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
6. Applying the principles - some examples
7. The process of creating tutorials
8. Practical Hints and Tips
   1. Pedagogy
   2. Design
   3. Structure and flow
   4. Images and Video
   5. General tips
9. Summary
10. References

Structure and flow

Remember the tutorial is going online. This media is different from the printed page. Too much text will be off-putting.

Try to include signposts in your tutorial so that the student knows where they are going and how long it will take them to get there.

e.g.

'The following section will include...'

'This exercise will take 5 minutes...'

Feedback to questions is very important. As well as helping to create the interactivity and a conversational element, the feedback helps the student to understand what the questions are getting at. It is worth adding feedback for correct answers as well as incorrect answers both to confirm the answer as well as why it is the right one. Students may have correctly guessed at an answer or be a little unsure in their reasoning.

The style and tone of your tutorials is important. There is a difficult balance to aim for if you want to achieve a friendly reassuring style without patronising the student.