Learning design for distance learning

According to City University London, Lack of time and Lack of knowledge remains the leading barriers to TEL development.

Adding to that, Students’ feeling of isolation and their engagement are also of the greatest challenges.

A well-designed online curriculum is not an easy task to be done, as -in most cases- the educational institutes (especially schools) uses the same curriculum adding some online activities and assessments due to the urgent need to transform either to distance or blended learning.

Alammary et al. (2014) present three distinct design approaches for developing blended learning modules.

- Low-impact approach: adding online activities to an existing course.

- Medium-impact approach: designing an online activity to replace an existing activity.

- High-impact approach: developing a blended module from the outset or redesigning a face-to-face or web-enhanced module as a blended learning module.

From that, for a distance learning Module, low impact approach -which is most commonly applied- cannot ensure achieving the student’s learning outcomes, while the medium and high-impact approaches can, by applying activities and assessments aligned with learning outcomes.

Grainne Conole: 7Cs Learning Design video is a good introduction to learning design and the 7Cs.

Learning design must assist students in the process of learning, in terms of the following activities:

- Apprehending the structure of academic discourse.

- Interpreting forms of representation.

- Acting on descriptions of the world.

- Using feedback.

- Reflecting on the goal-action-feedback cycle.

Oliver (1999) argues that a learning design comprises the following key elements:

- Tasks that learners are required to do.

- Resources that support learners to conduct the task.

- Support mechanisms that exist from a teacher implementing it.

Tools for learning design and online learning become huge market and technology companies, in general, are dominating the stock market, granting wealth to its owners (Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk), however, the majority of the available educational platforms and applications lack the link between technology and pedagogy.

Learning design for online learning requires a fusion of technological and pedagogical knowledge to tailor the curriculum with the learning activities and assessments to guide students through achieving the learning outcomes.

Kindly access the personal Padlet board for more relevant artefacts and pieces of literature.

---

References:

Alammary, A., Sheard, J. & Carbone, A. (2014) 'Blended Learning in higher education: Three different design approaches.' Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 2014, 30(4), pp:440-454

Laurillard, D., (2003). Rethinking university teaching: A conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies (2nd ed.). Dublin, Ohio: NetLibrary.

Oliver, R. (1999). Exploring strategies for on-line teaching and learning. Distance Education, 20(2), 240-254.

Walker, R. Voce, J., Nicholls, J., Swift, E., Ahmed, J., Horrigan, S., & Vincent, P. (2014) 2014 Survey of Technology Enhanced Learning for higher education UCISA Report [online] Available from http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/groups/dsdg/Tel%202014%20Final%2018%20August.ashx (Accessed: 5.2.15)