JISC

A selection of key documents and reports from the first phase of activities under the Designing for Learning theme of the e-Learning and Pedagogy programme have been highlighted (10th September 2004). A detailed overview of all the programme activities together with commentary on how the outcomes and recommendations from completed activities may be taken forward is contained in 'Designing for Learning: An update on the Pedagogy strand of the JISC eLearning programme'.

Work Package 1a 

A review of available approaches to modelling (e)learning, including key definitions and scoping of the proposed projects. Review: developing e-Learning Models for the JISC Practitioner Communities Helen Beetham Appendices to the Review

Work Package 1b

e-Learning Models desk study

This study carried out by Chimera: Institute of Socio-technical Innovation and Research, University of Essex under Professor Chris Fowler is now complete. The purpose of this study is to describe what is understood by effective practice in relation to e-learning; to identify and describe the range of models that inform the design and implementation of e-learning activities and to specify a planning tool to aid practitioners in their implementation of e-learning.

Review of e-learning theories,frameworks and models Terry Mayes & Sara de Freitas
This review is designed to inform practitioners, policy developers and other stakeholders who want to reflect more deeply upon their practice or gain a greater understanding about how theory and practice can be mapped together. This review reveals the pedagogic and pragmatic assumptions underlying a range of approaches to e-learning, classified into three broad areas. Proposes a principle of constructive alignment to ensure practice models are based on relevant theoretical frameworks.

Mapping Theory to Practice and Practice to Tool functionality based on the Practitioners’ perspective Chris Fowler & Terry Mayes
The study always planned to take a practitioner perspective and then explore the relationship between that perspective and existing theories (pedagogical , e-learning models etc), and existing resources (tools, technologies etc). The purpose of such mappings is to create theoretically grounded e-learning solutions as illustrated through a series of case studies. This report identifies key features of learning activity design and presents structured relations among these features in the form of (conceptually legitimate) exemplars or scenarios.

Assessing the relevance of the review of e-learning theories, frameworks and models and the mapping table to evaluators Martin Oliver
Describes possible applications of the previous two outcomes e.g. (Mayes and de Freitas) to provide criteria for evaluation and (Fowler and Mayes) to provide researchable hypotheses about the relations between different approaches and outcomes.

Assessing the relevance of the review of elearning theories, frameworks and models and the mapping table to designers John Scott
Outlines possible applications to design of learning systems and environments, with some reference to relevant standards.

Demonstrator for the e-learning plannng tool
Project specific glossary Chris Fowler
Learner-centred pedagogy: Individual differences between learners Terry Mayes

Work Package 2

Research study on the effectiveness of resources, tools and support services used by practitioners in designing and delivering elearning activities – Moving on practice
This study was carried out by University College London/Institute of Education under Dr Martin Oliver and is now complete. The aim of the project was to determine what kinds of outcome were most likely to be actually adopted and embedded into learning and teaching, as well as to identify and exploit existing resources.

A typology of effective interventions that support e-learning practice Rhona Sharpe
The typology presents a number of characteristics of effective interventions and illustrates how these characteristics might operate in the context of working with resources, individuals and groups or wider change. The typology is not intended to be a 'how to' guide. We suggest here that the kind or type of intervention (which might be a resource, tool, service or combination of all of these) is less important than the way it is generated and used. The typology is also used to cross-reference the other project documentation.

Representing practitioner experiences through Learning Design and Patterns Patrick McAndrew
Reviews the potential of the learning design specification and an alternative framework of architectural patters as means of representing practice, drawing on the findings of the project. A particular focus is on representing and sharing vocabularies.

The Effectiveness of Resources, Tools and Support Services used by Practitioners in Designing and Delivering e-Learning Activities: Final report,  Allison Littlejohn
This final report reviews the development of the typology, presents the outcomes of four reviews of different types of intervention in practice, outlines empirical work undertaken, and explains the recommendations. The typology and recommendations are included as appendices.

Work Package 4a

Review of Learning Design Tools – Supportive systems and tools
Sandy Britain, consultant to the e-Learning and Pedagogy strand, has carried out a review of current learning design tools. A working definition of learning design tools is: Computer-based tools that may be used by practitioners to support the planning, design, sequencing and/or orchestration of learning activities in a classroom, blended or distance elearning context.

The final report, A Review of Learning Design: Concept, Specifications and Tools S Britain, 2004
A related report,  A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of Virtual Learning Environments O Liber and S Britain, 2004

Work Package 4b

Case studies on Effective Practice with e-Learning – Illustrating effective practice
A series of case studies illustrating examples of  innovative and effective practice in relation to e-learning in the post-16 and HE communities has been produced. The case studies illustrate a range of different approaches to e-learning, and include examples from further education, higher education and adult and community learning. Using the six requirements identified in the Research study (Work package 2), the programme set out to provide case studies that were ‘usable, contextualised, adaptable, designed to support professional learning and owned by the communities that produced them’. The case studies needed to focus on the issues that are of relevance to learning design, i.e. those features identified in the elearning models project: learner roles and needs, available tools and resources, subject domain.

Effective practice with e-Learning publication The guide outlines some of the key implications of the 'designing for learning' outcomes for practitioners in the UK post-16 sector, illustrated with ten case studies in effective e-learning practice. To register your interest in receiving this publication, please email info@jisc.ac.uk.

Work package 4c

Evaluation of a Learning Design Tool (LAMS) by practitioners
Following the review of tools, which focused on basic functionality, an evaluation programme has been drawn up to investigate these tools in use. In the first instance this has focused on LAMS as the system at the most advanced stage of development, but it is hoped that the evaluation will uncover some general issues for learning design, and provide some generally applicable research tools. See more information together with the final evaluation report from the evaluation of LAMS. LAMS evaluation strategy Sarah Knight and Helen Beetham - Outlines the key research questions and range of approaches available for evaluating the effectiveness of the LAMS system as a prototype learning design tool.

Work Package 3b

Pedagogical Vocabularies project
Led by CETIS, the Vocabularies project has produced two reviews that will have important implications for the sharing of educational practice in the future. The first considers the range of vocabularies and taxonomies used for describing educational practice, while the second looks at the associated technologies and standards. Recommendations from this project will be used to direct future work in this area, in collaboration with JISC partners.