• Background
• CLASS Project
• CLASS Staff
• General Insights
• Questions & Considerations
• Content
• Development Teams
• Content Acquisition
• Assessment & Grading
• Design
• Introduction
• Modeling
• Presentation
• Interactivity
• Navigation
• Assessments
• National Standards
• Quality Assurance
• Courses
• Features
• Courses
• Copyrights
• Technology
• Building a Course
• See and Say
• There are Limits!
• Influence and Change
• CLASS Courses
• Content
• Extras Designed
• Extras Linked
• Class Assessments
• A Bit of Dreamweaver
• Proofing
• Graphics
• MOUs
• Detailing Treatment
• Course Credits
• CLASS Style
• Publications

Student Directed Tracking

One of the most significant considerations for students is to feel that they are in control of the content — that they know where they have been, where they need to go, and what they have to do to succeed. When they are studying at a distance, it is important that they not feel alone. They don’t want to be confused. There isn’t a teacher in the room; they can’t put up their hand to ask a question; so they need all the help they can get!

One of the ways to help students “keep track” of their own progress was by giving them a place to “check off” the lessons or topics they felt they had completed to their satisfaction. For this reason, CLASS™ did not make the “checks” computer generated. After all, the computer can tell when a student has been on a page, but it can’t tell when he/she has finished reading it, much less whether or not he/she has understood it!

A few designers tried out the idea of having each student put a check mark each time they completed a section of the course to their satisfaction. The first course to try it was a math course. Students seemed pleased with the idea that they could ‘mark” a section as ‘done.” It became a standard function of the CLASS™ courses.

The first location for the “student-directed tracking” function was on the course pages, but was soon moved to the left-hand navigation bar. By placing it on the left-hand navigation, students could see at a glance what was done and what was not. Students can uncheck the section they have marked if they change their minds.

On the course pages in World Literature I, students would check off the section they had finished.

On the toolbar, they would see the check mark beside that section.

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