Thread by @brendawyang

Mornin'! So I've been moonlighting as a UX intern with @DukeLibraries for a while, with a focus on web writing for the last year.

Here's my contribution to #AcademicTwitter during syllabus season: insights from user-centered content strategy to syllabus-creation

1/

Good syllabi let people grab and go.

If it's easy to find the right information, then a syllabus can actually be quite lengthy, yet still user-friendly.

If students wanted to figure out the late work policy, could they do it without (re-)reading the whole document?

2/

If information in the syllabus isn't findable, the blame for that oft-grumbled professorial mantra of 'IT'S IN THE SYLLABUS' is on the writer, not the user, in my very humble opinion.

As a baseline: clear headers, plenty of negative space, & clear prose can do a lot

3/

Consider intentional use of images

• Icons @ nounproject.com
• Royalty free stock photos @ unsplash.com
• Your institution likely has great campus photography through the communications office. For Duke, find stunning assets @ duke.webdamdb.com

4/

Don't emphasize everything.

A lot of things are important, it's true.

Unfortunately, if All The Things are bolded, highlighted, and underlined, nothing is salient & the doc isn't readable.

Draw extra attention to the truly unmissable points.

5/

Is the syllabus accessible to people using screen-readers (visually impaired)?

I take for granted my visual abilities to navigate docs often. Trying to be better!

Using the STYLES for headers & adding alt-text to informative images are 2 easy ways to adapt your syllabus. 6/

Standard design & prose guidelines apply.

Consider a sans serif font with multiple weights
Whenever possible, land on the side of brevity and active voice
Use pronouns like "I", "we," and "you" for clarity & warmth
Good-writing is re-writing
Get feedback from other humans

7/

Of course, none of this is novel/revolutionary. But with a more user/student-entered approach, we can substantially improve how engaging & useful syllabi are.

They could even maybe occasionally provide a blip of something resembling... delight?? That holy grail of design. ✨

8/

At #elonTLC, I learned it's okay to think of syllabi less as contracts to prevent disaster, and more as a resource guide to support successful student learning & growth.

Wanna trade syllabi for feedback? Wanna share yours for inspo? I would love to hear from you!

Godspeed 9/9

REFERENCES

1 Learned about @scholarteaching's 'motivational syllabus' from Shauntae Brown White at #elontlc
2 @GinnyRedish's "Letting Go of the Words" explains these principles w clarity
3 library.duke.edu/about/content-… Guidelines we wrote for Libraries; not all applies, but much does

On accessibility

4 accessibility.umn.edu/instructors/ac…
5 teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teachingwritin…
6 Helpful slides: qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/r…

7 Finally (and hopefully this is buried hello), I'll put my $ where my mouth is: here is an updating draft of the syllabus I'm currently working on. Class starts on August 27.

dropbox.com/s/jxqa6ffhocq1…