This workshop is about using principles of psychology and design to make course materials more efficient and effective. Instructors frequently hand out material in the form of syllabi, assignments, exams, lab forms, and so on. Handouts are commonly limited to black text on a white background. Using color and images can add meaning and make materials more effective. Crowded pages are hard to digest. A little extra space makes a document longer, but can also make it easier to follow. In this workshop you'll learn how to use cognitive psychology and graphic design to improve your course materials.

Come prepared to give one of your handouts a makeover!

Improve student learning by creating effective course materials that

• Follow principles of visual design and cognitive psychology

• Incorporate images, color, and other design elements.

1. MS Word document you'd like to update: worksheet, exam, syllabus, CV, report ...

2. Optional: Mac laptop if you're uncomfortable with Windows

(see the update of this session)

Graphics for Learning, by Clark & Lyons
(online access - ND only)

E-learning and the Science of Instruction, by Clark & Mayer
(online access - ND only)

White Space is Not Your Enemy, by Golombisky & Hagen
(online access - ND only)

100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, by Weinschenk
(online access - ND only)

General

• How to make a visually awesome handout

• Designing Engaging Course Documents with Piktochart
• VisCheck (color blindness simulator)
• Lynda.com  |  Licenses through OIT

• Explore: Pixabay | Flaticon | Google Fonts | Adobe Color

Short video tutorials

• Adobe Color to Google Doc
• Add font to Google Doc
• Three-minute Handout Makeover 
   

Visual syllabus

• Building a visual syllabus
• Visually Appealing Syllabi –  Anne-Marie Womack (Texas A&M)
• Creative Approaches to the Syllabus (ProfHacker)

• CDT 30423 syllabus (Clark & Turner, ND)

• Advanced French Comp (Haake, ND)
• CMS 137 syllabus (Bill GX, K State)
• US History II (Hangen)

• Syllabus Templates

  1. MS Word | Google Doc
  2. MS Word | Google Doc

Articles

• Craib, D, & Frankel, L. (2011). Silent Noise: Channel Noise in Visual Communications. In Diversity and Unity, proceedings of the IASDR World Conference on Design Research.
• Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2014). Color psychology: Effects of perceiving color on psychological functioning in humans. Annual review of psychology, 65, 95-120.
• Hartley, J. (2004). Designing instructional and informational text. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 917-948.
• Lonsdale, M. (2014). Typographic features of text. Outcomes from research and practice. Visible Language, 48(3), 29-67.
• Malamed, C. (2009). Gestalt your graphics: Improving instructional graphics. Learning Solutions Magazine.
• Song, H., & Schwarz, N. (2008). If it's hard to read, it's hard to do: Processing fluency affects effort prediction and motivation. Psychological Science, 19(10), 986-988.

 Certificates:

May help complete a requirement for the Teaching Well Using Technology program.