Course Handbook

FLO-Design is intended to help participants develop online course design skills and try new techniques and strategies to create effective, engaging, online learning experiences. It is a foundation course in the growing collection of FLO (Facilitating Learning Online) professional development options, and complements the Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) - Fundamentals course which focuses on facilitation skills and strategies. 

FLO-Design begins with a review of theories of learning, widely used approaches to instructional and learning design, and principles of online course design. During the workshop, participants will be introduced to new approaches to instructional and learning design and encouraged to explore various ways to engage learners and support learning online.

Participants will be involved in online learning that is:

• participatory and learner-centred — participants form a learning community and support each other's learning
• feedback-rich — participants will be encouraged to give and receive feedback throughout the workshop
• relevant and meaningful — participants explore the future application and transferability of skills and knowledge developed during the workshop

FLO workshops are intentionally designed to provide:

• a safe, respectful learning environment - participants develop mutually acceptable "agreements" of engagement
  
• opportunities for reflective practice - participants reflect on and analyze their personal, professional and project goals, often sharing insights and questions with their peers and the facilitators

Facilitators support and encourage participants to:

• take risks and try new design approaches, structures and activities, scaffolded by FLO facilitators and their peers;
• design authentic, meaningful learning experiences for students; and,
• develop a deeper understanding of their pedagogical preferences and beliefs about learning.

During this workshop you will:

• explore learning theories, instructional design approaches, related frameworks, models and quality standards;
• identify a topic and describe intended learners for short unit of online learning;
• create a design plan and prototype learning activity for a unit of online learning;
• discuss design choices with peers, and give and receive constructive feedback (studio);
• explore "quality" and/or Universal Design of Learning (UDL) principles as design guides;
• share a final plan/learning unit design, and engage others in a "walk-through" of a prototype learning experience;
• reflect on, and plan how to apply learning to other courses and contexts.