Is the simple to you, complex to your students?

I'm taking yet another online course in designing online courses. So far I'm not learning anything, I'm just going through the motions.

What struck me tonight though, is this about the 10th course I've taken using the Blackboard system. So you can imagine my familiarity with it. Last semester I actually got to create and teach a short course through it to my fellow students. Again, you can see it's not my first time using the platform. YOU'D THINK THOUGH..... the way I have had to ask for clarification again and again about submitting assignments that I'm completely NEW. I can't figure it out to save my life....and maybe my grade.

So that brings me to thinking about designing and clarifying those instructions you present to your students/learners/users. Make them as clear and fool proof as possible. Yes I realize I'm labelling myself the fool here because I'm just not following the teacher in my own course. Just because you have hit the the "submit" button on the screen 1 billion times, do not assume your students/learners/users can figure out where the submit button even is, let alone know how to hit it.

Do they say hit or click? Do you need to be specific and say click twice? Do you need to say it is blue? Do you need to show a small picture of it? I'm not saying I'm that lost right now, but there could very well be learners right now in one of your classes lost wondering what to do next.

My computer science teacher in grade ten always had us write our programs as dummy proof as possible. If we put a yes/no question on the screen he would inevitably type - maybe. If we asked him to type in his name he would type - why do you ask? We had to make sure that regardless of the answer typed in, the program would redirected unexpected answers into a loop of "feedback" or gentle nudging for a proper response (or acceptable yes/no).

Just a little something to keep in mind as I struggle through tonight's lesson in my own school work. On the other hand maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment and should find something else to do with my time.

Cheers.