eLearning
Have You Gone Organic?
Emerging design paradigms for online courses mean open,
authentic, and customized learning experiences. Are you ready?
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION technologies
have helped bring on an evolution (dare we say revolution?)
in the instructional design process by providing tools to create
open, authentic, and learner-customized experiences.
This means that new challenges are facing technology leaders
in how they ensure their IT infrastructure supports this
emerging "organic" paradigm for eLearning courses.
The assumptions that have guided traditional course
design in the past-- analyze, design, develop, implement,
and evaluate, known as the ADDIE process-- need to be
updated. Learners today are more hands-on and engaged;
content for personalized learning is now much more accessible;
a wealth of resources and communication tools are
now literally at everyone's fingertips (check out the Top 100
Tools for eLearning).
Linear learning experiences won't satisfy these learners,
nor will they leverage the powers of new technologies
available to higher education.
An organic design process acknowledges the sea
change that has occurred in learners and their tools, and
allows us to create and support learning experiences that
make the most of the serendipitous intersection of immersive
learners, faculty open to experimentation, the challenges
of learning outcomes, and the characteristics of
the technologies available.
What are the hallmarks of organic courses that you
should be aware of as you build the infrastructure and
choose the tools to support your online programs? Some
of the characteristics are: flexible course structures; open
and authentic content within expansive content repositories;
learner-generated content; and customized and personalized
learning experiences. The chart below summarizes
the most important differences between a classic
and organic instructional design approach and some of
the eLearning strategies and tools that enable organic
learning experiences. You may find it useful to refer to this
chart as you build your eLearning programs to empower
your faculty and students to go organic.
| CLASSIC AND ORGANIC COURSE DESIGNS WITH eLEARNING STRATEGIES AND TOOLS |
| |
Classic Instructional Design |
Organic Instructional Design |
eLearning Strategies and Tools for Organic Design |
| Course Structure |
Well-defined, but fairly rigid
with little planned variability
for learners |
Well-defined, but flexible and
open to accommodate learner's
specific goals |
Learners personalize goals in a discussion forum
or blog; faculty provide mentoring and coaching
with text, voice, and synchronous meetings. |
| Content |
Core concepts with a set of defined
content resources; may have some
authentic and interactive content |
Core concepts with flexible and customized
choices of resources including wide range
of authentic and interactive content |
Learners identify content resources that best fit
their goals in shared reflective assignments, using
tools such as discussion forums, VoiceThreads,
podcasts, blogs, and wikis. Content needs to be
integrated and accessible to all learners. |
| Learners |
Designed for anticipated set of learners
using planned resources |
Designed for anticipated learners with
choices for customization, including learner-generated
content |
Learners choose from formats to demonstrate
"evidences of learning." Tools include podcasts,
synchronous presentations, and social networking
tools with integration into grading and ePortfolio apps. |
Environment/
Technologies |
Defined set of tools and technologies for
specific course community |
Constantly evolving set of tools and
technologies accommodating outreach to
many communities and audiences |
Learners and faculty welcome participation by
external experts and interested parties. Participation
needs to be seamlessly accommodated while
maintaining appropriate security. |
