Creating Tutorials for
the Web: A Designer’s
Challenge
Module 3: Design for Learning
Instructional Design
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This is the process of taking an idea from the
concept stage to final production and
includes the following elements:
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Analysis
Design
Development
- implementation
Evaluation
- revision
Instructional Design - Analysis
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Who is the audience?
- educational attainment level
- access to resources (computers, Web etc)
- ability/skill level with resources
- size of user group (important if feedback is required from an
instructor/librarian)
How much money and support do you have?
What are the goals and objectives?
- link activities to objectives
- direction of objectives should incorporate:
-- knowledge
-- understanding
-- skills
Instructional Design - Design
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Create learning activities that promote desired
outcomes
- teaching strategies
- related learning outcomes
Design assessment to reflect both outcomes and
strategies
- types of assessment
- formative/summative (more about this later)
- is the process of completing the tutorial the
purpose of the tutorial?
Instructional Design Development

Considerations for creating the tutorial
- how much time do you have to create this?
- create a timeline starting from the end
- a Gantt chart is useful for development
timelines
- list resources you will need
- is a project team required? (librarians, media
specialists, Webmaster etc.)
Instructional Design Evaluation
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Evaluate your teaching design
Do the instructional methods accomplish the
goals?
Instructional Design Evaluation
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Formative evaluation
- provides feedback to instructors and
students over the course of the instruction
which is then adapted to meet student needs
Summative evaluation
- usually done at the end of a lesson or unit to
evaluate overall student progress or the
effectiveness of the tutorial
Instructional Design Evaluation
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Quantitative evaluation
-Involves asking questions which can be tabulated
and analyzed, often using a scale, check list, or
yes/no responses
- requires a large student sample for analysis
- student responses limited to the survey
questions/categories
Examples
- surveys
- questionnaires
Instructional Design Evaluation
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Qualitative evaluation
- typically more subjective
- allows for a variety of responses
- doesn’t always fit in neat categories and can be difficult
to tabulate
- less affected by sample size
Examples
- open ended questions
- observation
- interviews
Web Authoring Resources –
Some Examples
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Macromedia Dreamweaver
Macromedia Contribute
MS Frontpage
HotDog
Web Graphics and Animation
Software – Some Examples
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Adobe LiveMotion
Adobe Photoshop with ImageReady
Macromedia Fireworks
Macromedia Flash
Web Design Considerations
Adapted from Writing for the Web: A Primer for Librarians, Eric H, Schnell
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Use a consistent writing style with language that is
familiar to users (avoid library jargon)
Try not to put all of the content on the top level
page. Give links to other pages to avoid cluttering
the space
Each Web page should be able to stand alone and
contain one theme or concept – it is a good idea to
annotate links to other resources
Web Design Considerations
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Graphics and animation are good if they have a
purpose and add value beyond looking “cool”
When using large images provide thumbnail images
with which to access them
Fonts and graphics can display differently in
different browsers and machines
Keep font attributes (bold, italics etc) to a minimum
– aim for a consistent look
It’s a good idea to develop templates for additional
pages which give a uniform look to the Web site
Web Design Considerations
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Provide contact details for the user as well as
the URL
Make the site as easy to navigate as possible
with links to the top level/home page
Offer links to software or plugins the user may
need to fully use the site (Adobe Acrobat Reader
etc.)