e-Learning by Design E-Book

William Horton

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 837

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Since the first edition of E-learning by Design, e-learning has evolved rapidly and fringe techniques have moved into the mainstream. Underlying and underwriting these changes in e-learning are advances in technology and changes in society. The second edition of the bestselling book E-Learning by Design offers a comprehensive look at the concepts and processes of developing, creating, and implementing a successful e-learning program. This practical, down-to-earth resource is filled with clear information and instruction without over simplification. The book helps instructors build customized e-learning programs from scratch--building on core principles of instructional design to: develop meaningful activities and lessons; create and administer online tests and assessments; design learning games and simulations; and implement an individualized program. "Every newcomer to the field will find this edition indispensable, while professionals will find much needed contemporary information to manage the rapid changes happening in our field. Even if you own the first edition, buy this update as soon as possible." --Michael W. Allen, CEO of Allen Interactions, Inc.; author, Michael Allen's e-Learning Library Series "Covers the full range of options for presenting learning materials online--including designing useful topics, engaging activities, and reliable tests--and it takes into account the realities and issues of today's instructional designers, such as social learning and mobile learning." --Saul Carliner, associate professor, Concordia University; author, The E-Learning Handbook "Horton nails it! Perfectly timed, robust, and practical, this second edition of brings together the latest strategies for learning without losing its critical premise--technology enables e-learning, but great design makes it work." --Marc J. Rosenberg, e-learning strategist; author, Beyond E-Learning "An e-learning encyclopedia loaded with detailed guidelines and examples ranging from basic instructional design techniques to the latest applications in games, social media, and mobile-learning. An essential reference for anyone involved in e-learning design, development, or evaluation" --Ruth Colvin Clark, author, e-Learning and the Science of Instruction

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Preface

Chapter 1: Designing e-learning

What is E-Learning?

What is E-Learning Design?

Design Quickly and Reliably

Then Redesign Again and Again

In Closing …

Chapter 2: Absorb-type activities

About Absorb Activities

Presentations

Readings

Stories by A Teacher

Field Trips

In Closing …

Chapter 3: Do-type activities

About Do Activities

Practice Activities

Discovery Activities

Games and Simulations

In Closing …

Chapter 4: Connect-type activities

About Connect Activities

Ponder Activities

Questioning Activities

Stories by Learners

Job Aids

Research Activities

Original-Work Activities

In Closing …

Chapter 5: Tests

Decide Why you are Testing

Measure Accomplishment of Objectives

Select the Right Type of “Question”

Write Effective Questions

Combine Questions Effectively

Give Significant Feedback

Advance Your Testing

Explain the Test

Consider Alternatives to Formal Tests

In Closing …

Chapter 6: Topics

What are Topics?

Design the Components of the Topic

Design Reusable Topics

Integrate Foreign Modules

In Closing …

Templates for Topics

Chapter 7: Games and simulations

Games and Simulations For Learning

Why Games?

Types of Learning Games

Design Games for Learning

Create A Micro-World

Specify the Details

Engage Learners

Teach Through Feedback

Progressively Challenge Learners

Manage Game Complexity

Simplify Learning the Game

Design Coached Task Simulations

Design Branching-Scenario Games

Use Games as E-Learning Courses

In Closing …

Chapter 8: Social learning

What is Social Learning?

How Do We “Design” Social Learning?

Decide Where and When to Use Social Learning

What Social Learning Requires

Patterns of Interaction

Social Capabilities of Software

Facilitate Rather than Teach

Grade Fairly in Social Learning

Extend Conventional Activities for Social Learning

Use Proven Social Activities

Encourage Meaningful Discussions

Promote Team Learning

In Closing …

Chapter 9: Mobile learning

What is Mobile Learning?

Start with Worthy Goals

Adapt Existing Learning for Mobile Learners

Use the Capabilities of the Device

Design for the Learner, Environment, and Device

Design Guidelines for Overcoming Limitations

Real Mobile Learning

Extend Conventional Activities for Mobile Learning

In Closing …

Chapter 10: Design for the virtual classroom

Create A Virtual Classroom

Select and Use Collaboration Tools

Conduct Online Meetings

Design Webinars

Design Virtual-Classroom Courses

In Closing …

Chapter 11: Conclusion

How We Will Learn

What has to Happen

Secrets of E-Learning Design

Just the Beginning

Appendix: Essentialism

Essential Essentialism

Set up the Test

Supervise the Test

Analyze Test Results

Make Testing Better

Recap: Master the Essentials of Essentialism

Index

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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All illustrations, except as otherwise noted, are copyright © 2010 by William Horton Consulting. All rights reserved.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Horton, William K. (William Kendall) E-learning by design / William Horton.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-470-90002-4 (pbk.) 1. Employees—Training of—Computer-assisted instruction. 2. Computer-assisted instruction—Design. I. Title. HF5549.5.T7H6357 2011 658.3’124040285—dc22 Book design and composition: William Horton Consulting, Inc.

Preface

What’s new in the 2nd edition?

I must confess that I am the kind of reader who skips over prefaces, acknowledgements, and other throat warming found at the fronts of books. If you are that kind of reader also, go ahead and jump to Chapter 1. It won’t hurt my feelings as an author. There are no great revelations here or secret confessions, only a brief description of what’s new in this edition and why.

What’s different about e-learning?

Since the first edition of E-learning by Design, e-learning has evolved rapidly and fringe techniques have moved into the mainstream. Revolutionaries have become bankers.

Underlying and underwriting these changes in e-learning are advances in technology and changes in society.

For one thing, learning games and simulations have gone from being treated as noisy children at a formal dinner to being the life of the party. Proven successes have earned games and simulations serious consideration by even the most conservative designers.

Our ability to search vast information repositories has become universal and commonplace. Many e-book outsell their paper counterparts. Public and private libraries and encyclopedias have grown in number and size. More reliable search engines have made online search a part of technological culture. Google is a verb.

Mechanisms for online collaboration have advanced as well. Name a subject and there is a discussion forum, blog, podcast, or news feed dedicated to it. Global conversations, enabled by social media, arise spontaneously and carom wildly. Politicians tap into these ad hoc discussions to sample the vox populi.

Out of this burst of online collaboration burst social networking. Its popularity has given us new technologies, new terminology, and new modes of learning. Well, not really. The technologies and terminology are new, but learning from others is among the most ancient and thoroughly proven modes of learning.

Mobile phones have taken on the functions previously offered by separate personal digital assistants and media players. They are as powerful as many of the laptop computers used for e-learning when the first edition premiered. Today’s smart phones are easy to use, rugged, and reliable. And potential learners have one with them all the time.

Some early forms of e-learning, such as virtual-classroom courses, Webinars, and software demonstrations (screencasts) have stabilized. Though they have not advanced in basic capabilities, they have become easier to produce and more predictable to take. They have entered the mainstream and are now helping to define it.

What’s new in this book?

To track the changes in technology and society, several sections have been promoted to full chapters. Please congratulate “Games and simulations,” “Social learning,” and “Mobile learning” on their expanded coverage and much-deserved emphasis. I have tried to avoid the common tendency to trivialize these subjects. I promise you that I do not define mobile learning as dumping desktop courses onto mobile devices or suggest that social learning is nothing more than telling students to ask their social network instead of asking the teacher.

As requested by readers of the first edition, I have fleshed out the instructional design scheme in the first chapter. I was glad to do so because my experience as a consultant, since the first edition, has taught me that most failures of e-learning projects can be traced back to flawed instructional design. I have added an appendix detailing a simple technique to determine what to teach and what to leave out.

Some chapters have moved online at horton.com/eld/. Chapters on designing lessons, strategic decisions that affect the whole course, visual design, and navigation are now online. That allows the paper portion to focus on issues of vital interest to all designers, especially first-line designers with direct responsibility for accomplishing specific learning objectives. The online chapters offer advanced skills and techniques for issues usually dealt with by senior designers and project leaders.

What else? Oh, I have put in new typos to replace the old ones, or at least to keep them company.

So, go on and start reading, skimming, scanning, or however you like to consume books. If you are reading this in a bookstore, go ahead and buy this book. Better still, buy two copies and give one to your boss.

Chapter 1

Designing e-learning

Planning the development of online learning

For tens of thousands of years, human beings have come together to learn and share knowledge. Until recently, we have had to come together at the same time and place. But today, computer and networking technologies have eliminated that requirement. Now anybody can learn anything anywhere at any time. And developers of education can deliver learning when needed, where needed, on any subject, in just the right amount, in the most effective format, and for not much money.

WHAT IS E-LEARNING?

E-learning marshals computer and network technologies to the task of education. Several definitions of e-learning are common. Some people hold that e-learning is limited to what takes place entirely within a Web browser without the need for other software or learning resources. Such a pure definition, though, leaves out many of the truly effective uses of related technologies for learning.

Definition of e-learning

There are a lot of complex definitions of e-learning, so I‘ll offer you a simple one:

E-learning is the use of electronic technologies to create learning experiences.

This definition is deliberately open-ended, allowing complete freedom as to how these experiences are formulated, organized, and created. Notice that this definition does not mention “courses,” for courses are just one way to package e-learning experiences. It also does not mention any particular authoring tool or management system.

Varieties of e-learning

E-learning comes in many forms. You may have taken one or two forms of e-learning, but have you considered them all? Here are some varieties of e-learning to consider:

Standalone courses: Courses taken by a solo learner. They are self-paced without interaction with a teacher or classmates. There are numerous examples of standalone courses cited in this book. Search the index for Using Gantt Charts, GALENA Slope Stability Analysis, and Vision and the Church. You can also go to the Web site for this book (horton.com/eld/) to find links to live examples.

Learning games and simulations: Learning by performing simulated activities that require exploration and lead to discoveries. We have devoted the whole of Chapter 7 to the discussion of games and simulations. Also go to horton.com/eld/ for links to live examples.

Mobile learning: Learning from the world while moving about in the world. Aided by mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablet devices, mobile learners participate in conventional classroom courses and standalone e-learning while out and about. They may also participate in activities where they learn by interacting with objects and people they encounter along the way. Mobile learning is discussed in Chapter 9.

Social learning: Learning through interaction with a community of experts and fellow learners. Communication among participants relies on social-networking media such as online discussions, blogging, and text-messaging. See Chapter 8 for advice on designing social learning.

Virtual-classroom courses: Online classes structured much like a classroom course, with reading assignments, presentations, discussions via forums and other social media, and homework. They may include synchronous online meetings. Read Chapter 10 for more on designing Webinars and virtual-classroom courses.

And that is just the start. As you read this, clever designers are creating even more forms of e-learning and blending mixtures of the types listed here.

WHAT IS E-LEARNING DESIGN?

E-learning can be the best learning possible — or the worst. It all depends on design.

Creating effective e-learning requires both design and development. They are not the same thing. Design is decision; development is construction. Design governs what we do; development governs how we carry out those decisions. Design involves judgment, compromise, tradeoff, and creativity. Design is the 1001 decisions, big and small, that affect the outcome of your e-learning project. This book is about design.

Start with good instructional design

Effective e-learning starts with sound instructional design. Instructional design requires selecting, organizing, and specifying the learning experiences necessary to teach somebody something. Good instructional design is independent of the technology or personnel used to create those learning experiences.

Apply just enough instructional design

Instructional design is a vast subject. This humble chapter cannot cover it all. What you will find in this chapter is a streamlined, rapid instructional-design method. It is simple, quick, informal, and pragmatic. Use it as your survival kit when you do not have time or money for more. Or, use it as a check on your longer, more formal process.

Before you fast-forward to another chapter with more screen snapshots and fewer diagrams, take a moment to reflect on this: Unless you get instructional design right, technology can only increase the speed and certainty of failure.

Instructional design determines everything else

Instructional design translates the high-level project goals to choices for technology, content, and everything else. The instructional design of e-learning informs decisions on what authoring tools, management systems, and other technologies to buy or license. Instructional design directs the development of content and the selection of media. It orchestrates decisions on budget, schedule, and other aspects of project development. So, design your instruction before buying technology or recruiting new staff members.

Good design can prevent common failures

I’ve done pedagogical autopsies on a lot of failed e-learning projects over the years and have seen clearly that most failures can be traced back to bad or non-existent instructional design. Such failures are often blamed on defective technology, inadequate budget, lack of time, or insufficient management support. But these causes are really secondary. The project ran out of time, money, and management patience because of common failures of instructional design, such as:

Trying to teach too much. Instead of being precisely targeted, objectives were a laundry list of everything every subject-matter expert and manager on the project thought any learner might someday need to know.

Failing to teach what people really need. Too often projects try to teach disconnected knowledge when people need applicable skills. Learners do not value such objectives and put little effort into learning them.