It’s a great joy to me that, during these ‘challenging times’, many educators are exploring learning design ideas. And appreciating that providing successful, enjoyable, engaging pathways for digital learning environments, is best worked out before the students arrive. My preferred way of undertaking this planning is through Carpe Diem co-design (www.gillysalmon.com/carpe-diem) and using research- to- practice academic concepts (www.gillysalmon.com/e-tivities). I’m discovering that academics value some reminders of the key notions of practical design frameworks. Many creative tools are well known; a few are new. I’ve put some references below which have helped me and many participants in Carpe Diem workshops. These assist with building confidence and determination of directions and actions – sometimes rare commodities in rapidly changing situations. And hence, support mindful, equitable, viable, and purposeful digitalisation of learning and teaching. It is important to know where you ‘are’ in the design process. Avoid starting with ‘the solution’ but with considerations of the many ways in which the opportunity could be thought about. Get some ‘divergence’ into your thinking, and then ‘converge’ on your optimal viable way forward. Focus down to an appropriate, collective ‘Point of View’ if you can about the opportunity. Then diverge your considerations of possible resolutions before converging on your best plan(s) to meet the situation, given your time and resources. So, for example, the divergence might be to explore a wide range of ways to respond to students unable to attend campus. And then, converging on the preferred resolutions by creating a pedagogical journey through a storyboard. This concept is usually drawn as two consecutive diamonds like so: You will have noticed that moving from the dominance of place- based learning to exploring the potential of digital environments is complex! For more complicated challenges, wider thinking assists in developing better understanding and more choices. It’s best done with a small team of people with differing perspectives. So, for Carpe Diem methodologies, we add aspects of ‘systems thinking’ to our fusion, such as multiple stakeholders and visualisations to increase our creativity. In situations of rapid change in the wide world of work and research, we need still more in the mix. Key questions might remain: how to explore possible futures for the graduates of our learning programmes? How can we prepare them better for their long learning lives? Who will benefit – can advantages be broader and more equitable? How can we make our education programmes more relevant over time, not less? We can explore data of all kinds. We can map visions to potentials. But the core of our design thinking needs to lead to tangible constructions of learning pathways. Have a try…
Group engagement based on design processes cross borders and boundaries and enthuse different disciplinary cultures and professions. They are almost universal in their ability to engage, and likely to benefit future students. Recent international practice in workshops deploying these design concepts has engendered confidence in and involvement by participants. Please explore and become a designer of the future! References. Visual Director for Education Alchemists, Rod Angood, YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn6piCH5d6g&t=69s Brand, W. (2019). Visual Thinking. Amsterdam: BIS Publishers. Hall, E. (2018) The 9 Rules of Design Research. Blog aimed at business; an interesting perspective. https://medium.com/mule-design/the-9-rules-of-design-research-1a273fdd1d3b Lewrick, M., Link, P.,& Leifer.(2018).The design thinking playbook: Mindful digital transformation of team, products, services and ecosystems. Hoboken: Wiley Roam, D. (2016) Draw to Win. (2016). Penguin.
9 Comments
24/1/2022 16:26:37
Great article! Thank you for sharing this informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.
Reply
16/2/2022 13:16:10
This is a very informative—edifying article to all. Thanks a lot! Continue to post!
Reply
6/8/2024 12:09:33
Homeschooling allows for a more flexible schedule, accommodating family activities and travel.
Reply
The blog Educators as Designers of the Future emphasizes the importance of thoughtful and deliberate planning in creating digital learning environments. Gilly Salmon’s Carpe Diem co-design approach provides a framework for educators to collaborate and innovate in ways that are both mindful and purposeful.
Reply
In Educators as Designers of the Future, Gilly Salmon advocates for a design process that encourages divergence and convergence, allowing educators to explore multiple solutions before selecting the most viable path. This methodology supports mindful, equitable, and purposeful teaching and learning, especially in rapidly changing environments.
Reply
20/1/2025 10:30:52
Gilly Salmon’s blog Educators as Designers of the Future underscores the importance of strategic planning and creative thinking in the design of digital learning experiences. Her approach encourages educators to take a broad, yet focused, view of challenges, fostering innovation and equitability in learning environments.
Reply
20/1/2025 10:35:01
In Educators as Designers of the Future, Gilly Salmon highlights the significance of using design processes to create innovative and effective learning environments, especially in the context of digital education. Her Carpe Diem co-design methodology emphasizes the importance of collaboration and careful planning.
Reply
30/1/2025 09:21:53
A Gold IRA lets you invest in physical gold for retirement. It helps diversify your portfolio and hedge against inflation, but comes with storage fees and specific regulations.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorGilly Salmon Archives
January 2022
Categories |