When you have established what learning materials must achieve you can start to think about what the materials must look like. There are a number of steps to follow.
Stages in the design process
Learning design should follow a systematic approach. This does not mean that creativity is stifled, rather that the design process follows the most efficient route.
Who is involved?
Learning design is not a one-person activity: a small team will become involved in the process, ranging from the learning designer themself through to subject matter experts and production specialists who will help to develop the final look of the materials, whether they are printed or in e-learning format.
How do you break the content down?
People learn by assembling small pieces of knowledge or skill into larger, more useful chunks. The skill of designing effective learning lies in working out what these small pieces of learning are and how they can best be presented to a learner so that they can assemble the chunks.
What media do you use?
Different media, such as e-learning, paper workbooks, workshops and on-the-job learning all have their strengths and weaknesses and learning designers must try to decide on the most appropriate blend of methods.
What learning strategies are there?
There are broadly speaking four main strategies for learning materials, the familiar tutorial, simulations (which can follow several patterns), games (where competitiveness is used as an incentive) and drills (which rely on repetition).
How can you improve the effectiveness?
How effective learning materials are depends on a large number of factors, all of which the learning designer must take into consideration. These include the degree of control the learner has, their adaptibility to individuals, levels of attention, how people can remember what they study and their motivation.
How do you write objectives?
Objectives are the starting point in the design process. If you do not define clearly what a learner must achieve you cannot work out the most effective way of getting them there.
What is in the Outline Design Specification?
The Outline Design Specification is a vital document that summarises the results of your initial analysis and explains what learning materials are going to be needed. It should be a document that allows the learning designer to design the finished set of learning materials.
What is a functional specification?
When designing e-learning a functional specification is also needed. This explains how the learner will use the materials and so is an important document for programmers.
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(C) Bryan Hopkins, 2005