Conference 2008
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| Designing e-learning? Don't leave your brain at home! | |||||||||||||
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Dr Itiel Dror, Senior Lecturer, Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Southampton | ||||||||||||
 If you want people to learn, you need to understand how they learn (that is, not only acquire information, but remember and use it!). In this stimulating presentation, Dr Itiel Dror demonstrates how the brain's cognitive architecture underpins learning. The lesson? Optimise your learning by fitting it to the brain. Now, more than ever, argues Dr Dror, an understanding of this is essential in learning design. New learning technologies make it possible to deliver a great deal, but they also make it possible to fail spectacularly, especially if we focus on the technology rather than on the learner. He will show how seemingly small differences in the way learning materials are designed and delivered can make a huge difference to their effectiveness. Dr Dror will cover: • Key principles of how the brain encodes, remembers and uses information • How to hit the learning nail on the head by focusing on the learner's perspective • Avoiding cognitive overload by utilising correct mental representations • Applying the theory: from PowerPoint to Serious Games • Producing more learning with less effort from learners and designers |
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| Engaging learning through games | |||||||||||||
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Sara Bingham, Learning and Technology Manager, Ufi/learndirect and Kirstie Donnelly, Director of Product Development, Ufi/learndirect | ||||||||||||
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Are games a light-weight gimmick or the next great thing in learning? Perhaps they are somewhere in the middle - very useful for some engagements, but not all. This presentation focuses on a purpose-built 3D games-based learning application developed by Ufi for a particular aim: engaging a reluctant, low-skilled audience and making them enthusiastic about personal development. It worked, and produced some valuable lessons. • When games work - and when they don't • Do games for learning need to be 'serious'? • The value of immersion • Building games within your e-learning budget • What makes games addictive and powerful |
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| Open source: it works but is it really free? | |||||||||||||
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Joel Greenberg, Director of Strategic Development, Learning & Teaching Solutions, The Open University | ||||||||||||
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The Open University runs the world's largest implementation of Moodle, the open source learning management system. Building this virtual learning environment has involved heavy investment in what is commonly regarded as free software. Building on its expertise in supported open learning for over 150,000 under-graduates, the OU has worked with Moodle since 2005, and Joel Greenberg is widely regarded as an expert in the strategic implementation of open source code for learning. • What does an 'open source' LMS include? • The hidden costs of implementation • Pitfalls and traps in deploying open source learning systems • The Moodle support network • Open source mash-ups with commercial solutions |
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| Web 2.0, e-learning 2.0 and the new learning | |||||||||||||
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Stephen Downes, Senior Researcher, National Research Council, Institute for Information Technology | ||||||||||||
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Is the current proliferation of 2.0 versions anything more than a marketing stunt? In this presentation, leading learning thinker Stephen Downes argues it is far more. Learning has moved from centrally-controlled provision to a utility, from a 'push' to a 'pull', as individuals use web 2.0 technologies to interact and learn with whatever is available whether it is designed learning content or not. Stephen will explore these issues, and ask what you can do about these changes in your organisation. • Who owns learning now? • The complexity of network- and personal- learning • Core underpinning technologies for web 2.0 learning • Has e-learning really made it to version 2.0 yet? • Practical steps with low-cost tools |
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| Social networking - build don't ban! | |||||||||||||
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Donald Clark, Board Member, Ufi | ||||||||||||
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Social networking and user generated content is big and re-defining the web. Donald will show that social networking goes much wider and deeper than just clusters of friends and has direct relevance to training and the corporate world. With examples from several sectors such as travel and IT, he will show some real cases of social networking benefitting employees and business. He will also look at the legal issues around confidentiality, harassment and libel, showing that 'policing through policies' works well. • Weapons of mass collaboration • The re-definition of the Web by users • Ignoring social networking at your peril • The exponential power of networks • Don't be scared of legal issues |
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| Choosing the right authoring tool | |||||||||||||
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Claire Line, Learning Technologies Manager, Lovells LLP | ||||||||||||
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You have decided to create e-learning in-house, but where do you start? How do you establish what sort of tools you might need and the best process for purchasing them? Should you do your own instructional design, or rely on expert help? What questions do you need to ask? What are the consequences of picking the wrong tool? This session will look at the process of selecting an authoring tool, and will take you through these tricky stages and suggest a method to identify the right tool for you. • How do you get independent advice? • What resources do you need? • What role should the learners play in the selection process? • What technical considerations should you take into account? • How much instructional design do you actually need? |
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