VIDA Project Guiding Pillars

The following pillars serve as the foundational principles that guide all aspects of the VIDA (Virtual Instructional Design Assistant) project. These pillars address our key concerns about accessibility, respecting the role of instructional designers, and creating a rapid development framework, while also incorporating additional important considerations like ethical AI use and community building.

1. Accessibility by Design

• Ensure all tools meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards
• Create tools that specifically address accessibility challenges in educational content
• Test with diverse users and assistive technologies
• Make accessibility a non-negotiable criterion for all new tools
• Provide accessibility guidance and best practices to educators using our tools
• Automate accessibility checks where possible

2. Augmentation, Not Replacement

• Position tools as enhancing the work of instructional designers, not replacing them
• Create capabilities that handle routine tasks, freeing instructional designers for higher-value creative work
• Maintain the "human in the loop" philosophy in all tool design
• Include collaboration features that facilitate partnerships between faculty and instructional designers
• Emphasize quality improvement rather than cost reduction in our messaging
• Design tools that supplement and extend human expertise

3. Rapid Tool Development Framework

• Establish standardized templates and workflows for quick tool creation
• Create modular components that can be reused across different tools
• Design natural language interfaces for tool specification and development
• Provide clear documentation and examples to accelerate development
• Implement CI/CD pipelines for streamlined deployment
• Create a repository of reusable UI components and design patterns

4. Educational Pedagogy Integration

• Ensure tools align with established learning science principles
• Include features that promote active learning, engagement, and accessibility
• Support diverse teaching and learning styles
• Facilitate assessment and feedback mechanisms
• Incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles
• Enable mapping of content to learning objectives and outcomes
• Support various educational contexts (higher ed, K-12, corporate training)

5. Faculty Empowerment & Agency

• Design intuitive interfaces requiring minimal technical expertise
• Provide granular control over AI-generated outputs
• Enable customization to match specific teaching contexts and disciplines
• Create clear, jargon-free documentation and support resources
• Respect faculty expertise and pedagogical autonomy
• Provide multiple pathways for faculty with different comfort levels with technology
• Allow faculty to contribute to tool improvement

6. Ethical AI Implementation

• Ensure transparency about AI involvement in content creation
• Address bias in AI-generated content and recommendations
• Protect user privacy and data security
• Provide options for faculty to review and modify AI suggestions
• Establish clear guidelines for appropriate use cases
• Implement content filtering for problematic outputs
• Create governance structures for ethical oversight

7. Institutional Integration

• Design tools to work within existing educational technology ecosystems
• Create flexible authentication and authorization systems
• Support institution-specific branding and customization
• Facilitate analytics that align with institutional assessment needs
• Comply with institutional data policies and regulations
• Enable integration with Learning Management Systems
• Provide deployment options that work with various IT policies

8. Continuous Improvement Through User Feedback

• Implement robust feedback mechanisms in every tool
• Create clear pathways for feature requests and bug reporting
• Establish analytics to identify usage patterns and pain points
• Maintain regular communication with user community
• Conduct usability testing throughout development
• Prioritize improvements based on user impact
• Close the feedback loop by communicating changes made in response to feedback

9. Scalable and Sustainable Infrastructure

• Design for growth in both users and functionality
• Consider resource usage and optimization
• Create clear maintenance documentation and procedures
• Establish support systems that can scale with adoption
• Implement monitoring and alerting for system health
• Design with cost efficiency in mind
• Plan for long-term sustainability beyond initial development

10. Knowledge Sharing and Community Building

• Facilitate sharing of best practices among users
• Create opportunities for collaborative tool development
• Document case studies and success stories
• Build mechanisms for peer support and mentoring
• Host regular community events and webinars
• Recognize and celebrate community contributions
• Foster a diverse and inclusive community of practice

These pillars should be referenced throughout the project lifecycle, from initial planning through development and into ongoing maintenance and enhancement. They provide a framework for decision-making and a touchstone for ensuring the project remains aligned with its core values and objectives.

Design Guidelines

UI Component Library

Navigation Components

• Header/navigation bar
• Sidebar navigation
• Breadcrumbs
• Tool switcher

Input Components

• Text inputs
• File uploaders
• Dropdowns/selects
• Checkboxes and radio buttons
• Date pickers

Display Components

• Cards
• Tables
• Alerts/notifications
• Progress indicators
• Modals/dialogs

Action Components

• Primary buttons
• Secondary buttons
• Icon buttons
• Toggle switches

Accessibility Standards

Color Contrast

• Maintain minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text
• Use 3:1 minimum contrast for large text (18pt+)
• Provide high contrast mode option

Keyboard Navigation

• Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard accessible
• Maintain logical tab order
• Provide visible focus indicators

Screen Reader Compatibility

• Add appropriate ARIA attributes
• Test all interfaces with common screen readers
• Use semantic HTML elements

Additional Accessibility Requirements

• Provide text alternatives for non-text content
• Create responsive designs that work at 200% zoom
• Allow sufficient time for user interactions
• Avoid content that could cause seizures or physical discomfort

Brand Guidelines

Color Palette

• Primary colors
• Secondary colors
• Accent colors
• Semantic colors (success, warning, error)

Typography

• Font families
• Font sizes and weights
• Line heights and spacing

Logo Usage

• Size requirements
• Spacing requirements
• Approved variations