Educational Design, an overview : Toucan House Newsletter: 14 November 2001

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Newsletter :: 14 November 2001

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Welcome to the Toucan House Online Ed. Updater

14 November 2001

This occasional newsletter keeps you up to date with innovation and change in online and flexible learning. In this edition:

The second instalment in a series on the process of adapting existing education and training materials for online delivery. This Updater covers
- Educational design, an overview
- Step One: Learner Profile analysis

and will be followed by :
- Clarifying outcomes
- Technology selection
- Build and test

If you have other issues you'd like covered, let us know.

Previous updaters are archived at www.toucanhouse.co.nz

Educational Design, an overview

Educational design incorporates a set of principles into a framework or series of decisions that enables us to logically identify and design effective training. It is centred around an analysis of the learners and the training goals. All decisions (from the style of language used to the technology to the communication and assessment methods) are referenced against the learners and the goals.

The principles help ensure learning is sound, the framework provides a system for unpicking the complex range of variables that need to be considered in designing online/distance training.

- Step One: Learner Profile analysis

A range of learner profile analysis tools are available, selection is usually based on the complexity of the training task and the time and resourcing allocated to analysis.
Typically, they will address the following:

1. The learner

- Motivation. Why are learners participating? What relevance does the training have to their lives?

- Content. What exactly is it that they want to learn? What do they already know?

- Previous experiences. Learners bring with them a range of pre-conceptions or opinions about 'what works and doesn't work' for them. Initial motivation will be greatly affected by how much the training is perceived to match past positive learning experiences.

- Existing skills. What can we safely assume they can already do?

- Level of support. To what extent are the learners comfortable with independent or self-managed study? As content is adapted for online/distance delivery, there is often an implicit assumption that learners will be making a greater range of decisions about how and what to learn themselves. The more remote the learner from the instructor, the greater the independent learning skills required. Where the learner profile suggests extensive support is important, course delivery needs to be modified accordingly.

2. The environment

-Physical. Where and when will it best suit the learners to undertake study? Elearning provides the opportunity for learners to pick the time and (to a lesser extent) the location of study. This apparent freedom however doesn't do away with the need for an analysis of the expected learning environment. For example:

* Access to a computer doesn't mean the learner can study whenever they want to, or that they have the skills to use the software.

* Access to a physical location is often restricted in terms of the times it's available and the use it can be put to.

- Technological. There is a big difference between having access to a piece of equipment, and being able to use it effectively for training. When someone sits down to learn, the resent having to spend time on dealing with the technology. Well designed course materials may still be ineffective where the process of accessing the technology alienates the learner. Issues include:

The ability to install plug-ins and learning management systems
Managing files
Using communication tools
Troubleshooting

The goals and capabilities of the training organisation also need to be clearly established, including such issues as:

Established training goals and their relationship to the organisation's strategy
Linkages between training outcomes, knowledge management and organisational change
Levels of investment
Timeframes
The extent to which training development will be done in-house.

At the completion of the learner profile analysis it's then possible to develop a method of delivery that matches the needs of learners with the training goals.

The next Updater will look at this process.