Transcript Open University Learning Design Initiative

Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre
eLearning Special Interest Group meeting
Revisiting Learning Design
01/03/2011
Rebecca Galley and Judy Thomas
The Open University
The OU learning design initiative and
approaches to learning design in a
HS&P setting
Project aim:
“Specifically, we need to shift from the
traditional craft-based teacher-design
(where design draws on belief-based
practice and is essentially implicit) to a
more systematic, explicit design
approach, drawing on empirically
derived and validated tools and methods
for design”.
Conole (2010)
What is learning design?
“Learning design is viewed as both
a process – the planning, structuring and
sequencing of learning activities; and as a
product – the representation/s, plan, or structure
produced during the process or created later”
Learn about... Learning Design guide (Cross and Conole, 2008)
Key aspects: Design as...
• conscious process
• dialogue with
materials
• creative process
• communicative
process
• social activity
(Winograd, 1996:64)
juhansonin http://www.flickr.com/photos/juhansonin/2250554147/
How, when and who with
The OULDI project sees ‘learning
design’ as an all encompassing
term to cover the process,
representation, sharing and
evaluation of designs from lower
level activities, right up to whole
curriculum level designs.
We are interested in providing
support for the entire design
process; from gathering and
sketching out initial ideas, through
consolidating, producing and
using designs, to sharing, reuse
and community engagement.
Design tools
Pen & paper
Project tools (Visio, Excel)
Mindmapping (MindGenius, Word/
PowerPoint, Prezi etc)
Concept mapping
(CompendiumLD,
CMap etc)
CompendiumLD
• Hierarchy of information
layers
• Specific course design
nodes (e.g. Learning
outcome, activity, learner
output, task, tool, role)
• Additional nodes
(question answer,
pros/cons
• Flexibility of software
assists, maps and records
creative design process
On CompendiumLD...
“And again, like I said to you, it forces you...you know...it
makes you think about the different components of the
learning process in a way that is structured and it makes
people address those issues and discuss them. On that day,
you know, we had quite a lot of discussion about...you
know...details about how we were going to run these projects:
the things we could use; the technologies we could bring in.”
“It’s a mode of thinking. CompendiumLD, and course design is
a mode of thinking”
Cloudworks
Cloudworks
• Discussion is a key part of
informal process
• Developing ideas and
concepts
• Sharing best practice
• Ideas, support and advice
• Enhancing professional
knowledge
• Connecting to a
professional and creative
network
On Cloudworks...
“The appeal of Cloudworks is that the focus shifts away from sharing course
resources (repositories) to representing teaching designs, practices, and
resources in a way that is context rich and reusable by others. Moreover,
members' contributions are open and available for others to build on in a
number of interesting ways”.
Cloudworks user blog post
“As the Multiliteracies moderator I am looking with interest on the changing
shapes of clouds and wondering which will gain traction and carry us forward
into the future. In [institution] we were thinking our Big Innovation this year
would be Wave (last year it was Ning). But Wave is a bit complicated with the
invitation hassle (at the moment). This one is quite simple. Unlike either of
the other two, you don't have to be a member of the group to converse. You
simply have to have a Cloudworks ID and you can say what you like
anywhere.”
Comment posted on Cloudworks
Representing
the curriculum
Pedagogy profile
Learning outcomes view
Course map view
Course dimensions
Task swimlane
Guidance
and support
Content and
experience
Course structure and
timetable e.g. Course
calendar, study guide,
tutorials
Course materials, prior
experience, learner
generated content e.g.
readings, DVDs,
podcasts, labs
Collaboration
Student
Activity
and
communication
Dialogic aspects of the
course. Interaction between
learners and tutor, course
forum, email, etc
Reflection and
demonstration
Internalization and reflection,
e.g. In text questions, blogs,
ePortfolios, diagnostic,
formative, summative
assessment
http://www.rjid.com/open/pedagogy/html/pedagogy_profile_1_2.html
Types of activity
(from a Learning Activity Taxonomy, Conole, 2007 & 2008)
• Assimilative (attending and understanding content),
• Information handling (e.g. gathering and classifying resources
or manipulating data),
• Adaptive (use of modelling or simulation software),
• Communicative (dialogic activities, e.g. pair dialogues or
group-based discussions),
• Productive (construction of an artefact such as a written
essay, new chemical compound or a sculpture) and
• Experiential (practising skills in a particular context or
undertaking an investigation).
• In addition the tool looks at the spread of assessment across
the course or sequence of learning activities.
OULDI-Library services pilot
• Learning and teaching librarian role
• Using learning design approaches in our own
work when writing activities
• Triggering conversations with module teams
by engaging with the views
• Supporting faculties who wish to change their
current business models
• Series of staff development opportunities
• Mapping of library services against the
learning design ‘views’
Summary: A Design approach
• Uses a shared design language to both generate designs and as a
mechanism for interpreting and discussing them (Winograd,
1996:64)
• Uses a notational system which helps us remember and navigate
designs, enables designs to take form and be shared, and helps us
sharpen and multiply abstract design categories (Gibbons and
Brewer, 2005:121)
• Recognises that different representations of a design are needed to
articulate certain elements of the design, while ignoring others
• Designs should never be seen as static artefacts and are always
dynamic and co-constructed in context. (Gibbons and Brewer,
2005:115)
Some challenges and tensions
• Complexity: designs can only be partial representation of much more
complex, and multifaceted ideas in our minds.
• Precision: there is a tension between the natural, fuzzy nature of real
practice and tightly defined specification.
• Formality and standardisation: terms and concepts, even well used
ones, do not necessarily mean the same thing to us all.
• Personal vs shared: designs can be created for personal use or can be
designed to share with others – can those designs be the same?
Designs only become public or sharable through negotiation and
interaction with others.
• Implicit vs explicit: there is a tension with designs in terms of how
much they focus on precise presentation, specification and how much
on the more aesthetic, visionary aspects of the design, between
implicit, individual designs to those that are completely explicit with
clearly defined terms and rules.
Adapted from Gibbons and Brewer
(Gibbons & Brewer, 2005, p. 115)
Examples of uptake
and use
Course Map representation (Video
diaries and supporting documents)
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3813
CompendiumLD tool (presentation to
peers)
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/4612
Design Challenge workshops
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/4127
Activity 1: Think, pair, share
What’s good about eLearning in a health and
social care setting?
Why has the mainstream adoption of eLearning
pedagogies and technologies been so slow?
What might a learning design approach offer in
relation to the above?
What are the challenges of embedding such an
approach in teams and institutions?
References
Cross, S. and Conole, G. (2008), Learn about learning design,
Learn about guides series, The Open University: Milton
Keynes, available http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OULDI/wpcontent/uploads/2010/11/Learn-about-learningdesign_v7.doc
Conole, G. (2008) ‘Capturing practice: the role of mediating
artefacts in learning design’, in Handbook of Research on
Learning Design and Learning Objects: Issues, Applications and
Technologies, in L. Lockyer, S. Bennett, S. Agostinho, and B
Harper (Eds), 187-207, Hersey PA: IGI Global.
Conole, G. (2007), ‘Describing learning activities: tools and
resources to guide practice’ in H. Beetham and R. Sharpe (Eds),
Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age, pp. 81-91.
In the Library with the
lead-piping: being
creative with
resources
Pedagogy profiler
• Breaks tasks down into:
– Assimilative
– Adaptive/Interactive
– Communicative
– Productive
– Experiential
– Information handling
• Assessment is linked to these
What the technology helps you
do
•
•
•
•
Communication
• Sharing resources
Sharing
• Synchronous learning
Collaboration
• Having fun!
Relationship building
– networks and
communities
(With thanks to Jane Hart’s
• Keeping up-to-date
100 top tools for learning
• Making connections
2009):
http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommen
ded/
Example
• Varga-Atkins T et al. (2010) Developing professionalism
through the use of wikis: A study with first-year
undergraduate medical students, Medical Teacher,
Vol.32 No.10, pp.824-6.
– wikis acted as a shared knowledge base for
hard-to-find resources. Students reflected
more on quality of resources
– reflection on use of space. Helped students
develop sense of professional identity
Activity: using
resources creatively
• Each team (2 per table) has 3 sets of cards - tools,
resources and pedagogies. You can use other tools and
resources not given.
• In the time available discuss ways of combining the tools
and resources saying which type of pedagogy is involved
• Use the paper to write down your ideas
• If you want, you can represent your ideas visually, using
the post-it notes
• Each group select their top idea and report back (if time)
Contact Us
Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre
[email protected]
Enhancing Learning through Technology
http://www.health.heacademy.ac.uk/focus/elearning
www.health.heacademy.ac.uk