Designing e-learning: Instructional Design Essentials

1. Chapter 1 Designing e-learning

2. What is instructional design? includes • Goals • Teaching strategies • Content • Technology choices

3. 1- Identify your main goals A broad learning outcome students will acquire at the end of the course. The goal aims at providing a good overview about the course. However, the goal must be realistic and achievable , but is not usually measurable. ETEC 551 goals • Locate and evaluate online tools for educators • Use online tools to teach and communicate • Evaluate online courses using e-learning principles

4. 2-Analyze learners’ need • Motivation for learning • Psychomotor skills • Attitude and mindset (dispositions) • Mental discipline (logical thinking) • Communication skills • Social skills • Talents and intelligences • Media preferences • Background knowledge and experience • Learning conditions • Locus of control (they can control events affecting them) • Style of prior education • Digital fluency

5. 3-Identify what to teach • Identify essentials (curriculum and standards) • Analyze the gap between real and ideal performance (what they need for their future job) - [Design for how People Learn] • Analyze How people learn (learning theories) Telling Ain't Training • Ask “those who should know” (best practices – online resources BUT don’t blindly copy) • Analyze critical incidents (academic failures) • Don’t let the “content committee” decide (don’t blindly follow them. Rely on your own experience and abilities)

6. 4- Set learning objectives Very important (from objectives we identify prerequisites, learning activities, and tests) • Poor = The student will understand the concept of the Derivative. • Excellent= Given 4 theorems that he/she has never seen, the student will formulate a proof for each theorem by drawing on elements from previous sources and will rate them together to form a pattern proof—with 80% accuracy.

7. Primary and secondary objectives Primary • Do (performing a procedure without having to make decisions, procedures could be mental or physical) • Decide (Accept/Reject- How many- How much- which one - going beyond following procedures / making judgment) • Create(has to be original; not from scratch; could be an object, a concept, a plan) Secondary • Know (recall, knowing how to find, knowing how things work) • Believe (the learner is convinced that…) • Feel (how students will feel about…)

8. Compare with Bloom’s • Remember = Know • Understand = Know • Apply = Do , Believe • Analyze = Decide • Evaluate = Decide • Create = Create • Affective Domain = Feel

9. 6- Pick the approach to meet each objectivechapters 2-4 • Standalone e-learning • Games and simulations • Virtual-classroom e-learning • Physical-classroom learning • Coaching (mentoring-tutoring) • Referring to learning resources • Searching online resources • Interacting with a social network • Letting learners find the solution on their own • Changing external factors (what do we need to do to make it work) • Blending if necessary

10. 7- Decide the teaching sequence of your objectives • Bottom up (teach basics first then show the whole picture) • Top down (show the whole picture first, then teach details) • Sideways (learners choose how to start and continue)

11. 8- Create objects to accomplish objectives A learning object is a chunk of electronic content that can be accessed individually and that completely accomplishes a single learning objective and can prove it.

12. A- Create Tests • Tests clarify the objectives • You can use tests to pre-test learners • Test is the best guide to designing learning activities • Tests can serve as learning activity • Tests can guide you in the development of content

13. B- Select learning activities

14. Select learning activities To accomplish learning objectives, we typically require 3 types of learning activities: • Absorb • Do • Connect

15. “Absorb” activities • Reading text • Watching video • Listening to narration Learner is physically passive but mentally active

16. Examples of Absorb • Presentations • Readings • Stories by the teacher • Field trips

17. “Do” activities • Practice a procedure • Play a game • Answer questions • Group Discussions The learner practices, explores, and discovers

18. “Connect” activities Connect what they are learning to their work, their lives, and their prior knowledge

19. Examples of Connect • Ponder (stop and think about the subject more broadly and deeply) • Questioning (let learners ask questions and obtain answers to their individual questions) • Stories told by students (requires learners to share their experiences) • Job aids (checklists, manuals, glossaries, calculators, templates, models) • Research (identify learning resources on their own)

20. Choose Media • Each object may require a different mix of text, graphics, sound, voice, music, animation, and video. • What medium is essential to accomplish my objective? • What medium could you not do without?

21. General Steps • Identify your main goals (Goals of the course- based on standards, curriculum- ) • Analyze learners’ need (what type of students?) • Identify what to teach (based on your experience and #1) • Set learning objectives (Goals of the lesson- more specific than goals) • Identify prerequisites • Pick the approach to meet each objective (general approach for each objective (e,g,. Group/individual Written/practical active/passive ) • Decide the teaching sequence of your objectives • Create objects to accomplish objectives • Create tests • Select learning activities • Choose media