E-Learning Design and Concepts Marissa Tucker EDU 652 Instructional Design and Delivery Professor Lawrence September 14, 2015

What is E-Learning?  For many it is the idea of learning on a computer or some other sort of technological device such as a tablet or laptop.  Others think it is only what is learned while being connected to the internet  There are others who think it can be related to learning software or other learning resources  Who is correct?

Definition of e-learning  “E-Learning is the use of electronic technologies to create learning experiences” (Horton, 2012, p.1).

Varieties of E-Learning  Standalone Courses:  Courses taken along by one person with no professor and the course is self paced  Learning Games and simulations:  Games that lead to discovery through simulated activities that require exploration  Mobile Learning:  Any learning done while out in the world either on a smartphone or other mobile device

Varieties of E-Learning Cont.  Social Learning:  Learning through interaction with a community of learners and even experts. Things like blogging, wiki, and text messages are included in this type of learning  Virtual Classroom courses:  Courses structured like a classroom with reading assignments, discussions, and presentations. Synchronous online sessions and asynchronous are both a part of this type of learning

Design Perspectives  The key to e-learning more often than not is the instructional design  Poorly designed courses are typically the root cause for most issues related to courses that have failed to be successful  The most common errors in instructional design perspective include:  Trying to teach too much  Failing to teach what people really need  Omitting Supporting Objectives  Teaching what is easy to teach  Boring and Frustrating learners  Forcing people to learn in ways they find awkward and embarrassing (Horton, 2012)

Design Influences

Alignment of Learning Goals and Objectives  Learning Objectives are critical for effective e-learning  Learning objectives give the course designer a starting point to work from  “Good objectives focus efforts, reduce false starts, and cut waste enormously” (Horton, 2012, p. 16).  A good objective is Clear, Precise, and Worthy

Alignment of Learning Goals and Objectives Cont.  There are 6 types of objectives  Create  Decide  Do  Know  Believe  Feel  Knowing exactly what these objectives are looking for makes it that much easier to design the course and for the students to complete the work

Selection of Teaching Sequence  There are three main types of sequencing for the objectives  Bottom-up sequencing: This type of sequencing starts at the bottom with basic information and then builds upon it slowly with the final big picture at the end of the lesson  Top-down sequencing: This type of sequence gives the whole picture right from the get go and once that is complete it is up to the learner to determine what they want more information on and seek that information out  Sideways sequencing: This is a more self guided sequence where the learner determines his/her own path based on the initial information and where they want to go from there

Selection of Learning Activities  There are three types of learning activities:  Absorb activities  Read, watch, and listen  Readings, Field Trips, Presentations  Do activities  Exercise, experiment, and discover  Practice, Discovery activities, games  Connect activities  Link to prior learning, to work, and to life  Job aids, stories by the learner, ponder activities (Horton, 2012, p. 54)

Ethical Responsibilities  When working with technology it is important to make sure that everything being used is done so with Fair Use  All technology should have the proper copyright information and nothing should be used that is not allowed to be used.  All sources should be cited including media, photos, and soundbites  To prevent information from being used illegally it is better to not use something if the citation is not known  There are somethings that can be used without citation but those things are typically clearly marked.

References  Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.