Author: Olivia Rowland

Sharing our resources for designing online learning

Over the past few months of lockdown we’ve received a number of calls for advice from the sector and we’ve participated in a number of webinars as well as delivering workshops for various external clients.

As time has progressed we’ve aimed to make sure that as many of these resources as possible are shared and available through our blog. In this post, we will provide an outline of what’s available, all of which you can find on this blog from the resources link on the left hand side. Continue reading “Sharing our resources for designing online learning”

Active learning: making learning engaging

We’ve probably all sat through enough ‘death by PowerPoint’ slide decks to know what happens when we’re presented with information but don’t have the chance to engage with it. In the best-case scenario, we simply don’t learn anything. But often we leave the meeting or class worse off – with unanswered questions, frustration and reduced confidence in the tutor or meeting organiser. Continue reading “Active learning: making learning engaging”

Learning from one another: the value of students’ insights

Students are at the heart of our approach to learning design. We focus on helping our module authoring teams make evidence-based decisions, and insights from students form an important part of that evidence. This is the reasoning behind our curriculum design student panel (CDSP), which was highly commended in the ALT Learning Technologist of the Year (team) awards in 2019, described by the judging panel as ‘a model for others to follow’. Continue reading “Learning from one another: the value of students’ insights”

Tips for starting out in learning design

We were asked: “Any advice for a new learner, just getting started in the world of LD?” 
… so we crowd-sourced answers from the team. Here’s what they said: 

Olivia said: 

Find as many opportunities to learn as possible.

I’d recommend listening to the Pedagodzilla podcast.

Clare said: 

Get to know as wide a variety of your students as you can. 

Don’t feel like you have to know all the answers, but it’s useful to know which questions to ask.  

Paul said: 

Don’t panic!  

Don’t be afraid to try something new in the way you approach a session. Innovate and reflect, I guess would be the punchier way of saying it. 

Marina said: 

Have the student/learner at the heart of your thinking and analysis. Try to imagine what you would like to experience and how you would best learn the topic and skills if you were that student. 

Carlos said: 

Study like your students: complete a course at your institution.

Katharine said: 

Look at the learning experience you’re planning through student eyes and involve students in the design.  

Make use of LD tools and approaches to guide the process. Download some free resources from the Resources section of this blog. 

Shawndra said: 

Sign up with OpenLearn and/or FutureLearn for free courses or MOOCS.  

FutureLearn also run microcredential courses in various learning/educational subjects. 

Search out and attend conferences in the field. Practice sharing is a great way to learn! 

Make a list(s) on Twitter for people, institutions, agencies, etc. that you find helpful and follow them.