Categories
Flexible Learning

Evaluation of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework 2000-2004

Hi all,

This Framework is for vocational and training sector but it provides useful information. You don’t need to read it all but you may want to scheme through it to grasp the main points. Collaboration is one of the key words in this Framework. Of course, collegial relationships with faculty and staff across CTLT/beyond CTLT are important to support our flexible learning initiative.

http://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv35348

The first call-for-proposal for redesign of undergraduate courses has been sent already and deadline is May 13th. Once we have candidate courses, who will be involved in the instructional design support and/or curriculum/assessment support within CTLT for the new projects? Are we ready or what can we do to get ourselves more prepared? I thought this kind of dialogue with our team members would be useful and helpful to learn from each other.

Sunah

Categories
Blended Learning

Blended Learning Design

Here is a paper I co-authored quite a few years back on blended learning design…it is really a framework document, identifying major design factors.  I have since worked more on the details of the various principles, and I think this paper will constitute the backbone for a presentation I will do in the CTLT Institute in May.

 

BlendedLearningDesign_paper

Categories
General

Social, usability, and pedagogical factors influencing students’ learning experiences with wikis and blogs

Social, usability, and pedagogical factors influencing students’ experience with wikis and blogs

In my search for evaluation studies that might give me some wonderful instruments and/or rubrics for the math project (all suggestions are welcome) I came across this paper which I have only just skimmed, but thought I would share.  I am just starting to help a couple of instructors to incorporate blogs and wikis into their courses, so will hopefully find some nuggets in here.

Happy reading on a busy first week back!

Janet

Categories
Online Course Design Papers & Presentations

Do Generational Differences Matter in Instructional Design?

Hi everyone,

Thought you might be interested in this article:

Do Generational Differences Matter in Instructional Design?

Cheers
Afsaneh

Categories
Online Course Design

Blackboard World ’11 Notes

Here are some notes that I took from the Blackboard World 2011 conference:

BbWorld 11 Conference Notes

If you’re interested in playing around with Blackboard, COURSEsites allows anyone to create up to five free sites.  I found it helpful as a space to explore the different tools and the course design templates they have are interesting to look through to see different ways of structuring a course.

Categories
Assessment Papers & Presentations

Online Assessment Design

Online Assessment Design- this is an emerging and complex part of the learning design practice. Below is an article that our Distance and Blended Learning team co-authored recently. What is still missing in the discussion? What more can we do to support our instructors in developing assessment strategies that are effective and do not break the backs of the instructors?

“Articulating assessment design practice for online courses and programs; cases in assessment strategy design and development”

Categories
Emerging Technologies

Reading revolutions: Online digital text and implications for reading in academe

Reading revolutions:  Online digital text and implications for reading in academe

While the Internet is a text–saturated world, reading online screens tends to be significantly different from reading printed text. This review essay examines literature from a variety of disciplines on the technological, social, behavioural, and neuroscientific impacts that the Internet is having on the practice of reading. A particular focus is given to the reading behaviour of emerging university students, especially within Canada and the United States.

I thought this was a helpful summary and discussion of the research around reading online versus reading in print.  It doesn’t provide much guidance, but it’s interesting to think about as we help identify readings for courses, especially as we move towards more online readings.

Categories
Blended Learning

US unplugged: manifold benefits of disconnected learning

An article in the Times Higher Education about the trend toward banning online access during courses.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=416375&encCode=6

For those who are working with faculty on blended environments, this is worth a read.  My own experience of integrating technology in lectures tells me that you can’t leave it all to chance, you need to determine some structure to the way students use technology in classrooms – for example we implemented a back channel chat during lectures, we used opportunities for students to find online resources and share with the class, and we used online quizzes (somewhat like clickers but not using clickers) as well as asking students to use their phones for taking photos in labs of their work.

The issue of multitasking and learning is going to be a major area of research in the coming years, perhaps it is something we want to consider in our work as well.  In online environments we mainly hand over the control for the activities to the students to decide when and how much to do – they are I am sure multitasking like crazy while they are reading/writing assignments/listening and viewing audio/engaging in live discussions. Within our own design work, do we account for the many possible ways that a multitasking environment can both support and detract from the experience of learning?

Happy reading.

Janet

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