Learning Design bridging the gap Martin Weller James

Learning Design – bridging the gap Martin Weller & James Dalziel

Why are we excited? • Enthusiasm • Stickability • Ease of use • Communities that actually work

Web 2. 0 characteristics Technology User generated content Informal learning §Democracy §Bottom-up §Socially oriented §Web as platform §Harness collective intelligence §Perpetual beta

Higher education characteristics § Controlled technology § Us generated content § Accredited learning §We know best §Top down §Individual achievement §Review before release §Filtered intelligence §Aim for perfection

Implications • Technology – loosely coupled vs centralised VLE • User generated content – vs academic produced • Pedagogy – informal/community vs structured/didactic • Content and resources – new metrics, 3 rd party, new formats vs lectures, articles • Philosophy

The granularity of learning "For decades we've been buying albums. We thought it was for artistic reasons, but it was really because the economics of the physical world required it: Bundling songs into long-playing albums lowered the production, marketing, and distribution costs. . . As soon as music went digital, we learned that the natural unit of music is the track. " (Weinberger) • We think the course is the granularity for learning, but that may be a result of the economics of HE – place, accreditation, teaching • What if the natural granularity is much smaller – akin to a blog post or a twitter post? • Or at least varies for user/topic/need

The topography of formality • At the moment one or two big peaks then flat plains • Perhaps flatter • Lots of informal learning through social networking, • Then come together formal learning chunks • What we do as educators

Threat to HE • Content industries • i) Find ways of maintaining the publisher model, by managing the rights and use of content through a combination of technological and legal controls. • ii) Find new business models that give away content build and sell services around it.

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plus … • Social • Convenience • Guidance • Accreditation

What’s LD got to do with it? • Meno’s paradox – still offers structure and guidance • Granularity of learning – range of user generated sequences, e. g. blogs • Topography of formality – long tail • Cultural clash – allows both guidance and user input • Web 2. 0 quality – focus is on quality of learning experience, but different metrics will be required • Personalisation - not only the subject you want but the way of learning it.

We need. . • Tools to generate and share LDs • Motivation to share • Alternative accreditation methods • Critical mass • A flickr for learning design

Or. . • Is education/learning intrinsically different? • Should it hold out against 2. 0/user generated content “A few endorse Wikipedia heartily. This mystifies me. Education is not a matter of popularity or of convenience—it is a matter of learning, of knowledge gained the hard way, and of respect for the human record. A professor who encourages the use of Wikipedia is the intellectual equivalent of a dietician who recommends a steady diet of Big Macs with everything. ” Michael Gorman