Design principles for online tutorials

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. What is an online tutorial?
3. Why create online tutorials?
4. Demonstration - Two approaches
5. Principles for creating effective tutorials
   1. Create a simulated conversation between learner and teacher
   2. Involve learners actively
   3. Work with what learners already know
   4. Manage the flow of the learning conversation
   5. Go from the particular to the general (at least sometimes)
6. Applying the principles - some examples
7. The process of creating tutorials
8. Practical Hints and Tips
9. Summary
10. References

Manage the flow of the learning conversation

This relates to the way that the tutorial guides the learner to think their way through the material.

It is not sufficient simply to provide informative material - online tutorials need to copy the classroom teacher in providing an outline, giving the aims of the tutorial, marking the beginning and ending of sections, drawing attention to salient points, making relevant links, summarising etc.

This also relates to how the content is structured - for example whether it goes from the particular to the general.