1. National Teaching
Fellow 2012
The 7Cs of Learning Design
Gráinne Conole
University of Leicester
2nd October2014
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

2. Introductions
• Say who you are and
what you hope to get
out of the workshop

3. Outline
• An overview of learning design
• Activities
– A1: How to ruin a course
– A2: Course Features
– A3: Resource audit
– A4: Course Map
– A5: Activity Profile
– A6: Story board
– A7: Evaluation Rubric
• Evaluation

4. Promise and reality
Social and
participatory media
offer new ways to
communicate and
collaborate
Wealth of free
resources and tools
Not fully exploited
Replicating bad pedagogy
Lack of time and skills

5. What is learning design? (1)
Guidance
https://www.flickr.com/photos/anonymouscollective/1899303123

6. What is learning design? (2)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/frawemedia/5187769740

7. What is learning design? (3)
Sharing
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10075621@N06/3810402230

8. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing

9. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing
Community formation

10. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing
Community formation
User-generated content

11. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing
Community formation
User-generated content
Collective aggregation
of content

12. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing
Community formation
User-generated content
Collective aggregation
of content
Digital personas

13. A more participatory, social and
mobile web
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2431873@N25/
Flickr group: 1picaday
Peer critiquing
Community formation
User-generated content
Collective aggregation
of content
Digital personas
Blurring of boundaries

14. Do our VLEs make the most of all these
affordances?
Now (typical online course in HE) The future?
Content generated by course designer/
teacher
Learner-generated content
VLE as content repository controlled by
teacher/ course designer
Collective aggregation of content
Peer critiquing?
Community formation?
Digital personas?
Blurring of boundaries?

15. Learning design bridges the gap between the future
offered by technologies and existing limitations of our
courses
https://www.flickr.com/photos/donabelandewen/3584154214/

16. 7Cs: born out of the marriage between
Carpe Diem
(University of
Leicester)
OULDI (Open
University)
and
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rvoegtli/8495629904

17. Learning Design
Shift from belief-based, implicit
approaches to design-based,
explicit approaches
Learning Design
A design-based approach to
creation and support of
courses
Encourages reflective, scholarly
practices
Promotes sharing and discussion
http://olds.ac.uk

18. The 7Cs of Learning Design
Vision
Conceptualise
Activities
Create Communicate Collaborate Consider
Synthesis
Combine
Implementation
Consolidate
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/oer/oers/beyond-distance-research-alliance/7Cs-toolkit

19. Conceptualise
• Vision for the course,
including:
– Why, who and what you want to
design
– The key principles and
pedagogical approaches
– The nature of the learners
Conceptualise
Course Features
Personas

20. Course features
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5950
• Pedagogical approaches
• Principles
• Guidance and support
• Content and activities
• Reflection and demonstration
• Communication and collaboration

21. Theory based Practice based Cultural
Principles
Aesthetics
Political
Professional
Sustainable
International Serendipitous Community based

22. Inquiry based Problem based Case based
Pedagogical
approaches
Dialogic
Situative
Collaborative
Constructivist
Vicarious Didactic Authentic

23. Learning pathway Mentoring Peer support
Guidance &
Support
Scaffolded
Study skills
Step by step
Library support
Tutor directed Help desk Remedial support

24. Brainstorming Concept mapping Annotation
Content &
Activities
Assimilative
Jigsaw
Aggregating
resources
Learner generated
content
Modeling
Pyramid
Information
handling

25. Diagnostic E-Assessment E-Portfolio
Reflection &
Demonstration
Formative
Summative
Feed forward
Reflective
Peer feedback Vicarious Presentation

26. Structured debate Flash debate Group project
Communication &
Collaboration
Group
aggregation
Group
presentation
Pair debate For/Against debate
Peer critique
Group project
Question &
Answer

27. Capture
• Finding and creating
interactive materials
– Undertaking a resource audit of
existing OER
– Planning for creation of
additional multimedia such as
interactive materials, podcasts
and videos
– Mechanism for enabling
learners to create their own
content
Capture
Resource Audit
Learner Generate
Content

28. Communicate
• Designing activities that foster
communication, such as:
– Looking at the affordances of
the use of different tools to
promote communication
– Designing for effective online
moderating
Communicate
Affordances
E-moderating

29. Collaborate
• Designing activities that foster
collaboration, such as:
– Looking at the affordances of
the use of different tools to
promote collaboration
– Using CSCL (collaborative)
Pedagogical Patterns such as
JIGSAW, Pyramid, etc.
Collaborate
Affordances
CSCL Ped.
Patterns

30. Consider
• Designing activities that foster
reflection
• Mapping Learning Outcomes
(LOs) to assessment
• Designing assessment
activities, including
– Diagnostic, formative,
summative assessment and
peer assessment
Collaborate
LOs/Assessment
Assessment
Ped. Patterns

31. Combine
• Combining the learning activities
into the following:
– Course View which provides a
holistic overview of the nature of
the course
– Activity profile showing the
amount of time learners are
spending on different types of
activities
– Storyboard: a temporal sequence
of activities mapped to resources
and tools
– Learning pathway: a temporal
sequence of the learning designs
Combine
Course View
Activity Profile
Storyboard
Learning Pathway

32. Consolidate
• Putting the completed design
into practice
– Implementation: in the classroom,
through a VLE or using a
specialised Learning Design tool
– Evaluation of the effectiveness of
the design
– Refinement based on the
evaluation findings
– Sharing with peers through social
media and specialised sites like
Cloudworks
Combine
Implementation
evaluation
Refinement
Sharing

33. Evaluation (from SPEED pilot)
• We made a big breakthrough. We have achieved insight about the need to
structure it as … an online course, and not just simply as a set of learning
activities plus integrated resources.
• The visual nature of the tools and the quick and easy way that one could
use it... They help stimulate us to look at the course in a different way, in a
natural and creative way even if we didn’t see all the little links right
upfront.
• I wanted to have my thinking challenged with regard to course design and
development and I definitely left reflecting and questioning our unit's
current approach and have some good tools and approaches to pilot...
• It’s a way of freeing your mind and putting all the ideas of all the people in
the course team down somewhere, not having to be so prescriptive. It was
just a much freer and [more] creative experience than getting the learning
outcomes and writing them as active verbs, and getting in at a granular
level. It was quite sort of a liberating thing to just have everybody move
components around and say, ‘Do you know I really like all these features.
I’d like to do some problem-based learning. I’d like to do peer-review.’

34. The broader context:
The Larnaca Declaration
http://larnacadeclaration.org

35. The broader context: Integrated
Learning Design Environment (ILDE)
http://ilde.upf.edu/

36. Summary
• 7Cs – a new learning design framework.
– involves a range of conceptual representations of
courses
– evaluation indicates that the framework is
welcomed and that the conceptual designs enable
teachers to rethink their design practice to create
more engaging learning interventions for their
learners
– can also be used with learners, to give them an
indication of the nature of the courses they are
undertaking

37. A1: How to ruin a course
Purpose: To consider the ways in which technologies can ruin a course
and creation of strategies to avoid these problems
• List the ten ways in which technologies can
ruin a course
• Consider strategies to avoid these issues
E-tivity Rubric: hhttp://tinyurl.com/m3x32se

38. A1: Discussions

39. A2: Course Features
Purpose: To consider the features you want to include in your
module/course, which will determine not only the look and feel of the
course, but also the nature of the learners’ experience.
E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/CRpc5

40. A2a: Forums, blogs and wikis
Purpose: To consider the use of three central, LMS-based tools for interaction
Discussion Forums Blogs Wikis

41. A2a: Forums, blogs and wikis
Purpose: To consider the use of three central, LMS-based tools for interaction
Discussion Forums Blogs Wikis
Reflection
Collaboration
Feedback
Problem solving
Encouraging participation
Ice breaker
Observation opportunity
Idea generation
Are they really good for
all? Diversity of students
Expression
Communicating successes
and pitfalls
Dissemination of
information
Facilitates in the moment
thought!
Audience and affirmation
and reaction
Collaboration
Idea development
Project collaboration
Students and self esteem
Using existing wikis as a
critical resource

42. A3: Resource audit
Purpose: To identify which free resources (Open Educational Resources) to
include in your course/module, how much they need adapting and which
new resources you need to create.
• E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/C31yv

43. A4: Course Map
Purpose: To start mapping out your module/course, including your plans for
guidance and support, content and the learner experience, reflection and
demonstration, and communication and collaboration.
E-tivity Rubric:http://goo.gl/Z5eu7

44. A5: Activity Profile
Purpose: To consider the balance of activity types that will be
included in your module/course.
Activity Profile Flash Widget
• E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/WMIzu

45. Learning
Outcomes
LO1
LO2
LO3
LO4
Week 1
Topic 1
Week 2
Topic 2
Week 3
Topic 3
Week 4
Topic 4
Start End
Assessment LO1
LO2 LO3 LO4

46. A6: Storyboard
Purpose: To develop a storyboard for your module/course in which
the learning outcomes are aligned with the assessment events, topics
(contents) and e-tivities.
E-tivity Rubric: http://goo.gl/z1VON

47. A7: Rubrics for evaluation
Purpose: To devise a set of criteria for evaluating the success of the
design in a real learning context
• Brainstorming some criteria to evaluate the
success of the design in a real learning context
• Try and focus on measurable/observable
things
• Think about what data collection you might
use – classroom observation, surveys,
interviews
• Post its: Things I liked, room for improvement,
etc.

48. Evaluation and Action Plan

49. Three words…

50. Things I liked…

51. Suggestions for improvement

52. Action plan…

53. http://www.le.ac.uk/ili
http://www.slideshare.net/GrainneConole
grainne.conole@le.ac.uk
http://e4innovation.com
@gconole

54. Useful sites and resources
• OULDI website
http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/OULDI/
• Carpe Diem website
http://www.le.ac.uk/carpediem
• 7Cs OER page
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/oer/oers/beyond-distance-
research-alliance/7cs-workshop-resources
• Cloudworks http://cloudworks.ac.uk/