Learning Repository – How are you using it? February 3, 2010
Posted by YvonneMonterroso in : Comms , trackbackAs Nottingham Trent University begins the task of encouraging and increasing adoption of Learning Repository, I thought a post looking at some outlier use cases from other clients might be of interest. These may or may not apply but hopefully will spark some thought and maybe discussion that could help you and your users get even more from the technology.
Students Searching
Traditionally an instructor or instructional designer would search and use learning objects or assets within a course and students would see or even interact with the content but the students were not the ones actively searching repositories. Consider the following cases: Students looking to dig deeper into particular subject matter perhaps in an effort to refine or change focus of study or career options; students seeking further clarification tailored to a different learning style than presented in the course; students requiring additional practice exercises for a particular section. Can the institution, by opening up search-able content to students provide the means to enable these students to take ownership of their learning? For several clients, the answer is yes, whether it is the students or even students assisted by instructors, particularly where there is plentiful content available through the search. Students already use search interfaces, they Google, search YouTube, etc. Learning Repository enables your organization to help them with a more targeted search. Consider your use cases, does this make sense at some point?
Teaching Teachers
Professional development for instructors is an ongoing process as they face different challenges and opportunities throughout day to day activities and not
Assuming the goal of professional development is to improve classroom instruction and student achievement, how can materials be distributed to provide best practices, provide information about standards, encourage professional growth, provide guidance on demand by subject and address instructor needs for better meeting the learning needs of the classroom. Are there electronic materials such as PowerPoint presentations, recordings, materials for online development or links to additional resources that can be shared with all instructors using a repository? The ability to organize and distribute these materials to teachers empowers them with their professional development outside of scheduled opportunities or even online course offerings. Several clients have demonstrated this to be helpful when trying to increase contribution and usage. As instructors become accustomed to searching a specific knowledge base and they find value there, it becomes easier to extend their usage to the content used in their courses.
Are there other scenarios or other types of content you could provide via the repository to encourage first time users?
Comments»
Students
Thanks for mentioning the student scenario. I was going to blog on this this week. We have just begun requirements gathering for a similar scenario, giving students access to the LOR. Instead of the object being used within a course it would be used to support their own research, much in the same way they use web search.