Facilitating Design Experiences

In this activity, I facilitated a Diagnostic Design Experience of  Implementing a Virtual Study Tour. Using the LED Layers, (Outcome) I learned that I need more information, dialogue and a feedback loop. (Strategy) I learned by re-working the existing design with the group. (System) We noticed gaps and changed/moved/added more building blocks to the LEM so that it's easier to follow and understand. (Experience) I felt the design was a good starting point and enabled us to easily identify areas for improvement of the diagnostic experience. The group was very helpful and confident that the re-designing is a usable LEM to use for a virtual study tour. Next time, I will consider adding more experiential contexts. Using the LEDx Framework, the next steps include reading and evaluating the findings from a dissertation by a University of Florida professor on virtual study tours. This will be beneficial in transitioning from the current state/status to what this virtual study tour could be for students. Finally, the innovation (feedback look) is crucial to sustaining, growing and improving this experience. In the future, we anticipate that the students will embed in the study tours and provide the interviews, content and videos for the online asynchronous/synchronous virtual study tour courses.

Modeling Agenda Design

The Modeling Agenda I created represents designing and implementing a virtual study tour.

Designing the Design Space

This space was originally created as a blended learning lab. It's a great example of a meeting space for learning environment design meetings with group stations that seat up to 6 individuals per station. The equipment and technology includes computers/monitors and whiteboards. I made this selection because it meets the needs of a whole group, but also serves as a setting for smaller breakout groups assigned to a specific task or sub-task on the agenda. 

Outcome - The details & individual assignments for a project to design a virtual study tour. 

Strategy -  Group discussion.

System - Using the LEML building block of Information, Dialogue, and Feedback.

Experience - Contributions to this project is innovative and will valuable to distance education students and UCO as a whole.  

Planning a Learning Environment Design Experience

Specific Design Challenge: Communication

Discover

Begin with small talk (informal chit-chat). Ask questions along the way --- including "why?" Engage in and elicit storytelling. Empathy research starts with intentionally listening and clueing in on the unspoken.Pay attention to body language. 

Understand

Too often, learning environments are designed with the facilitator sharing what they know rather than considering what the student/learner hopes to gain from the learning environment.Communication may be non-existent.   

Envision

Build-in a formative evaluation process that is quick and easy to use and provides ideas for improvement.This ensures a constant flow of communication. 

Build

Use communication tools in the learning environment. (e.g. virtual sticky notes,  ah-ha moments, Plus/Delta, etc.)

Innovate 

Develop a system that evolves and improves upon what's working and re-design what's not based upon listening and communicating with the learner throughout the process. 

ILEDx - Applying the Framework

ILEDx - Applying the Framework

Specific Design Challenge: Communication

Discover

Begin with small talk, asking questions and even storytelling. Empathy research starts with intentionally listening and clueing in on the unspoken.

Understand

The current state of the learning environment may be based on the facilitator mainly sharing what they know rather than establishing communication with the students and considering what the student hopes to gain from the learning environment.

Envision

The future state of the learning environment can start with the facilitator creating a formative evaluation process that is quick and easy to use and provides ideas for improvement.

Build

Plan to use communication tools in the learning environment by implementing the use of virtual sticky notes (Google Doc, etc.)

1.     Ah-ha moments

2.     Plus/Delta

Innovate 

Develop a system that evolves and improves upon what's working and re-design what's not.

Different or Similar?

Different or Similar?

This is my go-to scenario and has worked in the past for my previous work. I'm sure this will change as I begin to design for newer (to me) learning environments. The LEDx is similar because my typical process was more of an experience than a process. It's different due to the framework. If my typical process was structured to include the building blocks, methods and focus of Discover, Understand, Envision or Build it wasn't necessarily intentional or planned.

Curating BIG Learning Environment Design Challenges

Creating experiences that are meaningful, useful and relevant.

Breaking away from textbook-centered learning and activities.

Facilitating experiences that encourages the interpretation of knowledge and produces knowledge versus absorbing information.

Designing experiences that are collaborative and bite-size.

Understanding the needs and aligning all of the elements to support active and collaborative learning.

Identifying the hiccups (problem areas).

                                                                   

http://www.hermanmiller.com/research/solution-essays/rethinking-the-classroom.html

http://www.tojet.net/articles/v9i2/9222.pdf