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
and will be followed by :
If you have other issues you'd like covered, let us know at www.toucanhouse.co.nz.
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:
- 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 goals and capabilities of the training organisation also need to be clearly established, including such issues as:
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.
©
Toucan House Ltd. 2001
www.toucanhouse.co.nz