Best Practice in Designing Effective e-Courseware for Deployment with an LMS Partnership for Higher...
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Best Practice in Designing Effective e- Courseware for Deployment with an LMS Partnership for Higher Education in Africa: Education Technology Initiative www.oerafrica.org/technology
Best Practice in Designing Effective e-Courseware for Deployment with an LMS Partnership for Higher Education in Africa: Education Technology Initiative
Best Practice in Designing Effective e-Courseware for
Deployment with an LMS Partnership for Higher Education in Africa:
Education Technology Initiative www.oerafrica.org/technology
Slide 2
This is a debate and not a lecture so you need to share your
ideas of what constitutes Best Practice Product: A best practice
check list
Slide 3
Who is here? Have you experienced a course run on an LMS? Have
you designed a course for deployment through an LMS Have you
experienced a course (either electronic or not) that you felt
created an effective learning environment? Yes to any of these
means you qualify to contribute New to using LMS
---------------------------------------------- Experienced LMS
User
Slide 4
Consider this Moodle Example Lecturer divides his Moodle course
into sections (Topics or Temporal) Each section has a series of
links to various digitised lecture notes. e.g. lecture 1.doc
Occasionally if the lecturer is aware of a prescribed reading being
available in digital format then he uploads this or links to it if
it is on the Internet. The contact details (Room number and/or
phone number ) of a tutor or the lecturer are made available.
Obviously not ideal. So what then would we advise to create an
effective learning environment that exploits the power of the
LMS?
Slide 5
Best Practice Check List Technology should be used to support
not replace good teaching. If you understand good teaching then you
can use an LMS effectively Need to define what methodology we will
use to support learning only then can we effectively and
appropriately use the new technological tools Technology is like
the new chalk a tool to facilitate basic practice. It does not
replace serious planning and proper design: good content, learning
outcomes devised, clear objectives, etc. Technology should be used
if / where necessary. Inputs we generated during our discussion: 1
PEDAGOGY ISSUES
Slide 6
Best Practice Check List Training of lecturers in use of Moodle
and how to link good pedagogy to the available tools Templates can
be designed to support good teaching for those unfamiliar with the
technology or with good pedagogy Soft observation by colleagues can
support better use of available tools and encourage good pedagogy
We need to recognise that the use of an LMS is not a one-man show.
It involves a team. Content management expertise can support
subject matter experts in use of the most appropriate tools 2
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Slide 7
Best Practice Check List 3 POLICY A balance between staff
research and teaching responsibilities. In some instances, face to
face teaching is ranked higher than eLearning this could be
addressed by new (govt / institutional policy) Persuasion and
Policy: lecturers must perceive value in using new technologies if
they are to adopt. Technology deployment: We need to start from
where we are and be realistic about adoption rates. There needs to
be a linkage between use of interactive tools / uploading of
courses, to institutional recognition / reward systems
Slide 8
Best Practice Check List Continuous sensitization / awareness
building: lecturers need to believe that use of an LMS is actually
valuable and sometimes very exciting! Lecturers need to believe
that their students will be better equipped as a result of the
investment 4 SENSITIZATION
Slide 9
Best Practice Check List Print based learning? In areas where
connectivity is not ubiquitous, there are other creative uses for
technology. Linking with others (e.g. private sector) to overcome
challenges of funding and provide opportunities for students. 5
OTHER
Slide 10
Plan B These slides were created as an emergency Plan B if the
group was not forthcoming with ideas. They identify a completely
different set of ideas drawn from an instructional design
perspective. They are also worth reflecting on.
Slide 11
A Checklist Plan Instructional Design Instructional Design
Quality Assurance Quality Assurance Monitor... map thoroughly Use
ID elements to improve user performance Quality provides
credibility Check to see if course performs as envisaged
Slide 12
Plan / Map Plan Context: Audience and Access Course Outcomes /
Objectives Predominant Methodology e.g. Social Constructivism
Assessment Strategy Content / Curriculum Select Moodle Tools:
Forum, Chat, blogs etc Select Moodle Tools: E-docs, web pages etc
Select Moodle Quiz: Essay, Short Answer, MC, etc
Slide 13
Instructional Design Structure: Moodles Topic vs temporal
Activities Make Contextual: Case studies, Real world examples
Illustrative Devices Student Support Devices: Help Diversity Issues
e.g. gender Timing / Pacing Devices Select Moodle Tools: Forum,
Chat, blogs, quizzes, readings etc
Slide 14
Quality Assurance Nominate a Team Determine Criteria Insert
into Workflow
Slide 15
Monitoring & Evaluation Monitor User experience Staff
Teaching experience Student performance against course Outcomes /
Objectives Revise and improve courseware
Slide 16
Thanks
Slide 17
Nadeosa QA Example Materials are developed and reviewed in
terms of the following criteria: There are clearly laid out aims
and learning outcomes, and an explicit indication of study time
(notional study hours per section of the material) which allow
learners to adopt sensible study plans. The content and teaching
approach support learners in achieving the learning outcomes.
Learner-friendly introductions, linking and summarizing passages
motivate the learners and provide coherence to the materials. The
content of the course is accurate, up-to-date, relevant to aims and
outcomes, free of discrimination, and reflects awareness of the
multilingual and multicultural reality of South African society.
The language level of the materials is appropriate for the target
learners and the materials assist learners with the particular
difficulties that learning-through reading and learning at a
distance require. Care is taken to understand the contexts in which
learners live and work, as well as their prior knowledge and
experience. This knowledge is used in the design of the materials.
Back
Slide 18
Workflow Example Content Expert: Content Pack Moodle Course
Construction Q & A: Peer Review Content Edit Language Edit
Production: Lesson Programmer: Objects Student: Deployed Materials
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Back
