Kapp Notes: How Long Does It Take to Develop One Hour of E-Learning-Updated for 2009
Updated ratios for developing e-learning at different levels of interactivity (with links to a few other surveys)
7 Invaluable Thoughts about Film Making That Applies to Instructional Designing too! | The Writers Gateway
Tips gleaned from the book "Directing the Story," applied to instructional design. Good ideas about storytelling and focusing on the audience.
The eLearning Coach » Blog Archive » 10 Qualities of the Ideal Instructional Designer
Recognizing that most instructional designers don't have a degree in the field, this post argues that it's less important for IDs to have a degree than to be "self-didacts" interested in learning about everything on their own. This also includes a list of 10 qualities of instructional designers.
5 Common Visual Design Mistakes - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Common visual design mistakes made by instructional designers, plus links and resources for further reading.
1. Not Considering the Impact of the Visual Design
2. Lack of Unity
3. Graphics Don’t Match
4. Confusing Use of Contrast
5. Misuse of Fonts
Here’s Why You Need an E-Learning Portfolio - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Benefits of a portfolio plus tips on what to include and what to do if everything you do is proprietary
Free e-Learning | MinuteBio
Directory of free online courses, sorted in categories including art, science, computers, and instructional design.
7 Tips for Better E-Learning Scenarios - The Rapid eLearning Blog
Mostly common sense type stuff if you've done scenarios before, but if you've never created them this is a good way to break it down so it seems more manageable
Role Models in Educational Technology on Ada Lovelace Day | Janet Clarey
Extensive list of women in educational technology, including many bloggers. A number of new names for me here.
AG09 - IDZone: Graphic Resources
Graphics and graphic design resources for instructional designers
How to Choose the Right Color Scheme for your e-Learning Project. | LearningChange, Intl - Performance Improvement, Facilitation Training, e-Learning + Instructional Design
Basic tips for color as a communication tool in e-learning
An absolutely riveting online course: Nine principles for excellence in web-based teaching
Not a whole lot new to me here, but a solid collection of principles to guide online facilitators. If you're looking for an introduction for facilitators or administrators who aren't familiar with online learning or don't really "get" why you can't just shovel face-to-face content into an LMS to have a great course, this would be a good way to help show what's required to go beyond the mediocrity typical of many online courses.
<h3>Principle 1: The online world is a medium unto itself. </h3>
<p>
The search for excellence begins with this principle: The online world is a medium unto itself (Carr-Chellman & Duchastel, 2000; Ellis & Hafner, 2003). It is not just another learning environment, like a separate classroom down the hall; it is a categorically different learning environment. There are vastly different dynamics in online versus on campus courses.</p>
Principle 2: In the online world content is a verb.
We are moving to a mode of learning that is less dependent on information acquisition and is more centered on a set of student tasks and assignments that make up the learning experiences that students will engage in, in order to meet the objectives of the course (Carr-Chellman & Duchastel, 2000). In the online world, content is a verb.
Principle 5: Sense of community and social presence are essential to online excellence.
Establishing a sense of community often signals movement to a deeper learning experience (Benfield, 2001). It is through sustained communication that participants construct meaning (Garrison, et al., 2000) and come to a more complete understanding of the content. Indeed it is through such interaction and through attending to the processes of learning and teaching (as opposed to attending only to content) that a deeper rather than a surface approach to learning is encouraged (Ramsden, 2003). Without this connection to the instructor and the other students, the course is little more than a series of exercises to be completed.
Principle 7: A great web interface will not save a poor course; but a poor web interface will destroy a potentially great course.
Principle 8: Excellence comes from ongoing assessment and refinement.
Concise writing is best for elearning » Making Change
A concise post pulling a bit of research where the lesson with the fewest words resulted in the most learning. Nice argument for keeping your e-learning short, although look at the original to see what they were actually studying in context (scientific processes with cause and effect, using visuals as well as text to explain).
Tutorials | elearninglive.com
The goal here is to create Flash tutorials specifically for instructional designers and e-learning developers. Right now there's only one tutorial (on creating a drag and drop activity using ActionScript 3.0), but he plans to add more over time.
In the Middle of the Curve: Deeper Instructional Design
Wendy Wickham's liveblogged notes from Clark Quinn's presentation on Deeper Instructional Design. Lots of ideas in this post--create models that actually help people understand the content and recognize patterns, pay attention to motivation and emotion, give learners the least they need to get them to do what's needed, create learner-centered objectives instead of designer-centered objectives, use stories and active practice.
We can't "create" learning<br>- We can design environments conducive to learning.<br>- We design learning experiences.
Don't design CONTENT, design EXPERIENCES<br>- Design the "Flow".<br>- Start bringing in emotions and the actions they take
Systems thinking and innovation | effectivedesign.org
Live blogged notes from AECT about systems thinking, innovation, and games for learning. Lots of side comments too, including some good connections to instructional design and getting too bogged down in multiple theories.
This is exactly what has happened to instructional design, and could by <a href="http://effectivedesign.org/2008/02/11/instructional-design-in-academia-where-theory-and-practice-rarely-meet/">why theory and practice don’t meet</a>. <strong>So much theory has been introduced that we can no longer see how instruction is actually designed.</strong> That’s why I think many times it has become easier for novice (in this case non-academically trained) designers can do it so often. They are not encumbered by the fog of theory.
How to Build Quick Elearning Demos for Your Portfolio « One-Stop Resource for Instructional Designing
Rupa discusses common reasons why instructional designers don't have work for a portfolio and suggests how to put together some quick demos in Captivate or Camtasia to show off your skills.
Main Articles: 'New Schemas for Mapping Pedagogies and Technologies', Ariadne Issue 56
Schemas for categorizing the use of pedagogies, learning theories, and technologies. For example, Table 1 maps learning theories (behaviorism, cognitive constructivism, social constructivism, and situated learning) against types of technologies. Online communication tools offer more potential for social constructivist interaction and joint construction of knowledge.
This article also suggests a way to map tool use along three dimensions:
- Individual - Social
- Information - Experience
- Passive - Active This isn't a simple framework where a single tool always is used the same way. Blogs can be more social or more based on individual reflection, and could be at different places in that framework depending on the actual learning activities.
» What Everyone Should Know About Working with Subject Matter Experts The Rapid eLearning Blog
Tips for working with SMEs:
- Don't expect SMEs to be experts at learning theory
- Present good examples of what you think will work
- Everyone is working for the organization's success
E-Learning Queen: The Best Way to Learn in an Online Course
Advice for online learners to get the most out of their courses. Includes cognitive, behavioral, and self-regulation strategies. Even though this is geared towards learners, instructional designers can also benefit from thinking about how to teach and model these strategies.
How long does it take to create learning? | Bryan Chapman
Basic ratios for developing learning content, from 34:1 for ILT to 750:1 for simulations. (That's 34 hours of development for 1 hour of instructor-led training.) Compiled from multiple Brandon Hall research reports.
Web-based Learning Design: Planning for Diversity
2002 summary of research on how diversity affects online learning, focusing especially on Hispanics. Includes differences in communication due to culture, including differences between different Hispanic populations (i.e., Mexico isn't the same as Guatemala). Also notes that Hispanics are often on the wrong side of the digital divide and may have less prior experience with technology, therefore exhibiting fewer characteristics of the net generation.
An Inclusive Approach to Online Learning Environments: Models and Resources (PDF)
22-page article on designing for diversity in online learning. Examines how cultural differences can affect learning and shares culturally inclusive instructional design models. Table 1 on page 6 compares high-context and low-context learning (such as how formal student-teacher relationships are).
Designing for Diversity Within Online Learning Environments
The author argues that constructivist learning environments where multiple perspectives are respected and there is no single "right "answer" are better for encouraging diversity. The ideas for instructional design for diversity are more theory-based than practice-based, but this has some interesting concepts.
"The major advantage of this learning model is that one of its key design goals is to encourage students to bring multiple perspectives to questions/cases/problems/issues and projects as part of their learning. This approach to learning views diversity as a strength to be exploited rather than a problem to be solved."
Clive on Learning: Three tiers in the content pyramid
Clive Shepherd revises his model for e-learning tiers, adding a bottom level of social learning technology to the tiers of rapid development and high-end e-learning. High-end e-learning is a top-down model; social learning is bottom up. He makes good points about these tiers serving different purposes; they compliment each other depending on the needs of a particular situation.
Professional designers should not feel threatened by this proliferation of content created by enthusiastic amateurs - the more experience people have with creating content for themselves, the more they will appreciate the skills the professionals bring to bear.
The Learning Circuits Blog: Big Questions
Master list for all of the Learning Circuits Big Questions, going back to October 2006
eLearn: In Depth Tutorials - Designing and Developing E-learning Projects: A Three-Tiered Approach
Breaks e-learning development into three categories according to complexity: bronze, silver, and platinum. Bronze projects are simple tasks like revisions that can often be done with rapid development. Silver projects might be converting face-to-face content to online or compliance training. Platinum projects are high-impact, resource-intensive projects, including academic courses.
Learning Visions: Essential Reading for Instructional Design?
Cammy Bean's reading list for instructional designers
TL Forum 2000: McLoughlin and Marshall - learner support in an online teaching environment
Scaffolding skills for learning online to support the development of lifelong learning skills. The authors identify 4 aspects of "learning to learn": articulation, self regulation, repertoir of learning strategies, and self-evaluation skills. Design principles to support these 4 component skills are covered.
Innovate: When the Medium Illustrates the Content: Exploiting the Unique Features of Online Communication
Case study of a course developed with 7 principles of effective online course design (from Chickering & Gamson). Explains how each of the principles was demonstrated and includes student evaluations of the course. Students felt the course was effective in teaching critical thinking skills and promoting student interaction, with many students rating it higher than face-to-face courses.
<li>encourages contact between students and faculty,</li><li>develops reciprocity and cooperation among students,</li><li>encourages active learning,</li><li>gives prompt feedback,</li><li>emphasizes time on task,</li><li>communicates high expectations, and</li><li>respects diverse talents and ways of learning.</li>
Students perceived the course as having the most impact on their critical thinking skills, with 87% rating the course as extremely or very useful in developing these capabilities
Overall, 79% of respondents felt that this totally online course was extremely or very useful in fostering student interaction, a principle of effective teaching that students often fear will be lacking in their online courses (Bullen 1998; Ward 1998).
Innovate: Online Teaching and Classroom Change: The Trans-Classroom Teacher in the Age of the Internet
Research on teachers doing both face-to-face and online teaching. 75% of the teachers said that teaching online improved their face-to-face teaching. Course design and communication changes were most common, but some teachers also added multimedia.