1. Learning design: making practice explicit Gráinne Conole ConnectEd Conference Sydney, 28th June 2010 http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/4001

2. A little context… My background: Science & Arts: PhD Chemistry Professor of e-learning Learners’ and teachers’ experiences of using technologies New approaches to design Open Educational Resources Learning theories Strategy and policy

3. Outline The changing context of education and technology paradoxes A look at design practices Learning design: Foundations, representations, collaboration

4. Learner expectations Globalisation Faculty roles Massification Industry requirements Privatisation New technologies The changing context of education

5. Technology paradoxes Paradoxes Technologies not fully exploited Little evidence of use of free resources Media sharing Blogs & wikis Reasons Technical, pedagogical, organisational… “Lack of time, research vs. teaching, lack of skills, no rewards, no support….” Solutions? Case studies, support networks Learning Design Virtual worlds & online games Social networking

6. A look at design practice Language to communicate information & ideas Design language to communicate design plans, and intentions Design as… conscious process dialogue with materials creative process communicative process social activity (Winograd) Design Languages… To generate designs Means of interpreting and discussing

7. Music Music notation relatively recent Captures key factors to enable reproduction Works across multiple instruments Chemistry ‘Atoms’ = alphabet, ‘Molecules’ = words Range of representations – 2D & 3D Drawing and modeling tools

8. Design in education Teacher interviews Five aspects: design process, ideas, support, sharing, evaluation Findings Difficult to represent designs Not systematic Predominately content focused Wish list Examples of good practice Others to talk to

9. The OU Learning Design Initiative Shift from belief-based, implicit approaches to design-based, explicit approaches Learning Design A design-based approach to creation and support of courses Encourages reflective, scholarly practices Promotes sharing and discussion Andrew Brasher, Paul Clark, Simon Cross, Juliette Culver, Rebecca Galley, Paul Mundin

10. Aspects of learning design Mediating artefacts Affordances Tools Activities Cloudworks Course views Resources Design Challenge Resources Foundations Collaboration Representation Activities Tools Tools Activities Resources Excel template CompendiumLD

11. Foundations: Mediating Artefacts Design Learning activity or Resource Can now use or repurpose Has an inherent Design Mediating Artefacts Concepts Tools Dialogues Activities Mediating artefacts Creates Vygotsky, Activity Theory

12. Foundations: affordances Positive affordances, promotes… Negative affordances, think about… A blog for reflective practice Collaboration Time consuming (development) Reflections Difficult to use Affordances (Gibson) All "action possibilities" latent in an environmentt… but always in relation to the actor and therefore dependent on their capabilities. For instance, a tall tree offers the affordances of food for a Giraffe but not a sheep. Interaction Costly to produce Dialogue Time consuming (support) Creativity Assessment issues Organisation Lack of interactivity Inquiry Difficult to navigate Authenticity New literacy skills

13. Representation The Open University, UK KE312 Working together with children What’s the problem? Text-based/focus on content Doesn’t show what the course is really like or what it consists of

14. Moving beyond content The power of representations Shift emphasis away from content Helps articulate designs Supports effective design Provides focus at different levels Acts as a dialogic mediating artefact Provides a design record Encourages reflective practice Enables sharing of designs

15. Visualisation tools Mind mapping tools Pen, paper and stickers Excel templates Meaning making tools - Cohere

16. Guidance & Support Course structure and timetable e.g. course calendar, study guide, tutorials Content & Activities Course materials, prior experience, learner-generated content, e.g. readings, DVDs, podcasts, labs Communication & Collaboration Dialogic aspect of the course, interaction between learners &tutors - course forum, email, etc. Reflection & Demonstration Internalization and reflection, e.g. in-text questions, blogs, e-portfolios Diagnostic, formative or summative assessment Course summary Level, credits, duration, key features Key works Description words indicating pedagogical approach, special features Course map

17. Guidance & Support Course guide, study calendar, study planner, 20 learning guides, General assessment guidelines and assignments Tutor support: 1:20, 21 contact hours Content & Activities 3 co-published books, DVDs of 3 practice settings, core questions, thinking points in course books Plus own experience and practice PDFs, e-journal articles & websites, activities in learning guides, 5 website interactivities Communication & Collaboration F-t-F tutorials near beginning, middle and end, Course-wide café forum, Tutor-group forums with sub-groups for each block Reflection & Demonstration Journal space in the Mystuffe-portfolio, 6 assignments online (50% of overall score) Course summary KE312 - Working together with Children, 60 pt course over 32 weeks, 3 blocks/20 learning guides Whole weeks devoted to assignments Consolidation week (week 22) Key works Practice-related, aligned to latest professional framework for multi-agency working, rich case studies, Read-Relate to practice – Reflect - Write KE312 - Course map

18. Pedagogy profile Map of leaner tasks to time periods (weeks, semesters, etc.) 6 types of leaner task + assessment Assimilative Information handling Communication Productive Experiential Adaptive Assessment Each cell indicates the amount of time spent on each type of task Learning Design Taxonomy - Conole, 2008

20. Course dimensions Content & activities Guidance & support Dimensions for each of the categories in the course view: Guidance and support Content and activities Communication and collaboration Reflection and demonstration Considers extent to which each is present Reflection & demonstration Communication & collaboration

21. Learning outcomes Mapping learning outcomes to: Activities Assessment Based on Biggs’ work (1999) on constructive alignment Maps course and highlights any gaps

22. Task swimlane Focus on the tasks learners do Base on: Roles (learner, tutor, etc.) Tasks (read, discuss, etc.) Tools and resources Outputs Advantages Makes design explicit Maps out design Sharable with others Good at activity level Use Mindmapping tools – CompendiumLD, CMap, Freemind Pen, paper and stickers

25. Working between the views Course map Course dimensions Pedagogy profile Learning outcomes Task swimlane

26. Modeling with data-derived views What happens to course performance, if… Include more collaboration Decrease the amount of tutor support Increase use of Web 2.0 tools? 5 conceptual course views What are the cost implications of… Including more online assessment More student-generated content Introducing use of SecondLife? Course Business Models project Mick Jones, Andrew Russell, Paul Mundin, Peter Wilson

27. Collaboration Design challenge Create a course in a day! Cloudworks Space to share and discuss

28. Cloudworks A space for sharing and discussing learning and teaching ideas and designs Application of the best of web 2.0 practice to a teaching context To bridge the gap between technologies and use Teachers say they want examples/want to share/discuss Helps develop skills needed for engaging with new technologies’

29. Quick language guide Cloudworks speak Plan English Cloud: Cloudscape: Activity stream: Favourites: RSS feeds: Follow: Attend: Anything to do with learning & teaching Acollection of clouds Latestactivitieson Cloudscapes or people Vote for things you like Cloudscapes or people Cloudscapes, Clouds, people Conferences, workshops, events

30. Title Author Core Tags Located in Discussions Improvements

31. Embedded content

32. Embedded videos

33. Conferences and workshops

34. Follow Attend Views Favourites

35. Virtual reading circles

36. Virtual desk research

37. Flash debates

38. Spotlight debates

39. Open reviews

40. Cloudworks leaflet Cloudworks the movie! http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2457 Using Cloudworks Cloudscape http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/1911 Help

41. Design Education in Cloudworks – Design Atelier

42. Aims Explore potential of new tools for supporting learners and teachers Towards a community of online designers Focus on project and design work and Peer-to-peer assessment Experimenting with range of tools on Design course U101 – Design thinking T211 – Design and designing T307 – Designing for a sustainable future Tools Facebook, Ning, Compendium, Eluminate, Second Life, Flckr and Open Design Studio Tutor focus Resource and knowledge sharing for tutors - GoogleWave http://design-open.ac.uk/atelier-d http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/2715

43. Take a digital walking tour Using cloudworks Cloudscapes The Cloudworks Cloudquest Browse Clouds and Cloudscapes Free search Explore some user profiles Rebecca Galley Georgina Holden Look at current events Contribute to the Flash debates Push the boat out – create a Cloud 

44. Conclusion Pros Cons Makes design explicit Foregrounds specific aspects of the design Acts as a scaffold/guide to the design process Can act as a shared dialogic mediating artefact Comparative analysis Check points and reflection Design is a complex process! Understanding the views Recognising their limitations The dangers of a formulaic approach Time to master/appropriate Still to be empirically validated

45. Acknowledgements Molecule http://www.flickr.com/photos/8272941@N07/498827420/ Periodic table http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemheritage/3984920162/ Music sheet http://www.flickr.com/photos/anyaka/21848267/ One world http://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/2731067095/ World of warcraft http://www.flickr.com/photos/shardsofblue/3981216281/ Questionmarkhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/crystaljingsr/3914729343/