Discussion: Sustainable eLearning Design
Online learning and eLearning are ever-present across all levels of education and training. This learning and instruction approach has driven program and course design processes that involve producing courseware that is housed on a server for learners to access at any time. Teams consisting of faculty, instructional designers, and subject matter experts design the courses.
It is an expensive endeavor that creates the general expectation that once courses are designed, they will last for multiple years. The problem is that in today’s unpredictable educational atmosphere, the course content can become quickly outdated. The challenge for eLearning professionals is to design courses that are sustainable and pass the test of time, even though the academic climate is rapidly changing. In this Discussion, you will evaluate the design of a course you are familiar with and explore strategies that could make it more sustainable.
To prepare:
Read Chapters 3, 6, and 8 in Design Alchemy: Transforming the Way We Think About Learning and Teaching, where instructional design is proposed as a combination of science, art, and alchemy.
Also read Sustaining Higher Education through eLearning in Post Covid-19, as the authors investigate possible approaches towards sustainable teaching and learning in the higher education sector.
View the media piece, Anatomy of eLearning: Conceptual Framework, in this module’s Learning Resources with a focus on the “Sustainability” (bottom right) section.
Reflect on a course that you have recently taken and completed or a course that you have recently taught and consider the sustainability of its design.
Post the following:
Deconstruct the design and delivery of the course you selected.
Analyze the level of sustainability of the course.
Explain whether the course is sustainable or not—providing reasons to support your position.
In your explanation, be sure to describe the sustainable elements in the course or describe specific strategies you would use to make course elements more sustainable. Adopt and defend a firm position on the need for sustainability in eLearning.
Support your analysis using the three pillars of sustainability, personal experience, and at least one research study (PhD, EdD, and EdS students) or project study (PhD and EdD students); include course resources as applicable.
