TITLES & HEADINGS  Web users must be able to scan text swiftly to find the information they seek. Titles according to   WEB DESIGN & USABILITY GUIDELINES   are the keys to direct navigation. This web site uses carefully selected, bold, short, and descriptive headings. They provide strong cues that orient the viewers and inform them about the page's organization. Also, I have used bold text to help the reader identify the main points of a paragraph.

I have incorporated several other design and useability concepts in my web site. Despite the long loading time for big images, which I believe are essential to my site's effectiveness, I am aware of viewer impatience. Authors at AACE agree that "web users are impatient: They want to get their answers immediately and do not want to be slowed down by cool features, mission statements, or self-promoting grandstanding". My whole layout and individual pages adopt a simple design, avoid gimmicks, animation or razzle-dazzle effects. The integrity of my website suits the seriousness of the material presented. The authors at AACE mention studies that indicate a growing desire in audiences for scholarly research papers. The goal of these web users is to get the critical information. With more people using web resources to become educated, the current tendancy in web design is away from sensationalism and toward a direct and sound transfer of knowledge. The authors acknowledge the growing tolerance for scrolling lengthy papers as long as the information is is pertinent, concise, and interesting.

WEB ARCHITECTURE  According to USABILITY GUIDELINES, another essential design factor is the arrangement of information. They stress placing important information at the top of the page. For this reason, I have included all links and the paintings at the top. I understand that my audience comprises of strong visual learners. They may be daunted by too much text, if it appeared first. The links at the top allows the learner to quickly refer back to any paintings talked about in the text. My layout allows for scanning the paintings and skipping the text.

Experienced viewers scan a Web page menu or a list from top to bottom. Users generally look at the top center of a page first, then look left, then right, and finally begin systematically moving down the total page. A user will only scroll if they have been hooked by the first bit of information. As my Web site is a tutorial, I have placed the destination page at the bottom of the text. This insures that students must read all material before moving to the next lesson. If it wasn't a tutorial, the organization of the linking pages would be closer to the top of the page. According to JAKOB NIELSON:

In more recent studies, we have seen that most users have started scrolling when they visit a long home page or a long navigation screen. This change in behavior is probably due to users getting more experience with scrolling Web pages...There are still a few user who rarely scroll... Therefore, I still recommend trying to design naviagation pages to make all major choices visible without scrolling.

My site allows for both scrolling and quick navigation.

USE OF WHITE SPACE  Most bad designs are due to cluttered pages, unorganized data, lack of prioratization, irritating colours, trivial babble, and confusing navigation. USABLE WEB lists over 1400 links for sites that discuss Web design and useablility. Based on some of the advice offered, I have designed my page using effective white space. The paintings are presented simply and free of surrounding clutter. I have used blockquotes to set off text and insured that paragraphs have a clean white separation. I have a simple table to organize data. In some pages such as  RECAPITULATION I have wrapped text around the image. This was mainly because the photograph does not have to be viewed on its own. As well, I avoided using a coloured background to insure easy reading and not to emphasize the colourful paintings.

GRAPHICS  Using graphics wisely is also discussed in WEB DESIGN & USABILITY GUIDELINES. They suggest using graphics wisely. Animation, unrelated images, using graphics as links, using graphics that take time to load are not recommended. Because my site is a tutorial, I made the decision to include large images of the paintings. This was essential to giving the students a visual experience. For them to learn, they must be able to study the paintings in full colour and in the largest size that is reasonable for a Web site. Therefore, I have deviated from the norm, but have a rational behind my decision.

CONTENT  Leo R. Klein ahares indepth his ideas about Web design at NETCONNECT. He states:

People love simplicity. Simplicity sells. When we go to a web guru we don't want to hear that the world is complicated and full of contradictions, we want to hear what it takes to make our web site a success, and if it takes ten steps instead of ten thousand, so much the better.

In line with Klein's philosophy, I have designed my Web site as simply as possible. Any extraneous information was kept out of the page. I do have lots of information, but it organized as cleanly as possible. (As far as my limited experience of one week working on my first web site goes!) The key to well-designed sites lies in knowing your audience and knowing yourself. We must keep in mind that the user is a human being. Since the beginning of time humans have used their eyes and feelings and need to express on a flat surface what they see both in the world and in their imaginations. The computer simply is another tool. It stand to reason then, that good web designs consider the needs, feelings and desires of the viewer. I have designed my Web site to fulfill some of these basic human needs.

This paper has familiarized you with the design rational used in my Web site. Go to  PEDAGOGICAL THEORIES  to learn about the underlying learning theories that I have used.