Guidelines for Developing User Guides and Facilitators Manuals for Educational Resources

Abstract Effective sharing of the materials educators produce depends on maximizing the materials' utility and usability. When a developer prepares educational materials for personal use, instructional guidance is not required. However, when an educational resource is meant for widespread use, the developer must ensure that others will be able to use the resource as intended. It is critical to provide sufficient information to allow others to implement the resource with confidence. A clearly written facilitator's manual thus becomes an essential element of sharable educational resources. Such resources range from preceptor-assisted to computer-assisted materials and can include learning, assessment, and evaluation tools. User guides for each of these vary depending on content and intended use. For example, the current manual has been created as a guide for instructional designers who are developing materials intended for use by others. This manual contains a comprehensive list of elements to be considered when developing a user guide, including the title page; index; resource description; purpose, goals, and objectives; intended audience; prerequisites; instructor qualifications; materials; preparation; procedures for implementation; assessment and evaluation; relationships to other educational materials; list of references; citation; copyright information; and feedback form