OpenLab HElp site
In 2020, I interned with an Instructional Designer, who is apart of the Pedagogy, Innovation and Technology Support Team at SUNY Oneonta. I created graphics, received certifications for Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program and Deque (Accessibility) Training, and built the Help Website for SUNY Oneonta's OpenLab. The video below is a short clip viewing the website I created in 2020. We created a simple informational website to support the use of OpenLab for the faculty and students.
Project overview
During this project, user experience and accessibility were the top priorities. To ensure the website met AA accessibility standards, we maintained consistent formatting for headers, paragraphs, links, and image alt text, while also using AA color contrast checks throughout the site.
The homepage was built using a WordPress theme, while each help document was created from scratch within that framework. Throughout the site, attention was given to small but meaningful details, including anchor links that smoothly guide users to specific sections, highlighted visuals to direct user focus, and clearly organized steps and list items to improve readability and navigation.
In addition, I created a video tutorial to help users build their own projects within their profiles. This tutorial is available on their YouTube channel.
Since these screenshots were taken, the website has undergone updates and design changes. While the overall appearance of the site may differ from the original version shown here, the help documentation and instructional pages I created are still available on the website. You can view the pages I developed by visiting the link below.
Open Education Resources
During my internship, I developed informational posters aimed to increase student awareness of affordable textbook alternatives through Open Educational Resources (OER). I used Adobe InDesign to design visually engaging and easy-to-understand promotional materials that emphasized the affordability, flexibility, and educational value these resources provide to students.
In addition to the design work, I completed certification through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program, which provided training in ethical research practices involving human subjects. This certification allowed me to collaborate with the Office of Institutional Research and the Institutional Review Board at SUNY Oneonta on the development and implementation of a student survey. Through this process, we gathered valuable feedback and insights regarding students’ experiences with textbook costs and their awareness of low-cost educational resources.
The combination of research, survey data, and visual communication helped support the college’s efforts to promote affordable learning options and expand awareness of OER resources available to students.
