Inspiration from the Web

The folks at Born4Design agency recently posted a list of 12 free web design resources. The first 8 are available as ebooks and can be downloaded at PDFs for reading on a computer or mobile device. Although these resources are directed at web designers, they can also provide useful ideas for the e-learning course designer.

Tom Kuhlman at The Rapid E-Learning Blog advises that one way to get away from the inherent linear, bullet-point presentation model in many courses and PowerPoint presentations is to create your own templates. One spark of inspiration for his template designs is other Web site designs. He likes to periodically peruse the Web sites of ad agencies and graphic design sites and look at their project portfolios. He not only gets ideas about design elements but also color combinations. Take a screenshot of the site and create an "inspiration collection." You might even consider posting your images to Flickr as Patrick Haney did. You can also collect your clips in an Evernote notebook.

When we design a course, we are asking our learners to spend their valuable time take that course. These are some tips that will help you design courses that look good.  Combine inviting design elements that with sound instructional design and you’ll have courses that hook your learners from the start and never let them go.

Follow-Up Course Design for Learning

I am currently participating in a discussion with the ISTE LinkedIn Group. The discussion started out with asking for ideas for integrating Google Maps into Learning Activities; however, a side discussion lead to a conversation regarding designing learning activities/courses.  The following is my response, which references my previous post/presentation Course Design for Learning.

All too often I've seen Education faculty require their students to create lesson plans and/or activities out of context. However, when the students get into the "real world" they will need to consider a lot more. I like to have my students essentially develop a case study scenario in which they define the state standards and learner characteristics for their classroom--then build a thematic unit plan (rather than a series of individual learning activities) so they see how to integrate technology (and multiple disciplines) throughout the unit.

I'm a great believer in metacognition--understanding WHY you do something. Therefore, I see the course design process as a reflective process. What I try to get my students (and faculty) to understand is that your goals and objectives drive the activities and ultimately assessment. You have to think through which concepts need to be "covered" and what you want the students to be able to do/understand first. That means you have to know what your state/county/district wants you to teach as well as what your students know/don't know. (The ISTE standards (NETS) are another consideration.) Knowing your students is as important as knowing your objectives. You also have to consider your learning environment--what kinds of technology do your students have access to--at school and at home? What kind of support will they need--you provide? Then you need to consider the teaching and learning process--teacher-centered/student-centered or a combination. Teachers need to have a toolbox of instructional strategies that fit their teaching philosophy and think about the materials/resources that can support those strategies (be they low tech or high tech or no tech).

NOTE: Course design is an iterative--not linear--process. Although I listed assessment last, it actually needs to be considered throughout the process (formative vs. summative). 

The following related Chronicle of Higher Education article was recently shared on LinkedIn Updates: Planning a Class with Backward Design Mark Sample referenced the book, Understanding by Design, by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigh. Wiggins and McTigh call the process of designing courses around learning goals “the backward design process.”  They offered a three-stage diagram of the backward design process:

1. Identify desired results (What should students know, understand, and be able to do? What is worthy of understanding? What enduring understandings are desired?
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence (How will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the standards? What will we accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency?)
3. Plan Learning Experiences (With clearly identified results (enduring understandings) and appropriate evidence of understanding in mind, educators can now plan instructional activities.)

Just as I outlined in my LinkedIn post, during the first stage, consider your goals, examine established content standards (national, state, and district), and review curriculum expectations. Imagine the first stage as a series of concentric circles or nested rings. The first stage allows us to prioritize what you need to teach. The outer ring represents knowledge “worth being familiar with” for students. This area represents the field of possible content (topics, skills, and resources) that might be examined during the unit or course. The middle ring encapsulates knowledge and skills “important to know and do.” In this area, we begin to set priorities by identifying important knowledge (facts, concepts, and principles) and skills (processes, strategies, and methods) that are essential for students to master. Another way of looking at this area is this is where we specify the prerequisite knowledge and skills needed for students to successfully accomplish key performances. Finally, the smallest ring, the inner ring, represents “enduring understandings”—the fundamental, "big" ideas you want students to remember days and months and years later, even after they’ve forgotten the details of the course. These understandings should anchor the course or unit.

ALPS, Active Learning Practice for Schools, developed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Project Zero defines the enduring understandings as Throughlines. Throughlines are overarching describe the most important understandings that students should develop during an entire course. The understanding goals for particular units should be closely related to one or more of the throughlines of the course. 

The enduring understandings, the throughlines, should be the target for developing our course/unit/learning activity. In developing the enduring understanding goals, ask yourself, "When my students leave my class at the end of the course, what are the most important things I want them to take away with them?" You may have to review several learning units to find common themes or skills/knowledge that seem to resurface each time you teach. Sometimes it is easier to phrase the overarching goals as questions rather than statements.

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You may register for the April/May webcasts at http://www.uliveandlearn.com/PortalInnovate/. Webcasts will be archived and available in the webcast section of the article and in the Innovate-Live portal archive shortly after the webcast. All times are Eastern Standard Time (New York). You may use the world clock at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ to coordinate with your time zone.

Schedule
April 24, 208
11:00 AM EST
Preparing e-Learning Designers Using Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning
Authors: Joni Dunlap, Jackie Dobrovolny & Dave Young
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=490&action=article

May 12, 2008
1:00 PM EST
Moving from Theory to Real-World Experiences in an e-Learning Community
Author: Ana-Paula Correia
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=495&action=article

May 14, 2008
11:00 AM EST
Game-Based Learning: A Different Perspective
Author: Karl Royle
See http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=433&action=article

Instructional Designer as Consultant

Last night I attended a panel discussion coordinated by one of the professors at Queens. The topic was advertising. Since I initially wanted to go into public relations, and I was Publicity Chair for several organizations/groups, I have an interest in advertising and media relations. Therefore, I decided to attend. Although the discussion primarily focused on how the various panel participants did their jobs, I found one gem that I could relate to my new job responsibilities.

Toward the end of the discussion, one student asked how the panel members would handle a client who came in with an idea that they thought would absolutely not work or the client that came in with a "it's my way" attitude. After much discussion, the final verdict was that they worked as consultants only. Ultimately, the client has the right to make his/her own decision. Their job is to listen to the client and provide options. That means they often prepare several packages/choices for the client to choose from. One participant indicated that his company recognizes that there is the client's idea, the company's idea, and the idea that blends the two (hopefully, the one the client chooses).

The discussion had relevance to how I need to work with the faculty at Queens. My role is that of consultant--which entails building trust on both ends. The word consultant comes from the Latin word meaning "to discuss;" a consultant today is a professional who provides advice in a particular area of expertise. Like the ad people, it is my job to be familiar with the possible options that faculty have in converting their courses online and to help them develop their ideas. I need to present these options, but be aware that ultimately it is the instructor's decision on which options to incorporate and when.

During the instructional design phase, I work with each faculty member to review the course's learning objectives and consider the following questions:

• How should content be organized?
• How should ideas be presented to the learners?
• What delivery format(s) should be used?
• What types of activities and exercises will best help learners?
• How should the course measure learners' accomplishments?

The answers to these questions help create the course structure and lead to appropriate instructional strategies. When I suggest instructional strategies for a course, I am drawing upon not only theoretical knowledge (what I've read) but also practical experience. There are many different ways to sequence and present content to learners. As the panel also pointed out, part of my job is education--educating faculty about what is available to them, the advantages and disadvantages, how to use these resources, etc. Generally, the course's activities and exercises must fit with the type of learning the students' are asked to do (tied to the objectives). The course's assessments should measure the learner's progress toward meeting the learning objectives; therefore they should also fit the learning objectives. Thus, the clearer the instructor is in defining what he/she wants the learner to accomplish the easier it is to choose instructional strategies and assessments.