Designing for effective e-learning

- feeding pedagogical research into practice

Gráinne ConoleUniversity of Southampton

Email: g.c.conole@soton.ac.uk

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: g.c.conole@soton.ac.uk

E-Learning symposium: pedagogy and practice,

14th December 2005