My ideal learning environment

(previously posted in the G+ community for Leaders of Learning #GSE2x Q3 2014 in August 2014)

My response to the assessment exercise "Design Challenge: Human Factors & Your Ideal Learning Space"

Thought I would share my response to this and ask for further feedback but this time from the G+ community.

My design was exclusively aimed at Distributed Individual learners and virtual spaces. A majority of the content of the course was aimed at physical spaces. My ideal design seeks to address some of the issues that I have hated about the virtual spaces I have used on the MOOCs I have taken to date. Even as I type, I am thinking of more issues that I need to address! I am also lining myself up to learn more about virtual spaces and community building. Can anyone recommend any resources in this area?

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People learn best when they can
1. personally choose a course of study and are personally committed to completing that course for personal and/or professional reasons
2. pace themselves through the course content
3. stick to the core minimum course content and if they wish go into greater detail on some subjects that are signposted on the course
4. interact with fellow learners virtually or physically to the extent that they desire including none if that is their preference (including the facility to locate other learners to facilitate this) on the course provider’s platform and/or on any public internet space
5. test their understanding of the content via questions that are scored including explanation of the right answers.

The following information about the course, readily findable on the internet, will be clear prior to a learner signing-up:-
1. Objectives
2. Subject areas to be covered including basic and advanced content
3. Languages the course content is available in
4. Audience - who the course is aimed at and any pre-requisite skills and experience
5. Timing - start and end dates
6. Structure - what will be covered when
7. How and when the course content is delivered and sequenced including media, platforms (e.g. course provider proprietary, YouTube, Google+ etc) and whether the content or digital spaces are closed or open to non course participants
8. How the course will be assessed or whether no assessment is relevant to the course
9. Whether participation and/or assessment certificates will be issued.

The digital space to enable this learning to happen will be as follows:-
1. Access
a. To anyone who is registered for a specific running of the course with access to the internet on any device (or publicly available if an open course)
b. Access in perpetuity for the content and any course provider-owned discussion forums of the specific running of the course

2. Borders & Boundaries
a. User registration including optional input of data about the learner for discovery by other learners (including location)
b. Minimum course content to be covered for any assessment purposes
c. Clear signposting of deeper/optional content

3. Locations for Learning
a. Main online hub for the course where all learners need to go for course information, where they are up to in the course and their pass/fail status if the course is assessed, information about any course provider supplied or mandated discussion forums
b. Strong recommendation to have a single open discussion forum so that learning can be shared publicly and openly on the internet (depending on the nature and content of the course to also have a closed forum on the course provider’s platform for more private sharing)
c. Personal recommendation to use Google+, YouTube and other widely accessible platforms requiring no specific chargeable licences

4. Transmission of Learning
a. Weekly introductory live (Google Hangout on Air) or pre-recorded video (YouTube, private links if need be) to introduce the course content for that week
b. Course content all online via public or private links to YouTube videos, web pages and so on
c. Seeded discussion forum questions to spark off discussion
d. Assessment questions to confirm understanding
e. Further content etc for each week including book recommendations, articles, videos (ideally all publicly available and if not how these are accessed/purchased).
f. All of the above to be available in perpetuity for registered learners on specific runnings of the course.

All of the above is submitted on the basis that I am a Distributed Individual learner and leader of learners where the digital space for learning is paramount and virtual discussion groups are encouraged.