University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Topic Case Driven Approach for Web Course Design Leena Hiltunen Tommi Kärkkäinen

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Content of this presentation A Topic Case driven methodology for Web course design and realization process is introduced. –Bases on software engineering metaphors by capturing the necessary steps for creating Web courses using a content-based development method. The presentation focuses on introducing the approach itself and its effects on pedagogical design.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Introduction Problems in Web course design: –Exporting traditional written course material on the Web without proper planning and pedagogical design. –Same pedagogical approach do not fit for all kind of contents or subjects. –Combination of online and face-to-face approaches. Like in Software Engineering, methodicalness, testing and project management ensure the quality of the product or process. [McNaught] McNaught, C. (2002) What, Why, Who and How of Designing for Effective Online Learning. Proceedings of the 15th Annual NACCQ.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Introduction Key questions in Web course design: –How to design learning material that benefits from using the Web? –How and when to integrate such a (Web-) pedagogic into training that enhances learning? These issues are not clearly captured in the previous Web course design approaches.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 A Topic Case driven development process Utilizes metaphors from Software Engineering to describe a unified way to design and realize Web courses. Allows incremental and iterative development of the web course. Being content-driven, supports naturally blended learning as well. Supports reusability of learning objects. Enables the creation of a Web Course Repository.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 1: Background study Define and consider all those issues that affect the feasibility of the planned Web course, e.g. –Prospective target group or possible students –Time and resources in use –Basic idea, focus and goal of the course –Copyright and agreement issues in content creation –Reasons for designing a Web course –Benefits of a Web course compared to a traditional classroom course –Use and role of the Web –Structure of the course

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 2: Content design Design and document the basic content (topics) of the Web course with Topic Cases: –Generate the basic set of topics with basic attributes. –Select, modify and possible combine the basic topics to create a non-overlapping structured description of contents and to find relations between individual topics.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Definition: Topic Case A short but structured description of basic lines of the single course topic (or the course itself in the beginning). Describes the necessary issues that should be treated during the course. Forms the skeleton of contents of the course.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Form of basic Topic Case description. Name of the course Topic Case number 1 Date/Name of the developer Topic Case:Name of the Topic Case Summary:Brief description of the Topic Case Preliminary knowledge:Knowledge that is required before entering the Topic Case Material(s): Material(s) engaged with the topic Learning:Sort of post-conditions, learning that is pursued after completing the Topic Case

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Topic Case descriptions Extended later on with more features, such as pedagogical ideas concerning the realization of Topic Cases. Formed during the early planning stage (central ones already during the background study). Linked together as a Topic Case diagram according to preliminary knowledge and pursued learning.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Definition: Topic Case Diagram Represents the relations between Topic Cases. Defines the basic contentual hierarchy of the Web course (like content map). Introduces stereotypes: «requires» and «advances», that reveals which Topic Cases are essential to the main concepts and which are prerequisites for other topics.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 «requires» indicates the knowledge that is required before certain Topic Case can be accomplished properly. «advances» indicates the knowledge that would be useful to be available, but is not compulsory for the following Topic Case. Pedagogical design of Web course - an example of Topic Case diagram with five Topic Cases. Role of Web in teaching Role of teacher on the course CCS of teacher Pedagogical model C & C tools «requires» «advances» Definitions: CCS = Computing and Communication Skills C & C tools = Cognitive and Communication tools

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Advances of Topic Case Diagram Presents the basic content of the Web course. A natural way to select those Topic Cases that must be implemented first (under the time and resource limitations). –The remaining Topic Cases can be implemented during the later iterations or can be used as a subject of term papers or exercises.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 3: Pedagogical design Augment selected topics with advisable pedagogical activities to support and to describe teaching and learning of that topic. Integrate communication and cognitive tools into the Web course. Do not forget the pedagogical usability. Pedagogical usability is a concept that forms a kind of bridge between pedagogical and technical design of Virtual Learning Environments. Attributes have been combined from J. Nielsen’s usability attributes and D.H. Jonassen’s quantities of meaningful learning. See, e.g., Nokelainen, P. (2004). Conceptual Definition of the Technical and Pedagogical Usability Criteria for Digital Learning Material. World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2004(1),

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Pedagogical Design Extends the basic Topic Case descriptions with new attributes: –Actor(s) involved in the Topic Case. –Detailed description of activity in the Topic Case. –Pedagogical solution(s) in the Topic Case including advisable teaching methods and learning activities, and recommended assignments for learning. –Relations to other Topic Cases.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Notice that... Each Topic Case may have more than one possible pedagogical solution. –Students are able to see a topic from different perspectives. –Pedagogical solutions may include also traditional classroom methods (blended learning). Relations to other Topic Cases identify links between different topics for the technical design. One may start the whole designing process with pedagogical design.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study Content Design Pedagogical Design Technical Design Realization and assessment Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Topic Case driven design process when some strong pedagogical model is driving the whole process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 4: Technical Design Make decisions concerning technical issues, like –use of platform –medias in use –maintenance, scaling and compatibility –user interface Keep usability issues and different standards, e.g., IEEE LOM and ISO 13407, in mind.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 5: Realization and... Complete the individual Topic Cases using the chosen pedagogical and technical solutions. Enlarge of the contents to the final length. Describe the teaching and learning actions in details in connection with the final contents and the media in use.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Phase 5:... Assessment Complete the assessment of the web course development process and web course itself. –An essential part of the whole development process. Perform all three different parts: 1)Re-views during the development phase. 2)Assessment of topics and contents after the realization. 3)Assessment of user’s required technical, pedagogical and contentual skills.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Background Study What? Why? Who? When? How? Goal Concepts Content Material Content Design Creation of Topic Cases and representation of their hierarchical relations in Topic Case Diagram Pedagogical Design Pedagogical solutions Cognitive tools Communication tools Pedagogical usability Technical Design Platform Medias Usability Maintenance Scaling Compatibility Standards User interface Realization and assessment Completion of topics using chosen contentual, pedagogical and technical solutions Overall assessment Incremental and iterative development Phases of Topic Case driven Web course design and realization process.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Iterative and incremental development An iterative and incremental work flow supports the creation of a web course repository. –Presented approach bases on iterative and incremental development of web courses; new topics can easily be added into the web course during the next iteration. –Reusable Topic Cases and several solutions for pedagogical and technical issues create a web course repository for the next web courses.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Conclusion Fact 1: Web course design requires good planning, documentation and some kind of standardized procedure to be followed. –Supported precisely by the Topic Case driven approach presented in this paper.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Conclusion Fact 2: All kind of contents and pedagogical approaches do not fit in the Web. –Presented approach is a content-driven designing process, where selection of pedagogical solutions bases on the contents. This allows design for blended learning as well as web-based learning.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Conclusion Fact 3: Reusability extends the use of web course or parts of it. –In presented approach, all phase deliverables can be defined as learning objects. –Topic Cases and Topic Case diagrams (or parts of them) can be reused in some other context or in some other web course. –In new context different pedagogical and technical solutions can be easily changed and/or added into extended Topic Case descriptions.

University of Jyväskylä – Department of Mathematical Information Technology Computer Science Teacher Education ICNEE 2004 Leena Hiltunen University of Jyväskylä Department of Mathematical Information Technology Thank you - Kiitos!