How to write for the web
As you write and source content for your module, try to think of what your students will think and feel when they open it up on their laptops and mobile phones… will they find an accessible, scannable webpage or an intimidating wall of text?
Here are some tips and tricks to help you keep your content easy to read and understand in a digital setting:
- Use Headings and Sub-headings. On the web, people tend to read the title and first line of an article, then proceed to skip around the main headings and conclusion before going back and reading more. You can take advantage of this behaviour by giving your content meaningful headings and sub-headings.
- Vary paragraph length: Shorter paragraphs (typically of no more than 3 or 4 sentences) help keep your readers moving and feel they’re making progress. Using the occasional one- line or even single-word paragraph helps to emphasise points and keep up engagement.
- Break up text. Make resources less intimidating to read by breaking up text with images, videos and interactive tools. These images need to convey useful information rather than being solely decorative. Occasional bold text, bullet lists and block quotes also make content more digestible and memorable.
Timely placing of content in front of students
Putting great content in your digital learning space is a great start, but to help students to make the most of it, you’ll need to show the right content to them at the right time.
Whether you’re teaching a purely online class or using your digital learning environment to accompany classroom teaching, students need to know which content will help them to engage with your teaching for any given week. Simply putting your content into a weekly structure doesn’t necessarily mean students will access it in time for class.
Set aside 5 minutes each week to post a link to the content for that week as well as pointing out why it matters can be a huge motivator for students to dive in. (See Being consistent.)
Weekly posts like this not only encourage your students to engage with learning resources but help them to keep up a rhythm of preparation and study throughout your module.
After you’ve had a chance to welcome the students to the course and introduce yourself, you’ll want to include a post so students know where to go next.
In Moodle
- Copy the URL of the Moodle resource for your first teaching week
- Head to the Discussion section of your module and click the link to post in the General Discussion
- Create a new discussion topic
- Write a short intro to point to content for week 1 (see tips below), paste in the URL and make it a clickable link using the link tool in the menu
- Post!
In Aula
- Copy the URL of the Aula resource for your first teaching week
- Head to the Feed
- Write a short intro to point to content for week 1 (see tips below), and paste in the URL
- Post!
Tips for introducing your topic
Let the students know what they’ll find before they click and how it will help them make the most of your class. Here’s an example:
Happy Monday! This week, we’re exploring how artists like Erich Heckel and Wassily Kandinsky changed the way we approach creativity. Read their stories and watch the video in ‘Week 4 – How Expressionism Kickstarted Modernity’ to prepare for the discussion at this week’s class.
That’s it for now! To save time, consider batching this task by preparing all of your weekly topic intros at once and then just paste them in each week.
