Ever wondered if you could create a K12 Site on Moodle™?
I wouldn’t be surprised to know if you did!
However, creating a Moodle site to work in the K12 environment isn’t really a walk in the park.
Even the popular themes that claim to offer a high scope of customization don’t really provide design support for the K12 environment.
What If I told you, you can now create your own K12 Site on Moodle? And that too without taking too much of an effort!
But before we get there, let’s first look at some
Must-Have Aspects of a K12 Site
#1 Color
As we grow up, there’s a common-found tendency to develop a liking for subtle colors.
However, the case with children who are studying in K12 schools is completely different.
A popular article on sciencing.com states the following about Kids & their likings for Brighter colors:
Children prefer brighter colors from an early age because their eyes are not fully developed yet. They perceive these colors better than fainter shades. Bright colors and contrasting colors stand out more in their field of vision. As children constantly strive to make sense of their environments, objects that are stark and bright are more stimulating and interesting. One of the first ways they learn to sort things by is color, Colors are some of the earlier words they tend to learn, which is why the easily named, more basic colors appeal to children.
Using bright colors is absolutely necessary to grab the attention of your students, and to make sure they’re always engaged while learning.
#2 Course Navigation
When I talk about course navigation, I mean to address the convenience in accessing the courses, as well as the ease of navigation inside the courses.
And since children usually have a short attention span, you must take care of both these aspects.
- When your students log in to their account on your website, they should be able to easily access courses they are enrolled in. This helps them go from login to learning really quick!
- Once they have entered a course, they should be able to have a distraction-free learning environment, supported by the ease of navigation through buttons like “Previous Activity”, “Next Activity” and “Go to Top”.
#3 Course Layout
Similar to how your users navigate your courses, the layout of your courses is also equally important.
A layout that ensures easy access to resources and navigation proves to be a major PLUS.
By taking care of the above, you can be assured that your learners are focused on what matters, and that is learning.
Course Layouts like the Card & List Layout available as a part of Edwiser Course Formats makes sure of a visually aesthetic and engaging course interface.
#4 Course Content
The attention span of children, as mentioned above, is quite short, as compared to grown-up individuals. Therefore, it is necessary for course creators to create courses in an engaging fashion.
Research has shown that interactive content like videos, interactive quizzes and so on help in retaining the attention of learners.
Popular plugin H5P can help you add interactive content to your courses, ensuring your students are engaged to their fullest.
Another way of ensuring maximum student engagement and efficient learning is Microlearning. Microlearning involves breaking down of course content into smaller sections, to avoid overflow of information.
Mentioned above are just 4 of the many elements that play an important role in effective learning in a K12 environment. You might now wonder…
How do I design my K12 website?
For an engaging experience for your learner, it is important to take care of all of the above points, while you design your K12 Site.
What’s even more important is how you design your homepage. But why the homepage specifically?
Because a homepage is the first page a visitor lands on when visiting your K12 site. You would want your visitors to get hooked to your site, right from the word “Go”.
So What All Elements Should You Have On Your Homepage?
The following elements usually make for an ideal homepage:
#1 Hero Image
A Hero Image defines what your website is all about. By choosing the right image, you can make a good first impression when people visit your site.
#2 Branding & Colors
More than what words speak, it is the branding that speaks for you. Brands usually establish colors, fonts, and other such elements as their identity, right from the very start. Your homepage should feature the branding that your brand has!
#3 About Us
An About Us section tells your visitors what your brand/school stands for. You can use the About Us section to talk about your story. Be it a story that starts from point zero, or be it just about what your mission is.
#4 Get to Know Us Section
A section that lets people explore more about you and your team’s background. This only adds more trust in the eyes of your visitors. By getting closer to you and your team, they are more likely to take up your courses.
#5 Courses Offered
It’s an age-old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. But unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to your homepage. You have one chance to make an impression, while at the same time being clear about the courses that you offer.
#6 Our Team
Taking risks might be a cool thing, but that works for adventures. Not when you have to invest your hard-earned money or even your child’s future. Introducing Your Team members on your homepage is always a good idea, to earn the trust of your visitors.
#7 Testimonials & Reviews
Nobody likes to pay for something, and then get disappointed with their decision. Hence, be it mobile phones, or be it e-Learning courses, people want to be sure of what they’re signing up for. Testimonials & Reviews from your students, on your website, let your visitors get a glimpse of the experience that is in store for them.
Setting up a homepage that has all of this.
Seems like a task, right?
But it isn’t.
You can design your homepage the way you like it to be, along with complete customization. All of this, with the homepage builder available as a part of Edwiser RemUI.
We chose to design one for ourselves. Want to see how it looks? Check it out below!
Wondering how you can create such K12-themed homepages too, for your e-learning site? We have just the right thing for you!
We’ve compiled all possible CSS & HTML hacks that you can use, to create your K12 themed homepage for your Moodle site!