Instructional Design
Initial curriculum and course maps may literally be a brainstorm of disparate ideas. As the vision for a course module develops, course maps are refined by the instructional strategies that best fit the lecturer's teaching style and the subject matter to be taught.
The task is to identify not just what the lecturer teaches but also how they do so. Finding ways to articulate their teaching style ensures that they retain an important sense of ownership. The best online courses are run by teaching staff who feel comfortable with their materials. If they engage with their course, so will their students.
My role involves suggesting ideas, showing the lecturer examples of previously successful activities, and reassuring them that an online course can be just as rewarding as a face to face one.
Communities of learning
The discussions that students have in lectures or seminars, and amongst themselves in cafes and corridors, is often where a more profound understanding of a topic takes shape. An effective online course will foster this peer learning community in just the same way as any other course. Using online debates, asking students to comment on, or grade, each other's work, setting-up group tasks, are all strategies that are useful in achieving this.
Just in time information
The worst e-learning is often nothing more than a click-through information dump during which a learner is asked to memorise a set of facts or instructions.
By comparison, the best activities are informed by problem-based learning principles that encourage learners to find the information they need, as they need it, and allows them to put into practice what they have learned - ideally within the context of a true to life scenario.
An e-Learning Toolkit
I often use the following toolkit as a way to inspire lecturers to find creative ways of re-authoring existing materials into more interactive and ideally problem-based activities. By mapping different activity types to an instructional model known by the acronym 'iCare' I am able to encourage academics to structure and extend their teaching in ways they may not have previously considered.
Informed by these principles, each of the units previously defined in the curriculum and course maps can be further tailored to promote active student participation, encouraging them to learn through activity and practice. This model requires learners not just to take on board new information but also to apply this knowledge in ways that makes the subject meaningful and relevant to real-world scenarios.
It is important to realise that any instructional design strategy should not limit or hinder the course team's aspiration to create meaningful and effective materials. In practice, a learning unit may use multiple instances of each of the iCare stages, allowing the learner to absorb, use and reflect on information, both building on prior knowledge and preparing them for later units.
