Creative Approaches to Online Learning Design

Creative Approaches to Online Learning Design

David Guralnick, Ph.D.Kaleidoscope Learning, Columbia University, & the International E-Learning Association

New York, NY, USA

A Well-Designed Learning Experience

The Goal:

Choose a U.S. state, and put together a scrapbook that describes, shows, and explains key facts about the state (from what the state bird is to the governmental agencies).

A Well-Designed Learning Experience

A Well-Designed Learning Experience

Project Logistics:

• 1 teacher, 15 students.

• Did have some budget (not a problem to pay

for stamps, supplies, long-distance telephone calls).

• Students were encouraged to talk with each other

about their projects.

A Well-Designed Learning Experience

Why Was This Project Assignment So

Successful?

Key Features:

• Learning by Doing

• One-on-One Coaching/Mentoring

• Collaboration with other students

→ Emotional connection to the project

A Contrasting Learning Experience

Memorizing the 12 Rules of Capitalization

• No realism or application

• A negative emotional connection

• No guarantee—or even reason to believe—that

people who memorized the rules could apply them.

Compelling Experiences:

Underlying Themes

Common Themes of Successful Learning Experiences

• Learning by doing

• One-on-one coaching/mentoring

• Collaboration with peers

• Learner choice

• Storytelling

• Personal impact and relevance

• Imagination and creativity

• Easy to see the connection between the

learning experience and real-life problems

→ Emotional connection to the experience

Taking Advantage of New Technologies

With the help of technology—learn-by-doing simulations,

virtual reality, augmented reality, holograms, artificial

intelligence techniques, and more—we can create learning

experiences that have these qualities but are accessible to

large numbers of people!

A Few Examples

A GAME-LIKE TRAINING SIMULATION FROM 1991!

A Course for Lawyers:

Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence

DEMONSTRATION

A Course for Lawyers:

Working with Survivors of Domestic Violence -

Another Activity

DEMONSTRATION

A Second Course for Lawyers:

Representing Domestic Violence Survivors in

Court

DEMONSTRATION

The CAMT Course:

Soft Skills for Maintenance Technicians

DEMONSTRATION

One More Course for Lawyers:

Time Management for Attorneys

DEMONSTRATION

Common Themes of Successful Learning Experiences:

Revisited

• Learning by doing

• One-on-one coaching/mentoring

• Collaboration with peers

• Learner choice

• Storytelling

• Personal impact and relevance

• Imagination and creativity

• Easy to see the connection between the learning experience

and real-life problems

→ Emotional connection to the experience

Using Technology to Create New

Learning Experiences

What’s Next?

To me, our goal is to reimagine education,

training, and performance via creative and

research-based uses of technology.

New technologies such as virtual reality (VR),

augmented reality (AR), holograms, and new

artificial intelligence (AI) techniques allow us

to create all sorts of new experiences!

Steve Jobs on Technology

“…technology alone is not enough.

It’s technology married with liberal

arts, married with the humanities

that yields us the result that makes

our hearts sing.”

--Steve Jobs

Thank You!

I’m happy to discuss any questions and comments!

David Guralnick, Ph.D.Kaleidoscope Learning

Columbia University

International E-Learning Association

New York, NY

david@davidguralnick.com

@dguralnick_IELA

www.davidguralnick.com

Kaleidoscope Learning: www.kaleidolearning.com

IELA: www.ielassoc.org

ICELW conference: www.icelw.org