• The organization of content provides a meaningful structure that is logical;
  • Structure is imperative in helping end-users comprehend and retain content; and
  • Structure within a course also helps end-users quickly find content they need (Malamad, 2010).

Defining the content structure is not often an easy task. Instructors or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) develop face-to-face facilitated courses to flow based on their own preference and grouping structure. In these instances, fundamental details are often left out as the instructor typically presents main points and then merely elaborates on the details. An personalized grouping structure can hurt a self-paced course when it is converted from a facilitated course, as we all have different thought patterns, and it is never a best practice to assume an audience will automatically understand your thinking and intention. This is why it is imperative that instructors and SMEs review any face-to-face course needing to be converted to a stand-alone, self-paced course, and establish a basic outline, or visual structure, for the content. This will allow them to verify the course purpose and outcomes; and help them identify topics and subtopics that need to be covered, in order to establish the flow of the content. From this structure, the instructor or SME can then pull content from their current course and chunk the similar information together, supplying a more effective strategy for end-user cognition.

Resources:

Malamad, C. (2009, September 23). Chunking information. The eLearning Coach. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/chunking-information/

Malamad, C. (2009, November 30). How to organize content. The eLearning Coach. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/how-to-organize-content/