Have you ever thought about the design of your virtual classroom? In a traditional classroom, you would focus on how the tables and chairs will be arranged. You also have to think about what you will place on the walls of the classroom. Everything should be arranged perfectly so the students can concentrate on learning while they are inside. What they see as soon as they step in the classroom should put their mind in the right mood to learn.
But what about online classrooms? How can you set the perfect conditions so the learners will be more inclined to learn as soon as they see the online course before them?
The answer to that lies in the design of the virtual classroom. Believe it or not, you need to pay attention to the design of the online classroom to encourage more students to learn. According to the latest study from the Pew Research Center, there are certain barriers that keep people from using digital resources to learn. Among these barriers include the lack of confidence when it comes to finding trustworthy sources of information online.
This is probably one of the reasons why you need to put careful thought into the design of the virtual classroom. You want to make sure that the course will appear reputable, trustworthy, and user-friendly. There are so many things that you can do to give online courses the perfect look – the text, graphics, colors, images, etc. You need to know to choose among the options so you can find the perfect elements to combine in the online course.
Here are some tips that will help you design the perfect setting for learning online.
Give them the right expectations.
First of all, the learners should have a clear idea of the online course. Give a concise yet very clear summary of what they should expect. Focus on the benefits of the course and highlight what is expected of them in return. Besides, letting them know what to expect will give them some time to adjust and mentally prepare for the lesson. This will effectively boost engagement and motivation early into the lesson.
Get rid of distractions.
While you want the virtual classroom to be visually appealing, you want to make sure that it will not be distracting. Use videos, images, and graphics – but make sure they will not take the focus away from the lesson. If you have to use colors, it has to be something that will elicit the right mood and emotions towards the learning process.
Do not forget about the audio element.
Having the right musical background will also help set the right mood during the learning process. It will also help them have an emotional connection to the lesson. This can give the retention rate a huge boost. Just make sure you choose the right sound. Do you want it to be calm? Or do you want it to be full of energy? The choice is up to you and your knowledge of what the learners want.
Allow moments of reflection.
Make sure the virtual classroom will allow the learners time to absorb the information they got from the course. Space the activities to allow these breaks to happen. This will not only give them time to reflect, it will also keep them from feeling overwhelmed due to cognitive overload. Hopefully, this will also keep them from feeling like they need to keep up with everyone else – which can put a damper on the learning process.
Always remember that online learners usually have different preferences when it comes to the perfect virtual classroom But as long as you have a general idea of who the learners are, you should be able to make the right choices when choosing the elements in the online course.