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We're going to try something a little different this month; with this roundup of tools and resources for designers, we're going to pick a few of our favorites and group everything else in a manner that makes it even easier to find elements that will work for you, and your projects, right now.

Here's what's new for designers this month...

February's Top Picks

Pika

Pika is a new Mac app that is an open-source color picker. It helps you find color swatches on-screen, saving time and design headaches. Plus, it's packed with bonuses such as the ability to confirm accessibility compliance for colors, compact size and style, easy to access from your desktop, and format-friendly with plenty of color code options.

Iconduck

Iconduck is a searchable database of more than 100,000 icons in one place. (No more searching various marketplaces!) The goal of the project is to make open-source icons and illustrations more accessible. So, everything you find here is free! The site does all the heavy lifting for you by collecting icon sets, tagging them, and making them searchable.

Descript

Descript is a premium tool that eliminates some of the intimidation factors with audio and video editing. With a design that functions as a word document and allows you to transcribe, record the screen, publish, and edit, all with some cool AI features.

Persona

Persona is an all-in-one identity infrastructure that allows you to collect, verify, manage, and decide customer identities from a single dashboard. Everything is fully automated, and most users can be up and running in about 10 minutes. The premium tool does have a free version for small-scale verifications.

6 Productivity Boosters

Peekalink

Peekalink turns standard links into rich content that users will be delighted to share and engage in. And it's easy to use. Just send a request to the API with a link and get a response back to use, including a rich link for your project.

LinkAce

LinkAce is an open-source and self-hosted archive to store and organize links that you want to save. You can search thanks to tags and lists, and all of the content is available thanks to automated backups and monitoring. There's a demo you can try before installing it yourself.

Formality

Formality is a WordPress plugin that helps you make forms a little bit easier. It's made to work with the Gutenberg-based form builder with a single block format to control the form. The plugin has a theme-agnostic design that works with any layout style and includes customizations to make it feel a little more personal.

Wondercall

Wondercall is an embeddable video call system for any website or app. You can make calls and schedule them with a widget you can embed right into your design.

Editor X

The Editor X website builder is out of beta and ready for mainstream use. The platform is designed for designers and agencies to create websites collaboratively and quicker. Features include live commenting, roles and permissions, and shared design libraries. Plus, the platform offers code-free interactions.

Shareful/h2>

Shareful is a Mac app that makes the system share menu more powerful. You can copy, save as, and open indirectly from the system share menu.

2 Icon Sets

Supercons

Supercons is a giant set of icons in React. They are all open-source, and there are plenty of choices to help you propel projects forward.

Plumpy Icons

Plumpy Icons are packed with style. The set of icons has a fun design, comes in duotone colors, and scales to any size. Plus, there are more than 4,000 icons in the collection. There are free and paid options depending on the file type and use.

3 Tutorials and Demos

Noise Planets

Noise Planets is a fun look at plotting random points in a circle to create amazing art pieces. You can generate fun shapes and textures and even animate your results with the tutorial and code snippets' help.

CSS Polygon Shapes

CSS Polygon Shapes are generated using CSS-doodle and clip-path. You can go in and make adjustments to customize shapes further and use them in your website projects.

Mutsuacen

Mutsuacen is a little app that lets you create animated and interactive drawings. There's a lot of potential with this tool if you have some true drawing chops, but it not; it's just fun to play with. Create a doodle or sketch and export.

5 Fresh Fonts and Text Tools

Text Warping - Animated

Text Warping - Animated is a fun effect pen from Lokesh Dhakar. It feels funky while leaving text pretty readable. Play with it for sure.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a fun and flexible premium font family with 14 styles from thin to heavy italic. It's a highly readable serif with a wider stance and great curves.

Stay Home

Stay Home is a simple, line-style all caps font. It has a limited character set but could have some fun applications.

Dogmeal Figure

Dogmeal Figure is an almost silly novelty typeface with dog faces and paw prints in the character set. It might make a fun option for a kids' project.

Haster

Haster is a futuristic-style slab with a limited character set. It does have shapes and lines with a lot of impact for display use.

Covid Pandemic Lockdown

Covid Pandemic Lockdown is an interesting novelty font with thick lines and a brush-dot style. While it probably won't read well small, it could be fun as a display option.

Valeria

Valeria is a simple typeface that's a little wide but has a nice shape and structure. It includes upper- and lowercase letters.

Cornellia

Cornellia is a beautiful script that has amazing letter combinations for use with long swashes and tails. It can add extra elegance to almost any design project instantly.

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23 Exciting New Tools for Designers, February 2021

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We're going to try something a little different this month; with this roundup of tools and resources for designers, we're going to pick a few of our favorites and group everything else in a manner that makes it even easier to find elements that will work for you, and your projects, right now.

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Lindita Bektashi

Lindita Bektashi ( Lindita.Bektashi@uoit.net)
University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework highlights social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence as essential elements to facilitate successful educational experiences in online distance learning environments. Although thousands of CoI-based articles have been published (Befus, 2016), those critical of the framework suggest that more presences should be added in the framework, such as the learner presence. Other researchers propose to modify existing preferences. Garrison (2018) recommends turning to the practical aspects of a CoI, as much attention has been directed to issues of facilitation. The technology used in an online learning environment can facilitate a CoI model. Two technological applications are analyzed in this chapter: Screencast -o - Matic voice over recording (Harrell, 2012) and WebEx training (Gallagher, 2005). How well the chosen tools support each CoI element is evaluated and ways in which we might take advantage of the technology use to better support student learning are stated. Implications for further research are discussed.

Keywords: Community of Inquiry, constructivism, online education, Screencast -o - Matic, WebEx training

Shields (1999) indicated that the Community of Inquiry (CoI) concept was used first by early pragmatists C.S. Peirce, John Dewey and Jane Addams and is largely defined as any group of individuals that have a commitment to address a shared issue, problem or interest through a method similar to scientific investigation. As stated by Dumitru (2012) the most important thing is that this community produces knowledge.

Garrison et al. (1999) proposed a CoI model for educational developers to assist in the organisation of online and blended educational experiences. The creators of the CoI framework for e-learning worked together at the University of Alberta for five years (1996-2001) in the Faculty of Extension Department on a graduate program that was partially online and the goal of their work was to provide a heuristic understanding and a methodology for studying the potential and effectiveness of computer conferencing (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2010). The Community of Inquiry (CoI) is a theoretical framework for the optimal design of online learning environments to support critical thinking, critical inquiry and discourse among students and teachers (Garrison, Anderson & Archer 1999). Educational models help educators to apply the findings of education research to the practical task of curriculum design, development and sequencing of educational experiences to optimise learning (Cooper & Scriven, 2017).

Befus (2016) underlines that in the ensuing years, CoI framework became the basis for a substantial number of studies. A number of researchers have been preoccupied with concerns such as student satisfaction with e-learning or techniques or measuring communicative action. Other researchers have been trying to improve the framework by modifying or adding more presences. Some of the main discussions about the modification of the framework will be discussed in this chapter. Another inquiry will be the application of the CoI model in today's technology driven classrooms.

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model (Fig 1) describes how learning occurs for a group of individual learners through the educational experience that occurs at the intersection of social, cognitive and teaching presence. According to Garrison et al. (1999), it is through the skilful marshalling of these forms of presence that online academic staff and students, in collaboration, develop a productive online learning environment through which knowledge is constructed.

Social Presence. The ability of participants to identify with the community, communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop interpersonal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999).

Cognitive Presence. The extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse in a critical Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson & Archer 1999).

Teaching Presence. The design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999).

Each of these types of presence has categories and indicators (Garrison, 2007; see Table 1, Appendix A). Conforming to Lipman (1991), the importance of a Community of Inquiry is that, while the objective of critical reflection is intellectual autonomy, in reality, critical reflection is thoroughly social and communal.

Connection to Connectivism

Community of Inquiry (CoI) had its genesis in the work of John Dewey and is consistent with constructivist approaches to learning in higher education (Garrison, 2007). In online learning students are accountable for their learning and how they learn it. Dewey believed that through collaboration that respected the individual, students would assume responsibility to actively construct and confirm meaning (as cited in Swan, Garrison & Richardson, 2009).

As already mentioned in the introduction there are quite a number of articles written about the CoI framework. Some of this papers bring up some significant points regarding the use of the CoI model in classroom and the modification of its presences.

Kozan et al. (2018) study extensively explores the research done on improvements of the CoI framework. The authors concentrate on two kinds of research papers that suggest of CoI model modifications: those who prefer to modify one or more existing presences with additional presences, and those who prefer to add new presences on the existing CoI framework.

Garrison (2018) believes that most of the suggested revisions identified by Kozan and Caskurlu do not recognize the core premise embedded in each presence with regard to both the individual and shared experiences of a collaborative learning experience. Separating responsibilities of teacher and learner (participants are both teacher and learner in a truly collaborative learning experience) violates the integrity of the framework (Garrison, 2018).

Anderson (2017) paper explores the evolution of the Community of Inquiry model and the current state of CoI in teaching and learning in digital age. According to Anderson (2017) the biggest concern with the existing CoI model is that while it helps construct and define an effective teaching model, it does not take in consideration the fact that the effectiveness of teaching is equally dependent on the learners. As a result the author agrees with Shea and Bidjerano (2010) that a new presence needs to be added to the framework: the learner presence.

Kovanović et al. (2017) paper evaluates the Community of Inquiry (CoI) survey instrument developed by Arbaugh et al. (2008) within the setting of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The findings confirmed the reliability and validity of the CoI survey instrument for the assessment of the key dimensions of the CoI model: teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Although, the researchers suggested a six-factor model with additional three factors as a better fit to the data: 1) course organization and design (a sub-component of teaching presence), 2) group affectivity (a sub-component of social presence), and 3) resolution phase of inquiry learning (a sub-component of cognitive presence).

Peacock et al. (2016) article concentrates in the overlap of three Presences, their definitions and roles, and their ensuing impact on the educational experience. It proposes enrichment to the Framework, by entitling the overlapping spaces uniting pairs of Presences as "Influences." These three spaces, linking pairings of Social, Teaching, and Cognitive Presences, can be labelled as "trusting," "meaning-making," and "deepening understanding" (Peacock & Cowan, 2016).

The integration of technology into courses varies from making use of specific applications, to making use of digital spaces for supplementing course materials, and to offering fully online courses via course management systems (Wright, Marsh & Miller, 1999). In an online learning environment, specific features of the technology can aid certain behaviors and restrain others. To illustrate how technology could potentially facilitate elements of the CoI framework for online learners, Thomson et al. (2017) consider a Learning Management System (LMS), the typical venue where courses are taught. When use a LMS students create profiles and upload biographies that can be viewed by other students and the teachers. These features help to support the social presence. Teachers can upload lessons, instructions, videos, and activities into LMS, thus making possible their teaching presence. Online discussion forums are another feature of LMS. Online discussion forums are used as a best-practice pedagogical technique to encourage student interaction and community (Muilenburg & Berge, 2006).

Instructional practices can be enhanced by using CoI model and technology that can support all the three presences of the framework. There are two technological applications described below.

WebEx Training simplifies delivery of highly effective, online learning to anyone, anywhere, without sacrificing effectiveness. WebEx provides a dynamic, interactive e-learning environment. WebEx training is used mostly in corporate training and sometimes is integrated in the LMS. Facilitators can deliver impactful online trainings and keep the online learners engaged during and after the sessions. They can share presentations, stream webinars, and encourage participation using tools like whiteboard and chat. Learners learn from the presentations and each other's experiences. WebEx use supports social, teaching and cognitive presences of CoI framework.

Screencast-o-Matic is a free online video maker that produces quality videos. This is a simple screen capture tool that records whatever is happening on a Personal Computer screen and narrate it as its happening. Screencast-o-Matic is the perfect tool for creating training videos or tutorials for any subject, as long as it is being recorded from an onscreen monitor. For instance, if anyone wanted to teach viewers how to use WordPress, they could virtually record and narrate anything they are doing within the WordPress platform. This way the software supports the teaching presence. The cognitive presence is supported by the ability to use multimedia in a way that supports cognitive processing. The teacher can heighten social presence by offering the students the opportunity to discuss the video.

The CoI framework provides a dynamic model for an institutional approach to move away from a passive lecture that fundamentally reshaped the educational experience based on thinking and learning collaboratively (Garrison, 2018). The evolution of technology, and the use of it in online learning has transformed the education process. Technology can assist elements of the CoI framework for online learners. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has been one of the most used and researched educational frameworks. The researches range from subjects like how useful is the model in today's learning environment, can it be improved or can new presences be added to the framework. In accordance with Garrison (2018) adding new presences violates the integrity of the framework.
As Garrison (2018) suggests it's time to turn to the practical aspects of a CoI, as much attention has been directed to issues of facilitation. More studies can be done of how educators can use the CoI model to integrate the best technologies into curriculum in order to empower them and help student learn.

Anderson, T. (2017). How communities of inquiry drive teaching and learning in the digital age. Contact North. Available from: https://teachonline.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/e newsletters/how_communities_of_inquiry_drive_teaching_and_learning_in_the_digital.pdf

Arbaugh, J. B., Cleveland-Innes, M., Diaz, S., Garrison, D. R., Ice, P., Richardson, J., Shea, P., & Swan, K. (2008). Developing a Community of Inquiry instrument: Testing a measure of the Community of Inquiry framework using a multi-institutional sample. Internet and Higher Education, 11, 133−136.

Befus, Madelaine K. (2016). A thematic synthesis of Community of Inquiry research 2000 to 2014. Available from http://hdl.handle.net/10791/190

Cooper, T., Scriven, R. (2017). Communities of inquiry in curriculum approach to online learning: Strengths and limitations in context. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 33(4), 22-37.

Dumitru, D. (2012). Communities of inquiry. A method to teach. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 33, 238 - 242.

Gallagher, H. (2005). WebEx Training Center. Training Media Review. 13, 16-19.

Garrison, D. (2007). Online community of inquiry review: Social, cognitive, and teaching presence issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. 11.

Garrison, D. R. (2018). Designing a Community of Inquiry. Community of Inquiry. Available from http://www.thecommunityofinquiry.org/editorial9

Garrison, D. R. (2018). Assessment of CoI Revisions. Community of Inquiry. Available from http://www.thecommunityofinquiry.org/editorial12

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2), 87-105.

Garrison, D.R., Anderson, T., Archer, W. (2010). The first decade of the community of inquiry framework: A retrospective. The Internet and Higher Education. 13(1), 5-9.

Emily Harrell (2012) Screencast-o-matic: www.screencast-o-matic.com. Public Services Quarterly, 8(1), 62-63.

Kovanovic, V., Gasevic, D., Joksimovic, S., Hatala, M., & Adesope, O. (2015). Analytics of communities of inquiry: Effects of learning technology use on cognitive presence in asynchronous online discussions. The Internet and Higher Education, 27, 74-89.

Kozan, K., & Caskurlu, S. (2018). On the Nth presence for the Community of Inquiry framework. Computers & Education, 122, 104-118.

Lipman, M., (1991). Thinking in Education. Cambridge University Press.

Muilenburg, M., & Berge, Z. L. (2006). A framework for designing questions for online learning. Academia. edu. Available from http://smcm.academia.edu/LinMuilenburg/Papers/440394/A_Framework_for_Designing_Questions_for_Online_Learning

Peacock, S. & Cowan, J. (2016). From presences to linked influences within the communities of inquiry. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 17(5), 267-283.

Shields, P.M. (1999, March 23-25). The Community of Inquiry: Insights for Public Administration from Jane Addams, John Dewey and Charles S. Peirce. Presented at the Public Administration Theory Network, Portland Oregon.

Shea, P., & Bidjerano, T. (2010). Learning presence: Towards a theory of self-efficacy, self-regulation, and the development of a communities of inquiry in online and blended learning environments. Computers & Education, 55(4), 1721-1731.

Swan, K., Garrison, D. R. & Richardson, J. C. (2009). A constructivist approach to online learning: the Community of Inquiry framework. In Payne, C. R. (Ed.) Information Technology and Constructivism
in Higher Education: Progressive Learning Frameworks (pp. 43-57). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Wright, Vivian H. & Marsh, George E. & Miller, Michael T. (1999). An Historical Analysis of Instructional Technology in Education. ERIC Clearinghouse. Available from http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED437899

Table 1
Presences, Categories, and Indicators for the Community of Inquiry (adapted from Garrison, 2007)

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Technology and the Curriculum: Summer 2018

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Lindita Bektashi Lindita Bektashi ( Lindita.Bektashi@uoit.net) University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework highlights social presence, teaching presence, and cognitive presence as essential elements to facilitate successful educational experiences in online distance learning environments.

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There's more to great UX design than selecting pretty pictures. It's time to stop neglecting your text layout. The art of words is all about the way that words look on the page or screen.

Since the dawn of the written language, the manner in which letters are presented and arranged has always mattered. Today is no different. This post will take a look at why text layout is important, how layout techniques have evolved, and how you can create a masterpiece.

Let's get to it!

Why text layout matters
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Words are the copywriter's job, right?

Not anymore.

Graphic designers are having to be more flexible than ever wearing multiple hats for any given project. Don't worry though, copy and design go hand in hand and we are starting to see a rise in hybrid positions such as the 'UX writer.' *ooohhh*

If you're feeling uninspired about the art of words here are a few reasons to motivate you.

1. Your readers care... a lot

Clunky layouts and huge blocks of text have been proven to lead to higher bounce rates (people bailing on your website). People usually skim web pages for information, so bad typography, incorrect font size and poor spacing can make reading a real strain. This is bad times two: you've lost a user and your reader missed out on your awesome content.

In a world of GIFs, 7 second videos and memes, you're competing with a lot of media, and if your copy doesn't captivate a user, you'll lose them. The reader is always right. Give the people the text layout they want.

2. Your copy is a boat and your design is the ocean

The two were made for each other, but they have to work together.

Great design can make a website look good, but if users aren't reading your content, then you may be heading towards a marketing shipwreck. It's the same with your written content. Without visuals and good design your copy is left incomplete.

A word of warning: add too many visuals and you run the risk of drowning out your content. Trust me I'm from Belfast. We built the Titanic. Using too many colors, photos, animations and text features will make your readers jump ship.

It's all about finding that sweet spot. Keep it clean, keep it clear, keep it readable.

3. Easy to do. Big results.

A little formatting doesn't take a lot of time, but it can go a long way with your readers. An extra 10 minutes could be the difference between a post that flops and one that goes viral.

You don't have to be a protegé to master the art of words. The principles of color, layout and typography are simple and easy to follow-especially with help from thanks to some modern, helpful (and free) tools. Speaking of, let's take a look at how you can create stunning layouts.

How to master text layout
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Don't worry: you don't have to be a grid-demon or spend months styling your written content. Follow in the footsteps of those who have discovered these time-tested techniques for text layout.

1. Pick colors that work

Use different colors so written content stands out, but make sure you get it right. Text that's impossible to read defeats the purpose of what we're doing. Use tools like Adobe Color to set a color palette for your project with colors that complement one another.

Remember that visibility and readability are more important than pretty looks here. You've got to take a pragmatic and functional approach to the written or typed word.

2. Pair your fonts

The only thing worse than clashing colors is clashing fonts.

On rare occasion, dramatically different fonts can be used to provide a stark contrast between a headline/header and body copy. But it often just ends up looking ugly.

via Typewolf

Use fonts that are in the same family to keep the art of words consistent across your entire design.

The good news is you don't have to be a typography wizard to figure it out. With free tools like Typewolf, you can automatically find awesome examples of matching typography so you can find the perfect font styles that go well together and fit your brand.

3. Use headers properly

Header tags are a common feature in most writing platforms. They're used to make your post look good by allowing users to scan your content quickly. They're also important for search engine optimization (SEO) and ensuring that your content pops up on Google.

Design by tale026

When Google crawls through your site, their system looks for header tags, which usually indicate content that is organized well. Google bots assume that this type of content is more readable and bumps it up in search engine results.

The same basic principles apply even if you're writing copy for a poster, brochure, card or honestly anything else. Use bigger headers for the most important stuff (the thing you want the reader to see first) and work your way down from there.

For digital content, headers tags usually run from biggest (H1) to smallest (sometimes you'll see up to H6). Shoot for the reverse pyramid based on importance and paragraph structure. Use H1 for main headlines, H2 for topics, H3 for subtopics and H4 for small details.

Here's an example:

See how I'm introducing the main idea in the headline?

Steps you should take (H2)

This is a topic and opens up a new angle to discuss and explore.

Use a reverse pyramid model (H3)

This is a sub-topic because I am exploring a point under the topic.

Secret conspiracies in copywriting (H4)

This is a tangent on a sub-topic. Perfect if you want to lead the reader further down the rabbit hole.

4. Karate chop your paragraphs
Long-winded sentences are a surefire way to make your readers lose attention quickly and when they go on and on they tend to switch off and you lose them quickly, in that time they may click away from your site entirely and move on to something more interesting like watching YouTube videos about the hidden messages in big corporation logos.

Humans now have a shorter attention span than goldfishes, so you gotta keep it short and sweet. Check out any major online publication and you will notice one thing: they rarely have paragraphs longer than three sentences.

Shorter sentences and paragraphs keep the reader engaged and makes your content much more scannable. Not everyone can put their feet up and spend 10 minutes reading an article. Most of us arrive on a page to find some information and then get outta there.

5. Use bullet points and numbers

It's that simple. Here's why:

1. Bullet points break up your text layout.

2. They provides short bursts of information.

3. Lists are perfect for facts or details.

Also, try to keep your bullet points looking good.

A general rule of thumb is that if a bullet point is longer than one line, it's too long to be a bullet point. (Oops!)

6. Mix up your content

There's a reason why sites like Medium, Buzzfeed and Upworthy are exploding in usage: they've made written content sexy again.

In general you should be looking to give readers a break from blocks of text every 250 words. Of course, you can do more, but look at finding a balance. All GIFS and no copy makes Jack an uninformed reader.

Quotes

I'm a big fan of block quotes! They really help break up blocks of text, give your readers' eyes a rest and highlight important sentences. Plus, they just look great.

Visuals

Whether it's a Quora answer, Medium post or a webpage, visual content increases the power of your content dramatically.

Photographs, graphics, GIFs, infographics and everything else are all great tools in keeping the reader engaged. The rise of Buzzfeed says it all.

Bold is great to make a certain word or phrase pop out at the reader. Use it to make your reader stop skimming.

Italics can be used to emphasis a point, imply tone or even convey dialogue.

Highlights can help avoid overusing other features like bold or quotes.

Underlines are tricky with digital content. They may be confused for links, but you may still want to use them for emphasis or titles.
These are powerful weapons to deploy in the art of words but overusing them can lead to content looking unprofessional and cluttered.
If everything stands out then ultimately nothing does so reserve these for things you actually want to draw the reader's attention to.

Go create beautiful written content
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More and more platforms measure the success of content on read-through rates rather than merely the number of people who view an article. The art of words is your secret weapon to keep readers reading and guide them through content until the very end.

If you have made it this far, congrats! It probably means one of three things:

1. I've done my job properly.

2. Your attention span is much higher than that of a goldfish.

3. (Most likely) you are heading to the comments to fight with me. *cries*

However you got here, use this quick crash course in text layout to bring your written content up to speed!

What are your favorite tricks to make your written content look like a masterpiece?

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The art of words: how great text layout can transform your design - 99designs

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There's more to great UX design than selecting pretty pictures. It's time to stop neglecting your text layout. The art of words is all about the way that words look on the page or screen. Since the dawn of the written language, the manner in which letters are presented and arranged has always mattered.

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Top 10 Favorite Fonts That Are Underused in 2018 · Typewolf

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These are 10 of my personal favorite fonts that don't seem to be as common on the web as some of the more popular fonts on Typewolf.

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Top 10 Fonts That I Think Will Be Popular in 2018 · Typewolf

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Get this PDF of the top 10 fonts that I think will be popular next year when you subscribe to the monthly Typewolf Type Roundup newsletter.

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Top 10 Hipster Fonts for 2018 · Typewolf

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I really hate the term "hipster" (I prefer "lumbersexual") but I feel like everyone knows what I mean by this style of design, so I thought it would be a fun list to make.

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by Connie Malamed

If we ran a contest for the favorite esoteric word of Instructional Designers, the term "chunking" might win. It's a concept embedded in the world of instructional and information design. Chunking content is critical because of how our brain appears to work.

Chunking Defined

Chunking refers to the strategy of breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can more easily digest new information. The reason the brain needs this assistance is because working memory, which is where we manipulate information, holds a limited amount of information at one time.

Why We Chunk Content

George A. Miller formulated the chunk concept in 1956, as he presented evidence that working memory is limited in capacity. Although Miller stated that working memory could hold seven (plus or minus two) chunks of information at once, it is now thought that the number is closer to four, maybe five bits of information. Also, cognitive researchers now know that the capacity of working memory depends on the type of information, the features of the information and the abilities of the person under experimentation.

The pearl of wisdom here is that if a learner's working memory is full, the excess information will just drop out-as in disappear. That's a big challenge for a course designer. It means that if you are explaining something complex and the learner must hold several factors in mind to understand it, you'll need to chunk information into bite-sized pieces.

Chunking Information for eLearning

Chunking information is particularly important for online learning. Without an instructor to answer questions and to guide the learning process, eLearning content has to be organized in a logical and progressive way through chunking. Chunking doesn't only work for your typical linear instruction, it also works for learning objects, for non-linear approaches to learning as well as discovery learning, because it groups together conceptually related information. Content that is conceptually related is meaningful, making it easier to understand.

Four Steps to Chunking Information

Now that we can proudly say our working memories are basically sieves, what strategies can eLearning designers implement to overcome this?

Step 1: Start at the highest level.
Use a chunking strategy while determining the content hierarchy of a course. Determine how modules, lessons and topics will be organized into a logical and progressive order.

Start with large chunks of conceptually related content and use these as your modules. There are numerous organizational strategies, such as simple to complex, cause and effect, sequential, etc. See How to Organize Content for more on this.

Step 2: Modules into lessons into topics.
Divide modules into smaller related chunks and these will become your lessons. Continue with this process until content is broken down to the topic level. As you become more familiar with the content, fine tune the internal structure.

Step 3: Chunk at the screen level.
When you have a solid module-lesson-topic structure, organize the content so each screen consists of one chunk of related information. Depending on how you design, this could be at the topic level, at the detailed learning objective level or at the concept level. As a guiding rule, avoid introducing multiple topics, learning objectives or concepts at one time.

Step 4: Do a working memory check.
Throughout the process, think in terms of working memory. Do you really need to include all the content you have in front of you? If not, get rid of extraneous content. Less is more.

Will the chunk of content require the learner to hold more than a few things in memory at one time in order to understand it? If so, break it down again. Fortunately, the visuals and text in multimedia courses can lessen the demands on working memory.

What if you have lots of unrelated information?

Turn Bits into Chunks. If you have lots of unrelated facts, it's possible that this is extraneous content and you don't need it. If you are certain these unrelated facts need to be included, find some way that they relate to each other and connect them.

In this situation, you have to chunk information in the opposite direction. Use any strategy that turns individual bits of information into meaningful chunks. Perhaps an analogy or metaphor will work.

Working memory is just as willing to hold four chunks of information as it is to hold four bits of information. For example, you can remember four letters as well as four words. By finding ways to group together small bits of information into a chunk and you'll help learners process more at one time.
What are your most effective strategies for chunking? Comment below.
Reference:
George Miller's milestone article from 1956: The Magical Number Seven.

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Chunking Information for Instructional Design

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Chunking refers to the strategy of breaking down information into bite-sized pieces so the brain can more easily digest new information. The reason the brain needs this assistance is because working memory, which is the equivalent of being mentally online, holds a limited amount of information at one time.

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does he have a point?

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I spend a lot of time here on my blog, on my free webinars, in my books, at work, and at conferences talking about what makes good eLearning. However, I rarely "flip the script" and talk about what makes lousy eLearning. Over the years, I've realized I have a few pet peeves when it comes to eLearning design, and when I encounter them, they make my skin crawl!

So, I thought it would be interesting to share my top three eLearning pet peeves and ask you to share yours!

My first eLearning pet peeve has to do with something that is usually designed to help learners, but ultimately, ends up annoying the heck out of them. And that thing is forced navigation tutorials. You know you what I'm talking about. It's those endless explanations at the beginning of a course, telling you how to click the Next button and how to adjust the volume. The worst part about these forced navigation tutorials is when you can't skip them, and they seem to contain more content than the course itself!
Why are forced navigation tutorials stupid?
Well, it's simple. If you have to explain how to use your course, it must not be easy to use in the first place. Learners know how to click the Next button to continue and how to adjust the volume of the course audio. Do you really need to force them through an explanation? I don't think so!
What to do instead?
If you absolutely must have a tutorial on how to use your course (which you shouldn't if you design an intuitive and easy-to-use course), let the learner decide whether or not they need the tutorial. Make it available to them and let them know where to get help if they get stuck. If they need it, they'll use it.

My second eLearning pet peeve is similar to my first one, in that it has to deal with course navigation, which is: locked navigation. I've always been fascinated with the obsession some eLearning designers have forcing their learners to consume every last bit of their course as if the content is "life and death." And yes, I realize some courses might be that important, but most aren't-there's no reason to lock down the navigation of an ordinary eLearning course on how to conduct effective one-on-one meetings with your employees, etc.
Why is locked navigation terrible?
Adult learners hate it, and frankly, it's a little insulting too. By locking the navigation of your eLearning course, you're essentially telling your learners that you don't trust them. It also might be a sign that your content is so disengaging and irrelevant to the learner, that you have to force your learners through it.
What to do instead?
Well first, unlock the navigation of your course. Then, once you've done that, focus on making your content engaging, self-directed, and relevant to your adult learners. If you do those things, your learners will want to go through the whole course on their own-no locked navigation necessary!

My third eLearning pet peeve has to do with quiz questions, specifically what happens when you answer a quiz question wrong. Let me give you an example. Let's say you're answering a multiple-choice question, and you select an answer, click Submit, and receive feedback that you got it wrong and to try again. You return to the question, choose a different answer, click Submit, and again, you receive feedback that you got it wrong and to try again. So, for the third time, you go back to the question, select and submit yet another answer, and still, you receive feedback that you got it wrong and to try again. So, what are you likely to do next? Well, let's be honest. At this point, you're frustrated and fully prepared to start guessing until you stumble across the right [insert colorful expletive here] answer so that you can get onto the next question.
Why are endless quiz questions a bad idea?
Endless quiz questions are bad because they frustrate your learners and encourage guessing. Additionally, if you're learners can't answer the question after two or three tries, that means they don't know the answer. Any attempts after that are usually guesses. This could also be a sign that you have a poorly written quiz question.
What to do instead?
The fix for this one is simple. All you have to do is limit the number of incorrect attempts. When I'm designing a course, I typically limit the number of incorrect attempts to two. After that, the learner will be provided the correct answer and be given the chance to move on. If you want to get fancy, you can use this as an opportunity to have the learner go back and review the learning content again and try answering a similar, but different question.

So those are my top three eLearning pet peeves? What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? What are some of your biggest eLearning pet peeves? Share them by commenting below!

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What Are Your eLearning Pet Peeves? Here Are Mine!

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I spend a lot of time here on my blog, on my free webinars, in my books, at work, and at conferences talking about what makes good eLearning. However, I rarely "flip the script" and talk about what makes lousy eLearning.

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Wordy but insightful

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College teaching may be the only skilled profession for which no preparation or training is provided or required. You get a Ph.D., join a faculty, they show you your office, and then tell you "By the way, you're teaching 205 next semester. See you later." The result is the consistent use of teaching techniques that have repeatedly been shown to be ineffective at promoting learning.

Many professors are surprised to learn that . . .

There are well-defined instructional techniques that make teaching more effective.

These techniques can be introduced slowly and methodically, without compromising coverage of the syllabus. They do not require large expenditures of money, time and effort.

Most importantly, the techniques have been validated by careful, documented, repeatable research. Their effectiveness is not simply a matter of opinion. They work!

This site offers guidance on what those techniques are and tips and resources for using them.

The foundation of this website is a collection of resources compiled by Dr. Richard Felder, Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at NC State University, at his popular website, Resources in Science and Engineering Education. Many of the articles and columns it contains were coauthored by his colleague and frequent collaborator Dr. Rebecca Brent.

That website closed December 31, 2018, and content from it was moved to this site. Browse through the sections shown on the left.

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College teaching may be the only skilled profession for which no preparation or training is provided or required. You get a Ph.D., join a faculty, they show you your office, and then tell you "By the way, you're teaching 205 next semester. See you later."

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process breakdown

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Take your narratives to the next level with our engaging, interactive timelines that are as visually stunning as they are informative.

Our easy-to-use platform lets you paint a vivid picture of the past, present, and even the future.

Enjoy the freedom to focus on what matters most, communicate key moments, and offer a full context that allows your audience to completely grasp your story.

Engage with interactivity, animation and beautiful design.

Focus on what is most important and communicate key moments.

Enhance comprehension by providing the context to fully understand the story.

Experience history in a way that connects the dots and puts things in perspective.

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Elevate your projects with our intuitive timeline maker. Craft compelling educational, historical, or project timelines in just a few clicks. Experience ease like never before!

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UX Design Leads the Way!

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Aligning Assessments with Teaching Objectives & Assessing Higher-Order Cognitive Skills

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Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction Adapted

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Gagné’s Nine Events of Instruction Adapted

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useful procedures

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Instructional Design Strategies to Design eLearning in 2018 - EIDesign

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As we witness the transition of traditional eLearning to mobile learning and macrolearning- to microlearning-based training, Instructional Design strategies are also evolving to keep pace.

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Good summation of techniques

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Instructional Design Strategies to Design eLearning in 2018 - EIDesign

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As we witness the transition of traditional eLearning to mobile learning and macrolearning- to microlearning-based training, Instructional Design strategies are also evolving to keep pace.

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to lock or not to lock...

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Locking down eLearning is universally considered a no-no if you would like your learner to actually enjoy the experience. In collaborative co-design sessions I used to try and explain why with a bunch of bullet points or sound bites - they never really seemed to cut through. Then I tried interpretive dance... but they won't let me do that anymore because of the accident.

So now I tell stories.

Wavy lines, wavy lines... you're being transported to a generic office space...

Lock it down Lucy

Eric sat down to do his training. Across from him was Lucy from the training team. After exchanging pleasantries Lucy handed Eric a single page with text on it.

"Let's start your training session!" she said enthusiastically.

Eric looked at the page and flipped it back and forward, "Is this it?"

"Oh there's more - 41 pages more. But you don't get the next page until you've read that one."

Eric stared at Lucy. "You're kidding right?"

"Oh no, I'm serious. You'll get the next page when you've finished reading that one. Just say ' Next' when you're finished."

"Why can't I just have all the pages?"

Lucy looked alarmed. "This is really important stuff. You might jump to the last page and say you've read it all without actually reading it."

"So... you don't trust me?"

Lucy went bright red "Of course I trust you. It's just that... some people would do that... if we gave them the chance."

"So you don't trust anyone?"

Lucy stared at Eric. "Just read the damn page."

Eric looked down at the page and after a few seconds said "Next."

"That was pretty quick."

"I'm a fast reader."

Lucy handed over the next page and Eric glanced down at it.

"Next"

"What do you mean 'Next', you only glanced at that page!"

"I'm a super- fast reader."

Lucy tentatively handed over the next page, Eric didn't even break eye contact with her.

"Next."

"You weren't even looking at the page!"

"... peripheral vision."

Lucy handed over the next page and smiled.

"Next" said Eric.

Lucy just stared at him and made no movement.

"I'm done, you can hand me the next page."

"Aha! I've got you. There's a learning check on that page that you have to answer before I give you the next one. I bet you wish you'd read the other pages properly now!"

Eric looked down at the question.

"The answer is A" said Eric.

"Ha! No. please try again" grinned Lucy.

"Is it B?"

"No. please try again."

"C?"

"No. please try again."

"D."

"Correct."

Eric put his hand out for the next page.

"... wait, you just went through the options. You didn't read the material at all!" said Lucy.

"Let's be honest, you're not interested in how I answer or why, " replied Eric "Just that I pick the right one before I can continue."

"That's a pretty cynical view. Of course we're interested, we want you to learn. "

"Really? You didn't tell me why I was wrong with my first three choices, or show me what would have happened to me or others based on those choices. I'm not really learning anything here, just ticking boxes. So with that being the case, I'd like to get through this as quickly as possible, I've got other work to do."

Eric motioned with his hand for the next sheet. Lucy begrudgingly handed it over. As it touched his fingers,

"Next."

"Right!" exclaimed Lucy, "You do realise there's an assessment at the end of this."

Eric feigned surprise, "There is?"

"Absolutely" smiled Lucy, "You need to be able to prove that you've read all the material to be compliant."

"So... it's not in my interest to skip the material is it?" said Eric.

"No, not at all" Lucy replied smugly.

"So why have you locked this training down? Why can't I go through the material in a way that suits me?"

Lucy thought nervously for a few seconds "... you might jump straight to the assessment and not read all the material if we don't lock it down."

"Haven't we just established that I need to go through the material to pass the assessment?"

"Not necessarily" said Lucy, "... you could guess the answers."

"Doesn't sound like a very robust assessment if you can just guess the answers."

"I can assure you Eric, that the assessment questions are quite robust."

"Maybe I won't be guessing the answers. I've done this type of training before, I'm an adult, I've picked up some knowledge along the way you know. Think of how much time we could save if I simply answered the questions I already had knowledge of and then reviewed the topics that relate to the questions I wasn't sure of."

Lucy blinked at Eric for a few moments and then stuck out the next page. He sighed, took the page and looked at it for a few seconds,

"Next."

And the moral of this story is .....

Most people want to lock down eLearning (particularly for compliance topics) in the belief it encourages the learner to read everything. In my experience it drives the opposite behaviour. If learners feel the eLearning is being forced on them, or that choice has been taken away - they'll 'happy-click' through it. Not convinced? When was the last time you read all the mandatory-to-click terms and conditions of an online form?

Some of our most successful (learner uptake) and award-winning (blatant humble-brag) compliance modules are completely open... and a little bit bonkers.

Completely open (and a little bit bonkers) eLearning

Check out this Security Awareness eLearning we created for Spark. There is no locking down of content here and the gamification elements add to the enjoyment of the learner's experience.

Locking down eLearning doesn't get your message across or help with learning. Meaningful stories and challenging questions do. Treat your learners like adults - make them think.

*Unless you insist - it's your dime after all J.

This article was written by Matt Bidwell, a Senior Learning Designer in our Wellington office who likes nothing more than working on storyboards that turn mind numbing "wish I could get my soul back after reading that document" content into something that will make you learn and smile.

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Why we don't lock down eLearning - Inspire Group

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Locking down eLearning is universally considered a no-no if you would like your learner to actually enjoy the experience. In collaborative co-design sessions I used to try and explain why with a bunch of bullet points or sound bites - they never really seemed to cut through. Then I tried interpretive dance...

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A Designer Addresses Criticism of Design Thinking

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A Designer Addresses Criticism of Design Thinking

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A Designer Addresses Criticism of Design Thinking

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Should you believe in something that's been over-hyped, over-promoted, and over-blown? In the case of design thinking, yes, you should. Like an overused cliché that still rings true, design thinking may be exaggerated as the cure-all for the uninspired, but it is too valuable a method to toss aside.

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2016 was an amazing year for Instructional Designers with respect to the innovations, adaptability and change we have witnessed in different aspects of eLearning course design. This is a result of continuous process of evaluation of existing approaches, standards and styles.

Following are the three major drivers of trends in Instructional Design:

Performance expectations in the workplace - performance expectations are ultra-oriented towards results, behaviours and actions you choose to perform your job

Availability of innovative Rapid authoring tools to create digital learning content - Articulate Storyline 360, Elucidat, Lectora 17 Inspire etc.

Learner's suitable or preferred manner of learning with respect to mobile or smart course delivery platforms (e.g. mobile learning), learning readiness - attention span to receive learning (microlearning) and of course individual learning styles

An Instructional Designer's job is to design instructional strategy to fulfil the above learning needs.

In the previous blog, we have discussed #top eLearning trends of 2017 in reference to learning technologies. In this blog, we will discuss the three key instructional design trends for 2017.

Gamification

#gamification is one of the most discussed trends in the eLearning industry.

Gamfication helps us develop interactive and immersive learning experience.

Gamification Definition: The use of game elements and game design techniques in non-game context.

Here, the non-game context is the learning content and following are a few game elements and game design techniques:
Instructional Design Approach:
Gamification is about incorporating game elements and game design techniques in learning content to drive learner's utmost interest and engagement.

Gamification is not turning complete learning schema into a game. Game elements and techniques has intrinsic motivation factor; these becomes drivers and carriers in learning process. Gamification is a gaming environment which challenges learner to learn and apply its learning to win the game.
Example:
Here is the case study on gamified learning assessment.

Microlearning

#microlearning is comparatively older concept than the Gamification, but it has popped-up to cater new learning challenges.

The general perception among educationists and scientists is that human attention span is decreasing. If we compare the average attention span from pre-digital era to present era of internet, we can easily recognize the duration of the time we pay attention towards one concept. Microlearning addresses this quick distractive nature of human attention effectively.

Moreover, microlearning meets just-in time performance-based learning requirement at the moment of need. It is the right fit or mobile learning strategy.
Instructional Design Approach:
Divide larger courses having multiple learning objectives to achieve a single objective course nugget - one objective one module with appropriate assessment and retention strategies.
Example:
Health and Safety at Workplace eLearning course is a very large concept which includes around 40 topics. We have divided it into several micro modules or learning nuggets. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is one such nugget. This learning nugget provides just-in-time information with fewer efforts and can be delivered any-time any-where using mobile platforms.

Contextualized eLearning

Contextual learning is a constructivist approach towards learning.

Following are the principles of contextual learning:

Learning is to solve real-life problems - problem solving

Learning should be built on the learner's prior knowledge

Learning material should be relevant to the future challenges

Instructional Design Approach:
Your content may have only elements of learning such as facts, concepts, process etc. Try to build a relevant context similar to an environment where learner will be applying his/her learning. Integrate content into the context and present as one unit.
Example:
A course on Anti-bribery and Corruption has been designed for corporate workforce. This course challenges learner to put him/herself into the context and respond in accordance to their learning.

Hope these predictions would help you devise the appropriate learning and development strategy in your organization for 2017. Watch out this space for future developments and trends in instructional designing.

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Top Instructional Design Trends for 2017

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2016 was an amazing year for Instructional Designers with respect to the innovations, adaptability and change we have witnessed in different aspects of eLearning course design. This is a result of continuous process of evaluation of existing approaches, standards and styles.

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Shawn, check out the musical ones!

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(Image credit: Rock Content)

The best infographics turn heavy data, facts or timelines into clear, easily digestible visual design that can be a delight to look at. They discipline combines several skills, with good design, illustration and animation often combining with an eye for salient data. The results is a presentation of often complex information in a way that's more stimulating and engaging than any factsheet.

If you are looking to create your own infographic, then check out our visualisation tools or our roundup of the best infographic makers to help get you started. You may also want to consider signing up to Adobe Creative Cloud (or Photoshop alternatives if you'd prefer.) But before you head off and start on your own, scroll through our pick of the best infographics we've seen for data visualisation inspiration.

We have divided our list into categories. You can head straight to what you're looking for or jump from section to section as you please. If you'd like to have a proper good look at any of the infographics, simply click on it for a large view. We start our roundup with a section on infographics about...infographics (infograph-ception, or what?)

The best infographics about infographics

01. What is an Infographic?

This simple but totally genius infographic made from lego was designed by Hot Butter Studio's Beth Kanter. Kanter is a visual marketeer who used this very graphic in her blog that explains how enforcing visual order upon data can help an audience draw conclusions and how to use them constructively.

02. Why your Brain Craves Infographics

Why do the best infographics become so popular? This interactive infographic by NeoMam Studios explores exactly what it is about them that hits the spot. featuring some cool parallax scrolling effects along the way.

03. The Infographic of Infographics

This infographic from artist Ivan Cash unpicks the trend for data visualisation and explores the stats surrounding the best infographics. It explains what fonts are popular, how many sections are typically included, what themes tend to crop up, and more.

The best explore a world infographics

04. World's Most Popular Artist

Who is your favourite artist? Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh, Banksy... the possibilities span countries and eras. But have you ever wondered if your passions lie with the same artist as other art fans in your country? This set of art-based data visualisations, created by Ken Bromley Art Supplies, are some of the most beautiful we've seen.

05. Font Psychology and Pop Culture

What effect does your font choice have on your audience, psychologically? That's what this design, produced by Venngage, sets out to explore by reference to some of the most popular Netflix shows of recent years. From The Crown to 13 Reasons Why, what does each show's typography say about their viewers, and what moods, genres and trends do they highlight?

06. History of Life

What better way to explore a world than by exploring our own world, and this is one of the best infographics to do so. Created by Juan Martinez, it defines each geological era of planet Earth, the changing shape of the land continents, and includes timelines, life milestones and mass extinction events.

07. A Stranger to Words

Dyslexic Artist Meng Chih Chiang created this data visualisation graph, which explores her own world of language. The fascinatingly complex infographic expresses the curve of her personal learning experience as she encounters language in her day-to-day life.

08. 50 years of Doctor Who

Illustrator Sam Gilbey has produced some of the best pop-culture infographics over the years. And we particularly loved this design, commissioned by Virgin to mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who back in 2013.

There have been a number of new Doctors since, of course, including ones sneakily retro-engineered by the writers into the show's existing canon. But for anyone new to Who, it gives a good overview of the first five decades of the show; and for die-hard fans, it's a lovely look back at an era when Doctor Who continuity was relatively straightforward.

09. Hip Hop infographic

Design studio Dorothy has carved some of the best infographics in poster form. Its designs often chart the many complex connections between entertainment genres and sub-genres, and are perfect for any superfan to display on their studio walls.

Stand-out examples include the 'blueprints' series, exploring the history of hip hop, showcased here; alternative and electronic music over the decades; the 'colour wheel' series, dedicated to the colour palettes of movies, books and music; and 'star charts', which map the relationships between seminal films, actors and directors.

10. Oddity Viz

The winner of an Information is Beautiful award, Valentina D'Efilippo's creative visualisation of the iconic Bowie track Space Oddity contrasts Dorothy's expansive genre-spanning creations by opting to go narrow and deep instead.

D'Efilippo worked with researcher Miriam Quick to gather data about the track, which she then visualised as a series of ten 12-inch discs, each of which deconstructs the track in a different way: according to melodies, harmonies, lyrics, structure, story and more.

11. An Analysis of The Beatles infographic

This interactive creation is one of the best infographics we've seen to analyse the Fab Four. It breaks down their career by year and by album and providing plenty of insight into who wrote what, which Beatle had the biggest vocabulary (hint: it wasn't Ringo), what most of their songs were about, and much more.

12. SWANH.NET

The best infographics go the extra mile, but this one goes the extra light year! Swiss illustrator Martin Panchaud has adapted the original 1977 Star Wars film, A New Hope, into a 123-metre-long animated wonder. Created in Illustrator CC, using 157 pictures across 22 separate files, it took him over a year to produce.

13. Grand Taxonomy of Rap Names

This colourful infographic examines 282 famous rappers in startling detail. Our favourite section? 'Audacious spelling': with sub-categories of 'Improper use of K' (hey, OutKast) and 'Misspelled adjectives' (that's you, Ludacris). This infographic was brought to you by Pop Chart Lab; a company set up by a book editor and a graphic designer who joined forces with one modest goal in mind: to render all of human experience in chart form.

14. The Magnificent Multitude of Beer

The multitude of varieties, brands and tastes of beer available can sometimes be a little overwhelming. So what better way to showcase the taxonomy of beer than with an infographic? Another one from Pop Chart Lab, this infographic ended up being so big (at 60x40in) that the team had to enlist the help of another printing firm to handle the job. After all that work, let's hope they found time to head to the bar.

15. MeTooMomentum

This infographic from Valentina D'Efilippo focuses on the first six months of the #MeToo movement, analysing around 200,000 tweets from that time. You can read more about the project in our post.

16. Avengers, Assemble!

This infographic from Lemonly breaks down facts about the superheroes that feature in the classic Marvel's Avengers Assemble. You can find out about each character's strength, skills, brains, gadgets and heart via some cool pie charts. The results are then compiled to show the team's greatest collective strengths.

17. Inception

The best infographics keep things simple. And given how complex Christopher Nolan's 2010 blockbuster movie Inception was, a little bit of simplicity goes a long way here. This brilliant illustration was created by New York-based graphic designer Rick Slusher. It summarises the film by depicting each character as a coloured line, and the layers of dreams as concentric circles.

The best infographics for lists

18. What NOT to Get a Graphic Designer for Christmas

It's never too early start thinking about Christmas presents, and this tongue-in-cheek infographic focuses on exactly what to AVOID buying the designer in your life. Illustrated by Simon Middleweek, this fun list brilliantly illustrates the pitfalls involved in shopping for a creative professional, from cliched hipster garb to cringeworthy T-shirts.

19. 30 Life Skills Every Functioning Adult Should Master

Do you consider yourself 'grown up' yet? If the answer's yes, then maybe this infographic from Business Insider will make you think again. It runs through 30 of the most important traits every adult should have under their belt, from being able to mend your own clothes to speaking a second language. If like us, you haven't mastered all of these yet, don't let it stress you out, but use it as a handy motivational tool to improve your life.

20. The ABC of Design infographic

The design industry is shaped by a glossary of terms that every professional needs to know. This ABC infographic from DesignMantic runs through 26 essential words and phrases and explains their meaning through stylish graphics.

21. 10 Commandments of UI Design

One of the best infographics we've seen covering UI design. Created by Designmantic, it's broken down into colour-coded themes (create a story, ensure accessibility and so on), with simple icons to convey the key rules within each category.

22. A-Z of Typography Terms

Do you know your aperture from your apex? How about the difference between a finial and a flag? If not, then this typography terms infographic acts as a handy cheatsheet that will help you get up to speed. After more information? Take a look at our roundup of the best typography tutorials.

23. 40 Little Things to Break your Creative Block

Creative droughts are the stuff of nightmares for artists, designers, photographers, and just about anyone with an imagination. But how do you reignite your creative spark? Designed by the team at

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Looking for the best infographics to inspire your own designs? We've gathered them together all in one place.

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Great analysis and takeaways.

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infographic

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2018 Instructional Design Trends And Learning Trends Infographic

2018 Instructional Design Trends And Learning Trends Infographic

They say traveling is the most basic form of learning, but learning can be a journey as well. At SweetRush, we don't see learning as a one-time event, but as a continuous process that happens over time, through different means.

In this infographic, you'll learn about the Instructional Design and learning trends that you'll be hearing about during 2018-be sure to pack them all in your bags! The journey is about to start, so be sure to check out the full article, 2018 Instructional Design Trends And Learning Trends: The Journey Of Learning for a much more in-depth look at the trends for the year.

Via: www.sweetrush.com

Embed This Education Infographic on your Site or Blog! Copy and Paste the following code!

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2018 Instructional Design Trends And Learning Trends Infographic - e-Learning Infographics

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You are probably wondering about 2018 Instructional Design Trends and all the learning trends that most people are interested about today, so here we have picked out and compiled the most popular 2018 Instructional Design Trends and all these learning trends in a very informative infographic that you will find handy.

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Center for Teaching and Learning | Learning House Inc.

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Discussions happen all the time in face-to-face classrooms. They occur when students chat before and after class, when instructors pose questions during lectures, and when students form study groups to do homework or prepare for a test. In online courses, impromptu discussions are harder to come by, but it is just as important for instructors to facilitate that kind of conversation. Here are three ways you can promote healthy conversations in your online discussion forums.

An open, ungraded discussion forum can help you build rapport with and among your online students. Its loose structure cultivates the types of conversations that occur before, after, and within a face-to-face classroom. Because it is ungraded, an open discussion forum allows students to participate freely without worrying about how their posts will impact their grades, thus encouraging more interaction.

Here are some examples of open forums and their purposes:

"Icebreaker" or "Introduction" forum: At the beginning of the course, you can have students post introductions of themselves to this forum so everyone can get to know each other. This can be a graded or ungraded assignment.

"Course Café" forum: This forum gives students a space where they can discuss anything they want--from football scores to homework assignments to what a crazy week they've had.

"Ask the Instructor" forum: This open forum allows students to ask questions about homework assignments and can help cut down on the number of e-mails you receive about course logistics.

Discussion forum assignments also help you and your students build rapport while you interact with a particular topic covered in class. Whereas open discussion forums allow class members to get to know one another more broadly, assigned discussion forums focus on one area that all participants have in common: the learning experience within the specific course. When you and your students share experiences and knowledge, everyone contributes to the topic at hand, thus broadening individual perspectives and strengthening the bond of community within the course.

Click here for some Example Discussion Board Prompts.

You can also use discussion forums to gauge your students' comprehension of a particular concept and their ability to apply it to real-world situations. To build an assessment discussion forum that engages students, provide open-ended prompts that allow for in-depth discussion. To that end, try to relate course content either to current events or to your students' lives and work. This will draw on not only what they've learned from the class, but also what they've gathered from their life experiences. You could even ask students to draw real-world parallels to the course material by having them find and present articles, videos, or other materials that apply to the course content for the week or module.

In short, a good discussion question prompts students to reflect on a given topic and elaborate beyond given facts. Furthermore, an effective discussion question directs students to apply and synthesize the concepts covered in class to life- and career-specific situations. By evaluating your students' responses, you can determine who is meeting the objectives and who may need individual attention.

Click here for a Sample Discussion Board Rubric.

You can use a discussion forum to provide online students with a chance to discuss the course content for each week or module. Students can form study groups, work through practice problems or a practice quiz together, present their rough drafts and receive feedback, or even offer up ideas that they would like to try out before being graded for them. Forums offer students an opportunity to teach each other and think through the concepts on their own (with instructor guidance).

Students can also use discussion forums to collaborate on projects or peer-review research papers. Most learning management systems (LMSs) allow students to attach a document in a discussion thread, which permits course members to access each other's work. Students can then provide feedback and suggestions on their peers' work, allowing others to benefit from their experience and knowledge.

Because LMSs save these uploaded files in the discussion forums, students can access reviewed copies of their work, and you can monitor the progress and evolution of your students' papers.

Various types of discussion can thrive in the online classroom. In fact, because students and instructors have uninterrupted access to an online course, time and space do not limit discussion as they do in a face-to-face setting. Furthermore, discussions can involve the entire class as opposed to the few brave souls who speak up in a traditional course. By designing and developing discussion forums that build rapport, assess learning and comprehension, and support collaboration, you can encourage dialogue in the online classroom that engages students and stimulates interactive, critical thinking.

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Three Ways to Encourage Conversation in Online Discussion Forums - Center for Teaching and Learning | Learning House Inc.

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Discussions happen all the time in face-to-face classrooms. They occur when students chat before and after class, when instructors pose questions during lectures, and when students form study groups to do homework or prepare for a test. In online courses, impromptu discussions are harder to come by, but it is just as important for instructors to facilitate that kind of conversation.

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If you teach an online course, or if your course has an online component or LMS, you probably make extensive use of the discussion board. Online discussions can be a great way for students to connect, collaborate, and share their ideas with their fellow students.

Unfortunately, student discussions often become monologues, rather than the lively conversations that you'd hope for them to be.

Want to gather some fresh ideas for sparking energizing online discussions? Then watch "Reenergizing Online Discussions." This presentation, recorded during our recent "Wired and Inspired!: The Intelligent Use of Technology in Higher Education" online workshop, offers specific guidelines for creating online discussions that require cogent textual analysis and critical thinking. The ideas shared here will also encourage students to have more substantive interactions with their peers.

Presenter Bonnie Tensen, Professor of English at Augsburg College, shares lessons learned from her extensive experience in leading online discussions in her courses. She covers such topics as:

The benefits of online discussions

How to use small groups to foster effective online discussions

Tips for using your posting deadlines to promote participation

Distinctive prompts that spark student engagement and critical thinking

How to communicate your expectations clearly and effectively

Ways to provide substantive feedback in a sustainable manner

Watch the presentation: Reenergizing Online Discussions

Find more helpful tips for using edtech in the college classroom

For more great tips on edtech in the college classroom, listen to the "Who Moved My Chalkboard: Adventures in Using EdTech to Your Advantage" podcast series, and watch "Chalk and Talk the Edtech Walk," a panel discussion! And stay tuned for news about our next "Wired and Inspired" event, taking place in February 2016.

We also invite you to download this list of additional readings on the topic of edtech in the college classroom.

Do you teach an online course? Join the conversation! Share your own online course ideas or experiences in the comments section below.
How do you use your course's online discussions to foster critical thinking and student engagement? Discuss your ideas and your responses to our featured webinar in the comments.

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How to Have Energizing Online Discussions in Your Course

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If you teach an online course, or if your course has an online component or LMS, you probably make extensive use of the discussion board. Online discussions can be a great way for students to connect, collaborate, and share their ideas with their fellow students.

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How To Facilitate Meaningful Online Discussions In eLearning

Online discussions keep the feedback flowing. Online learners have the opportunity to interact with their peers and share eLearning experiences, even if they live on different continents. Meaningful online collaborations can also improve knowledge retention and social learning skills. However, online learners can only reap the rewards if the lines of communication remain open. Here are the 8 top ways to spark meaningful online discussions and keep the flame burning bright in your eLearning course.

1. Have A Conflict Resolution Plan In Place

Anytime you have a group of people gathered in one place, even if it's online, disagreements are bound to happen. It's a fact of life. Fortunately, you can minimize the impact of these disagreements by developing a conflict resolution strategy. If the online discussion escalates into an argument, it's always best to intervene and stress the importance of mutual respect. You can also encourage online learners to discuss their point of view and look at things from a different perspective. In some cases, it might be a simple misunderstanding that arose from different personal values or beliefs. This is yet another reason why supportive learning cultures are so vital. Online learners should know that their opinions matter and that their ideas are welcomed.

2. Define Expectations

Different eLearning courses have different levels of social interactivity. While some make participation mandatory, others opt for a voluntary approach. Therefore, you must be clear about what online learners can expect from the eLearning experience and what you expect from them. Specify which online platforms you're using for online discussions, how often they should comment, and what their comments should entail. For example, a short paragraph response to the prompt you included in the blog post. Write a list of tips and guidelines and pin it to the top of your message thread for quick reference.

3. Take An Active Role In The Online Discussion

In some instances, your meaningful online discussions eventually take on a life of their own. They run autonomously and online learners take control of the online discussion. However, in the beginning you'll need to play an active role in the online discussion. Post questions, online articles, and prompts that encourage online learners to reflect. Invite them to share feedback and voice their concerns. The goal is to break the ice so that online learners become invested in the online discussion and want to actively participate. If you're working with a distracted audience, you may need to take it a step further and get controversial. Shine the spotlight on their assumptions by asking thought provoking questions. Highlight current eLearning course points that are debate-worthy.

4. Make Participation Optional

Sometimes the best way to get online learners involved is by giving them a choice. Certain individuals may not want to discuss their opinions or share ideas with the group. And that's okay. Forcing them to interact with their peers will only make them feel uncomfortable and alienated. As such, it's wise to make participation completely voluntary. Invite online learners to join the meaningful online discussion and highlight the benefits. Share the guidelines so that they know what to expect. If online learners are perpetually absent, send them a private message to check in and figure out what's holding them back. They may just need a gentle push to jump into the online discussion.

5. Choose A Topic For Each Post

Every forum, blog, and social media post should focus on a specific topic. There are two key reasons for this. Firstly, it prevents cognitive overwhelm. Secondly, it makes it easy for online learners to respond or leave their eLearning feedback. Going off on tangents or trying to cover too much subject matter will only lead to confusion. Aside from this, you should also moderate ongoing online discussions to ensure that they are on-topic. Get them back on track by asking relevant questions or pointing out the key takeaways. For example, drawing their attention to a surprising stat or fact they may have overlooked.

6. Reduce Online Group Sizes

There are people who love interacting with large groups. In fact, they thrive in online social environments and look forward to lively debates. Then there are those who need more personal interactions. The thing to remember is that people who enjoy bigger online groups will still be productive in smaller groups. But introverted online learners are less likely to participate in open forums. As a result, you should create smaller online groups based on the eLearning topic, course, goals or online learner interests.

7. Create A "Talking Point" Schedule

Create a posting schedule that features all the topics you want to cover and when. Include all materials, links, and prompts or questions that accompany each talking point. You should also emphasize how each online discussion topic relates to the learning objectives and goals. Share the schedule with your online learners in advance so that they can research the topic on their own. Alternatively, you can keep the schedule to yourself to encourage more spontaneous responses.

8. Invite Online Learners To Co-Host The Online Discussion

Ask a different online learner to co-host the online discussion with you each week. Invite them to create a post or question that sparks a conversation. This gives them the opportunity to share experiences and knowledge with their peers. They can also learn about different perspectives or get eLearning feedback that helps them improve. If you are turning the tables, make sure to set some ground rules and assign topics well in advance.

Meaningful online discussions can also help you assess learning comprehensionand research the strengths and weaknesses of your eLearning course design. In fact, one of the advantages of online discussions, social media groups, and other collaboration tools is their versatility. The possibilities are endless when it comes to their eLearning applications.

Are you looking for more ways to keep your online discussion on track? Read the article 10 Netiquette Tips For Online Discussions to discover the top netiquette tips that every eLearning pro should know.

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8 Ways To Facilitate Meaningful Online Discussions In eLearning

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Online discussions keep the feedback flowing. Online learners have the opportunity to interact with their peers and share eLearning experiences, even if they live on different continents. Meaningful online collaborations can also improve knowledge retention and social learning skills. However, online learners can only reap the rewards if the lines of communication remain open.

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The Discussion Forum is Dead; Long Live the Discussion Forum | Hybrid Pedagogy

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There are better forums for discussion than online discussion forums. The discussion forum is a ubiquitous component of every learning management system and online learning platform from Blackboard to Moodle to Coursera. Forums have become, in many ways, synonymous with discussion in the online class, as though one relatively standardized interface can stand in for ...

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7 steps of creative thinking: Raphael DiLuzio at TEDxDirigo

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it depends...

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No, no, you’re not thinking; you’re just being logical. | Martin Westwell | TEDxFlindersUniversity

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The more you’re taught, the less you know | Stephen Baldridge | TEDxACU

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using technology, not just digitizing traditional learning

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Reimagining Learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet

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and the beat goes on...

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Abstract

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities. These guidelines address accessibility of web content on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Following these guidelines will also often make Web content more usable to users in general.

WCAG 2.1 success criteria are written as testable statements that are not technology-specific. Guidance about satisfying the success criteria in specific technologies, as well as general information about interpreting the success criteria, is provided in separate documents. See Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview for an introduction and links to WCAG technical and educational material.

WCAG 2.1 extends Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 [], which was published as a W3C Recommendation December 2008. Content that conforms to WCAG 2.1 also conforms to WCAG 2.0. The WG intends that for policies requiring conformance to WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1 can provide an alternate means of conformance. The publication of WCAG 2.1 does not deprecate or supersede WCAG 2.0. While WCAG 2.0 remains a W3C Recommendation, the W3C advises the use of WCAG 2.1 to maximize future applicability of accessibility efforts. The W3C also encourages use of the most current version of WCAG when developing or updating Web accessibility policies.

Status of This Document
This section describes the status of this document at the time of its publication. A list of current W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be found in theW3C technical reports index at https://www.w3.org/TR/.
This is a Recommendation of WCAG 2.1 by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group. This incorporates errata and are described in the change log. At some point additional changes might be incorporated into an Edited or Amended Recommendation.

To comment, file an issue in the W3C WCAG GitHub repository. Although the proposed Success Criteria in this document reference issues tracking discussion, the Working Group requests that public comments be filed as new issues, one issue per discrete comment. It is free to create a GitHub account to file issues. If filing issues in GitHub is not feasible, send email to public-agwg-comments@w3.org ( comment archive).

This document was published by the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group as a Recommendation using the Recommendation track.

W3C recommends the wide deployment of this specification as a standard for the Web.

A W3C Recommendation is a specification that, after extensive consensus-building, is endorsed by W3C and its Members, and has commitments from Working Group members to royalty-free licensing for implementations.

This document was produced by a group operating under the 1 August 2017 W3C Patent Policy. W3C maintains a public list of any patent disclosures made in connection with the deliverables of the group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent. An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual believes contains Essential Claim(s) must disclose the information in accordance with section 6 of the W3C Patent Policy.

This document is governed by the 12 June 2023 W3C Process Document.

This section is non-normative.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 defines how to make Web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility involves a wide range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Although these guidelines cover a wide range of issues, they are not able to address the needs of people with all types, degrees, and combinations of disability. These guidelines also make Web content more usable by older individuals with changing abilities due to aging and often improve usability for users in general.

WCAG 2.1 is developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of providing a shared standard for Web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. WCAG 2.1 builds on WCAG 2.0 [], which in turn built on WCAG 1.0 [WAI-WEBCONTENT] and is designed to apply broadly to different Web technologies now and in the future, and to be testable with a combination of automated testing and human evaluation. For an introduction to WCAG, see the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.

Significant challenges were encountered in defining additional criteria to address cognitive, language, and learning disabilities, including a short timeline for development as well as challenges in reaching consensus on testability, implementability, and international considerations of proposals. Work will carry on in this area in future versions of WCAG. We encourage authors to refer to our supplemental guidance on improving inclusion for people with disabilities, including learning and cognitive disabilities, people with low-vision, and more.

Web accessibility depends not only on accessible content but also on accessible Web browsers and other user agents. Authoring tools also have an important role in Web accessibility. For an overview of how these components of Web development and interaction work together, see:

Where this document refers to WCAG 2 it is intended to mean any and all versions of WCAG that start with 2.

The individuals and organizations that use WCAG vary widely and include Web designers and developers, policy makers, purchasing agents, teachers, and students. In order to meet the varying needs of this audience, several layers of guidance are provided including overall principles, general guidelines, testable success criteria and a rich collection of sufficient techniques, advisory techniques, and documented common failures with examples, resource links and code.

Principles - At the top are four principles that provide the foundation for Web accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. See also Understanding the Four Principles of Accessibility.

Guidelines - Under the principles are guidelines. The 13 guidelines provide the basic goals that authors should work toward in order to make content more accessible to users with different disabilities. The guidelines are not testable, but provide the framework and overall objectives to help authors understand the success criteria and better implement the techniques.

Success Criteria - For each guideline, testable success criteria are provided to allow WCAG 2.1 to be used where requirements and conformance testing are necessary such as in design specification, purchasing, regulation, and contractual agreements. In order to meet the needs of different groups and different situations, three levels of conformance are defined: A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest). Additional information on WCAG levels can be found in Understanding Levels of Conformance.

Sufficient and Advisory Techniques - For each of the guidelines and success criteria in the WCAG 2.1 document itself, the working group has also documented a wide variety of techniques. The techniques are informative and fall into two categories: those that are sufficient for meeting the success criteria and those that are advisory. The advisory techniques go beyond what is required by the individual success criteria and allow authors to better address the guidelines. Some advisory techniques address accessibility barriers that are not covered by the testable success criteria. Where common failures are known, these are also documented. See also Sufficient and Advisory Techniques in Understanding WCAG 2.1.

All of these layers of guidance (principles, guidelines, success criteria, and sufficient and advisory techniques) work together to provide guidance on how to make content more accessible. Authors are encouraged to view and apply all layers that they are able to, including the advisory techniques, in order to best address the needs of the widest possible range of users.

Note that even content that conforms at the highest level (AAA) will not be accessible to individuals with all types, degrees, or combinations of disability, particularly in the cognitive language and learning areas. Authors are encouraged to consider the full range of techniques, including the advisory techniques, as well as to seek relevant advice about current best practice to ensure that Web content is accessible, as far as possible, to this community. Metadata may assist users in finding content most suitable for their needs.

The WCAG 2.1 document is designed to meet the needs of those who need a stable, referenceable technical standard. Other documents, called supporting documents, are based on the WCAG 2.1 document and address other important purposes, including the ability to be updated to describe how WCAG would be applied with new technologies. Supporting documents include:

1. How to Meet WCAG 2.1 - A customizable quick reference to WCAG 2.1 that includes all of the guidelines, success criteria, and techniques for authors to use as they are developing and evaluating Web content. This includes content from WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 and can be filtered in many ways to help authors focus on relevant content.

2. Understanding WCAG 2.1 - A guide to understanding and implementing WCAG 2.1. There is a short "Understanding" document for each guideline and success criterion in WCAG 2.1 as well as key topics.

3. Techniques for WCAG 2.1 - A collection of techniques and common failures, each in a separate document that includes a description, examples, code and tests.

4. The WCAG Documents - A diagram and description of how the technical documents are related and linked.

See Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview for a description of the WCAG 2.1 supporting material, including education resources related to WCAG 2. Additional resources covering topics such as the business case for Web accessibility, planning implementation to improve the accessibility of Web sites, and accessibility policies are listed in WAI Resources.

WCAG 2.1 meets a set of requirements for WCAG 2.1 which, in turn, inherit requirements from WCAG 2.0. Requirements structure the overall framework of guidelines and ensure backwards compatibility. The Working Group also used a less formal set of acceptance criteria for success criteria, to help ensure success criteria are similar in style and quality to those in WCAG 2.0. These requirements constrained what could be included in WCAG 2.1. This constraint was important to preserve its nature as a dot-release of WCAG 2.

WCAG 2.1 was initiated with the goal to improve accessibility guidance for three major groups: users with cognitive or learning disabilities, users with low vision, and users with disabilities on mobile devices. Many ways to meet these needs were proposed and evaluated, and a set of these were refined by the Working Group. Structural requirements inherited from WCAG 2.0, clarity and impact of proposals, and timeline led to the final set of success criteria included in this version. The Working Group considers that WCAG 2.1 incrementally advances web content accessibility guidance for all these areas, but underscores that not all user needs are met by these guidelines.

WCAG 2.1 builds on and is backwards compatible with WCAG 2.0, meaning web pages that conform to WCAG 2.1 also conform to WCAG 2.0. Authors that are required by policy to conform with WCAG 2.0 will be able to update content to WCAG 2.1 without losing conformance with WCAG 2.0. Authors following both sets of guidelines should be aware of the following differences:

WCAG 2.1 extends WCAG 2.0 by adding new success criteria, definitions to support them, guidelines to organize the additions, and a couple additions to the conformance section. This additive approach helps to make it clear that sites which conform to WCAG 2.1 also conform to WCAG 2.0, thereby meeting conformance obligations that are specific to WCAG 2.0. The Accessibility Guidelines Working Group recommends that sites adopt WCAG 2.1 as their new conformance target, even if formal obligations mention WCAG 2.0, to provide improved accessibility and to anticipate future policy changes.

The following Success Criteria are new in WCAG 2.1:

The new success criteria may reference new terms that have also been added to the glossary and form part of the normative requirements of the success criteria.

In the Conformance section, a third note about page variants has been added to Full Pages, and an option for machine-readable metadata added to Optional Components of a Conformance Claim.

In order to avoid confusion for implementers for whom backwards compatibility to WCAG 2.0 is important, new success criteria in WCAG 2.1 have been appended to the end of the set of success criteria within their guideline. This avoids the need to change the section number of success criteria from WCAG 2.0, which would be caused by inserting new success criteria between existing success criteria in the guideline, but it means success criteria in each guideline are no longer grouped by conformance level. The order of success criteria within each guideline does not imply information about conformance level; only the conformance level indicator (A / AA / AAA) on the success criterion itself indicates this. The WCAG 2.1 Quick Reference provides ways to view success criteria grouped by conformance level, along with many other filter and sort options.

WCAG 2.1 uses the same conformance model as WCAG 2.0 with a couple additions, which is described in the Conformance section. It is intended that sites that conform to WCAG 2.1 also conform to WCAG 2.0, which means they meet the requirements of any policies that reference WCAG 2.0, while also better meeting the needs of users on the current Web.

In parallel with WCAG 2.1, the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group is developing another major version of accessibility guidelines. The result of this work is expected to be a more substantial restructuring of web accessibility guidance than would be realistic for dot-releases of WCAG 2. The work follows a research-focused, user-centered design methodology to produce the most effective and flexible outcome, including the roles of content authoring, user agent support, and authoring tool support. This is a multi-year effort, so WCAG 2.1 is needed as an interim measure to provide updated web accessibility guidance to reflect changes on the web since the publication of WCAG 2.0. The Working Group might also develop additional interim versions, continuing with WCAG 2.2, on a similar short timeline to provide additional support while the major version is completed.

This section lists requirements for conformance to WCAG 2.1. It also gives information about how to make conformance claims, which are optional. Finally, it describes what it means to be accessibility supported, since only accessibility-supported ways of using technologies can be relied upon for conformance. Understanding Conformance includes further explanation of the accessibility-supported concept.

The main content of WCAG 2.1 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.

The key words MAY, MUST, MUST NOT, NOT RECOMMENDED, RECOMMENDED, SHOULD, and SHOULD NOT are to be interpreted as described in [].

In order for a Web page to conform to WCAG 2.1, all of the following conformance requirements must be satisfied:

One of the following levels of conformance is met in full.

For Level A conformance (the minimum level of conformance), the Web page satisfies all the Level A Success Criteria, or a conforming alternate version is provided.

For Level AA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A and Level AA Success Criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided.

For Level AAA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A, Level AA and Level AAA Success Criteria, or a Level AAA conforming alternate version is provided.

Conformance (and conformance level) is for full Web page(s) only, and cannot be achieved if part of a Web page is excluded.

When a Web page is one of a series of Web pages presenting a process (i.e., a sequence of steps that need to be completed in order to accomplish an activity), all Web pages in the process conform at the specified level or better. (Conformance is not possible at a particular level if any page in the process does not conform at that level or better.)

An online store has a series of pages that are used to select and purchase products. All pages in the series from start to finish (checkout) conform in order for any page that is part of the process to conform.

1. when any technology that is not relied upon is turned on in a user agent,

2. when any technology that is not relied upon is turned off in a user agent, and

3. when any technology that is not relied upon is not supported by a user agent

In addition, the following success criteria apply to all content on the page, including content that is not otherwise relied upon to meet conformance, because failure to meet them could interfere with any use of the page:

1.4.2 - Audio Control,

2.1.2 - No Keyboard Trap,

2.3.1 - Three Flashes or Below Threshold, and

2.2.2 - Pause, Stop, Hide.

For more information, including examples, see Understanding Conformance Requirements.

Conformance is defined only for Web pages. However, a conformance claim may be made to cover one page, a series of pages, or multiple related Web pages.

Conformance claims are not required. Authors can conform to WCAG 2.1 without making a claim. However, if a conformance claim is made, then the conformance claim must include the following information:

1. Date of the claim

2. Guidelines title, version and URI "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 at https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/"

3. Conformance level satisfied: (Level A, AA or AAA)

4. A concise description of the Web pages, such as a list of URIs for which the claim is made, including whether subdomains are included in the claim.

The Web pages may be described by list or by an expression that describes all of the URIs included in the claim.

Web-based products that do not have a URI prior to installation on the customer's Web site may have a statement that the product would conform when installed.

5. A list of the Web content technologies relied upon.

In addition to the required components of a conformance claim above, consider providing additional information to assist users. Recommended additional information includes:

A list of success criteria beyond the level of conformance claimed that have been met. This information should be provided in a form that users can use, preferably machine-readable metadata.

A list of the specific technologies that are " used but not relied upon."

A list of user agents, including assistive technologies that were used to test the content.

A list of specific accessibility characteristics of the content, provided in machine-readable metadata.

Information about any additional steps taken that go beyond the success criteria to enhance accessibility.

A machine-readable metadata version of the list of specific technologies that are relied upon.

A machine-readable metadata version of the conformance claim.

Sometimes, Web pages are created that will later have additional content added to them. For example, an email program, a blog, an article that allows users to add comments, or applications supporting user-contributed content. Another example would be a page, such as a portal or news site, composed of content aggregated from multiple contributors, or sites that automatically insert content from other sources over time, such as when advertisements are inserted dynamically.

In these cases, it is not possible to know at the time of original posting what the uncontrolled content of the pages will be. It is important to note that the uncontrolled content can affect the accessibility of the controlled content as well. Two options are available:

1. A determination of conformance can be made based on best knowledge. If a page of this type is monitored and repaired (non-conforming content is removed or brought into conformance) within two business days, then a determination or claim of conformance can be made since, except for errors in externally contributed content which are corrected or removed when encountered, the page conforms. No conformance claim can be made if it is not possible to monitor or correct non-conforming content;
OR

2. A "statement of partial conformance" may be made that the page does not conform, but could conform if certain parts were removed. The form of that statement would be, "This page does not conform, but would conform to WCAG 2.1 at level X if the following parts from uncontrolled sources were removed." In addition, the following would also be true of uncontrolled content that is described in the statement of partial conformance:

1. It is not content that is under the author's control.

2. It is described in a way that users can identify (e.g., they cannot be described as "all parts that we do not control" unless they are clearly marked as such.)

A "statement of partial conformance due to language" may be made when the page does not conform, but would conform if accessibility support existed for (all of) the language(s) used on the page. The form of that statement would be, "This page does not conform, but would conform to WCAG 2.1 at level X if accessibility support existed for the following language(s):"

abbreviation

shortened form of a word, phrase, or name where the abbreviation has not become part of the language

1. initialisms are shortened forms of a name or phrase made from the initial letters of words or syllables contained in that name or phrase

Not defined in all languages.

SNCF is a French initialism that contains the initial letters of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer, the French national railroad.

ESP is an initialism for extrasensory perception.

2. acronyms are abbreviated forms made from the initial letters or parts of other words (in a name or phrase) which may be pronounced as a word

NOAA is an acronym made from the initial letters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States.

accessibility supported

supported by users' assistive technologies as well as the accessibility features in browsers and other user agents

To qualify as an accessibility-supported use of a Web content technology (or feature of a technology), both 1 and 2 must be satisfied for a Web content technology (or feature):

1. The way that the Web content technology is used must be supported by users' assistive technology (AT). This means that the way that the technology is used has been tested for interoperability with users' assistive technology in the human language(s) of the content,
AND

2. The Web content technology must have accessibility-supported user agents that are available to users. This means that at least one of the following four statements is true:

1. The technology is supported natively in widely-distributed user agents that are also accessibility supported (such as HTML and CSS);
OR

2. The technology is supported in a widely-distributed plug-in that is also accessibility supported;
OR

3. The content is available in a closed environment, such as a university or corporate network, where the user agent required by the technology and used by the organization is also accessibility supported;
OR

4. The user agent(s) that support the technology are accessibility supported and are available for download or purchase in a way that:

does not cost a person with a disability any more than a person without a disability and

is as easy to find and obtain for a person with a disability as it is for a person without disabilities.

alternative for time-based media

ambiguous to users in general

picture created by a spatial arrangement of characters or glyphs (typically from the 95 printable characters defined by ASCII)

assistive technology (as used in this document)

hardware and/or software that acts as a user agent, or along with a mainstream user agent, to provide functionality to meet the requirements of users with disabilities that go beyond those offered by mainstream user agents

screen magnifiers, and other visual reading assistants, which are used by people with visual, perceptual and physical print disabilities to change text font, size, spacing, color, synchronization with speech, etc. in order to improve the visual readability of rendered text and images;

screen readers, which are used by people who are blind to read textual information through synthesized speech or braille;

text-to-speech software, which is used by some people with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities to convert text into synthetic speech;

speech recognition software, which may be used by people who have some physical disabilities;

alternative keyboards, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate the keyboard (including alternate keyboards that use head pointers, single switches, sip/puff and other special input devices.);

alternative pointing devices, which are used by people with certain physical disabilities to simulate mouse pointing and button activations.

audio description

narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone

a time-based presentation that contains only audio (no video and no interaction)

switch back and forth between two visual states in a way that is meant to draw attention

blocks of text

more than one sentence of text

initialism for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart"

synchronized visual and/or text alternative for both speech and non-speech audio information needed to understand the media content

changes of context

major changes that, if made without user awareness, can disorient users who are not able to view the entire page simultaneously

Changes in context include changes of:

conformance

satisfying all the requirements of a given standard, guideline or specification

conforming alternate version

version that

1. conforms at the designated level, and

2. provides all of the same information and functionality in the same human language, and

3. is as up to date as the non-conforming content, and

4. for which at least one of the following is true:

1. the conforming version can be reached from the non-conforming page via an accessibility-supported mechanism, or

2. the non-conforming version can only be reached from the conforming version, or

3. the non-conforming version can only be reached from a conforming page that also provides a mechanism to reach the conforming version

See Understanding Conforming Alternate Versions

content (Web content)

context-sensitive help

contrast ratio

(L1 + 0.05) / (L2 + 0.05), where

correct reading sequence

any sequence where words and paragraphs are presented in an order that does not change the meaning of the content

visual angle of about 0.0213 degrees

A CSS pixel is the canonical unit of measure for all lengths and measurements in CSS. This unit is density-independent, and distinct from actual hardware pixels present in a display. User agents and operating systems should ensure that a CSS pixel is set as closely as possible to the CSS Values and Units Module Level 3 reference pixel [css3-values], which takes into account the physical dimensions of the display and the assumed viewing distance (factors that cannot be determined by content authors).

platform event that occurs when the trigger stimulus of a pointer is depressed

The down-event may have different names on different platforms, such as "touchstart" or "mousedown".

a sudden, unexpected situation or occurrence that requires immediate action to preserve health, safety, or property

if removed, would fundamentally change the information or functionality of the content, and information and functionality cannot be achieved in another way that would conform

extended audio description

audio description that is added to an audiovisual presentation by pausing the video so that there is time to add additional description

a pair of opposing changes in relative luminance that can cause seizures in some people if it is large enough and in the right frequency range

functionality

processes and outcomes achievable through user action

general flash and red flash thresholds

a flash or rapidly changing image sequence is below the threshold (i.e., content passes) if any of the following are true:

1. there are no more than three general flashes and / or no more than three red flashes within any one-second period; or

2. the combined area of flashes occurring concurrently occupies no more than a total of .006 steradians within any 10 degree visual field on the screen (25% of any 10 degree visual field on the screen) at typical viewing distance

where:

A general flash is defined as a pair of opposing changes in relative luminance of 10% or more of the maximum relative luminance (1.0) where the relative luminance of the darker image is below 0.80; and where "a pair of opposing changes" is an increase followed by a decrease, or a decrease followed by an increase, and

A red flash is defined as any pair of opposing transitions involving a saturated red

Exception: Flashing that is a fine, balanced, pattern such as white noise or an alternating checkerboard pattern with "squares" smaller than 0.1 degree (of visual field at typical viewing distance) on a side does not violate the thresholds.

The working definition (as of 2022) in the field for "pair of opposing transitions involving a saturated red" is a pair of opposing transitions where, one transition is either to or from a state with a value R/(R + G + B) that is greater than or equal to 0.8, and the difference between states is more than 0.2 (unitless) in the CIE 1976 UCS chromaticity diagram. [ISO_9241-391]

human language

language that is spoken, written or signed (through visual or tactile means) to communicate with humans

phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meaning of the individual words and the specific words cannot be changed without losing the meaning

In Japanese, the phrase "さじを投げる" literally translates into "he throws a spoon," but it means that there is nothing he can do and finally he gives up.

In Dutch, "Hij ging met de kippen op stok" literally translates into "He went to roost with the chickens," but it means that he went to bed early.

image of text

text that has been rendered in a non-text form (e.g., an image) in order to achieve a particular visual effect

informative

for information purposes and not required for conformance

input error

information provided by the user that is not accepted

This includes:

1. Information that is required by the Web page but omitted by the user

2. Information that is provided by the user but that falls outside the required data format or values

keyboard interface

interface used by software to obtain keystroke input

A keyboard interface allows users to provide keystroke input to programs even if the native technology does not contain a keyboard.

A touchscreen PDA has a keyboard interface built into its operating system as well as a connector for external keyboards. Applications on the PDA can use the interface to obtain keyboard input either from an external keyboard or from other applications that provide simulated keyboard output, such as handwriting interpreters or speech-to-text applications with "keyboard emulation" functionality.

keyboard shortcut

alternative means of triggering an action by the pressing of one or more keys

large scale (text)

with at least 18 point or 14 point bold or font size that would yield equivalent size for Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) fonts

legal commitments

link purpose

nature of the result obtained by activating a hyperlink

information captured from a real-world event and transmitted to the receiver with no more than a broadcast delay

lower secondary education level

the two or three year period of education that begins after completion of six years of school and ends nine years after the beginning of primary education

This definition is based on the International Standard Classification of Education [].

process or technique for achieving a result

media alternative for text

motion animation

text by which software can identify a component within Web content to the user

navigated in the order defined for advancing focus (from one element to the next) using a keyboard interface

non-text content

any content that is not a sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined or where the sequence is not expressing something in human language

required for conformance

on a full-screen window

stopped by user request and not resumed until requested by user

pointer input

input from a device that can target a specific coordinate (or set of coordinates) on a screen, such as a mouse, pen, or touch contact

prerecorded

information that is not live

presentation

rendering of the content in a form to be perceived by users

primary education level

six year time period that begins between the ages of five and seven, possibly without any previous education

This definition is based on the International Standard Classification of Education [].

series of user actions where each action is required in order to complete an activity

programmatically determined (programmatically determinable)

determined by software from author-supplied data provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present this information to users in different modalities

programmatically determined link context

additional information that can be programmatically determined from relationships with a link, combined with the link text, and presented to users in different modalities

programmatically set

set by software using methods that are supported by user agents, including assistive technologies

pure decoration

serving only an aesthetic purpose, providing no information, and having no functionality

real-time event

event that a) occurs at the same time as the viewing and b) is not completely generated by the content

relationships

meaningful associations between distinct pieces of content

relative luminance

the relative brightness of any point in a colorspace, normalized to 0 for darkest black and 1 for lightest white

For the sRGB colorspace, the relative luminance of a color is defined as L = 0.2126 * R + 0.7152 * G + 0.0722 * B where R, G and B are defined as:

if RsRGB <= 0.04045 then R = RsRGB/12.92 else R = ((RsRGB+0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4

if GsRGB <= 0.04045 then G = GsRGB/12.92 else G = ((GsRGB+0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4

if BsRGB <= 0.04045 then B = BsRGB/12.92 else B = ((BsRGB+0.055)/1.055) ^ 2.4

and RsRGB, GsRGB, and BsRGB are defined as:

The "^" character is the exponentiation operator. (Formula taken from [].)

relied upon (technologies that are)

the content would not conform if that technology is turned off or is not supported

same functionality

same relative order

satisfies a success criterion

the success criterion does not evaluate to 'false' when applied to the page

set of web pages

collection of web pages that share a common purpose and that are created by the same author, group or organization

Examples include:

a publication which is split across multiple Web pages, where each page contains one chapter or other significant section of the work. The publication is logically a single contiguous unit, and contains navigation features that enable access to the full set of pages.

an e-commerce website shows products in a set of Web pages that all share the same navigation and identification. However, when progressing to the checkout process, the template changes; the navigation and other elements are removed, so the pages in that process are functionally and visually different. The checkout pages are not part of the set of product pages.

a blog on a sub-domain (e.g. blog.example.com) which has a different navigation and is authored by a distinct set of people from the pages on the primary domain (example.com).

sign language

a language using combinations of movements of the hands and arms, facial expressions, or body positions to convey meaning

sign language interpretation

translation of one language, generally a spoken language, into a sign language

single pointer

pointer input that operates with one point of contact with the screen, including single taps and clicks, double-taps and clicks, long presses, and path-based gestures

specific sensory experience

dynamic property expressing characteristics of a user interface component that may change in response to user action or automated processes

States do not affect the nature of the component, but represent data associated with the component or user interaction possibilities. Examples include focus, hover, select, press, check, visited/unvisited, and expand/collapse.

status message

change in content that is not a change of context, and that provides information to the user on the success or results of an action, on the waiting state of an application, on the progress of a process, or on the existence of errors

1. The way the parts of a Web page are organized in relation to each other; and

2. The way a collection of Web pages is organized

style property

property whose value determines the presentation (e.g. font, color, size, location, padding, volume, synthesized speech prosody) of content elements as they are rendered (e.g. onscreen, via loudspeaker, via braille display) by user agents

Style properties can have several origins:

User agent default styles: The default style property values applied in the absence of any author or user styles. Some web content technologies specify a default rendering, others do not;

Author styles: Style property values that are set by the author as part of the content (e.g. in-line styles, author style sheets);

User styles: Style property values that are set by the user (e.g. via user agent interface settings, user style sheets)

supplemental content

additional content that illustrates or clarifies the primary content

synchronized media

technology (Web content)

mechanism for encoding instructions to be rendered, played or executed by user agents

sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined, where the sequence is expressing something in human language

text alternative

Text that is programmatically associated with non-text content or referred to from text that is programmatically associated with non-text content. Programmatically associated text is text whose location can be programmatically determined from the non-text content.

platform event that occurs when the trigger stimulus of a pointer is released

The up-event may have different names on different platforms, such as "touchend" or "mouseup".

used in an unusual or restricted way

any software that retrieves and presents Web content for users

user-controllable

data that is intended to be accessed by users

user interface component

a part of the content that is perceived by users as a single control for a distinct function

user inactivity

any continuous period of time where no user actions occur

The method of tracking will be determined by the web site or application.

a time-based presentation that contains only video (no audio and no interaction)

object in which the user agent presents content

visually customized

the font, size, color, and background can be set

a non-embedded resource obtained from a single URI using HTTP plus any other resources that are used in the rendering or intended to be rendered together with it by a user agent

This section contains a listing of common user interface component input purposes. The terms below are not keywords that must be used, but instead represent purposes that must be captured in the taxonomy adopted by a webpage. Where applicable, authors mark up controls with the chosen taxonomy to indicate the semantic purpose. This provides the potential for user agents and assistive technologies to apply personalized presentations that can enable more people to understand and use the content.

The list of input type purposes is based on the control purposes defined in the HTML 5.2 Autofill field section, but it is important to understand that a different technology may have some or all of the same concepts defined in its specification and only the concepts that are mapped to the meanings below are required.

The following input control purposes are intended to relate to the user of the content and pertain only to information related to that individual.

name - Full name

honorific-prefix - Prefix or title (e.g., "Mr.", "Ms.", "Dr.", "Mlle")

given-name - Given name (in some Western cultures, also known as the first name)

additional-name - Additional names (in some Western cultures, also known as middle names, forenames other than the first name)

family-name - Family name (in some Western cultures, also known as the last name or surname)

honorific-suffix - Suffix (e.g., "Jr.", "B.Sc.", "MBASW", "II")

nickname - Nickname, screen name, handle: a typically short name used instead of the full name

organization-title - Job title (e.g., "Software Engineer", "Senior Vice President", "Deputy Managing Director")

username - A username

new-password - A new password (e.g., when creating an account or changing a password)

current-password - The current password for the account identified by the username field (e.g., when logging in)

organization - Company name corresponding to the person, address, or contact information in the other fields associated with this field

street-address - Street address (multiple lines, newlines preserved)

address-line1 - Street address (one line per field, line 1)

address-line2 - Street address (one line per field, line 2)

address-line3 - Street address (one line per field, line 3)

address-level4 - The most fine-grained administrative level, in addresses with four administrative levels

address-level3 - The third administrative level, in addresses with three or more administrative levels

address-level2 - The second administrative level, in addresses with two or more administrative levels; in the countries with two administrative levels, this would typically be the city, town, village, or other locality within which the relevant street address is found

address-level1 - The broadest administrative level in the address, i.e., the province within which the locality is found; for example, in the US, this would be the state; in Switzerland it would be the canton; in the UK, the post town

country - Country code

country-name - Country name

postal-code - Postal code, post code, ZIP code, CEDEX code (if CEDEX, append "CEDEX", and the dissement, if relevant, to the address-level2 field)

cc-name - Full name as given on the payment instrument

cc-given-name - Given name as given on the payment instrument (in some Western cultures, also known as the first name)

cc-additional-name - Additional names given on the payment instrument (in some Western cultures, also known as middle names, forenames other than the first name)

cc-family-name - Family name given on the payment instrument (in some Western cultures, also known as the last name or surname)

cc-number - Code identifying the payment instrument (e.g., the credit card number)

cc-exp - Expiration date of the payment instrument

cc-exp-month - Month component of the expiration date of the payment instrument

cc-exp-year - Year component of the expiration date of the payment instrument

cc-csc - Security code for the payment instrument (also known as the card security code (CSC), card validation code (CVC), card verification value (CVV), signature panel code (SPC), credit card ID (CCID), etc)

cc-type - Type of payment instrument

transaction-currency - The currency that the user would prefer the transaction to use

transaction-amount - The amount that the user would like for the transaction (e.g., when entering a bid or sale price)

language - Preferred language

bday - Birthday

bday-day - Day component of birthday

bday-month - Month component of birthday

bday-year - Year component of birthday

sex - Gender identity (e.g., Female, Fa'afafine)

url - Home page or other Web page corresponding to the company, person, address, or contact information in the other fields associated with this field

photo - Photograph, icon, or other image corresponding to the company, person, address, or contact information in the other fields associated with this field

tel - Full telephone number, including country code

tel-country-code - Country code component of the telephone number

tel-national - Telephone number without the country code component, with a country-internal prefix applied if applicable

tel-area-code - Area code component of the telephone number, with a country-internal prefix applied if applicable

tel-local - Telephone number without the country code and area code components

tel-local-prefix - First part of the component of the telephone number that follows the area code, when that component is split into two components

tel-local-suffix - Second part of the component of the telephone number that follows the area code, when that component is split into two components

tel-extension - Telephone number internal extension code

email - E-mail address

impp - URL representing an instant messaging protocol endpoint (for example, "aim:goim?screenname=example" or "xmpp:fred@example.net")

This section shows changes for WCAG 2.1 since its publication as a W3C Recommendation. These changes are also recorded as errata.

Changes since the W3C Recommendation of 05 June 2018:

In the Status of This Document the paragraph beginning "This document has been reviewed by W3C Members..." appears twice. The first instance of this paragraph has been removed.

In the Introduction, several (but not all) references to "WCAG 2.0" has been changed to "WCAG 2.1".

In the 0.5.2 Numbering in WCAG 2.1, the words "critera" and "ccriteria" have been changed to "criteria".

In 1.4.10 Reflow, the first note had a supernumary "Note" indicator which has been removed.

In 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus, the word "dismissable" has been changed to "dismissible".

In 4. Robust, repetition of the word "by" has been removed.

In 5.2.2 Full pages, the third note began with "New" which has been removed.

In 5.3.1 Required Components of a Conformance Claim the editorial note "In WCAG 2.0 this was a dated URI, which may need to be adjusted when this becomes a Rec." has been removed.

In the definition for keyboard interface, the second (of three) note has been changed to be an example of the first note, leaving only two actual notes.

In the definition for technology, the third note has been changed to be an example.

In 7. Input Purposes for User Interface Components, the word "county" has been changed to "country".

In 1.3.4 Orientation, the note referencing "binary display orientation" has been clarified to read "content is not necessarily restricted to landscape or portrait display orientation".

In a note in the definition of accessibility supported, references to "Conformance Criterion" were changed to "Conformance Requirement".

In the definition of relative luminance, the red threshold was updated from 0.03928 to 0.04045.

In 4.1.1 Parsing one note was deleted, and two notes were added, including: "This Success Criterion should be considered as always satisfied for any content using HTML or XML."

The full commit history to WCAG 2.1 is available.

This section is non-normative.
Additional information about participation in the Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AG WG) can be found on the Working Group home page.

Jake Abma (Invited Expert)

Shadi Abou-Zahra (W3C)

Chuck Adams (Oracle Corporation)

Amani Ali (Nomensa)

Jim Allan (Invited Expert)

Paul Adam (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Christopher Auclair (VitalSource | Ingram Content Group)

Jon Avila (Level Access)

Tom Babinszki (IBM Corporation)

Bruce Bailey (U.S. Access Board)

Renaldo Bernard (University of Southampton)

Chris Blouch (Level Access)

Denis Boudreau (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Judy Brewer (W3C)

Shari Butler (Pearson plc)

Thaddeus Cambron (Invited Expert)

Alastair Campbell (Nomensa)

Laura Carlson (Invited Expert)

Louis Cheng (Google)

Pietro Cirrincione (Invited Expert)

Vivienne Conway (Web Key IT Pty Ltd)

Michael Cooper (W3C)

Jennifer Delisi (Invited Expert)

Romain Deltour (DAISY Consortium)

Wayne Dick (Knowbility, Inc)

Chaohai Ding (University of Southampton)

Kim Dirks (Thomson Reuters)

Shwetank Dixit (BarrierBreak Technologies)

Anthony Doran (TextHelp)

E.A. Draffan (University of Southampton)

Eric Eggert (W3C)

Michael Elledge (Invited Expert)

David Fazio (Invited Expert)

Wilco Fiers (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Detlev Fischer (Invited Expert)

John Foliot (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Matt Garrish (DAISY Consortium)

Alistair Garrison (Level Access)

Michael Gower (IBM Corporation)

Jon Gunderson

Markku Hakkinen (Educational Testing Service)

Katie Haritos-Shea (Knowbility, Inc)

Andy Heath (Invited Expert)

Shawn Henry (W3C)

Thomas Hoffman (Educational Testing Service)

Sarah Horton (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Stefan Johansson (Invited Expert)

Marc Johlic (IBM Corporation)

Rick Johnson (VitalSource | Ingram Content Group)

Crystal Jones (Microsoft Corporation)

Andrew Kirkpatrick (Adobe)

John Kirkwood (Invited Expert)

Jason Kiss (Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand Government)

Maureen Kraft (IBM Corporation)

JaEun Ku (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Patrick Lauke (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Shawn Lauriat (Google, Inc.)

Steve Lee (Invited Expert)

Alex Li (Microsoft Corporation)

Chris Loiselle (Invited Expert)

Greg Lowney (Invited Expert)

Adam Lund (Thomson Reuters)

David MacDonald (Invited Expert)

Erich Manser (IBM Corporation)

Kurt Mattes (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Scott McCormack (Level Access)

Chris McMeeking (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Jan McSorley (Pearson plc)

Neil Milliken (Unify Software and Solutions)

Rachael Montgomery (Invited Expert)

Mary Jo Mueller (IBM Corporation)

Brooks Newton (Thomson Reuters)

James Nurthen (Oracle Corporation)

Joshue O Connor (Invited Expert)

Sailesh Panchang (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Charu Pandhi (IBM Corporation)

Kim Patch (Invited Expert)

Melanie Philipp (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Mike Pluke (Invited Expert)

Ian Pouncey (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Ruoxi Ran (W3C)

Stephen Repsher (Invited Expert)

Jan Richards (Invited Expert)

John Rochford (Invited Expert)

Marla Runyan (Invited Expert)

Stefan Schnabel (SAP SE)

Ayelet Seeman (Invited Expert)

Lisa Seeman-Kestenbaum (Invited Expert)

Glenda Sims (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Avneesh Singh (DAISY Consortium)

David Sloan (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Alan Smith (Invited Expert)

Jim Smith (Unify Software and Solutions)

Andrew Somers (Invited Expert)

Adam Solomon (Invited Expert)

Jaeil Song (National Information Society Agency (NIA))

Jeanne Spellman (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Makoto Ueki (Invited Expert)

Jatin Vaishnav (Deque Systems, Inc.)

Gregg Vanderheiden (Raising the Floor)

Evangelos Vlachogiannis (Fraunhofer Gesellschaft)

Kathleen Wahlbin (Invited Expert)

Can Wang (Zhejiang University)

Léonie Watson (The Paciello Group, LLC)

Jason White (Educational Testing Service)

Mark Wilcock (Unify Software and Solutions)

Paul Adam, Jenae Andershonis, Wilhelm Joys Andersen, Andrew Arch, Avi Arditti, Aries Arditi, Mark Barratt, Mike Barta, Sandy Bartell, Kynn Bartlett, Chris Beer, Charles Belov, Marco Bertoni, Harvey Bingham, Chris Blouch, Paul Bohman, Frederick Boland, Denis Boudreau, Patrice Bourlon, Andy Brown, Dick Brown, Doyle Burnett, Raven Calais, Ben Caldwell, Tomas Caspers, Roberto Castaldo, Sofia Celic-Li, Sambhavi Chandrashekar, Mike Cherim, Jonathan Chetwynd, Wendy Chisholm, Alan Chuter, David M Clark, Joe Clark, Darcy Clarke, James Coltham, Earl Cousins, James Craig, Tom Croucher, Pierce Crowell, Nir Dagan, Daniel Dardailler, Geoff Deering, Sébastien Delorme, Pete DeVasto, Iyad Abu Doush, Sylvie Duchateau, Cherie Eckholm, Roberto Ellero, Don Evans, Gavin Evans, Neal Ewers, Steve Faulkner, Bengt Farre, Lainey Feingold, Wilco Fiers, Michel Fitos, Alan J. Flavell, Nikolaos Floratos, Kentarou Fukuda, Miguel Garcia, P.J. Gardner, Alistair Garrison, Greg Gay, Becky Gibson, Al Gilman, Kerstin Goldsmith, Michael Grade, Karl Groves, Loretta Guarino Reid, Jon Gunderson, Emmanuelle Gutiérrez y Restrepo, Brian Hardy, Eric Hansen, Benjamin Hawkes-Lewis, Sean Hayes, Shawn Henry, Hans Hillen, Donovan Hipke, Bjoern Hoehrmann, Allen Hoffman, Chris Hofstader, Yvette Hoitink, Martijn Houtepen, Carlos Iglesias, Richard Ishida, Jonas Jacek, Ian Jacobs, Phill Jenkins, Barry Johnson, Duff Johnson, Jyotsna Kaki, Shilpi Kapoor, Leonard R. Kasday, Kazuhito Kidachi, Ken Kipness, Johannes Koch, Marja-Riitta Koivunen, Preety Kumar, Kristjan Kure, Andrew LaHart, Gez Lemon, Chuck Letourneau, Aurélien Levy, Harry Loots, Scott Luebking, Tim Lacy, Jim Ley, Alex Li, William Loughborough, N Maffeo, Mark Magennis, Kapsi Maria, Luca Mascaro, Matt May, Sheena McCullagh, Liam McGee, Jens Oliver Meiert, Niqui Merret, Jonathan Metz, Alessandro Miele, Steven Miller, Mathew J Mirabella, Matt May, Marti McCuller, Sorcha Moore, Charles F. Munat, Robert Neff, Charles Nevile, Liddy Nevile, Dylan Nicholson, Bruno von Niman, Tim Noonan, Sebastiano Nutarelli, Graham Oliver, Sean B. Palmer, Devarshi Pant, Nigel Peck, Anne Pemberton, David Poehlman, Ian Pouncey, Charles Pritchard, Kerstin Probiesch, W Reagan, Adam Victor Reed, Chris Reeve, Chris Ridpath, Lee Roberts, Mark Rogers, Raph de Rooij, Gregory J. Rosmaita, Matthew Ross, Sharron Rush, Joel Sanda, Janina Sajka, Roberto Scano, Gordon Schantz, Tim van Schie, Wolf Schmidt, Stefan Schnabel, Cynthia Shelly, Glenda Sims, John Slatin, Becky Smith, Jared Smith, Andi Snow-Weaver, Neil Soiffer, Mike Squillace, Michael Stenitzer, Diane Stottlemyer, Christophe Strobbe, Sarah J Swierenga, Jim Thatcher, Terry Thompson, Justin Thorp, David Todd, Mary Utt, Jean Vanderdonckt, Carlos A Velasco, Eric Velleman, Gijs Veyfeyken, Dena Wainwright, Paul Walsch, Daman Wandke, Richard Warren, Elle Waters, Takayuki Watanabe, Gian Wild, David Wooley, Wu Wei, Kenny Zhang, Leona Zumbo.

This publication has been funded in part with U.S. Federal funds from the Health and Human Services, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), initially under contract number ED-OSE-10-C-0067 and now under contract number HHSP23301500054C. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. Department of Education, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1

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Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible. Following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities.

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Usability Guides

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One of the big challenges in e-Learning management is bridging the gap between instructional design and project management. Over the next few weeks, I'll explore the relationship between the generic life cycle of e-Learning and the documented processes of project management.

In this week's column, my focus is on a high-level overview of ADDIE, the generic life cycle description applied to traditional learning materials, and on the generic project management life span. This will include highlighting some key concepts that will help you close the loop on these two in your own work. (If you aren't familiar with ADDIE, don't worry: I'll show you a picture of it later in this column, and I think it's fair to say you'll be familiar with the process by the time this series is finished.)

Assumptions, assertions, and conflicts

Many questions that come up in e-Learning design, development, and management arise from what I believe are basic flaws in the way individual designers and project managers relate the instructional design life cycle and the project management life cycle.

In particular, ADDIE is often spoken or written about as if it is an outline of how to manage e-Learning projects, which it is not. ADDIE does provide a convenient summary of instructional design activities in terms of broad, generic phases. However, there are two points to bear in mind.

First, ADDIE is so broad and generic (at least in the way many designers understand and apply it) that it does not have much value in guiding or in documenting project life cycles. In fact, a superficial understanding of ADDIE combined with a smattering of knowledge - at most - about instructional methods and architectures, will almost guarantee a bad learning product (with or without the "e"). ADDIE was developed, and first appeared, at about the same time as the "waterfall" life cycle in software programming. These two life cycle models have much in common, including inherent weaknesses that have been amplified by the failure of practitioners to understand the thinking behind the models. For example, both ADDIE and the waterfall model tend to be applied as "sewer pipe" processes: one pass through, no going back or iteration, no re-use of content or code, get through it as fast as you can. Yet the originators of both models were careful to specify that iteration is very much part of the respective life cycles.

Second, I think it's worth remembering that ADDIE was popularized over 30 years ago as part of a movement to guide the creation of better instructor-led classroom courses. In those courses, the highest application of technology involved a 35mm slide projector and a "programmable" tape deck. ("Programmable" meant the instructor could record inaudible cues on the tape; when the slide projector received one of these cues, it would advance to the next slide.) Nobody then was particularly worried about ROI, and it was possible to estimate costs pretty closely early in the development process by using a variety of handy rules of thumb. Other than a few academic researchers in the (then) esoteric and unproven field of cognitive psychology, practically nobody was aware of any model of learning other than the behaviorist one. Our bible was Bloom's Taxonomy, and our catechism was Mager's Preparing Instructional Objectives. While Bloom and Mager are still important, our understanding has grown, not to mention our technology. We need a more carefully articulated process to deal with the complexities of e-Learning design and development.

Figure 1 is a fast summary of some critical relationships between what the designer must think about and what the project manager must think about during the project life cycles. There are three critical observations about this situation that may explain a lot about the challenges we face when we decide to create e-Learning.

Figure 1 Instructional design and project management are parallel processes.

1. Instructional design and project management overlap.

Instructional design (ID) and project management (PM) are two separate components in any rational approach to the planning of instructional systems. But they do not map directly across one to the other. They complement rather than duplicate.

In my opinion, a lot of the frustration and wasted motion in e-Learning product development arises from failure to account for these parallel processes. The same failure also leads to impatience with "analysis paralysis" on the part of decision makers.

The key element missing from many, probably most, e-Learning initiatives is documentation. Documentation helps to focus the design, supports completion on time and within budget, and facilitates communication between development team members, customers, and sponsors. I'll have more to say about the role of documentation, especially in the next article and in the last article of this series of columns.

2. The skill set required for project management is not the same skill set required for instructional design.

We've known for some time that there are a number of "subspecialties" in e-Learning (The Guild article categories - management, designer, developer - are built around the major distinctions), and their number is growing. However, we often don't appreciate how hard it is for one person to fill multiple roles, and we often forget the need to "shift gears."

Because of the complexity of e-Learning technology, the speed of change in that technology, and the impact of e-Learning on IT infrastructure and on other business processes, project management is an emerging competency sub-specialty.

If e-Learning development is a problem solving process, then, to the instructional designer, the problem appears to revolve around, among other things:

employee performance gaps;

learner experience and current knowledge and skills; and

the options for addressing this combination in order to reach desired outcomes.

The designer's role with respect to these elements manifests in ways that are congruent with some particular philosophy about how people learn. But note that meeting a project schedule and budget is not an instructional priority.

On the other hand, to the project manager the problem seems to involve:

deliverables;

developer resources; and

schedule and budget

These issues can be handled with standard project management techniques. But note that philosophy about learning, and reaching improved performance outcomes, are not on the project manager's list of things that keep her awake at night.

Another way to look at this is to understand that the instructional designer says, "It isn't a project until the analysis is done." But the project manager says, "It isn't a project until it has a sponsor, a scope, and a budget." If the same person is in both roles, it's no wonder he might feel a little bit conflicted most of the time.

I'll address these differences in a column in November. But for now, if you are managing e-Learning in your organization, how are you developing the project management specialist skills of the individual ID professionals that you call on most often to lead projects?

3. The handoff from instructional design to project management must be planned.

The focus shifts from instructional design to project management at one particular point in the history of an e-Learning product. There are three key aspects of this handoff that can make or break your e-Learning development effort and I will reveal these three points next week.

The relationship between instructional design and project management

To close this column, there are two important points about learning models that I want to make, because these points inform much of what I will be writing about for the next month. I'll get into these in more depth in a couple of weeks, but here's a summary.

As with everything else, our models of learning - theories about what learning is, what instruction is, how do you know if someone has learned something - increase in number as the years go by. Today, there are four common models that are the basis for nearly all e-Learning, and under these four are two fundamental orientations to learning.

Basically, learning designers tend to build their products either under the assumption that the point of learning is memorization of knowledge or behavior, or under the assumption that the point of learning is the creation and articulation of knowledge. (This is a very broad and lazy summary, and I'm not writing a doctoral dissertation here, OK?)

Three models are in the memory camp. The absorption model is driven by transmission of information from an expert to the learner. The behavior model is driven by a teaching/testing methodology, and focuses on observable behaviors. The cognitive model is also driven by a teaching/testing methodology, but it is more complex because it includes several different architectures and it focuses both on observable and on covert behaviors.

The fourth model seeks to support the creation and articulation of knowledge. Problem solving drives the constructive approach. The constructive approach tests for performance by using an assessment process. The constructive model is the latest development, but it almost certainly won't be the last.

Why are these models important? First, they are important because most designers use one and only one of them as the default when creating learning products (including e-Learning). Hold that thought for a minute.

Second, the models are important because a designer should understand all of them, and be able to match the model selected to both the outcome desired and the organization's culture.

Third, the models are important because the nature of "e-Learning" is not constant across all models of learning. In particular e-Learning changes significantly with the shift from the memorization models to the construction model:

In memorization, the instructor/system uses technology to efficiently deliver information and knowledge to the learners.

In the constructive model, the learners use technology directly to explore, converse, articulate, collaborate, and reflect, facilitating the creation of knowledge.

Are you still holding that thought about defaults?

The decision about the learning model affects everything.

I believe that understanding this proposition - that the decision about the learning model affects everything - is the key to improving your product, your results, and your ROI. This decision:

Determines project scope.

Determines what the major deliverables are going to be, i.e. linear transmission products, modules/lessons/exercises, or problem context/representation/manipulation.

Affects costs and time.

Affects skills needed by development team.

If a designer defaults to the "absorption" model, the e-Learning product will consist of text and PowerPoint, and the occasional lecture canned in an MP3 object. Will this work for every assignment? Probably not. But, as Abraham Maslow famously said, "If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail." and so many e-Learning designers go on month after month whacking away at the world with their hammer and wondering why they aren't getting anywhere.

If you look closely at ADDIE, you will see that nowhere in it does the designer explicitly make a decision about which learning model applies. This means that the implicit and tacitly selected operative learning model is nearly always going to be the one with which the designer is most familiar or comfortable, regardless of whether it is the most appropriate one for the desired outcome, audience, and topic. I think this is a weakness of ADDIE that needs to be addressed as a priority, and I will do so in future articles and columns.

In the meantime, I hope that by the time you have finished this series of columns, you'll find a couple of new tools in your kit.

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Closing the Loop in e-Learning Development: How to reconnect instructional design and project management

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One of the big challenges in e-Learning management is bridging the gap between instructional design and project management. Over the next few weeks, I'll explore the relationship between the generic life cycle of e-Learning and the documented processes of project management.

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In a field that changes rapidly, it's prudent to have solid resources to turn to for guidance. These resources can be contained in a blog, website, online course, or book format.

Utilizing as many different kinds of resources as possible provides learners with the most well-rounded, comprehensive education possible.

Some of these top instructional design resources can be found below.

Books

The idea of learning from books may be passed over as outdated, but there is a great deal of valuable resources found within them. Here's a sampling of the best of what's available to enhance instructional design.

The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl Kapp

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All by David Kelley and Tom Kelley

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

Influencer: The Science of Leading Change by Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler

Michael Allen's Guide to Elearning by Michael Allen

Bringing Out the Best in People by Audrey Daniels

Leaving ADDIE for SAM by Michael Allen with Richard Sites

The Accidental Instructional Designer by Cammy Bean

Visual Design Solutions: Principles and Creative Inspiration for Learning Professionals by Connie Malamed

Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen

Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo

Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design by Bill Buxton

Websites and Blogs

It's no surprise that there are a wealth of blogs and websites that offer great advice on instructional design.

Online courses

Another invaluable source of information is an online course. Online courses are often free and can be completed at a pace that suits the learner.

There are many options available, but these are some of the best.

Technology is in a constant state of evolution that requires instructional designers to be at the top of their game in order to remain relevant in the marketplace of today. Utilizing these resources will assist designers to stay relevant and up-to-date with current aspects of instructional design.

To learn more about how Designing Digitally, Inc. approaches instructional design, contact our team today!

By Designing Digitally, Inc.

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In a field that changes rapidly, it's prudent to have solid resources to turn to for guidance. These resources can be contained in a blog, website, online course, or book format. Utilizing as many different kinds of resources as possible provides learners with the most well-rounded, comprehensive education possible.

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Join the professional network for digital learning leaders

Sign up now!
Can proactive instructional design eliminate barriers to access for learners? Will artificial intelligence play a role in improving accessibility? How can institutions create a culture of collaboration to support universal design? On Tuesday, May 8 the #DLNchat community got together to discuss and debate: How Can We Improve Accessibility Through Instructional Design?

As we often do at #DLNchat, we started with a definition of terms. We talked about the differences between accessibility and usability, legal considerations under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the concept of UDL (universal design for learning). Robin Tamez coalesced these definitions well: "Accessibility starts with complying with standards and goes beyond by removing barriers for as many digital learners as possible. Universal design is a framework of principles to achieve accessibility for the greatest number of learners." In the spirit of multimodal representation, Ryan Straight also shared a graphic representation of how to consider different disabilities:

A2: Non-answer, but wanted to share this. I think a lot of folks forget about these different types of accessibility needs. #DLNchat pic.twitter.com/daeWwXmSb5
- Prof Straight (@RyanStraight) May 8, 2018

Graph depicting disabilities as permanent, temporary and situational

And Jennifer Albat shared an illustration of what an effort at universal design is NOT:

Cartoon depicting a professor asking a monkey, elephant, goldfish, seal and dog to climb a tree.

Regardless of how they represented their concepts, #DLNchat-ters agreed: accessibility starts at the beginning of the design process. Phyllis Brodsky put it this way, "The commitment to accessibility should be authentic, not rote, and up front, not an afterthought... Applying sound pedagogy that drives design and truly integrates UDL is foundational."
Part of this process is considering the platform in which the course will be designed. As Albat pointed out, "Just the LMS can be a challenge in itself. Screen readers have an awful time with the separate sections." Her institution, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is working to address these issues by implementing Blackboard Ally. Cathy Germano shared appreciation for Canvas LMS elements supporting accessible design. Leah Chuchran-Davis reminded folks that LMS integration capabilities may narrow accessible choices early in the instructional design process.

As this process continues, #DLNchat-ters proposed different systems of checks and balances to strive for improved accessibility. At the University of Alaska, Anchorage, Katie Walker shared, "IDs are using an accessibility rubric to go through and identify issues in online course content." Germano explained the process in place at Excelsior College, "We have a checklist set up on our collaborative intranet set up as to make sure all programming and activities have accessibility solutions." Representatives from Spring Arbor University also shared their system: "We're working on a cohesive ADA compliance structure using our Assistant ID and Style Guide as Quality Assurance."

All of these systems, #DLNchat-ters agreed, have to exist within an institutional culture committed to access through collaboration. Leanne Riseley suggested approaching accessibility from a social justice perspective. Jim Hounslow's proposal was to "Introduce empathy and inclusion: move from isolated design processes to involve people. Create awareness, be people centred and build relationships involving people with disabilities." Others had more concrete suggestions, such as writing accessibility assessment into the job descriptions of instructional designers. Trish Briere shared, "We have an ADA team embedded within our learning design unit. They help educate us and the rest of the university." One of the key components is to move beyond providing retroactive access for students with disabilities and toward proactive access designed for all learners.

So can proactive instructional design and technology work together to eliminate barriers to access? The #DLNchat community concurred: technology alone won't cut it. As Cole Eskridge said, "We cannot expect technology to eliminate these barriers until the developers of these tools begin to take accessibility seriously from the beginning. We also have the responsibility to advocate for them to take accessibility seriously with our contracts/purchasing choices." Sherri Restauri reminded us to keep in mind "that tech will also continue to change in 10-20 years, we're going to have to adapt along with it. Better chance of catching up if we start with full inclusivity in mind from the design phase of all tech." In other words, product companies have as much of a role as institutions and instructional design teams. A few wondered: will artificial intelligence also play a role? Perhaps, but as Dr. Straight chanted, "Repeat after me: technology is not a panacea, technology is not a panacea, technology is not a panacea..."

Peruse the #DLNchat for all the thoughts from this chat, as well as a LOT of great resources related to accessibility and instructional design. You can chime in with your own thoughts and questions too! RSVP for our next chat: What Are Your Professional Development Plans for Summer 2018? on Tuesday, May 22 at 1pm PT/ 4pm ET to get reminders beforehand.For other topics, check out our index of past chats. #DLNchat is co-hosted by the Online Learning Consortium, WCET and Tyton Partners.

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How Can We Improve Accessibility Through Instructional Design? #DLNchat - EdSurge News

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Join the professional network for digital learning leaders Sign up now! Can proactive instructional design eliminate barriers to access for learners? Will artificial intelligence play a role in improving accessibility? How can institutions create a culture of collaboration to support universal design?

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...focus on the 'big ideas'...

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My passion for teaching stems from my love for marketing and communication, as I have found that building a curriculum is just like creating a marketing campaign. In both cases, you gather research, develop the best possible product, and assess the results while always keeping your target market in mind to maximize your chances of success.

Adult learners have different needs and expectations; students' needs vary based on learning styles, schedules and relevance to professional fields. Harvard's Dr. Leila Samii, who teaches social media and marketing, said, "Today's adult learners are coming in with more experience and the ability to learn from sources at a much faster rate. As instructors, we have the responsibility to develop curriculum that balances theory and application. Material should be thought-provoking for expanding the mind outside of the normal thought pattern balanced with case examples for problem-solving that can translate into the workspace."

In my quest to build and develop curriculum for adult learners, the cornerstone of my work is to create lessons that are both intellectually stimulating and purposeful.

Interpretations of success also vary based on students' frames of reference, their expectations, their surroundings and their goals. While completing a certificate in adult education at UC Berkeley, I compiled materials from several courses to put together a general four-step approach to developing a course curriculum that is structured around organizing content from various resources into a student-centered course design that's easy for adult students to understand.
1. Research
Educators always emphasized learning about the student population in order to connect with them. But it is also important to reach out to a diverse group of influential professionals in the community to better understand the needs of organizations that are likely to hire our students. If you know what qualities and skills the community needs, you can then design a curriculum around those needs. The Institute for a Competitive Workplace and the National Career Pathways Network published an article that addresses in more detail the growing importance of business engagement in education and how big of a role businesses "must play in supporting successful education models in their local communities."

At Salt Lake Community College, we rely on Program Advisory Committees (PACs) and Developing a Curriculum Committees (DACUMs) to keep instructors aligned with the community's needs. These committees consist of industry experts who help us break down the tasks and skills needed for a job or an occupation; teachers then use this information to develop curricula.
2. Gathering Course Materials
Now that you've narrowed down your course objectives, you've also narrowed down your search for information. Gather resources that could be used to deliver bite-sized concepts that lead to understanding the learning objectives. A book may contain that information, but I prefer finding unique and specific information that is focused on preparing students for success in the particular course you're working on.

It's also important to gather content that could appeal to various styles of learning; some students love to read text books, some like short articles, and others prefer video. Creative Commons-licensed materials, like TED Talks and Khan Academy, contain valuable resources for your courses; they are becoming more accessible and they can integrate easily into your course designs.

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A Simplified, Four-Step Approach To Instructional Design

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My passion for teaching stems from my love for marketing and communication, as I have found that building a curriculum is just like creating a marketing campaign. In both cases, you gather research, develop the best possible product, and assess the results while always keeping your target market in mind to maximize your chances of success.

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being current and relevant

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When assigning research to students, it is common for professors to place restrictions such as requiring that sources be cited or come from a peer-reviewed academic source or absolutely outlawing the use of Wikipedia. Depending on the content area, limitations as to the age of material may even be enforced, such as to require that all sources be contemporary to the last five years. In fact, a common complaint is that students these days don't possess good critical thinking and media literacy skills to evaluate the quality of materials they find, giving rise to such initiatives as The Media Literacy Project and Common Sense Media. Students are often criticized for taking the first thing Google gives them rather than taking the time to really analyze what they're reading, connect it to the course content, and synthesize it into new knowledge. But what happens when a course designer does the same thing? Or worse?

Take these examples from an art history course in a module on art in the Stone Age. Among the linked sources for students to refer to as lecture content are:

A GeoCities page on the Neolithic period? Yes, Geocities (see what we did there?) a web-hosting site founded in 1994 and later purchased by Yahoo! before it was shuttered in 2009.

A Blogspot site called "Past Remembering" with the tagline "The truth is there. You just have to see it" and the URL BetterThanUFOs.blogspot.com. This site comes with the author's warning that,
"This blog has been written with the sole purpose of using the ample evidence available to verify and support the biblical record, while refuting the copious propaganda that is shoved down our throats daily by materialistic uniformitarians. It is my contention that the Bible describes God's original creation of people with extraordinary capabilities who subsequently built an advanced civilization that exceeds our own. That civilization was destroyed in the Great Flood and we have spent the last 5,000 years trying to re-build that civilization. I contend that science supports all this in multiple disciplines, but this information is ignored or suppressed by various people who have an opposing agenda. Nothing that you see on this blog is original. Any fact that you see here is obtainable on a dozen different websites and books. I use these facts and photos, without violating their copyrights, under the legal principle of fair use practice. That is, I use them one time, for educational purposes only. The point is, nothing here is made up. The only thing that I do (or need to do) is assemble this information in a discernible pattern. You might want to read through the first entry posted on this blog (Past Remembering: Thoughts toward a coherent view of our ancient past, our present and our future) in order to understand my theoretical and theological underpinnings more clearly. The truth is there. You just have to see it."
Umm... excuse us while we try to pick our jaws up off the floor.

An NBCNews.com article called "Turns out, cave men loved to sing"

A website called "The Megalithic Portal" whose webmaster proclaims, "I am an amateur in hopefully the best sense of the word. Where I don't know something I take the advice of the more knowledgeable. Over the years, this project has become a major team effort with input from thousands of photographers, archaeologists, locals and visitors so individual comments are the views of individual contributors."

Aside from the clearly dubious nature of the veracity of these sources, and ignoring the fact that the links to GeoCities content broke nine years ago and haven't been updated or replaced in the course, what kind of example is this setting for students? In this course students are asked to complete weekly research activities on various art history topics and to participate in a larger group research project that together make up a quarter of the student's grade in the course. The sources provided here as lecture content set the tone and model for students the kind of resources they should be finding. In this case, students would be better off Googling "Neolithic art". The first hit in our own search was a Khan Academy course put together by Smarthistory, "a collaboration of more than 200 art historians, archaeologists, curators and other specialists who want to make the highest-quality art history learning content freely available to a global audience." Something tells us that this source might be a bit more reputable than BetterThanUFOs and certainly less poodagogical than a dead GeoCities link.

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When assigning research to students, it is common for professors to place restrictions such as requiring that sources be cited or come from a peer-reviewed academic source or absolutely outlawing the use of Wikipedia. Students are often criticized for taking the first thing Google gives them rather than taking the time to really analyze what...

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Three decades ago, ethnographer Julian Orr decided to study how Xerox technicians fix photocopiers. Arcane, sure, but the findings were groundbreaking: Orr learned that Xerox technicians put limited faith in the company's official repair manual, which often failed to account for non-routine malfunctions. Instead, technicians mastered their craft primarily by talking and collaborating with colleagues - their community of practice  - whose on-the-ground "war stories" provided infinitely more value than the manual's clinical diagnostics.[1]

Why start here? At the risk of overstretching a metaphor, it's because we believe modern journalists are in fact technicians themselves, tasked with repairing the broken trust between news providers and the public. The established manual for this work, taught in journalism schools and enforced in newsrooms, instructs journalists to make determinations about what's newsworthy, present "both sides" of an issue, and maintain a steely independence from the people and institutions they cover.

That manual served journalists and the public reasonably well in the pre-digital world, but in an age of fake news, filter bubbles, alternative facts, and hyperpartisan media, it's increasingly coming up short, leaving journalist-technicians to innovate new trust-building strategies - like community engagement - to complement the old ones.

To help today's journalist-technicians share knowledge and resources, the Agora Journalism Center is spearheading the development of Gather, a first-of-its-kind digital platform to support engaged journalism's community of practice. As part of this process, we've been reading up about successful communities of practice and what makes them tick. Here's a summary of what we learned - and how we're applying that to Gather.

What is a community of practice?

One of our favorite definitions, from Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, describes communities of practice as "groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly."

We also drew inspiration from Peter Block's book Community: The Structure of Belonging, which offers this gem about the building blocks of change-making communities: "Collective change," he writes, "occurs when individuals and small diverse groups engage one another in the presence of many others doing the same. It comes from the knowledge that what is occurring in one space is similarly happening in other spaces... This is the value of a network, or even a network of networks, which is today's version of a social movement."[2]

Another defining feature of communities of practice is that they coalesce organically, as opposed to being created by executive edict. For example, World of Warcraft gamers who frequently play together, school teachers who teach the same subject, or hobbyists who build Model-T toy cars might all develop into communities of practice, even if their respective members share no formal affiliation.

This has certainly been true of engaged journalism's community of practice. The members of this community hold different job titles, work in different towns and cities, and specialize in different types of engagement. But a sense of shared purpose has brought us together at events like Experience Engagement, The Engagement Summit, and the People-Powered Publishing Conference  - and we hope will continue to bring us together on Gather.

What's needed to support a community of practice?

Communities of practice might form of their own momentum, but it often takes some effort to keep them going and to maximize their impact. In their 2002 book Cultivating Communities of Practice, Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William Snyder outlined seven principles for supporting existing communities of practice.[3] Here's how we're thinking about them as we design Gather.

1. Design for evolution: Communities of practice need some boundaries, but they also need the freedom to evolve and pivot. And while it's impossible to predict (or prescribe) how that evolution will unfold, it is possible to create an environment that supports it. As the authors write: "Physical structures - such as roads and parks - can precipitate the development of a town. Similarly, social and organizational structures, such as a community coordinator, or problem-solving meetings, can precipitate the evolution of a community."

We see Gather as our community's public square, where anyone can show up and participate in the development of new ideas, perspectives, and techniques. Gather's community manager (that's Joy) and curator (that's Ben) will work to make the public square inviting and engaging, but its character will come from the members themselves, whose collective contributions will shape the community's evolution.

2. Open a dialogue between inside and outside perspectives: Good community design, the authors explain, "brings information from outside the community into the dialogue about what the community could achieve."

To the extent that we're building Gather for a broad community of practice organized around community engagement, the "insider" and "outsider" distinctions aren't all that relevant. However, we also see Gather as an example of Block's "network of networks," a digital hub where many narrower communities of practices can come together, interact, and learn from peers both within and beyond their specific areas of expertise. In this sense, every member of the platform will be an "insider" of the large community, even as they're "outsiders" of many smaller ones.

3. Invite different levels of participation: In our preliminary stakeholder survey, one respondent offered this sage advice about case studies: "What people use is the executive summary. They look for the takeaways."

It reminded us that journalists are busy people without much time to spare. They need high-value content, but they need it short and sweet.

As we build the platform, we're looking to include features that invite both high and low participation. For the time-strapped editor with only five minutes to spare, there will be bite-sized content that's tagged and curated for easy discovery. Meanwhile, for members with a need and desire to go deeper, there will be networking and collaboration opportunities, regular digital meetups, and tools that facilitate rich conversation.

4. Develop both public and private community spaces: Because it's critical to our mission to spread engagement resources and best practices across the industry, most of the platform's content will be available to all registered members.

However, FMYI's technology also allows us to create private spaces on the platform for conversation and collaboration among subgroups. For example, if a community engagement editor wants to seek feedback on a project idea without revealing a draft to the entire world, or if a university professor wants to create a private discussion space for students, Gather will make that possible.

5. Focus on value: This one hardly needs explanation: People will only use Gather if it adds value to their work and their professional development. That's why we started the project by surveying key stakeholders about their needs, and why we recruited a diverse pool of potential end users for our steering and advisory committees. Their input is helping us understand where existing platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google Groups fall short, and where Gather can pick up the slack.

6. Combine familiarity and excitement: According to Wenger and his co-authors, communities of practice should be places "where people have the freedom to ask for candid advice, share their opinions, and try their half-baked ideas without repercussion." That's the familiarity part. The excitement, on the other hand, comes from injecting a supply of "divergent thinking and activity" that shakes up the community's regular routines.

One way we plan to maintain excitement is by continuing to organize in-person conferences and workshops like Experience Engagement. Community members asked for more events in this mold, so we've lined up an exciting schedule for 2017, including the four-day Elevate Engagement un-conference in Portland in May, as well as three workshops, which will be hosted in Detroit, Charlotte, and Boulder this summer and fall.

7. Create a rhythm for the community: While in-person events help the community maintain a rhythm from year to year, we also want the platform to facilitate routines and connections from week to week. One idea is to organize regular "Lightning Chats" that allow members to host a video call and seek input on a challenge they're tackling. Another is to create a set of newsletters featuring the week's best reading on engagement, the latest engagement-related research, and lists of upcoming events and workshops.

We're excited to keep developing these ideas with our steering and advisory committees, but we also want to hear from you. What content or community networking event would be so valuable that you wouldn't dare miss it? Let us know in the comments, and we'll follow up!

How does technology fit in?

In 2012, NYU professor Christopher Hoadley outlined four techniques for using technology to support communities of practice: link people with similar practices, provide a shared repository of information resources, support communication, and provide information context.[4]

Communities of practice, including ours, already use technology platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google Groups, and Slack to serve these functions - but we've found there are some gaps in what they provide. Here's how we anticipate Gather will help fill them.

1. Link people with similar practices: Members of our community of practice currently connect primarily through Facebook Groups, including Engaged Journalism, Social Journalism, and Experience Engagement, just to name a few.

The challenge with Facebook Groups is that (a) there are so darn many of them, (b) they can be hard to find through organic searches, (c) they don't allow for cross-pollination, despite the many overlaps, (d) they only present posts in reverse chronological order, so you mostly only see the users who post a lot, and (e) they don't encourage subgroups to form around specific or temporal interests.

The goal for Gather is to be both more fluid AND more focused than a Facebook Group. If you're diving into engagement for the first time, for example, Gather will allow you to browse resources and discussions that span the spectrum of engagement, from comments to community events. But if you're an experienced veteran who wants to bounce ideas around with three or four trusted colleagues, or who's looking to develop a collaborative project between newsrooms on opposite coasts, Gather will have you covered, too. (In fact, companies like Nike are already using FMYI's software for project management and communication, so we expect that feature set to be a major strength.)

2. Provide a shared repository of information resources: One of the main findings from our research last summer is that members of our community of practice want access to "resources that are curated, tagged, and searchable." That's hard to do on Facebook and Twitter, where only the very latest posts are visible, and the search functions only allow content discovery if you know exactly what you're looking for.

On Gather, the case studies, articles, research studies, and other content will be tagged and curated. In fact, two of our steering committee members have already started devising a tagging system that will allow users to search for content by engagement type, experience level, media type, and other criteria. The goal is to create a repository where anyone can quickly see "what's new," but also find the oldies-but-goodies that are worth coming back to again and again.

3. Support communication: For people who currently use Slack for communication, many of Gather's features, including threaded comments, subgroupings, and targeted notifications, will seem familiar. But there will also be some fresh twists. For one, FMYI's platform allows users to create tasks, which can be assigned to collaborators and accompanied with an email alert and reminder. The messaging system also integrates with email, so users can respond to messages on the platform without leaving their inbox.

Because we recognize that conversation is what really holds a community together, we're working with FMYI to make the communication tools even more seamless before our public launch this spring. From there, we'll count on your feedback to make it even better.

4. Provide information context: To illustrate this function of technology, Hoadley gives the example of an online bookstore (think Amazon), which "might provide automated recommendations that would help a member of a community uncover what sorts of books are typically read by the same people."

We'll be honest - providing information context at Amazon's scale is going to be a tough hurdle to clear, especially in this initial design phase. But we are working on some more basic features, like the ability to link the site's "featured projects" with profile pages of the practitioners who are working on them.

Community of Practice Reading List

In case you're dying to learn more about communities of practice, here are citations for the books referenced above, along with some other handy links:

[1] Orr, Julian E. Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1996.

[2] Block, Peter. Community: The Structure of Belonging. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008.

[3] Wenger, Etienne, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder. Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002.

[4] Hoadley, Christopher. "What is a community of practice and how can we support it?" In Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments (Second ed.), edited by David Jonassen & Susan Land. New York: Routledge, 2012.
Bonus Reading:
The Role of Communities of Practice in a Digital Age by Tony Bates

What are Communities of Practice: A Critical Review of Four Seminal Works by Andrew Cox

FAQs: Social Learning, Communities, and Networks by Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner
The Community of Practice Platform for Engaged Journalism (aka Gather) is a project of the Agora Journalism Center, the gathering place for innovation in communication and civic engagement. Project funders include the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Democracy Fund.

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How Do You Support a Community of Practice? - Let's GATHER - Medium

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Three decades ago, ethnographer Julian Orr decided to study how Xerox technicians fix photocopiers. Arcane, sure, but the findings were groundbreaking: Orr learned that Xerox technicians put limited faith in the company's official repair manual, which often failed to account for non-routine malfunctions.