You know exactly where the assignment lives. You built the course site, after all. A student opens it and sees modules, files, announcements, and three places labeled resources. What feels obvious to you may still take them several clicks to untangle.
The handbook recommends a clear, consistent learning management system structure. Start with a simple test: can a student find what to do next, what they need, and where to submit it?
Give each week a predictable pattern
Use clear labels and a repeatable sequence for preparation, class activities, assignments, and support. The structure should reflect the course. Students shouldn't need to relearn the navigation every week.
A heading such as 'Week 3: Compare Two Explanations' says more than an unexplained folder name.
Keep the main instructions together
Make the assignment's purpose, directions, criteria, deadline, and submission route easy to find from the relevant module. If you link to supporting materials, explain what students should use them for. Avoid making a student assemble the task from several old announcements.
Use visual cues that also work as text
Headings, spacing, and consistent labels can help readers scan. Don't rely on color alone to communicate a requirement. Make links descriptive and check that documents and media are accessible for the students who need them.
Decoration shouldn't make the route to the assignment harder to see.
Show students how the course site works
Give a short orientation to the actual tasks they'll perform: find a module, open the instructions, submit work, and locate feedback. Ask students to try the route. Their questions can reveal a navigation problem you didn't notice while building it.
Check the student view and maintain one current version
Use the platform's available student-facing preview or another appropriate check. Confirm that intended materials are visible and links open. When information changes, update the relevant location and communicate the change through the course's normal process.
If the same question keeps arriving, examine the location and wording of the answer before adding another reminder.
Test the route using a question, not your memory
Pick a practical question such as “What do I need to do before the next class?” Begin at the normal course entry point and follow the visible labels. Don't jump directly to a file because you remember where you uploaded it. The test is whether the page helps someone who doesn't share that memory.
Then check how the student gets back to the main sequence after opening the material. A useful document can still interrupt the route if its purpose or next step is unclear. Add a brief instruction where needed rather than another folder of loosely related resources.
When possible, ask a colleague to try one task using an appropriate preview. Tell them the goal without telling them the path. Where they hesitate, look at the label, placement, or instructions before assuming the problem is lack of familiarity. A small navigation repair can prevent the same confusion from recurring throughout the semester.
Choose one upcoming assignment and follow the route a student would take from the course homepage. Count the decisions that require guessing. Fix one of them today. A course site earns its value when it helps students spend their attention on the work.
Adapted from The New Faculty Handbook by Zafer Unal, pp. 43-45.
