The document outlines strategies for designing and evaluating effective learning activities. It introduces the 7Cs framework for learning design, which involves conceptualizing a course vision, capturing resources, communicating activities, collaborating, considering outcomes and assessment, combining elements, and consolidating the design. Each step of the 7Cs process is described in detail. The document emphasizes the importance of aligning learning outcomes, teaching activities, and assessment. A variety of learning design tools and approaches are also presented, such as course mapping, activity profiling, storyboarding, and rubrics for evaluation.

1. Strategies for designing and evaluating
effective learning activities
Gráinne Conole
National
Teaching
Fellow 2012 Ascilite fellow 2012EDEN fellow 2013

2. Outline
• The importance of e-learning
• E-learning timeline and
emergent technologies
• E-Pedagogies
• Social media
• What is good learning?
• The 7Cs of Learning Design
– Designing Courses
– Evaluating Courses

3. Education 2020

4. E-Learning timeline
Multimediaresources
80s
TheWeb
93
LearningManagementSystems
95
OpenEducationalResources
01
Mobiledevices
98
Gamingtechnologies
00 Socialandparticipatorymedia04
Virtualworlds
05
E-booksandsmartdevices
MassiveOpenOnlineCourses
07 08
LearningDesign
99
Learningobjects
94
LearningAnalytics
10

5. Barriers to adoption
• Lack of digital literacy skills
• No reward for teaching
• Competition from other
providers
• Scaling innovation
• Democratisation

6. The importance of e-learning
• For learning
– Potential to support interaction, communication
and collaboration
– Developing digital literacy skills
– Promoting different pedagogical approaches
– Fostering creativity and innovation
– Connecting students beyond the formal course
• For life
– Preparing students for an uncertain future
– Improving employability opportunities
– Increased importance of technology in society

7. Digital landscapes
Open
Social
Distributed
Participatory Mass scale
Networked
Complex Dynamic

8. Facilitating learning
• Guidance and support
• Content and activities
• Communication and
collaboration
• Reflection and
demonstration
Learner
centred

9. Formal
Informal
Individual Social
Blended courses
DL+ social media
Trad. campus courses
DL courses
OER
xMOOCs
OER + Social media
cMOOCs
APEL
ePortforlios
OERu
Badges
Formal/informal landscape

10. A
Constructivist
Building on prior
knowledge
Task-orientated
Situative
Learning through
social interaction
Learning in context
Connectivist
Learning in a
networked
environment
E-pedagogies Mayes & De Freitas, 2004
Conole 2010
E-training
Drill & practice
Inquiry learning
Collective intelligence
Resource-based
Experiential,
Problem-based
Role play
Reflective &
dialogic learning,
Personalised
learning
Associative
Focus on individual
Learning through
association and
reinforcement

11. https://tinyurl.com/hotelproject

12. Pedagogical approaches Social media tools and approaches
Personalised learning The ability to adapt, customised and
personalise. Mix and match of tools, use of
RSS feeds and filters
Situated learning, experiential learning,
problem-based learning, scenario-based
learning, role play
Use of location-aware functionality,
immersive 3D-worlds,connection with
peers and experts via social networking
tools, scenario-based and authentic tasks in
virtual worlds, application of gaming
technologies for educational purposes
Inquiry-based learning, resource-based
learning
Tools to support user-generated content
and facilitating easy sharing/discussion,
media repositories (Flickr, YouTube, and
SlideShare), social bookmarking sites
(Delicious), digital repositories and tools
for content generation, use of search
engines, participation in distributed virtual
communities, use of folksonomies and
social book marking as mechanisms for
finding and organising resources

13. Pedagogical approaches Social media tools and approaches
Reflective and dialogic learning, peer
learning
Tools for fostering peer reflection such as
blogs and e-portfolios, commenting on
other learners’ blog posts, co-creation of
learning artefacts in wikis
Communities of Practice Use of social networking tools to
participate in communities of learning
and/or teaching
Scholarly practice and the sharing of
designs and good practice
Use of Web 2.0 technologies to participate
in a distributed network of educators and
researchers.
Use of blogs, Twitter and wikis to co-
create knowledge and understanding, to
critique practice, and to share professional
practice and resources

14. Activity: What’s your digital network?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/195492568/

15. My network

16. Useful sites
• You might like to explore the
following sites
– The EDUCAUSE 7 Things you
should know about… (pick on
technology and list the main
things you like)
– The AUTC Learning Design site
(pick one design and list the
main things you like)
– The CommonCraft videos (pick
one technology and list the
main things you like)
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/8805

17. Outline
• An overview of Learning Design
• Activities
– A1: How to ruin a course
– A2: Course Features
– A3: Resource audit
– A4: Course Map
– A5: Activity Profile
– A6 Constructive alignment
– A7: Story board
– A8: Evaluation Rubric
• Evaluation

18. The promise and the reality
New forms of interaction,
communication and
collaboration. Lots of free
resources
Not fully exploited
Bad pedagogies
Teachers don’t have the time
or the skills
https://www.alt.ac.uk/sites/alt.ac.uk/files/public/ALTsurvey%20for%20ETAG%202014.pdf

19. What is learning design? (1)
Guidance
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anonymouscollective/1899303123

20. What is learning design? (2)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/frawemedia/5187769740

21. What is learning design? (3)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10075621@N06/3810402230
Sharing

22. Learning Design
Shift from belief-based, implicit
approaches to design-based,
explicit approaches
Encourages reflective, scholarly
practices
Promotes sharing and discussion
Learning Design
A design-based approach to
creation and support of
courses
http://olds.ac.uk

23. http://www.larnacadeclaration.org/
• What is Learning Design?
• Teachers need help with making effective design
decisions that are pedagogically based and make
appropriate use of digital technologoies

24. The 7Cs of Learning Design
Conceptualise
Vision
CommunicateCreate ConsiderCollaborate
Activities
Combine
Synthesis
Consolidate
Implementation
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/oer/oers/beyond-distance-research-alliance/7Cs-toolkit

25. Conceptualise
• Vision for the course,
including:
– Why, who and what you want to
design
– The key principles and
pedagogical approaches
– The nature of the learners
Conceptualise
Course Features
Personas

26. Course features
• Pedagogical approaches
• Principles
• Guidance and support
• Content and activities
• Reflection and demonstration
• Communication and collaboration
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5950

27. Principles
Theory based Practice based Cultural
Aesthetics
Political
International Serendipitous Community based
Sustainable
Professional

28. Pedagogical
approaches
Inquiry based Problem based Case based
Dialogic
Situative
Vicarious Didactic Authentic
Constructivist
Collaborative

29. Guidance &
Support
Learning pathway Mentoring Peer support
Scaffolded
Study skills
Tutor directed Help desk Remedial support
Library support
Step by step

30. Content &
Activities
Brainstorming Concept mapping Annotation
Assimilative
Jigsaw
Aggregating
resources
Learner generated
content
Information
handling
Pyramid
Modeling

31. Reflection &
Demonstration
Diagnostic E-Assessment E-Portfolio
Formative
Summative
Peer feedback Vicarious Presentation
Reflective
Feed forward

32. Communication &
Collaboration
Structured debate Flash debate Group project
Group
aggregation
Group
presentation
Pair debate For/Against debate
Question &
Answer
Group project
Peer critique

33. Capture
• Finding and creating
interactive materials
– Undertaking a resource audit of
existing OER
– Planning for creation of
additional multimedia such as
interactive materials, podcasts
and videos
– Mechanism for enabling
learners to create their own
content
Capture
Resource Audit
Learner Generate
Content

34. Communicate
• Designing activities that foster
communication, such as:
– Looking at the affordances of
the use of different tools to
promote communication
– Designing for effective online
moderating
Communicate
Affordances
E-moderating

35. Collaborate
• Designing activities that foster
collaboration, such as:
– Looking at the affordances of
the use of different tools to
promote collaboration
– Using CSCL (collaborative)
Pedagogical Patterns such as
JIGSAW, Pyramid, etc.
Collaborate
Affordances
CSCL Ped.
Patterns

36. Consider
• Designing activities that foster
reflection
• Mapping Learning Outcomes
(LOs) to assessment
• Designing assessment
activities, including
– Diagnostic, formative,
summative assessment and
peer assessment
Collaborate
LOs/Assessment
Assessment
Ped. Patterns

37. Combine
• Combining the learning activities
into the following:
– Course View which provides a
holistic overview of the nature of
the course
– Activity profile showing the
amount of time learners are
spending on different types of
activities
– Storyboard: a temporal sequence
of activities mapped to resources
and tools
– Learning pathway: a temporal
sequence of the learning designs
Combine
Course View
Activity Profile
Storyboard
Learning Pathway

38. Consolidate
• Putting the completed design
into practice
– Implementation: in the classroom,
through a VLE or using a
specialised Learning Design tool
– Evaluation of the effectiveness of
the design
– Refinement based on the
evaluation findings
– Sharing with peers through social
media and specialised sites like
Cloudworks
Combine
Implementation
evaluation
Refinement
Sharing

39. The broader context:
The Larnaca Declaration
http://larnacadeclaration.org

40. The broader context: Integrated
Learning Design Environment (ILDE)
http://ilde.upf.edu/

41. Summary
• 7Cs – a new learning design framework.
– involves a range of conceptual representations of
courses
– evaluation indicates that the framework is
welcomed and that the conceptual designs enable
teachers to rethink their design practice to create
more engaging learning interventions for their
learners
– can also be used with learners, to give them an
indication of the nature of the courses they are
undertaking

42. A1: How to ruin a course
• List the ten ways in which technologies can
ruin a course
• Consider strategies to avoid these issues
Purpose: To consider the ways in which technologies can ruin a course
and creation of strategies to avoid these problems
E-tivity Rubric: hhttp://tinyurl.com/m3x32se

43. A2: Course Features
E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/CRpc5
Purpose: To consider the features you want to include in your
module/course, which will determine not only the look and feel of the
course, but also the nature of the learners’ experience.

44. A3: Resource audit
• E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/C31yv
Purpose: To identify which free resources (Open Educational Resources) to
include in your course/module, how much they need adapting and which
new resources you need to create.

45. A4: Course Map
E-tivity Rubric:http://goo.gl/Z5eu7
Purpose: To start mapping out your module/course, including your plans for
guidance and support, content and the learner experience, reflection and
demonstration, and communication and collaboration.

46. A5: Activity Profile
• E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/WMIzu
Purpose: To consider the balance of activity types that will be
included in your module/course.
Activity Profile Flash Widget

47. A6: Constructive alignment
Purpose: To consider the balance of activity types that will be
included in your module/course.
• Three aspects:
– Define the learning outcomes
– Select learning and teaching
activities likely to enable the
students to attain the
outcomes
– Assess the students'
outcomes and grade the
students learning

48. Constructive alignment
• Learners construct meaning from what they
do
• The teacher aligns the planned learning
activities with the learning outcomes
Biggs, 1999

50. Assessment
• Key driver for learning
• Four types
– Diagnostic
– Formative (tutor)
– Formative (peer)
– Summative

51. Viewpoints assessment cards
• Clarify good
performance
• Encourage time and
effort on task
• Deliver high quality
feedback
• Provide opportunities to
act on feedback

52. Viewpoints assessment cards
• Encourage interaction
and dialogue
• Develop self-assessment
and reflection
• Give assessment choice
• Encourage positive
motivational beliefs
• Inform and shape your
teaching

53. E-assessment
• Computer-marked
assessment for
Interactive feedback
• Reflective blogs
• E-portfolios
• Peer dialogue and
critique
• Personalisation of
learning
Effective practice with e-assessment

54. A7: Storyboard
E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/z1VON
Purpose: To develop a storyboard for your module/course in which
the learning outcomes are aligned with the assessment events, topics
(contents) and e-tivities.

55. Start End
Learning
Outcomes
LO1
LO2
LO3
LO4
Assessment LO1
LO2 LO3 LO4
Week 1
Topic 1
Week 2
Topic 2
Week 3
Topic 3
Week 4
Topic 4

56. A8: Rubrics for evaluation
Purpose: To devise a set of criteria for evaluating the success of the
design in a real learning context
• Brainstorming some criteria to evaluate the
success of the design in a real learning context
• Try and focus on measurable/observable things
• Think about what data collection you might use –
classroom observation, surveys, interviews
• Post its: Things I liked, room for improvement,
etc.
• Use the LTDI Evaluation Cookbook
– http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/ltdi/cookbook/

57. http://www.le.ac.uk/ili
http://www.slideshare.net/GrainneConole
grainne.conole@le.ac.uk
http://e4innovation.com
@gconole

58. • OULDI website
http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OULDI/
• Carpe Diem website
http://www.le.ac.uk/carpediem
• 7Cs OER page
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/oer/oers/beyond-
distance-research-alliance/7cs-workshop-resources
• Cloudworks http://cloudworks.ac.uk/
Useful sites and resources