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ALT’s definition of learning technology is "the broad range of communication, information and related technologies that can be used to support learning, teaching, and assessment." In my experience, this broad range can be divided into three realms:
Assistive technology – tools for screen reading, voice dictation, mindmapping and the like. I am not focusing on this as my experience with campus students is from several years ago, but in section 3a I will note that it was invaluable for understanding accessibility issues in online learning.
Technology-enhanced learning tools – VLEs, webinar software, e-portfolio systems, online submission and marking, etc.
Learning content creation tools for creating the material that sits within a VLE – interactive e-learning, videos, audio recordings, presentations, ebooks, reading material, etc.
I have been privileged to work in the Online Education department at UCEM which employs a range of this technology. It has an established Moodle platform which I administer and publish materials to, and which includes plugins for webinars (Blackboard Collaborate) and online coursework submission (Turnitin); I also currently manage the Online Academy’s commercial LMS platform based on Wordpress and Moodle. In addition I have industry standard creative and authoring tools including the full Adobe Creative Suite, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, TechSmith Camtasia and SnagIt. I have access to a dedicated studio full of A/V equipment including professional video cameras, lighting, a green screen, a 360 degree video camera, an autocue, Zoom microphones, and DSLR cameras. I have learned and used almost all this equipment while developing courses over the last few years, but having such a wide range of tools at my disposal has meant I have learned to be discerning.
In this section I will discuss the benefits and constraints of common types of learning content I have used at UCEM and their value for learning. As an Instructional Designer I have found tutors have very different expectations when it comes to content. I have known some to want something “whizzy” in their course primarily to liven it up rather than because of a perceived educational benefit, but I always argue that the message is more important than the medium. If I’m not convinced that there is an educational benefit to a particular format or resource type then I will recommend an alternative. On the other hand, I have found some tutors have felt unable to change their methods of teaching due to tradition and “technological determinism” – a prime example of this is the study paper.
A limited number of these papers are still in use. The CAO project aims to phase out passive learning and behaviourist/instructivist approaches to teaching in favour of a mix of methods aimed at more active learning. This has been done on a module-by-module basis and led by instructional designers, so after I took on this role in 2015, I faced occasional resistance from tutors who had been used to delivering most of their teaching in this method. I realised change would be difficult for some tutors who already felt overloaded, so I aimed to make the transition as painless as possible by preparing the following sheet to inform my discussions with the tutors I was paired with. I found examples of replacement activities, and in my meetings I was happy to explain how I could help to rework material into new formats.
Study paper replacement suggestions
Study papers had some benefits but they paled in comparison to the constraints. They were usually long, detailed and thorough, and they could be easily published in both HTML format for web and PDF format for printing.
In addition, we used to convert them for ebook readers; I wrote extensive custom CSS to ensure that the papers could be reproduced accurately in standard epub and mobi formats for ebook readers including Kindles:
Study papers converted into an ebook
Downloadable ebook versions of study papers
The conversion was done using an open-source tool, Calibre. The move away from study papers means these ebook versions are no longer updated, but arguably Moodle pages and Moodle books are just as readable. They are certainly more accessible for students who use screen readers or other text-to-speech software, as there is no additional file format or extra device involved.
I now see the failures of study papers more clearly. The last new paper was produced in 2017, and they were very time-intensive to create. They were painstakingly coded in Docbook XML, and the slightest coding mistake would cause our single-source publishing tool to refuse to publish the output in any format. Often, they covered too much, with too much irrelevant information for the module they were included in, and the problem was compounded if insufficient instructions were given to students on what sections to read and why.
Here is an example of a study week in the 'Management of Construction' module with too many papers, and student feedback from that week complaining that there is too much reading.
Week with lots of study papers
Student feedback - too much reading in this week
Choosing a resource type
Choosing a resource type
From 2014 to 2018, academic modules have been developed by a Module Development Team in the months leading up to their release to students. This consists of the tutor/subject matter expert, Editor, Instructional Designer, and Content Developer, who all look after different aspects of the design and development. Meetings typically include all four members. When discussing ideas for resource types with other members of this team (for example, to replace a study paper or to create a new activity), I show them examples of how other activity types might work.
I regularly contribute to a test area on our Moodle that serves as a repository of template activities and resources, and a place for learning designers to experiment.
Test area in Moodle with sample resources
If a study paper is being replaced, I discuss with my tutor whether there is enough relevant content in the study paper to merit reusing some of the text. If so, and the content is genuinely suited to text format, I will replace it with a Moodle Book. This has multiple benefits over a study paper. It can have embedded media (images, video, audio), it can include hyperlinks to other VLE content, and as it is coded in HTML5, it is far simpler to code and update than the Docbook XML that study papers were written in, so it requires less specialist knowledge.
Here is an example of all this in practice.
I created this Moodle Book to replace the study paper shown earlier. The replacement is more visually appealing, with a clickable table of contents.
Study paper extracts recreated as a Moodle Book
In addition, there are various general considerations when deciding on a resource type:
As a learning designer I need to decide on the best tool to teach a particular idea (I will discuss this in detail in section 2a):
Would it benefit from interactivity? I can use an e-learning authoring tool.
Would it be suited to collaboration? A Moodle collaborative activity such as building a wiki might suit.
Whatever the content type might be, it must be a reusable learning object. All our learning content is stored in a large Sharepoint repository currently containing over 12,000 items, and resources are designed to be reusable in any place in any module so there should be no mentions of “last week”, “in week 9”, etc. This means that designers and tutors have a large library of content to construct topics from and as long as useful instructions are provided on why students should study a piece of material in the context of the module, it works well.
Rather than producing something from scratch, which is time-consuming:
Do we already have some content in another format that would prove a suitable replacement? Before starting a search I speak to our e-Library manager.
Is there existing material online we can link to and reference – for example, in peer-reviewed journals accessible for students via their Athens account?
Are there any freely reusable open educational resources that would be suitable in repositories like Merlot and OER Commons?
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