Convergence of Learning and Design:

a Blueprint for High-Impact e-

Learning

Madhuri Dubey, Ph.D

ASEAN eLearning Conference at CDAC Hyderbad Nov 2007
Leverage e-learning technologies to offer
adult and primary education in far-flunged
areas

• design aspect is often seen as a peripheral issue

• e-learning is mostly understood as technology

stuff

• benefits of technology should penetrate till the

towns and rural areas
e-learning is much more than deploying content
or information using technology

• the role of design in making content compelling and

highly engaging

• creation of effective content and design high-impact

e-learning
Re-align design with
learning

• Design involves analysis of content, context and

learners

• Design should be well suited for the learner profile.

It should ensure optimum learning experience.
e-learning is essentially about learning

 Experience plays a crucial role in knowledge

construction

 Learning in a collaborative environment helps them

to create and share meaning

 Learning gets successfully reinforced if it is

connected to real life experiences

 It is important to get the big picture view of the

curriculum
Facilitate comfort with the medium

 unique set of challenges

 socio-cultural reasons

 prepare the learners to appreciate the

advantages
Ongoing support through the course

 Pre-course counseling with the help of professional

counselors

 Collaboration and help during the course

 Formative and summative evaluation

 Follow-up activities to apply knowledge in practical

situations
e-Learning will not replace the teacher

 e-learning and classroom synergize to bring

the
perfect learning environment for the learner.
The introduction of second green revolution with
training to farmers and technology will increase
agricultural production to 360 million tonnes by 2020.

A P J Abdul Kalam
 Employment in agriculture reduces to 60% with a
doubling in the demand for food, measures like
deploying higher-level research, technology,
agricultural extension services and training will
need to be instituted.

 R&D , infrastructure industries, education and

training can lead to augmentation in
agriculture sector in the form of high technology
agricultural equipment, biotechnology and
complementary methods.
 Buy already existing courses and convert them into
Indian languages

 On the innovative side, use TV programs and blend

e-learning with these programs

 Experiment with e-learning that assumes high levels

of literacy
 Is the pre-design study conducted before arriving at a
suitable instructional strategy?

 Have we spent time with the farmers in their environment

learning how they work, understanding what could be their
learning needs?

 How are the computer skills assessed for this group of

learners?

 What could be the cultural issues while motivating them to

learn?

Continued…
 How do we make sure that we sustain their interest
throughout the learning program?

 What is the best support mechanism that can help them in

successful course completion?

 Is there a plan to conduct a pilot study before embarking on

the actual project?
Thank you

Questions?