Designing for Distance Learning

 

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Digitised presentations

Depending on the subject matter, and on the lecturer, presentations can work well with an appropriate voice over. However, research suggests that displaying a video of the presenter's face distracts the audience from the intended content. It should also be noted that these materials are carefully constructed for an online audience - they are not simply recordings of a live lecture. Judicious editing is used to pace the materials, and an appropriate interface is provided allowing learners to pause, rewind and replay sections as required.

The danger of digitised presentations is that they reduce online instruction to a single, unidirectional flow of information. It's far too easy for passive learners to 'zone out' so you'll notice that this learning unit concludes with a set of questions prompting the learner to reflect. These aren't the one dimensional MCQs often found at the end of archetypal e-learning units. For those who take the time to respond, the feedback rewards them with additional information or further questions that hint a new lines of enquiry.


 
Last modified on 04-Oct-2010 16:31 | © 2010 All rights reserved