Practice Context/Course guide/Teaching approach

An important feature of this course is that it uses Open Educational Resources as the content basis for your studies. Open Educational Resources (OER) are digital materials that are freely available to educators, students and self/lifelong learners. OER are increasingly being integrated in open and distance education as they are not subjected to the same copyright constraints as other materials. Therefore, they are more accessible and freely available to most students.

Pedagogy of discovery
An important feature of this course is the course pedagogy.


 * Pedagogy means "the art, science, or profession of teaching" Merriam-Webster Dictionary

In Practice Context we use the ‘pedagogy of discovery’ (including self-discovery) to encourage a free-range learning approach. This approach includes self-directed content gathering and analysis rather than content that is pre-selected for you. This approach is deliberate in order to allow you to seek out information and areas of study of personal and direct interest or relevance to your own work context.

Each Unit and Topic within the Studydesk will guide you to explore relevant learning for your own work situation.

Learning Literacies in a Digital Age (LLiDA) “Framework of Frameworks”
The “Framework of Frameworks” is a cornerstone of the pedagogy in Practice Context. The LLiDA framework is represented in the table below. The Framework demonstrates the component competences you will develop throughout your studies, all of which are important skills required in the Digital Age. These competences include metacognition, academic practices and information literacy, communication and collaboration skills, media, ICT, digital and computer literacy, greater participation and engagement with citizenship, which enhances your professional role.


 * (Source: Beetham, Helen, McGill, Lou & Littlejohn, Allison 2009, Thriving in the 21st Century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age (LliDA project), The Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University. Accessed 22 August 2011, http://www.caledonianacademy.net/spaces/LLiDA/uploads/Main/LLiDAreportJune09.pdf.)

Shared Learning
While this all could seem a little daunting for some, please remember you will not be alone on your information seeking journey. You will have clear guidance through e-tivities (electronic/online activities) as to what types of information you are looking for. Formally enrolled learners will also have opportunities to share your findings with your fellow particiants and the course facilitator using asynchronous(online in your own time frame) discussions. Other opprtunites for sharing will be negotiated.

Conclusion
Upon successful completion of this course, not only will you know more about the dual role of a professional teriary educator and your own work context, but your online research skills will also have improved. You will be more adept at finding and evaluating digital information, thereby enhancing your digital literacy, but in the process, you will also be more skilled at evaluating the quality and reliability of that information.