This is the second post of four capturing my paper presented at the ALT Conference, 3-5 September 2019, Edinburgh (abstract, annotated slides, video recording). This section looks at the contradictions prevalent in designing MOOCs (massive open online courses) and expands upon the presentation with exploration of personalised learning. The first post explored learning design perspectives that influence … Continue reading Enabling professional development by letting go of the pedagogical paradigms: considering the role of learning design, data and research in my practice (part 2 – contradictions)
Tag: learning design
Reflections on image hotspot activities for retention and e-training packages
I gratefully received feedback from the learning technology community, via the ALT Members mailing list, on my previous post on the learning that takes place through image hotspot activities. As is typical, broader issues with online learning were touched upon that are worthy of follow up and reflection. What follows draws out further discussion on … Continue reading Reflections on image hotspot activities for retention and e-training packages
Learning through image hotspot activities
This article aims to explore the learning that takes place through image hotspot activities. The rationale for this is to assess the learning value of such activities, and considering their often inherent inaccessibility to disabled learners, what equivalent tasks may be provided. An image hotspot task comprises of an image where parts are clickable to … Continue reading Learning through image hotspot activities
Conversational thinking for online learning
In this article I propose that conversational thinking is an important skill to develop in online learners, to enable richer social learning experiences that move beyond contribution and consumption. Conversational thinking “Learning through discussion has value because it provides the motivation for each participant to articulate their concepts and ideas, defend them, reconsider them in … Continue reading Conversational thinking for online learning
MOOC design and retention impact factors
It is widely cited that MOOCs have poor retention rates, anywhere down to 5% of those who start the course may complete it to the end (Allione and Stein, 2016). On any other form of online or distance learning course, those figures would be a sign that the course was ineffective and not meeting the … Continue reading MOOC design and retention impact factors
Videos to support learning in MOOCs
In this article I consider why videos and other multimedia that enable narrative and storytelling are prevalent in the learning design of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). During the last #LTHEchat on hybrid learning spaces, there was a side-discussion on the significance of the internet and how it allows for new types of learning to occur within it … Continue reading Videos to support learning in MOOCs
A bad worker blames their tools – does the same apply to learning technology?
The old proverb ‘a bad workman blames his tools’ refers to an individual who, in doing something poorly, decides to blame the tool they have used rather than accept their own failings (OED definition). How many times have we (learning technologists) heard grumblings from colleagues and students (and indeed grumbled ourselves) at the inadequacies of … Continue reading A bad worker blames their tools – does the same apply to learning technology?
Digital capability in the curriculum: UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities
I recently attended the UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities conference, bringing together academic developers, learning technologists, IT trainers and information literacy specialists together to explore approaches to developing staff digital capabilities. In this post I look at the JISC Digital Capabilities framework and how it applies to learning and teaching. For a full summary of … Continue reading Digital capability in the curriculum: UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities
November 2015 – Work review
This month it’s flipping classrooms with a webinar on flipped learning pedagogy. I promoted the use of in-class technology to capture handwritten learning materials and create video learning resources. I also wrote up my top tips for creating videos for the flipped classroom teaching model. Flipping webinars I delivered the first of a two-part webinar … Continue reading November 2015 – Work review
Reflections: The scientific approach to teaching, Eric Mazur (ALT-C 2012)
For fear of not being able to understand my scribbled, hand-written notes a few months down the line, I have decided to write up my ALT-C experience on the blog again. This is my ‘processing’ method… read on, it’ll all make sense. This post is a brief summary of just a handful of the key points expressed by Eric Mazur, Professor of Physics at Harvard University, for the opening keynote at ALT-C 2012 in Manchester.
The scientific approach to teaching: Research as a basis for course design
Eric Mazur
Keynote, ALT-C 2012, 11 September 2012, Manchester, UK.