Designing Animated (and Interactive) Infographics for Remote Learning

In remote learning, “animated (and interactive) infographics” combine—visual representations of concepts, data, information, and in-world phenomena; designed motion; designed interactivity; designed learner control; setup of learning contexts and learner sociality; and other factors—to enable various types of learning: observational, (disembodied) experiential, review and practice-based, and other approaches. This work explores the available best practices of designing, development, and deploying animated infographics for learning based on much of the available academic research and some present-day technologies.

Using a SoTL Framework and Disciplinary Context to Sketch Teaching and Learning Research

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) enables ways to improve teaching in various disciplinary contexts, in higher education; this framework begins with measures of what learners actually learn in a formal course and identifies ways to improve the teaching. The SoTL framework was used to inform part of a recent grant application for a multi-institution, multi-year research project in the soil sciences. Using SoTL for projected grant-funded work involved the following, an in-depth exploration of the literature a light exploration of the local context (soil science and agronomy) variations on traditional SoTL (and innovative thinking from educational research) pragmatics and practical planning, frugal budget planning to inform a general sense of direction, with the details to be filled in later (if funded). This work suggests the importance of studying a framework in depth but applying it lightly to enable riffing in new directions.

Strategic and Tactical “Focused Time Learning” Design for Online Learning

The design of learning does not often emphasize on how much high-concentration “focused time” and other time learners spend on particular endeavors: reading, viewing, listening, writing, assessing, problem-solving, researching, communicating, collaborating, and others. And yet, how time is spent in purposeful learning—in assignments, fieldwork, research, collaboration, invention, co-design, and assessments—is thought to have a clear impact on the learning and the learning experience. This work explores some of the research in the area of time in learning and proposes some methods for including “focused time” design and time awareness in instructional design for online learning, particularly given the available tools for learner check-ins, time monitoring, and other tools.

Designing Practice(s) for Learning in Online Learning Contexts

Practice is a regular part of learning, and it is used for a variety of learning objectives and outcomes. There is very little in the academic research literature about how to design assigned and formal “practice(s)-for-learning,” much less for an online learning context in higher education. This work explores the extant literature on practice design and proposes some initial approaches for defining practices-for-learning in online learning. This work provides a construct for highlighting the main levers of practices-for-learning (through interrelated paragraphs of mapping sentences). This work also asks some critical questions for the design of learning practice in online contexts.

Designing an Educational Program for Teachers Based on TPACK Principles and Wikis

In this chapter, an approach to the design of an educational program for teachers is proposed. Three main steps are necessary in the design of such a program. The first step is to determine the goals of the program and connect them with the subsequent teaching goals of teachers. Further on, the knowledge and skills required in order to fulfill the goals set need to be determined. The final step concerns the selection of appropriate pedagogical methods and ICT tools that will assist teachers in their teaching. In the specific program, the goals set are based on Habermas' theory of cognitive interests and Schön's theory of the reflective practitioner. The TPACK model is used to categorize the desired knowledge that teachers will acquire from the program and the knowledge required by the instructor of the program. Wikis are used to support the selected pedagogical methods.

Designing “Concentrated Listening” for Advantageous Adult Learning With Multimedia

In the online learning space, adult learners have access to a wide variety of sound-based content (podcasts, audio books, audio recordings, and others) and multimodal contents of which the audio element is a central part. This work explores research methods used to enhance “concentrated listening” to enable learners to acquire the most from the following: pre-recorded sound files, live audio, natural language discussions through speech, and other types of auditory-based learning online. This work explore some aspects of (1) learning designs to enhance both adult “concentrated listening” in an online learning context (both synchronous and asynchronous) and (2) some tactical designs of learning based around sound for general learning (vs. domain-specific case-based learning).

Learner “Mixed Embodiment” in Face-to-Face, Blended, and Fully Online Learning

Is it accurate to suggest that face-to-face (F2F) learning involves learner “embodiment” (learners' physical presence) and fully online learning involves learner “disembodiment” (a lack of learner corporeality in the learning experience)? An exploration of the research suggests that the concepts of embodiment and disembodiment are not clearly defined and, further, that learners engage with “mixed embodiment” in all the contexts of F2F, blended, and fully online learning. There are not bright lines of embodiment and disembodiment in the separation between real and virtual spaces in learning. This work offers a basic definition of “mixed embodiment” and some early thoughts on the way the physical learner is engaged in online learning with a variety of factors: assignment types, social interactivity, group assignments, instructor interactivity, assignment sharing, self-representation creation, technological applications, and other factors. This work has implications on instructional and learning design for greater incorporation of learner embodiment in online learning.

Enabling Adult Learning Advantage in Online Learning Environments

Adult learners tend to have specific educational goals, are more career-focused, task and intrinsically motivated, and more concerned about application of knowledge. Most adult learners are employed or attending school to advance their careers, so ideally, adult education should comprise educational activities, at least in part, focused on improving knowledge and skills relevant to the workplace. This requires a systematic and integrative approach that will guide students toward becoming reflective practitioners. Case-based education is an important tool that can provide the educational experiences that produce effective practitioners but only if its use is guided by a sound theoretical and research-based framework. This chapter will provide a framework for the design of case-based instruction that incorporates teaching and learning affordances derived from the theory of situated learning and cognition.

Optimizing Learner-Centered Feedback for Learning With “Hard Problems”

Freshmen to graduate students in higher education learn about conducting research within the legal and policy frameworks. In many cases, learners may have to address “hard problems,” those that are inherently complex and challenging, open-ended (and often without known solutions or with multiple complex solutions), and requiring professional collaboration, innovation and creativity, and deep knowledge. How should those who design such learning provide optimized learner feedback in the context of learning with hard problems at every step of the learning process? How can feedback be designed for contexts in which the most effective or efficient solutions are not known?

Creating an Andragogy for Adult Learning Advantage

The goal of this chapter is to provide a framework for creating learning activities for adult learners that rest on a firm theoretical foundation and are based on a definition that highlights the actual learner characteristics involved in successful adult student performance. To achieve this goal, it is important to establish a definition of adult learning that can be used to guide the selection of the important instructional elements that must be addressed in the design of learning activities that provide adult learning advantage. This chapter will provide a framework for the design of an adult andragogy that incorporates teaching and learning principles derived from theory and research in the learning sciences.