hide any tools students will not be using by removing them from your Course Navigation menu.

5.2.c - Designing for use on a a variety of devices

(5.2.c) Download the Student App and see what your course looks like on mobile. Make design changes as needed to improve the mobile student experience.
(5.2.c) Add headers to your modules to better structure content and add clear hierarchy for your course materials.
(5.2.c) Check your course files - how many things do students have to download to view or use and how big are they? Have lots of large files? If so, identify and convert anything you can to pages that are built directly into the course.
(5.2.c) Identify places in your course where you can simplify student prompts and rewrite them to avoid giving device specific directions. Or add simple text that explains how to access materials from multiple devices.
(5.2.c) Use the Canvas Mobile App Design - Course Evaluation Checklist to learn more about designing for mobile in Canvas. Apply what you learn to your course.
(5.2.c) Chunk longer content into smaller blocks to eliminate endless scrolling on smaller screens.
(5.2.c) Survey your students to find out how many are primarily or exclusively accessing the course from mobile devices. Review your course design for places where you can make changes to improve the experience for mobile users. Make revisions as needed.

5.2.d - Welcoming home page

(5.2.d) XXX

5.2.e - Invitation for students to offer feedback

(5.2.e) XXX

Resources

Recommended Reading

... coming soon!

References

5.2.a - Functioning hyperlinks, files, videos, external URLs, and course navigation menu items

Simunich, B., Robins, D. B., & Kelly, V. (2012, October). The impact of findability on student motivations, self-efficacy, and perceptions of online course quality. [2012 QM Research Grant]. Presentation at the 4th Annual Quality Matters Conference, Tucson, AZ.

5.2.b - Removing excess/unused navigation links

Simunich, B., Robins, D. B., & Kelly, V. (2012, October). The impact of findability on student motivations, self-efficacy, and perceptions of online course quality. [2012 QM Research Grant]. Presentation at the 4th Annual Quality Matters Conference, Tucson, AZ.
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 7.3 Minimize threats and distractions. The UDL Guidelines. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/threats-distractions

5.2.c - Designing for use across multiple devices

Alden, J. (2013). Accommodating mobile learning in college programs. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 109-122.

5.2.d - Including a welcoming home page

Simunich, B., Robins, D. B., & Kelly, V. (2012, October). The impact of findability on student motivations, self-efficacy, and perceptions of online course quality. [2012 QM Research Grant]. Presentation at the 4th Annual Quality Matters Conference, Tucson, AZ.
CAST. (2018). Checkpoint 7.3 Minimize threats and distractions. The UDL Guidelines. Retrieved June 21, 2022, from https://udlguidelines.cast.org/engagement/recruiting-interest/threats-distractions

5.2.e - Including an invitation for students to offer feedback on course nnavigation

XXX

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