Design Principle 1: Cultivate student motivation and self-discipline through explicitly communicating learning goals and commitment expectations.
With the affordance of technology, it is feasible to capture the precise length of “time-on-task” in the online learning environment. Moreover, information from individual learners can be aggregated to provide guidance for future learners of the course. After logging into the course, students will get a clear picture of not only the expected learning goals of the module, but also the time estimation of how long it will take them to complete specific tasks.

Design Principle 2: Incorporate gamificiation principles to create an engaging learning experience.
When studying using a traditional textbook, students are expected to read through each chapter before they are presented with relevant exercises and practice to assess how well they’ve grasped the knowledge. In any well-designed games, players rarely have to go through long, didactic tutorials before giving hands-on opportunities to play and interact with the gaming environment. I try to create a similar learning experience where students can have the option of attempting the exercises (e.g. case studies) first and visit the relevant information they need in a more “on demand” and “just in time” fashion.

Design Principle 3: Create opportunities for high-quality social presence and interactions in the online learning environment.
To ensure effective learning takes place in the online environment, it is important to consider how to design instructional strategies that foster opportunities of sharing, collaborating, and building knowledge together. In the learning module prototype, individual student’s writing work will be available for others to review and comment on. In addition, students will be encouraged to revise their work incorporating others’ feedback.