Visual Communication in Web-based Learning Environments

Enhancing World Wide Web developments, the new opportunities for interactivity and flexible access to various media challenge the traditional experience in shaping learning environments for online education. The major difficulties are related to the appropriate development of learning environments in order to achieve a final design, which improves the motivation and the result, and serves the communication between author and learner most beneficially. Based on general research observations on pictures, signs and media, on opportunities and limitations for new aspects of presentation and interaction with information this paper reflects on their implementation for e-learning performance with the aim of improving the learning efficiency of students. Dealing with this matter, the paper describes important guiding principles for shaping visual communication aspects of developing appropriate interface design in engineering learning environments. Good interface design allows the user to accomplish a variety of tasks, to operate intuitively, with ease of navigation. At the same time, it can gain his attention, irregardless of the information being communicated. Furthermore, the paper discusses an approach of learner-centered design along with layout considerations.