Moving to distance using Moodle and e-learning

Tessa Welch and Greig Krull, CUEA, 24 November 2011

About Saide and OER Africa Mission•To increase equitable and meaningful access to knowledge, skills and learning through the adoption of open learning principles, distance education methods and appropriate use of technology in education. What we do•Promote open learning, quality distance education, open education resources and the appropriate use of technology in policy development across educational sectors;•Support programmes in sound and innovative course design, materials development, use of open education resources, learner support, management, and the use of technology, particularly for large scale provision;•Build knowledge about methods of opening learning in the African context through research, the development of resources, and the dissemination of information.

Moving to distance means…

Thinking through your curriculum again for a different target audience and a different learning context.Key questions:•What remains the same?•What changes?

An interesting point: the S A Higher Education Quality Committee requires reaccreditation of a programme when there is a shift in mode of delivery

Distance education

• Describes a collection of methods for the provision of structured learning which together avoid the need for learners to discover the curriculum by attending classes frequently at a central venue for long periods.

• It uses an appropriate combination of different learning resources as well as tutorial support (online or face to face), peer group discussion, and practical sessions.

Re-looking at the curriculum – participant comment

Approach to teaching and learning (traditional approach (chalk and talk? not harmonised?)Teaching and learning methods – adjusted for e-learning Learner profile External moderation of assessment (and curriculum)External evaluation of the programmeLearning outcomes need to be improved to capture vision 2030, and MDG, issues of education for sustainable development etc

The importance of understanding your target audience

A curriculum needs to be (see Terry Anderson)1.Learner (or learning) centred2.Knowledge centred 3.Assessment centred4.Community centredEverything flows from the first.

Activity on target audience.

Summary of implications for target audience

1. How are the teaching and learning methods affected by the target audience?

2. How is the assessment affected by the target audience?

3. How is the nature of the course materials affected by the target audience?

4. How is the choice of technology affected by the target audience?

Approach to teaching and learning

• Theory of learning underpinning materials – the same across modules? Different?

• When catering for higher education lecturers, have to consider the nature of learning in higher education, and model the kinds of learning that you would like the lecturers to encourage in their students.

Three (?) broad theories: what would the features of the teaching and learning methods and assessment be for each?

Behaviourism Social constructivism

Constructivism

Let’s look at one of your guides

• What’s the main theory of learning underpinning for example, ED 406 (Ethics, Education and Development) ?

• What is the evidence for your view?

How do these theories translate into designs for e-learning?

• Over to Greig

ProgrammeExit level outcomes

Module learning

outcomes

Module assessment

criteria

Module key learning tasks

Module key assessment

tasks

How do I know they can do this?

How do I know they can do this?

How do I know they can do this?

How do I know they can do this?

Bringing it all together: purpose, learning tasks and assessment