OU Conf: Bill Tait – quality framework

Bill Tait – AL in MCT, COLMSCT Associate Teaching Fellow: Towards a Quality Framework for E-learning

Project to make it easy for tutors to write learning objects.  Wrote extensible learning objects and get tutors to apply their own ideas about pedagogy.  But big gap in technological expertise, even among Computing ALs.

Aim: a framework to help practitioners evaluate and design LOs in a more consistent way.  Should apply to e-learning formats and traditional techs.

Generic model: there is a ‘content object’ that is the subject content to be learned, and ‘learning activity’ which is the process in which the content is learned.  “Just like programming objects”  Abstraction – require entry and exit conditions to be met.  Encapsulation means it can have no links with the internal content of other units.  Implementation is how subject content is actually delivered so this is where pedagogy and technology come in. (!)

(Not sure I’m convinced this is a really helpful model of what is going on or should be.)

“Pedagogy is a strategy for implementing learning theory” – learning theories use terminology that may be beyond reach of many practitioners, and implemented using technology which is beyond them too.

So has broken down pedagogy in to Information, Experience, Consolidation, Discussion, Assessment.

Martin LeVoi – ran a project years ago on evaluation of web-based LOs for learning stats.  Fair bit of theory about evaluation, have you looked at those?

Bill Tait – They’ve come and gone.  Recent publications have a lot of advice for helping practitioners.  People are still uncertain about this (?).