Educational values and practices

The documents described in this section explain the educational values and practices underpinning The Le@rning Federation's online curriculum content.

What to make and why: Principles for the design and development of online curriculum content

Author: David McRae
Published: March 2001
Audience: those interested in a rationale for developing online curriculum content.

Commissioned by TLF in 2001, this paper identifies key principles for the quality design and development of online curriculum content for primary and secondary schools. It examines the range of possibilities for learning object development, and identifies challenges, pitfalls and benefits. It does this in the context of how people learn and the distinctive qualities of formal learning, and how these should inform online curriculum content development.

The following are some of the questions addressed in the paper.

• How widespread is the use of ICT in school education in Australia?
• What is ICT being used for?
• What impedes its wider use?
• What online material is available?
• What can be learned from what has happened so far?

• What to make and why: Principles for the design and development of online curriculum content (pdf, 112kB)

Achieving educational soundness in the digital age

Author: Susan Atkins
Published: October 2003
Audience: those interested in the pedagogy that informs effective online learning and development.

This document should be read alongside 'Considerations for learning design' and 'Educational soundness specifications'.

This user-friendly paper provides information, derived from hands-on experience, for those intending to develop online curriculum content. It explains the values and practices that inform TLF online content, describing the ‘learning object’ concept and the pedagogical value of learning objects.

It then identifies the principles that guide TLF learning object development:

• educational soundness;
• technical requirements;
• accessibility;
• rights management;
  
• metadata application profiles.

The paper also explains four principles of educational soundness:

• learner focus;
• content integrity;
• usability;
• accessibility.

The paper concludes with timely warnings and guidance for educational leaders and learning object developers.

• Achieving educational soundness in the digital age (pdf, 234kB)

Considerations for learning design

Authors: Susan Atkins and Deborah Jones
Published: August 2004
Audience: those interested in the concept of learning design.

This paper, written in 2004, expands on the ideas introduced in 'Achieving educational soundness in the digital age'.

The paper:

• identifies and explains the elements of effective learning design;
• supports the explanations with examples of TLF learning objects and feedback from developers, teachers and students;
• provides guidelines and checklists for producers of learning objects.

The elements of effective learning design that are identified and explained include:

• constructivist learning and effective user feedback;
• user interaction with the learning object by viewing, listening, thinking and expressing; probing, hypothesising, re-probing and rethinking; and predicting, observing and explaining;
• the appropriate use of models, simulations and scenarios;
• how games and game playing can create effective learning environments;
• the structural and instructional elements of design;
• a step-by-step explanation of the process of learning object development.

The references section at the end of the paper provides a comprehensive reading and reference list for learning object developers.

• Considerations for learning design (pdf, 448kB)