Designing for effective e-learning - feeding pedagogical research into practice Gráinne Conole University of Southampton Email: [email protected] E-Learning symposium: pedagogy and practice, 14 th December 2005
Jan 10, 2016
Designing for effective e-learning
- feeding pedagogical research into practice
Gráinne ConoleUniversity of Southampton
Email: [email protected]
E-Learning symposium: pedagogy and practice,
14th December 2005
Outline
• Education in a modern context
• The rise and impact of e-learning
• Gap between potential and reality
• Mediating artefacts
• Designing learning activities
Education in a modern context
• Giddens, Becks, Castells– Unpredictable, constantly changing world– Increasing impact of technology– Unintended consequences and
manufactured risks– Networked society– Culturally rich and complex society with
changing norms and values
Communication tools
Email, discussion boards, chat
Assessment tools
TOIA, QuestionMark
Integrated learning environments
Blackboard, WebCT
Online information tools
Gateways and portals
Growth of e-learning tools
Impact of e-learning
Organisational level
Tutor skills & changing roles
Virtual learning environments
Interactive &engaging materials
Unintendedconsequences
The holy grail of e-learning
To what extent is this true?What is the link between the pedagogy and the technology?
New forms of learning
Pedagogical re-engineering
A global connected society
Learning anywhere anytime
Rich multimedia representation
Smart, adaptable, personalised
Patch use of communication toolsStilted collaborations
VLEs for admin and as content
repositories
Information overloadNot pedagogically
informed
-ve
Negative aspects
Critical mass of mediating
tools and resources
Shift from individual to socially situated
Learning in context or through problem solving
New innovative uses of e-learning
+ve
Positive aspects
Manipulating dataWord, Excel
PresentationThe Web, PowerPoint
Finding informationSearch engines, portals
Types of tools
ManagingDatabases, Project Manager
Personal managementDiaries, calendars
CommunicationEmail, discussion forums
VisualisationMindmaps, visual tools
Guidance and supportWizards, tutorials
EvaluationCAA tools, Web tracking
Types of tools
AnalysisSPSS, NVIVO
ICT affordances
Access to wealth of resources Information overload, quality issues
New forms of dialogue Literacy skills issues
New forms of community Learner identity and confusion
Speed of access, immediacy Lack of permanency, surface
Virtual representations Lack of reality, real is fake
AccessibilitySpeed of changeDiversityCommunication & collaborationReflection
MultimodalityRiskImmediacyMonopolisationSurveillance
Learning by doing
Through experience
Through dialogue
Socially situated
Through reflection
Mercer
VygotskyLaurillardPapart
Kolb
Dewey
LaveJarvis
Paiget
Wenger
Theories of learning
Key characteristics
of learning
In the companyof others
The gap between potential and reality
Plethora of tools and resourcesEnormous potential but underused
Wealth of knowledge about learningDidactic/behaviourists models predominate
Gap between thepotential of the technologies
(confusion over how they can be used)and
application of good pedagogical principles(confusion over which models to use)
Context
TasksPedagogy
Learning activity
Mediating artefactsMediating artefacts
Peer dialogue Case studiesNarrativesExpert guidanceNetworked communication
Lesson plansTips and tricksFAQsDemonstrationsToolkitsModels/Patterns
Mediating artefacts
• Mediate between user and learning activity
• Help inform decision making
• Support re: context, pedagogy or tasks or a combination
• Contextually rich to more abstract
• Range of formats – textual, dialogic, visual, structural
MA affordances
• Accessibility – ease of retrieval, simplicity• Speed of change - adaptability • Diversity - tailored to individual needs • Communication and collaboration -
‘peer dialogue’ MA better than a ‘lesson plan’ MA
• Reflection– toolkits designed to encourage the user to revisit and adapt
MA Affordances
• Immediacy - degree of contextualisation • Multimodality – navigational routes,
toolkits more multimodal than lesson plans • Risk - a more tightly MA has less
unintended consequences• Monopolisation - ‘one-size-fits-all’ cf
bespoke, contextually located MAs• Surveillance - in-built tracking and
recording mechanisms
A toolkit for learning design• Reviewed
– Learning theories• identified key elements of learning
– Tools and resources• their use and impact
• Definition of a learning activity– Distilled out practitioners’ implicit thinking – Derived a definition for a learning activity and
associated taxonomy– Reality checked the taxonomy with real
examples
Using e-learning to support different types of activities
• Negotiating goals– Face-to-face discussion with tutor– Choice of goals mapped to resources (VEOU)
• Explore new concepts– Lectures and group work– Interactive resources supported by discussion forum or
linked to face-to-face sessions• Evaluate concepts
– Tutor-led tutorial– Peer-to-peer evaluation online, tutor as facilitator
• Share and discuss– Group work– Online discussion via chat, email and discussion boards
Using e-learning to support different types of activities
• Solve problems– Exercises or experiments– Multimedia scenarios and simulations coupled with online
discussions• Apply concepts
– Exercise in class or as homework– Interactive whiteboards and voting systems
• Visualise and present concepts– Tutor explanation and testing of understanding– Mind-mapping, presentation software, bite-size chunks on mobiles
• Assessment– Tutor sets tests and provides feedback– Online quizzes and activities so learners can assess their own
learning; peer-assessment, e-portfolios
Examples
• Linguistics: Item bank (Associative) – Learners develop skills through structured tasks– Practising, drill and practice, item bank, individual
learners, formative assessment
• Multi-lingual ESOL group (Cognitive/constructive) – Learners develop skills through doing– Voting system, interactive whiteboard
• Virtual Interactive Practice (VIP) (Situative)– Learners developing understanding together– Scenarios followed by peer-group critique
Making the link
• Pedagogical approach – didactic
• Learning outcome – knowledge
• Tasks – assimilative
• Assessment - focusing on re-production of knowledge– MCQs, drills, short answer, essays– Tutor feedback, tutor assessed
Making the link
• Pedagogical approach – cognitive
• Learning outcome – application
• Tasks - experiential
• Assessment - focusing on use of concepts in different contexts– Report, field work, project– Tutor assessed; may be peer- or self-
evaluated
Making the link
• Pedagogical approach – problem-based
• Learning outcome – analysis
• Tasks – information handling
• Assessment – focus on application of concepts to problems– Exercise, practical, project– Tutor assessed or peer- or self-evaluated
Making the link
• Pedagogical approach – dialogic
• Learning outcome – evaluation
• Tasks – communicative
• Assessment - focus on critiquing and argument– Group presentation– Peer-evaluated
Uses• Guidance
– On the development of learning activity– Mapping pedagogy to tools and resources
• Repurposing– Query database of existing learning
activities
• Research– Development of new e-learning models
• Quality assurance
ReferencesConole, G. (2005), ‘Mediating artefacts to guide choice in creating and undertaking learning activities’, presentation at CALRG seminar, Open University, 1st November Conole (2002), ‘The evolving landscape of learning technology research’, ALT-J, 10(3), 4-18Conole, Dyke, Oliver, and Seale, (2004), ‘Mapping pedagogy and tools for effective learning design’, Computers and Education, June 2004Conole and Dyke, (2004), ‘What are the affordances of Information and Communication Technologies?’, ALT-J, 12.2Conole (2004), ‘Report on the effectiveness of tools for e-learning’, report for the JISC commissioned ‘Research Study on the Effectiveness of Resources, Tools and Support Services used by Practitioners in Designing and Delivering E-Learning ActivitiesJISC Effective practice with e-learning, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=elp_practiceJISC Innovative practice with e-learning, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eli_practice.html
Designing for effective e-learning
- feeding pedagogical research into practice
Gráinne ConoleUniversity of Southampton
Email: [email protected]
E-Learning symposium: pedagogy and practice,
14th December 2005