Constructing Courses to Enhance Learning/Getting Started

Making a start
Getting started involves:
 * Becoming familiar with finding your way around this course on WikiEducator - think of these as your study guide or workbook for the course - there are five topics covered in the Course Modules. These are based on the five components of the ADDIE model - see if you can discover what they are.
 * Reading the relevant course outline.
 * Logging on to Moodle (Having trouble? Contact [mailto:polyit@op.ac.nz IT Support].
 * Adding an introduction to the Introductions thread on the 2013 Discussion forum on Moodle.
 * Finding the online classroom on Adobe Connect where realtime discussions will occur.

Have you met ADDIE?
Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate for designing great learner-centred courses using blended learning tools requires several stages:
 * A - an analysis of your learners and their context, and other stakeholder requirements;
 * D - an overview of the design (or re-design) linking learning outcomes with content, interactions, activities and assessments (pedagogy), and selecting appropriate technologies (technology);
 * D - planning the development of learning resources (content), activities, interactions and assessments;
 * I - setting out an implementation plan, taking into account resources (including personnel), timelines and milestones.
 * E - An evaluation plan to ascertain the effectiveness of your design.

In this model of educational design, formative evaluation can occur at different phases and summative evaluation occurs once the new design is implemented. This is explained in this resource: Using the addie model for effective pedagogical interventions. During the Design and Development phases, you may find OTARA: An elearning design learning design framework helpful. OTARA is an activity-centred design model and even though it was created specifically to scaffold design for eLearning, it is relevant for any type of course design. More on this later.....

If you are working in a higher education context, you are probably doing some of these things already. Hopefully, this course will help to enhance your knowledge about learning design, and you will find that you are part of a community that offers great support in learning and teaching.