Design approaches in technology enhanced learning

Design is a critical to the successful development of any interactive learning environment (ILE). Moreover, in technology enhanced learning (TEL), the design process requires input from many diverse areas of expertise. As such, anyone undertaking tool development is required to directly address the design challenge from multiple perspectives. We provide a motivation and rationale for design approaches for learning technologies that draws upon Simon's seminal proposition of Design Science (Simon, 1969). We then review the application of Design Experiments (Brown, 1992) and Design Patterns (Alexander et al., 1977) and argue that a patterns approach has the potential to address many of the critical challenges faced by learning technologists

An organisational semiotics perspective to co-design of technology enhanced learning

While Co-Design approaches have been used in designing technology enhanced learning (TEL) by different scholars, research is needed to understand the relationships between technologies, design and practice. This paper presents organisational semiotics (OS) as an approach for Co-Design of Technology Enhanced Learning. This perspective will provide an insight into the Co-Design of technology and learning in higher education

Learning design approaches for personalised and non-personalised e-learling systems

Recognizing the powerful role that technology plays in the lives of people, researchers are increasingly focusing on the most effective uses of technology to support learning and teaching. Technology enhanced learning (TEL) has the potential to support and transform students’ learning and allows them to choose when, where and how to learn. This paper describes two different approaches for the design of personalised and non-personalised online learning environments, which have been developed to investigate whether personalised e-learning is more efficient than non-personalised e-learning, and discuss some of the student’s experiences and assessment test results based on experiments conducted so far

Transforming classroom practices through teachers' learning of TPACK: The case of in-service teachers at Kibasila Secondary School in Tanzania

This study investigated the extent to which teachers’ learning of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has an impact on their technology use and classroom practices. The study involved 12 in-service teachers and 40 students from Kibasila secondary school in Tanzania. During the study, teachers participated in training about TPACK and in teacher design teams they designed technology-enhanced Biology, Chemistry and Physics lessons. Data were collected through a teacher questionnaire, an observation checklist, student questionnaire and a teacher interview. Results showed that after learning TPACK, teachers’ classroom practices shifted from teacher-centered approach to learner-centered approaches that utilize technology. Students' interest on the lessons was also enhanced. In addition, there was an increase in the interaction between students and teachers during the classroom session. Given these findings, we concluded that, teachers’ development of TPACK has an impact on the teachers' teaching approaches

Shortcomings of learning design approaches and a possible way out

Shifting away from traditional instructional design to younger research streams like personalized, workflow-based or collaborative e-learning, learning design (LD) has become an important issue in the field of technology-enhanced learning. Nevertheless, current LD approaches turn out to be rather unhandy or costly in teaching and research practice. In this paper, we discuss these shortcomings and propose an alternative solution approach which is based on a web application mashup, learner interactions, and a semantic layer for tool recommendations. As the evaluation of our first prototype is in progress, we can not highlight first experiences, but outline benefits and possible application scenarios in this position paper

Technology enhanced learning in 21st century mass higher education. Aspects of design, practice and strategy for a necessary step change

Modern day mass higher education presents challenges for both learners and teachers. Whilst digital resources, Web 2.0 technologies and online connectivity can add significantly to the learning opportunities of 21st century students, many cross programme Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) provisions remain collections of somewhat disconnected and basic materials. In its early development, organised e-learning has generally been the province of specialist programmes and individuals championing the new technologies. However along with the adoption of technology enhanced learning, there is a growing need to develop, design and embed more fundamental and far reaching strategic approaches that embrace the core of traditional university learning and teaching programmes. This paper focuses upon a large undergraduate core module and discusses the implications of a practice based case study which explored how traditional campus based undergraduate learning and teaching could be redesigned and enhanced by the addition of online technology and e-pedagogy. It considers aspects of both pedagogical and technological design and examines how a VLE can support learners and teaching teams. Findings showed that students were extremely positive about the mix of onsite and online learning. They saw anytime, anywhere access as fundamental, and valued the flexible access and collaborative opportunities offered by Web 2.0 and mobile resources. Considerable operational benefits arose in supporting teaching teams and student marks increased. Drawing upon lessons learned from practice, and feedback gained from students and teachers, the paper examines how the approach may inform future curriculum delivery and programme specification. It considers the contribution that blended learning may make in addressing the needs of 21st century learners in mass higher education, and reflects on the implications of the case study in terms of aspects of design, practice and strategy

LO -> LA: From a Learning Object centric view towards a Learning Activity perspective

This article argues why we must focus on the learning in e-learning. We hold a plea to rethink the current learning object centric paradigm in e-learning technology towards a more learning activity centric perspective on e-learning. After examining current needs in educational practice and the state-of-art in learning technology, we discuss the extent to which available specifications and LMS cater for these needs. We conclude that learning technology should be enhanced with a specification able to capture a larger and more innovative variety of new pedagogical approaches to learning. As a solution to this problem, we propose that the IMS Learning Design specification offers a more generic pedagogical framework to also enable more activity-based and collaborative learning designs for a large variety of approaches and domains

A framework for design engineering education in a global context

This paper presents a framework for teaching design engineering in a global context using innovative technologies to enable distributed teams to work together effectively across international and cultural boundaries. The DIDET Framework represents the findings of a 5-year project conducted by the University of Strathclyde, Stanford University and Olin College which enhanced student learning opportunities by enabling them to partake in global, team based design engineering projects, directly experiencing different cultural contexts and accessing a variety of digital information sources via a range of innovative technology. The use of innovative technology enabled the formalization of design knowledge within international student teams as did the methods that were developed for students to store, share and reuse information. Coaching methods were used by teaching staff to support distributed teams and evaluation work on relevant classes was carried out regularly to allow ongoing improvement of learning and teaching and show improvements in student learning. Major findings of the 5 year project include the requirement to overcome technological, pedagogical and cultural issues for successful eLearning implementations. The DIDET Framework encapsulates all the conclusions relating to design engineering in a global context. Each of the principles for effective distributed design learning is shown along with relevant findings and suggested metrics. The findings detailed in the paper were reached through a series of interventions in design engineering education at the collaborating institutions. Evaluation was carried out on an ongoing basis and fed back into project development, both on the pedagogical and the technological approaches

Learning Content and Software Evaluation and Personalisation Problems

The paper aims to analyse several scientific approaches how to evaluate, implement or choose learning content and software suitable for personalised users/learners needs. Learning objects metadata customisation method as well as the Method of multiple criteria evaluation and optimisation of learning software represented by the experts' additive utility function are analysed in more detail. The value of the experts' additive utility function depends on the learning software quality evaluation criteria, their ratings and weights. The Method is based on the software engineering Principle which claims that one should evaluate the learning software using the two different groups of quality evaluation criteria - `internal quality' criteria defining the general software quality aspects, and `quality in use' criteria defining software personalisation possibilities. The application of the Method and Principle for the evaluation and optimisation of learning software is innovative in technology enhanced learning theory and practice. Application of the method of the experts' (decision makers') subjectivity minimisation analysed in the paper is also a new aspect in technology enhanced learning science. All aforementioned approaches propose an efficient practical instrumentality how to evaluate, design or choose learning content and software suitable for personalised learners needs

“What do I need?” – evaluating learner perceptions of digital literacy skills development to inform enhancements to learning design

The ability to demonstrate digital literacy skills, defined by the European Commission as the confident and critical use of ICT for work, leisure, learning and communication, is a key requirement for graduates, demanded both by the UK Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and by employers. These skills enable learners in the current digital environment to engage effectively in study programmes, in the workplace and at home. The Open University’s Faculty of Health & Social Care (FH&SC), working closely with the OU Library, has evolved different approaches to digital literacy skills development using technology-enhanced learning and based on activities which are either ‘generic’ (usable by any FH&SC module) or are context-dependent and module-specific. The Evaluating Approaches to Developing Digital Literacy Skills (EADDLS) project explores learner perceptions of their digital literacy skills development in modules using different approaches, and considers the implications for learning design, including the pedagogical and resourcing implications of using generic versus customised activities. The project aims to identify design features which optimise learner engagement in skills activities, looking in particular at factors motivating learner engagement in skills development and at how design features (such as contextualisation of skills activities in terms of relevance to subject or working practice) influence learner perceptions and experiences of their skills development. This paper focuses on the initial analysis of qualitative data collected from interviews (n=18) across three modules. We reveal what skills learners value and why, and suggest features of learning design that may be important motivators. For example, learners with greater prior knowledge of a skill need to be able to easily identify which parts of an activity deal with skills they already have and which parts develop new skills