Constructive Alignment and the Integration of eLearning into the Curriculum

1
Constructive Alignmentand the Integrationof
e-Learning intothe Curriculum
smile
workshop

• Often e-learning is implemented as an adjunct or
  bolt-on to traditional teaching and learning.
  This is usually ineffective and often
  unrewarding. This workshop will address the ways
  in which e-learning can fully and appropriately
  be integrated into the mainstream curriculum in
  Medicine.
• Rachel Ellaway and Michael Begg, MVM Learning
  Technology Section, The University of Edinburgh

2
Scene Setting

• Constructive Alignment and the Integration of
  e-Learning into the Curriculum
• Alignment - everything to everything else?
• Constructive Alignment - constructivist and
  student focused - Biggs
• e-Learning?
• Curriculum Integration
• From learning technology to educational
  informatics

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The 5 Dysfunctions of e-Learning

• Occasional points of excellence, otherwise
  darkness - starry night
• Separation between staff, students, managers,
  developers, agencies - silos
• Lowest common denominator - heat death of the
  universe
• Disconnected and incompatible cottage industries
  - towers of Babel
• Regimented, Stalinist systems - the Borg (Star
  Trek not tennis)
• Problem how to span the enterprise and yet
  retain focus, identity, originality, diversity,
  innovation?
• Answer transcend current TSL paradigms and move
  to enterprise-level yet programme-specific
  approaches to provision of TSL
• how?

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Cognitive affordances

• technology as mirror
• technology as searchlight
• technology as catalyst
• technology as narrative about what it models
• Where is the alignment and where does it fail?
• What are the biggest barriers in medicine?
• Learning technologists are key active
  participants - not invisible , their ethics and
  professional frameworks are one key to success

5

• know thyself
• Thoreau

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Some EI Themes

• Holistic systems - not just education or admin
• Proximal development - as a member of the user
  community
• Abstraction - light, adaptable systems
• Constructive alignment - everything aligned
  learner focused (curriculum mapping)
• Keystone designs for learning - essential for
  the domain, not just the mainstream
• Disposability - death and taxes
• Interoperability - even if you dont share,
  interoperability has much to offer
• Metaphor - what are you really thinking, saying
  and doing?
• Do not think about a cow

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Activitywhat are you thinking?
Explore your metaphors and paradigms alignment,
e-learning, curriculum, integration
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Alignment context matters Right here, right
now, we are directly above the Earths centre -
here is special, now is special Think
educational environment Think educational
ecology Think educational informatics and take
a holistic perspective
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Alignment

• physical alignment
• cultural and semantic alignment
• procedural alignment
• educational alignment
• professional alignment
• technical alignment
• constructive alignment - in aligned teaching
  there is maximum consistency throughout the
  system (Biggs, 1999)
• Alignment between all aspects of the environment
  - admissions to graduation, both physical and
  online

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Alignment unpacking perceptions
See Ellaway, R., Dewhurst, D., McLeod, H.
(2004). "Evaluating a virtual learning
environment in the context of its community of
practice." ALT-J 12(2) 125-145.
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Holistic Perspectives change (AIDA)
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Holistic Perspectives environment mapping
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Activityenvironmental alignment
What in your environment do e-learning activities
and systems need to integrate with?
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e-learning unpacking the 'e's

• e-learning vs learning
• e-learning vs b-learning
• e-learning vs e-teaching
• e-logistics
• e-Environments
• knowing when to say no to e - negotiating the
  blend
• More importantly drop the e - consider Recording,
  Evidence, Administration, Learning, Iteration,
  Teaching, flexibilitY REALITY

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ActivityREALITY
How does/should your environment deal with
Recording, Evidence, Administration, Learning,
Iteration, Teaching, flexibilitY ?
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BbCTworld

• In the UK many if not most institutions are now
  using WebCT or Blackboard (nb converging into a
  single system) - largely at behest of central
  services (Moodle backlash)
• These provide very little control or adaptability
  beyond what comes out of the box - use is often
  limited - Nursery slopes vs black runs
• If your programme fits the available heuristics
  of these systems then fine
• If not your learning environment is not aligned
  and is potentially disruptive and
  counterproductive
• Even if congruent - OTS is effectively
  acquiescing in the pre-emptive choices and
  knowledges of the supplier
• Furthermore autonomy and control is achieved by
  organizing within the technology process and not
  outside it Scarborough, H. and Corbett, J. M.
  (1992). "Technology and organization power,
  meaning and design ". UK, Routledge

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• Industry without art is brutality
• John Ruskin

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Proximal Development

• it is ... impossible for VLEs to be
  pedagogically neutral. Every decision concerning
  presentation, navigation and design that is
  imposed by the VLE will impact on mediated
  learning (Harris, 2001)
• L-techs (not tech) now fundamentally shape the
  learning environment
• L-techs (not tech) now fundamentally shape the
  expectations actions of teachers and learners
• Therefore the arrangement of TSL services is
  critical
• Three models of TSL services
• Atomic - individuals
• Proximal services - organised but embedded (and
  accountable)
• Distal - centrally organised and generic
• Proximal is both optimal and ethical (Ellaway,
  Begg, Dewhurst and Macleod, 2006)

Harris, N. (2001). "Managed Learning?"
ARIADNE(30). www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue30/angel/intro
.html Ellaway, R., Begg, M., Dewhurst, D. and
MacLeod, H. (2006). "In a Glass Darkly identity,
agency and the role of the learning technologist
in shaping the learning environment." E-Learning
3(1)
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Proximal Development

• Implications for practice
• Both unify fragmentary activities into scalable
  and sustainable services
• and decentralize TSL so that it is organized
  very close to the chalkface
• practitioners need to be more aware of the impact
  of their actions upon their learning environments
  and act accordingly
• this means all educationalists - TSL literacy
• engagement with stakeholders in the client
  learning community is essential this should take
  the form of direct participation in local
  communities of practice - bidirectionally
• codes of practice for learning technologists are
  required, both as a benchmark and as a framework
  by which professional practice can be measured
  and developed

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Activityproximal development
How well do off-the-shelf systems suit your
needs? How much do you need to do locally? How
much can you do yourselves?
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Low hanging fruit

• Many alternatives out there already
• Blogs
• Del.ici.ous and Flickr
• My Space and Facebook
• Wikipedia and other wikis
• Open source systems and tools
• Filestores
• Yousendit, TinyURL
• Productivity mindmaps, organisers
• Instant messaging
• iTunes and YouTube
• Services and APIs such as Google Maps and Google
  Search

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Ecological SOAs
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Activitylow hanging fruit
Whats out there? What realistically can/should
you use?
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Pragmatism

• Balancing proximal and OTS
• Sufficiency
• Requisite complexity
• The -ilities
• Interoperability
• Scalability
• Extensibility
• Security
• Adaptability
• Affordability
• Understandability
• quality of service
• Composability

• Evolvability
• Tailorability
• Reliability
• Survivability
• Maintainability
• Performance
• Mobility
• Usability
• Accessibility

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change is

• technological innovation cannot and should not
  be regarded merely as an improved means to a
  pre-selected end because, while some technology
  merely modifies, other technology transforms
• Graham, G. (1999). The Internet//a
  philosophical enquiry, Routledge, UK.

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Activitysufficiency and disposability
What do you really need? How do you move from
your existing systems to new ones?
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Mainstreaming

• Students will use whatever is easy and normative
  to them
• e-learners are by definition more autonomous
• Use of tech should be a part of every teachers
  toolkit
• Faculty opinion is the most critical factor
• Support, develop and nurture your staff
• they are both digital immigrants and
  disadvantaged experts
• Drop the e - it is not a thing apart for users
• Manage user expectations - do what you say
• Pursue alignment with professional practice,
  curriculum, assessment, individual and group
  needs etc
• Dont be swayed by corporate or centralist
  arguments
• Make use of the e-environment - both within and
  and beyond your institution and take control of
  your teaching and learning

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Reprise

• Clarify your thinking - know thyself
• Pursue alignment - of all kinds
• Bigger picture - not just immediate educational
  outcome
• Think globally standards and specifications
• Act locally proximalism
• Be aware of the low-hanging fruit
• Do you need this sufficiency and requisite
  complexity
• Death and taxes disposability (and the other
  -ilities)
• Pragmatics of mainstreaming

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Virtual Society? the 5 laws of virtual practice

• Uptake and use of the technologies depend
  crucially on local social context
• The fears and risks associated with new
  technologies are unevenly socially distributed
• Virtual technologies supplement rather than
  substitute for real activities
• The more virtual the more real
• The more global the more local

Woolgar, Steve (ed.) Virtual society? Technology,
cyberbole, reality. Oxford University Press, 2002
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Constructive Alignmentand the Integrationof
e-Learning intothe Curriculum
smile
workshop
Thank You

• Often e-learning is implemented as an adjunct or
  bolt-on to traditional teaching and learning.
  This is usually ineffective and often
  unrewarding. This workshop will address the ways
  in which e-learning can fully and appropriately
  be integrated into the mainstream curriculum in
  Medicine.
• Rachel Ellaway and Michael Begg, MVM Learning
  Technology Section, The University of Edinburgh