19 Lost and Found
Course Designs that Map it Out
By Helen DeWaard, Lakehead University in Orillia, Ontario
“We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!” (quote from the Wizard of Oz)
Many memorable stories have a ‘getting lost’ or ‘getting found’ plot line. Alice fell down the rabbit hole to discover Wonderland and Dorothy traversed the yellow brick road through Oz. So do students wander into each course as a story where they can become lost or found within the learning spaces that instructors and designers have written for them. What mechanisms and fail-safe strategies can be integrated into the design to support student wayfinding? Where can we, as masters of the learning maze, embed guides, markers, clues and even ‘Easter eggs’ (hidden clues found in video games) to ensure students can find their way? How can the design of the Tokyo subway network and the universal design principles for learning support our work as instructors and designers as we craft spaces for students within complex systems of learning?
I’ve spent time in many online learning environments. I’ve traversed the Tokyo subway system using the colour coding lines and maps. I speak from some measure of experience in wayfinding. My somewhat reliable internal GPS system helps me navigate complex spaces, both physical and digital.
Many students bring little or no experience, or navigational skills, with them into the digital learning spaces I’ve established. It’s incumbent on me, as the master planner, to integrate wayfinding strategies and apply universal design for learning principles (UDL) so students can easily navigate through the lessons, traverse the terrain of learning and realize that their destinations are achievable. I can’t necessarily build a yellow brick road to follow, but I can certainly plan for common navigational errors or insert adaptations to variables in the flow of a course. I can masterfully pull back the curtain so the learning journey becomes visible and transparent. I will share clues along the learning journey so students on the adventure are fully engaged with each other, the course content and me, the course instructor.
In physical and geographic contexts, wayfinding encompasses the design and integration of systems (signage, maps, symbols, colors, communications) to support user navigation and ease of use. These are often applied to complex spaces such as hospitals, airports, conference centers, universities or cityscapes. Within the Tokyo subway network, users can access numerous strategies to ensure they reach their destinations. Wayfinding in geographic spaces can integrate mobile apps (global positioning satellite – GPS), digital displays (augmented reality – AR), and a variety of wireless technologies. How can similar physical wayfinding strategies be applied to learning spaces to support students’ achievement?
Design principles for wayfinding (Foltz) provide a core set of strategies that can be integrated into learning spaces (digital or physical) to supp