Summary of week two activity

This week several people have contributed to the discussion about the ADDIE model and quality. Views about the usefulness of the ADDIE model of education design have been mixed, although consensus appears to be that it can provide some guidance for design and development. However, theory is believed to be only a starting point, and the ADDIE model is really just a "project management tool" (Alages and Tom), and other factors need to be considered, for example, time, quality and budget" (Rosanne). An excellent point was made that it is important not to get too restricted by one model such as the ADDIE as flexibility is needed when thinking about design of online systems (Mark).

Also, some people have used the model in their design work (Rosanne, Alages), or something similar to it (Sandra H, Mark and Sandra W), and that it is best not to become too linear oriented when designing online learning experiences as it is a dynamic process (Alages). Awareness about the challenges in undertaking evaluation are apparent in the discussions, and it is an area which is often left because of time constraints. Also, the need for evaluating during the design and development etc. phases is regarded as important and mentioned by most people.

I have referred people to the PADDIE model of design which we use at Otago Polytechnic, and as you will see it is still a work in progress - I am too busy doing the actual projects to finish the theoretical framework.  A case in point. The information about the ADDIE model for instructional design provided by Alages has more information about how to use the ADDIE model - for each phase details are provided about the type of evaluation you might undertake.

Only two people are familiar with the eLearning Guidelines, and everyone thought they would be useful although having time to explore them could be problematic. Some people mentioned they used other benchmarks but did not provide information. At Otago Polytechnic we use the Good practice checklist for benchmarking quality in Moodle courses. It is based on others' work as listed on the document. To access this file, you need to login as a Guest. A five stage model for measuring organisational quality in eLearning which some of you may be interested in is the eLearning Maturity Model for NZ.

• Maturity Model Getting Started 
• Marshall, S. (2006). E–learning Maturity Model Process Assessment Workbook. There are five main areas for assessing quality and benchmarking eLearning:

1. Learning Processes that directly impact on pedagogical aspects of e-learning; 2. Development Processes surrounding the creation and maintenance of e-learning resources; 3. Support Processes surrounding the oversight and management of e-learning; 4. Evaluation Processes surrounding the evaluation and quality control of e-learning through its entire lifecycle; 5. Organisation Processes associated with institutional planning and management.

 Additional benchmarks for measuring quality can be found on the Quality Principles site.  Are any of you these resources familiar to you?