There are multiple ways to organize resources and tools in a course. None is better than the other; it always depends on the course (short, long, lots of material, blended,...) and the approach taken (organized by weeks, projects, focused on content creation, or on discussions,...).

Your institution may offer pre-created templates to use, or your course might be completely empty when you access it. In this second case, before choosing which structure and resources to add to a course, we must think about what and how we want students to see the material, comment, work in groups, etc.

In both cases, we need to prepare—at least mentally—a roadmap of the path the student will follow in the course, and then try to facilitate the journey using the resources we have available.

Typical Course Organizations

• Organization by topics or subjects. All elements related to a topic are placed within a block corresponding to that topic. This way, students can go directly to a topic and work through everything related to that subject in order.
• Organization by areas. All tools of the same type are grouped together. This way, students know that to communicate they should access the communication area, and to take an exam, the assessment area.
• Mixed organization. This format uses a combination of the two above.

So then, how do we organize?

We organize in the way that best suits the course to achieve the objectives we have set. There are no magic formulas, nor an organization that is best for all cases. Each has its pros and cons, and we have to find a way that doesn’t require too many clicks but is structured and simple enough.

Some tips

• Add a "Module 0" or "Information" section where, besides the course objectives, assessment, etc., you explain how navigation works in this particular course.
• Include your contact information and a photo; this will make the course feel less cold and more approachable.
• It can be useful to keep topics ordered in reverse, so that as the course progresses, the initial topics move down and the topics currently being covered stay at the top. If you combine this format with conditional releases, students will always see the most recent topic they have access to at the top. Another option is to move the topic currently being taught to the top and return it to its place once it concludes. These two strategies will save students unnecessary clicks and scrolling.
• Think of a home: it doesn’t matter if it’s a house, apartment, flat, or farmhouse—all have a set of basic rooms (kitchen, bathroom, entrance, living room, bedroom), although each has them in different places and organized differently; in some cases, two or more of these elements share space (for example, living and dining room, or kitchen and dining area). That doesn’t mean one is better than another to live in. They are simply different and will be more suitable for some people/situations than others.