10 essential questions to answer when designing a teaching and learning technology project

How can we achieve worthwhile and sustained change in how students and teachers use technology for learning? Often projects fail because they are un-clear in their scope and objectives. For example, they may not really comprehend the depth and significance of the changes that are required for success. Often they work against deeply ingrained habits and attitudes, without including strategies and techniques for encouraging non-trivial change (there are some really good strategies, for example drawing upon the open-space learning approach).

When designing a project, try to get thorough answers to these questions - not just at the start of the project, but periodically revisited during the project to ensure that you learn and adapt to the changes that you are causing or are being affected from external forces (for example new tech that appears during the life of the project).

Thanks to Emma King (Learning and Development Centre, Warwick) and staff from the Warwick Institute of Education for allowing me to try this out on them!

A. Understanding and stating your aims:

1. What is your intervention aiming to change? Be specific…

a. attitudes;
b. beliefs;
c. behaviours;
d. capabilities (a repeatable, reliable ability to undertake a key learning action - individually or collectively);
e. a specific result (e.g. exam marks).

2. Who/what needs to change to achieve this? Be specific and comprehensive…

a. people;
b. technologies;
c. places (online, offline and augmented);
d. ideas, concepts, language, theories;
e. relationships/networks (amongst a, b, and c).

3. What type of change? Projects often combine these, but need to be clearer about them...

a. Optimise existing practice, tweak existing technologies, make more efficient and manageable;
b. Increase the adoption of an existing practice, more people working in this way, better connected, exploiting network effect;
c. New different design, more appropriate, achievable, useful, powerful - the most difficult type of change.

B. Feasibility:

4. Is there a necessary timescale – what is it?

5. What’s the scope of these changes? Do they need to change just in your context (e.g. your module) or in wider contexts (across the department, the university, globally)?

6. What resources are available to you (including your own power to get things changed, the good-will of others, your own level of commitment, the need for change, an effective team with diverse skills)?

7. How will these resources need to be sustained over time?

C. Strategy:

8. Can you start of with a smaller more achievable change and then grow the intervention through a series of iterations? (the Agile method).

9. What changes (e.g. skills, technologies) should you make early on so as to make the rest of the project more achievable?

10. Are there pre-existing trends that you might exploit – for example behaviours and technologies in an unrelated domain that could transfer to your domain? (cross-pollination).

Robert O'Toole : 28 Oct 2011 09:47 |  Tags: Implementation |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

3d capability maturity matrix for learning technology practices and projects

This is an analysis tool that I have developed to help in understanding current learning technology-practices, identifying possible enhancements, designing and planning projects, and evaluating their impacts. Technology-practices (e.g. debating in an online forum) may be plotted as positions on the two linear axis and using the colour code key to indicate level of adoption.

Click on the image to see it full-size.

The matrix plots the "maturity" of a technology-practice (the technology and its actual use) along three axis.

Axis A identifies its level of optimisation. Highly optimised technology-practices are well specified and efficiently managed to produce a repeatable and reliable outcome. The process of optimisation is aligned with a "management-oriented" perspective and methods.

Axis B identifies the extent to which a technology-practice has been consciously designed (created, chosen, adapted) to meet the ends to which it is put. A practice might be habitually applied (for example email), without any active consideration of how appropriate it is. Well designed technology-practices are both habitual and appropriate to their use. This is aligned to the "design thinking" perspective and methods.

Axis C identifies the level of adoption of the technology. A technology that is well designed, and well optimised is often but not always widely adopted. A technology with a limited adoption rate might benefit from an additional social aspect (designed into the technology, or in the form of better marketing and support).

Use the matrix to:

• assess the maturity level of a technology-practice;
• to understand when an intervention might be necessary;
• to identify what kind of intervention is needed - redesign, optimise or popularise - and to be clear when planning enhancement projects (a common failure in projects);
• use over time to assess changes, deliberate or unplanned.

Shifting the focus between axis:

Some technology-practices are inherently un-manageable (for example using email to host a discussion with several people). In such cases we may want to switch focus from optimising the practice (getting better at using Outlook) to designing (choosing or creating) a new technology-practice. Often this leads to challenging the habitual behaviour (for example using email for all communications).

In other cases we might have a well optimised technology that seems to be well designed for its purpose, but which hasn't achieved a high degree of ubiquity. Perhaps switching to a design perspective could reveal some small reason for low adoption? Perhaps we could tweak the design to achieve a stronger network effect? Or perhaps it doesn't fit effectively with some aspect of the community (issues to do with collegiality, standards, protocols).

Robert O'Toole : 26 Oct 2011 14:47 |  Tags: Implementation |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

First draft for the student design competition

After Christmas, I will be running a design compeition for students, with big prizes (see below) and an exciting awards ceremony. This is the first draft of the brief for the competition. If you are interested, or have any feedback, please leave a comment at the end of this article. Thanks.

Learning is Design 2012, a design competition for students (Spring term 2012) brief:

Create a fully documented “design proposal” for a an innovative new product, service, technique, technology or community. The design must in some way enhance teaching and/or learning in higher education (taking Warwick as the principal context, but applicable more widely). For example, you could design a web application that helps with essay writing. Or alternatively, you could design a community platform that encourages good practice in peer-to-peer students support. Or perhaps you might redesign the lecture theatre, a department, a faculty or the entire university!

In the proposal, you must explain:

• the aim of the proposed design;
• who it will benefit;
• what the benefits will be;
• how it will work;
• how it could be implemented (a plan, with realistic economic and personal costs);
• how it would be sustained over a reasonable life span.
  

You must also demonstrate (with evidence) that:

• it will significantly enhance teaching and/or learning;
• it will be adopted by students, teachers, administrators (where appropriate);
• that you have engaged with your target “audience” and built a community of support for your proposal;
• it is feasible.

Finally, you must excite the imaginations of the judges (slightly jaded HE and design professionals)!

There are four prizes:

Best overall design - £500
Best participatory design event or campaign (live or online) - £500
Best design story (e.g. a realistic narrative about an end user and how the design will change their lives) - £100
Best individual contribution – a placement opportunity with a leading regional media company.

Support:

You have full access to the facilities and support that are available from the IATL Media Suite (iMacs, video cameras, etc). We will also provide training workshops in design methods and multimedia production.

Robert O'Toole : 26 Oct 2011 12:19 |  Tags: Ideation |  Comments (5) |  Close comments |  Report a problem