Get back to basics

When faced with designing online learning objects, teachers can sometimes feel daunted and overwhelmed  by what seems a foreign and unfamiliar medium for instruction.  We sometimes allow the seeming complexity and newness of a novel medium to make us forget what we already know about being effective teachers!  "Oh my gosh, it's a computer... I must have to do things differently!" is a thought that passes through many of our minds.

The fact is however, that this need not be the case.  The same principles that drive effective lesson planning and delivery in the "real" world work just as well in the "virtual" world. Millennia of teaching practice and precedent back this up!

50,000 years of instructional design can't be wrong

From the dawn of human history people have been learning in roughly the same ways.  Parents apply these steps without thinking about it, mentors do the same. Even if you change the words for these notions, the practices remain the same. We may change the order of the steps (if we want to get published :-) ) or elaborate the steps somewhat, but the basic picture remains constant.

1. Show them
2. Tell them
3. Let them practice
4. Repeat

What works on the ground ought to work on screen

If you are looking for some words to reassure yourself when you are trying to build a good online learning experience for your learners just tell yourself "what works on the ground should work on screen". 
Forget for the moment that you are building something on the computer, and remind yourself that you are delivering a lesson as usual.  The computer just happens to be another medium that facilitates learning.  Focus on the "IC" in ICT (Information & Communication Technology) and you will get right into the familiar rhythm of planning and delivering a lesson.  Contrary to what Marshall McLuhan suggested, the medium is not the message when it comes to online learning, it is just the medium. 

A good plan leads to a good lesson

In the virtual world of online learning as in the real world, a good lesson plan, backed by well considered instructional design will be more effective than the contrary.  When you are planning and building a screen-based lesson, approach it the same way you would a lesson delivered in the bricks and mortar world of the physical classroom.   As always, you need to answer a few simple questions.

• What are the teaching goals and learning objectives of the lesson? 
• What can you assume about prior learning? What problems can you anticipate? 
• How are you going to present the content?
• Will any language be difficult for the learners?
• How will you order and present the instructions? 
• How will you monitor student participation and learning? 
• How will you evaluate the learning?

You can add or remove questions from this list, but you should you get the point by now! :-)

Don't re-invent the wheel

It bears repeating that what works in the familiar world of real world teaching should work in the virtual world.  For that reason you should always look to transfer effective lessons from the former to the latter.  If you have a terrific lesson, unit, set of plans, etc. consider it for transfer to the screen.
If you do this you will have answered 3 out of the 3 big questions you need to answer for the construction of any lesson:
Who is the target audience?
What are they going to learn?
How will I make that happen?
All you will be left with is how to get that content onto the screen... which is a more technical process than anything.  Don't forget that there are many, many people we work with, thousands of books, tens of thousands of online tutorials and millions of web pages to help us with that part!

 

Work smarter, not harder

By remembering who, what and how to teach we avoid needless stress and duplication when we design and build screen-based learning experiences for our students.  It's all about using the technology as a tool to get a job we are already comfortable with done more efficiently.

There is nothing new under the sun

Just as effective instructional design ensures an effective learning experience in both the physical and virtual worlds, so too do people learn in the same ways both off screen and on.

How people learn

There are only so many ways that people learn. Most, if not all of these can be transferred, in one form or another, to the screen. Here are just a few practical ways to help learners learn their own way online.

Listening

Web-casts, case-studies, online conferences, podcasts and video-conferences are just some of the ways to promote learning through listening.

Seeking advice

To help your learners seek advice use discussion forums, chat, collaborative webcasts and even collaborative software such as Microsoft OneNote.

Reading

Presentation sequences (e.g. PowerPoint), online screen sequences, e-books, virtual libraries and web- based text are just a few of the ways to present reading content online.

Watching

Webcasts, presentation sequences, video clips, screen videos (e.g.. Camtasia), video podcasts, electronic whiteboard (either via smart boards or tablet PCs projected via wifi projectors), and screen sharing software help students learn by watching.

Exemplars

To provide exemplars build a virtual museum, hold on online conference, do a virtual field trip or conduct a group critique.

Critiques

Discussion forums (especially with graphics and e- mail notification of replies to posts), mentoring and group critiques are quite effective here.

Modeling behavior

Bring in a guest lecturer for a webcast or video- conference, do case-studies, do role-plays, online simulations, set up learning games.

Exploring

Webquests, guided tours, simulations, learning games, virtual laboratories, explorative tutorials and brainstorming activities can all help learners explore and build knowledge.

Discussing ideas

Discussion forums, chat sessions and other collaborative tools, list serves and e-mail exchange can all foster the discussion process.

Practicing skills and abilities

Use simulations, learning games, role-playing, virtual laboratories and procedure lists to help learners practice.

Memorizing

Drill-and-practice activities such as on screen flash cards, word searches as well as presentation sequences can assist the memorization process.

Conducting research

Webquests, scavenger hunts and guided research/analysis in addition to case-studies and exploratory tutorials can all help your learner's research efforts.

If you can teach in the real world the virtual world is your oyster!

Experienced teachers hold a tremendous advantage when it comes to designing on screen learning experiences (learning objects):  they already know how to teach!  As long as you remember that, the rest should fall into place when you set up your on screen lessons!