Structure directly influences clarity, accessibility, and student motivation. Choosing the right structure not only makes navigation and learning easier, but it can also help you better manage the course as an instructor.

• By topics. Ideal when the course is based on well-differentiated thematic blocks. The teacher can update or expand topics in a modular way and the student can easily locate material related to a specific concept.
   
• Chronological. Ideal when the course has a clear time sequence (weekly or by sessions). The teacher helps the student plan and monitor the progress of the course and the student knows at all times what to do and when, promoting autonomy and regularity in following the course.
   
• By type of content. Ideal when the course has a wide variety of formats (theory, problems, laboratory, etc.) and you want to offer quick access to each one.
   
• By course subsectionsIdeal when looking for greater flexibility and granularity in the organization of course content, as it allows you to divide large topics or complex modules into smaller, more manageable units and offers a clear visual hierarchy, reducing the need for infinite scrolling.

A clear and consistent design reduces cognitive load student and simplifies management for teachers. It applies a logical and visual hierarchy to all elements.

• Create a clear and simple interface with a clean design and easy-to-understand menus, taking care to maintain visual consistency.
• Name the resources and activities with understandable titles  (e.g. Topic 1. A…) and the name begins with a action verb (e.g. "Submit your essay") to clarify the expectation.
• Embed multimedia content or relevant documents (rather than linking to it) to keep students in the flow of the course. The student does not have to switch tabs or windows to view the material, remaining within the course environment. 
• Make one strategic use of the table of contents (titles in the text and multimedia areas) and customize the menu blocks right by deleting unnecessary ones and adding new ones.
• Reduces scrolling effect and avoids eye strain. Compacts information into containers that organize it logically. Uses Page, Book, or Folder resources. Apply H5P (Column, Accordion) or Tags with images linked to the material or activities (via stealth resources).

Ensure that ALL students can access content and activities: accessible design is design for everyone.

• Check accessibility with the editor's accessibility checker when you need to use a lot of colors. 
• The text must be long enough contrast with the background (black on white, etc.). 
• If you use colors to indicate information (like "red is incorrect"), also add icons o explanatory text.
• It provides <strong>economic data</strong> on the business environment. alternative text o descriptions for all images. Write useful descriptions in the alt attribute of images (e.g., “Graph of GDP evolution from 2000 to 2020”).
• Usa descriptive link names instead of the full URL.
• It offers subtitles or transcripts of videosIf you share videos, add subtitles or a transcript document to make them accessible to people with hearing impairments.
• Upload accessible documentsIn PDF or Word files, use heading styles, well-structured tables, and describe links (“Course Guide” instead of “Click here”).
• Adapt your course to different devices (responsive Design). Make sure the course works properly on computers, tablets and mobile phones.

An welcome to the course It is the first point of contact. As an instructor, you can set the tone, expectations, and a brief navigation of what they will find from the beginning, helping your students feel immediately connected to the course. You can include a short text at the beginning of the course page, using a tag or section summary, that contains, for example:

• a warm greeting
• a phrase that encourages learning
• a clear indication of "What you need to do now" (e.g., "Read the Course Guide" or "Introduce yourself to the forum")
• a short welcome video from the teacher to humanize the course.

Includes one presentation of the subject in order to make the course objective clear from the start, reducing uncertainty and facilitating organization and planning. Students need to understand what will be done, how it will be done and what is expected of them.

This introduction it should not be a repetition of the teaching guide, a long, technical and institutional document that many students do not read carefully, but rather a guiding and motivating complement. In this presentation you can include the methodology for remote services, the evaluation criteria, the delivery schedule tools to be used, etc. and you can do it through a presentation (PPTX) or an activity H5P Course Presentation.

An good planning with timing It is the backbone of any virtual course. It makes it easier for the teacher to plan and track progress, and the student knows, at a glance, what they need to learn and where they are, reducing uncertainty and anxiety.

At ATENEA, you have several ways to do this, combining different resources and configurations.

• Activity H5P Timeline (time line). This is one of the best tools for visually displaying timing, as it offers a chronological, dynamic and very clear view of the entire course. 
• “Course Calendar” Blog. 
• “Upcoming Events” BlogThe best automatic reminder tool, since when you add due dates or deadlines to activities (tasks, quizzes, etc.), the blog automatically collects them and displays them, ordered chronologically.
• “Completion Progress” Blog. Requires you to configure "Activity Completion" (manually, by view, by grade, by submission, etc.) on each scheduled activity and resource. 

Clarity in due dates and assessment expectations are essential to reduce student anxiety and simplify teaching administration.

• Ensures that ALL due date activity (assignments, quizzes, graded forums) is correctly configured to automatically appear in the Calendar. Use the Moodle calendar and the Upcoming Activities Blog andH5P Timeline for dates of important content not evaluated.
• It provides visual and automatic tools for students to track their own progress throughout the course. Activate and use the "Completion Progress" Blog either "Activity completion status" (the icon of check).
• It offers a complete and clear vision of the subject's evaluation system, including elements that are not linked to direct ATENEA activities. Configure andl Grade Book in a logical and accessible way and includes elements not linked to activities.

The virtual course must be a space for collaborative construction, not just for content consumption. Interaction and active learning improve retention and connection among the learning community.

• Choose the tool that best suits the pedagogical objective. Replace passive readings with interactive, collaborative or formative assessment activities. Example:
  • Forum (debates, reflection)
  • PTM Wiki (collaborative creation, synthesis)
  • Lesson (self-directed learning, decision-making)
  • Consultation/Survey (vote, quick opinion)
• Provides tools that offer immediate reinforcement and feedback using activities such as questionnaires.
• Incorporates youtube, audios i dynamic presentations for a richer and more engaging learning experience.
• If appropriate, incorporate gamification elements to motivate participation and progression.

A course should not be a repository of documents, but a guided learning experience.

• Question the need for each documentIf the information can be presented in a more interactive way (video, H5P) or contextualized (within a Page), do so and avoids duplication.
• Outsource file hosting heavy copyrighted files in external repositories. Use the File Selector to link documents from Google Drive, Zonavideo UPC o UPCommons to save space in ATENEA and centralize permissions.
• Ensures the content consistency between hosting and platformIf the file is in an external repository, changes made to the original document are automatically reflected in ATENEA without having to reload anything.
• Do regular cleaning. Remove old, outdated content or drafts that may confuse students.

Creating digital teaching materials requires careful management of format, hosting, and intellectual property. Well-managed materials ensure the quality, accessibility, and legality of your course in the long term.

The identification of authorship and the use of Creative Commons (CC) licenses guarantee the protection of your work and academic recognition for your teaching work, and the use of standard formats and the inclusion of subtitles facilitate compliance with legal accessibility criteria, reducing the need for subsequent revisions.

• Host the files in institutional repositories (Apren, Zonavideo UPC, etc.) to guarantee its preservation, space and version control. Use the permanent link to include the file in ATENEA. From ATENEA, you can easily send the material to Apren (UPCommons).
• Identify your authorship (+) of the protect your work with licenses that encourage educational use. Prioritize open-licensed materials and choose an appropriate Creative Commons license, taking into account the legal indications of the UPC (+) before uploading any material with third-party rights.
• Uses standard non-editable formats i ensures accessibility of multimedia contentFor Text/Presentation documents use .pdf (recommended) instead of editable files (.docx) and add a cover page Learn for uniformity.
• Optimize multimedia files and includes key elements for theaccessibilityFor videos (.mp4), limit the duration (maximum 6' recommended) and include subtitles and for images, use .png (with transparency) or .jpg (without). Resize and reduces weight before uploading the images and includes a description (alternative text).
• Define how documents are opened to keep students in the course environment. Modify the "Appearance" option of the resource and choose to open in a "Pop-up Window" to prevent the student from leaving the main ATENEA window.