Course Handbook

The Design Project is the description and plan for a short unit of learning (we envision 2-3 weeks of online learning) that we ask participants to define in the first 2 weeks of the workshop. Participants can bring their own project or they can browse the topics and resources in the Week 1: Design Project Overview book.

To allow participants without direct experience in Moodle (the learning management system we are using) or varying levels of experience in instructional design, to benefit from collaboration and knowledge sharing in a short period of time, we focus on the design planning. We encourage participants (teams or individuals) to construct a map or visual flowchart of their emerging design so that others can more easily understand their intentions.

In the 3rd week of the workshop, we ask participants to define (and build a sample if they have time) of a specific learning activity that demonstrates the way a learner might engage with the topic or concepts at a point in time during the 2-3 weeks. This prototype learning activity will be shared during a final "showcase" synchronous session and/ or in a final Studio forum.

Participants are asked to complete (forms are found in the Design Projects Document folder in Week 1):

• An initial Mission Statement (with the initial goals, learning audience, and topic(s);
• A Design Project Plan (outlining essential elements of the learning design and a visualization of the learning unit);
• A prototype learning activity (a plan or an actual activity that peers can test or review before the end of the workshop).
  

Visualizing Designs

A drawing or map can help us see the logical connections between learning events and elements in an evolving plan without taking too much time to produce. This helps the person developing the design, and helps others to provide useful feedback in weekly Studio forums.

We suggest that participants use tools that are freely accessible, easy to use and that produce visuals that can be shared easily online. Some tools to consider:

• Draw.io  (no account required - you can access through a web browser and have your drawings saved to Dropbox, GoogleDrive, Onedrive or to your desktop)
• Google Drawing  - you'll need a free Google account
• Microsoft Powerpoint - drawing tools - you can use your desktop Powerpoint and share through cloud-based MS services - https://office.live.com/start/PowerPoint.aspx 

Participants are welcome to use other drawing apps or programs that they are familiar with and that can produce shareable illustrations or maps.