Overall feedback: (As per invitation posted on 12 June 2015 on the OERu list)
Overall I think the course has a solid structure and assessment design and the development has progressed well. The TRU team can be proud of the work done so far. I provide generic comments and feedback below which relate to the overall design. Comments on individual pages will be posted on the corresponding talk pages.
General feedback
- Now that we will be using a course snapshot, this landing page becomes redundant and should be replaced with a planning homepage with links to the blueprint, meeting notes, course outline etc.
- I've created a course outline page which will be used to generate the course website.
- There are a few instances where the course materials have not adhered to WikiEducator style conventions for example the case conventions for page names and headings (see Tips for beginners.) For now, I wouldn't go to the trouble of moving pages to new pages which apply the case conventions, however for OERu consistency reasons I would recommend adopting these case conventions for headings, subheadings and link labels.
- In the future, I recommend that you use the new pedagogical templates for {{IDevices}} - see help page here. I've completed a search and replace and updated all the instances using old templates.
- Avoid using "double emphasis", that is applying bold on top of a heading style. See for example this revision instance where the heading uses the heading style and then bold applied on top of the heading style. This generates issues for the CSS style in the target site which defines heading styles. Check through the course pages to fix this issue.
- Speaking personally, I would avoid the approach of specifying links to open in new tabs rather than the normal convention of link behaviour. The majority of links on the web open go to the page of the link rather than opening in a new window. Users should learn how to use the back button of their browser ;-).
- I have fixed a few pages where tables were used to position image placement. Use the alignment parameter for images rather than tables for manipulating layout.
Thoughts on improving the design
- In a number of the units there are sub-pages in the navigation which link back to a previous page where the "topic is adequately covered in the open text book" See for example: Variables; Sampling and Measurement; Statistical Relationships Between Variables from the page on Reading research reports in Unit 1. Suggested fix: In the new outline page I have created sub-pages for each of these instances (currently red links because they don't have content). A short "Reading activity" template could be inserted with a succinct instruction, for instance to read Chapter Two of the text with one or two guidelines or suggestions for tackling the chapter.
- The outcomes page for each unit generally comprises three components: Overview, outcomes and resources. When accessing materials using mobile phones, these pages are a bit long. Would it make sense to break these down into separate sub-pages?
- On the existing page outcomes page, it appears that the "Resources" heading is actually a "List of resources used in the unit" - if so wouldn't it be better to change the subheading to resources used in this unit. Also if these resource are embedded in the individual pages - what is the advantage of purpose of listing them in the beginning of the unit? As a reader - when I encounter the list, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do.
- Given that this course is predominantly a wrap-around design based on the open textbook, I would recommend a clearer distinction between the core open textbook readings and other readings. This can be achieved through better use of the pedagogical templates. For example, I would use the "Reading activity" when reading is required (as opposed to other activities.) In the case of readings based on the core text, you could consider using a distinct title parameter, for example: "Open textbook reading activity"
- Many of the activities would benefit from additional guidelines as to what learners are expected to do, For example, with reading activities are learners expected to keep notes, summarise key points etc. If so, state these outcomes in the activity instructions.
- This is a good course - but it could be a great course if you incorporated more opportunities for peer learning interactions. Embed microblog activities where you prompt learners to share ideas and connect. Consider e-tivities which are designed as building blocks and embedded into the course where learners share invited to share the artefacts of their learning. It wouldn't be hard to do - there are a number of great video resources you've included - prompt learners to share their thoughts and ideas based on the resources.
