Study Direct’s new look
An improved Study Direct site will be launched this month.
The changes to the system – which provides an online learning environment for students – should make it easier for teaching staff to manage their sites as well as making these sites easier for students to navigate.
The improvements go live on Monday 12 December and include:
- A “dashboard” for editing sites – all the features staff need to manage their sites available on a single page
- Smarter navigation – section titles for each section/topic on the site, with a re-designed navigation block on the left to display these titles and make it easier for students (and staff) to move around the site
- Better layout – the option to present each section within a site on a single page (particularly useful if there are long section /topics, as it will reduce the amount of scrolling)
- Recent activity – all the recent activity in sites will be visible at a glance. So students will be alerted to new activities and resources that staff have made available, and staff will be able to keep up with students’ forum postings and so on
- Rollover tool – a simple process to help staff move site contents from one year to the next
Carol Shergold, Head of Learning at ITS, explains: “During the development of this system over the last year we have met with a number of tutors and students to find out what worked best for them, and believe that the changes we have made will make Study Direct easier to use for staff and students and a more satisfying environment for online learning.”