Structure Idea for DoCS
The program I chose to ‘e-learning-ify’ is the ‘Impact of Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD)’. After looking through the content and the activities of the program, I found that the main methods of teaching are:
- Lecturing (there is a large chunk of this half way through the first day. In addition, almost every group activity is preceded and concluded by a lecture.)
- Group activities, mainly consisting of answering questions from the participant’s guide
- Individually filling out parts of the participant’s guide
- Class discussions, once again based on the participant’s guide
The program is currently completely face to face, and is highly structured. There is a large amount of theoretical knowledge as well, which they then apply to scenarios. Attitudes towards AOD are explored learner’s attitudes to AOD are confronted.
After thinking about how I could represent this in an e-learning way, I thought of the following idea: Much of the content is groupwork and the NGO learners are oriented towards groupwork, therefore I want use some form of synchronous technology to gel the whole program together. This will also provide some structure to the program which learners new to e-learning will need. However, you can only sit down on the computer for so long without getting a headache. This is particularly apparent with technologies like webinars.
But it would be more convenient for DoCS to have access to asynchronous technologies so that their learners can organise their learning time around their work. So, I want to do some parts of the course asynchronously. I would use simulations, podcasts, vodcasts, etc, but I’m not sure which ones specifically yet.
I also need to create a way for individuals to ask and respond to questions between synchronous sessions, so that if they get stuck, they can get help.
