E-Learning - Authoring, Instructional
Design and Teaching:
May 25th, 2001
By Paul Stacey
I
spend a lot of my time networking with learning
professionals - teachers, instructional designers, media
producers, instructors, trainers, managers and
administrators. Some of the most frequently asked
questions I get are:
How
do I acquire knowledge and skills in:
-
planning e-learning?
-
implementing e-learning?
-
authoring e-learning?
-
e-learning instructional design?
-
teaching effectively on-line?
Answering these
questions is no small task. Some are looking for a way
to raise general awareness, others to establish a common
baseline frame of reference, still others are looking to
acquire applied knowledge and skills.
I thought I'd devote
this entire column to providing some suggestions.
As a starting point I
urge you to become an online learner yourself. Take as
much e-learning yourself as you can. Appreciate the
experience as an end user, as a learner.
While taking
e-learning, ask yourself:
- What works and what doesn't work?
- What adds depth and meaning to e-learning?
- What creates intensity of engagement?
- What traditional teaching practices transfer to the
web?
- What new forms of learning are enabled using the web
- What e-learning attributes create sustained value?
I think you will find
that e-learning is a different experience than classroom
learning. Once you have some experience as an online
learner yourself, take what worked for you as an
e-learner and embed that in your practice.
Of
course that's not all. But that's a good place to start.
Private
sector adopters of e-learning are looking for speed to
market and want faster production and development of
content. Having purchased a Learning Management System
they want to get a rapid return on investment by
populating the system with content. Lacking the
necessary resources to design and develop a lot of
content themselves companies are seeking help from
external providers. Elliott Masie http://www.masie.com
suggests
an "e-learning foundry" capable of rapidly
pumping out quality content is a badly needed service in
the corporate sector.
For
those of you who are trainers in the corporate market
you might want to look at Elliott Masie's E-Skills for
Trainers - Teaching and Coaching In A Virtual Classroom.
http://www.masie.com/skills
Billed
as an E-Lab Seminar and Certificate Program this program
blends face-to-face classroom/lab work at the Masie eLab
in Saratoga Springs New York with online activities.
Tuition is $1795 U.S.
In the education
sector, K-12 through post secondary, the need for new
practitioner skills has hindered e-learning adoption and
effectiveness.
Professionals capable
of e-learning development, production and delivery are
in short supply. Skilled e-learning practitioners have
joined the skills shortage ranks.
The
Advisory Committee for Online Learning in their
"The E-Learning Evolution in Colleges and
Universities" released in Feb. 2001,
http://www.schoolnet.ca/mlg/sites/acol-ccael
call
for the creation of a Pan Canadian Online Learning
Service. This service would provide a comprehensive
suite of facilities, services and infrastructure. This
recommendation recognizes the need to build e-learning
capacity and critical mass.
On
a personal level I work as Director of Corporate
Education at the Technical University (TechBC)
http://www.techbc.ca.
One of the best examples of what I believe is required
is TechBC's own Mastering Educational Technology and
Learning (METL) program.
At
TechBC all courses are on-line. To do this effectively
requires significant new skills and practices. METL is a
14 week course dealing with basic elements of
educational technology and pedagogy as applied at TechBC.
Faculty and learning staff take it concurrent with their
first course development activities so it is immediately
applied.
Of
course its not just valuable for faculty. I took
TechBC's METL course last year and learned volumes,
including:
-
researching and licensing learning resources
- designing learning objectives, activities and
assessments
- managing educational technology projects
-
constructivism and product based learning
-
visual design for learning
-
interactive multimedia
-
cooperative learning
-
learner assessment techniques
-
moderating online conferences
TechBC
is starting to work on creating a version of this
program for external organizations.
Continuing
with a local orientation to what is available. Royal
Roads University in Victoria recently launched a Masters
degree in Distributed Learning. http://www.royalroads.ca/oll/madl
Targeted specifically to working adults Royal Road's
degree program The program takes two years to complete
and includes a three-week on-site residency, five
semesters of Internet-based distance learning, and a
major project, which demonstrates an understanding and
integration of the program competencies. Tuition is
$16,000 Cdn.
Tony
Bates at the University of British Columbia is a highly
respected expert in online learning and offers a series
of courses through UBC's Distance Education and
Technology Unit. See http://itesm.cstudies.ubc.ca/info.
A post graduate certificate in Technology Based
Distributed Learning is available including courses on:
-
Social Issues in Technology Based Distributed Learning
-
Planning and Managing Technology Based Distributed
Learning
-
Selecting and Using Technologies for Distributed
Learning
-
Developing, Designing and Delivering Technology Based
Distributed Learning
-
Research and Evaluation Issues in Technology Based
Distributed Learning
Tuition
is $695 Cdn./course.
Lucio
Teles and his Telestraining organization
http://www.telestraining.com
offers a series of online courses for professional
educators including D-Web - Designing, Developing, and
Delivering Web-Based Training (tuition $1200 Cdn.)
Athabasca
University in Alberta also has online Masters degree and
graduate diploma programs in Distance Education
(Technology). See http://cde.athabascau.ca
Jones
International University launched five online Masters
degree programs in e-learning in March 2001. See
http://www.jonesinternational.edu.
Specifically designed to meet the needs of working
professionals, the degree programs offered are: Research
and Assessment, Corporate Training and Knowledge
Management, Global Leadership and Administration,
Library and Resource Management, Technology and Design,
and a Generalist Master of Education. Jones also offers
professional certificate e-learning programs.
I
could go on and on but this is not intended to be a
comprehensive list. The underlying message is that there
are programs available (for a price) and an increasing
number of options. I'm trying to compile a reasonably
comprehensive listing of what is available so if you
know of a program or course I haven't mentioned please
send me an e-mail and let me know about it.
For
those of you local to Vancouver, TechBC is sponsoring,
with New Media BC, an E-Learning Special Interest Group
(SIG). This group organizes public events of interest to
those involved with e-learning and provides a forum for
networking and sharing among local e-learning
practitioners. The next meeting is Tuesday May 29th,
2001 and features several speakers talking about
Learning Communities. More information about this event
and the E-Learning SIG can be found on the New Media BC
web site at
http://www.newmediabc.com.
And
finally I'd like to mention the Global Educators Network
(GEN). http://www.vu.vlei.com
This
network is an online community aimed to encourage
educator exchange and the emergence of special interest
groups. GEN welcomes and encourages participation from
all educators, trainers, instructional designers,
students, administrators and researchers. Currently 950
participants from 42 countries are collaborating online.
I encourage you to join in the GEN seminars and best of
all its free.
Paul
Stacey is the Director of Corporate Education and
Training at the Technical University of British
Columbia, a long time education professional in the high
tech private sector, and an e-learner.
Contact: Paul
Stacey
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