Slowly slowly.....

My big plan of getting my whole Level 1 and Level 2 Design and Visual Communication courses up online as MOOC style / distance learning models is happening slowly.
The first module for Level 1 was easy enough as that was the standard I trialed last year so It was a simple case of copying and pasting from here to here with a few tweaks and adjustments here and there.

The fussy graphics teacher in me then came out as on the trial module I had the menu down the side of the site for easy access ...

This was ok for the trial one as the students only needed quick, easy access to the steps for the one
standard / project.
I now want to put all projects for Level 1 and Level 2 together on one site so I cant have this menu choice, as it would be too much to have down the side bar.

I have decided on a task bar across the top of the project pages that links to all the pages within that one project. This is a table with one row that goes across the top of each page. The task labels are linked to the appropriate pages. This table can change according to what project is being done as it is put in separately at the top of each page. The down side to this is that I have to manually put it in on each page, as it is not an automatic menu system like the side bar. The positives are that I can change and link them how I like and it does not take up page width.

I know this is a really nit picky thing to spend time fussing over but if I can nail down this layout from the beginning then I can concentrate on the important stuff...... like content.....

I have to keep reminding myself that I am designing a site that I want the students to access and follow while they are away from the class room. This means a really clear flow through the projects for them to understand, so if this then means me taking nearly a day fiddling about with different menu and navigation ideas, then that is a good use of time and thought.