Our consulting and design approach
for e-learning environments is a little different from the majority of hard technological so called solutions offered today. Our main goal is to architect, design and build effective online learning environments that
are supportive of the learners' needs and that have the capacity to grow and evolve and to sustain learning over time.. Just as an architect designs a building or town based on the overarching mission of forming a
community, so too do we as the learning architect focus on community building within in a learning environment. We have identified the following learning design principles and have used them in the environments
that we have created. These principles are based on sustainable design and ecological architecture tenets that have become standards in the world of architecturePrinciples:
1. Holistic, Organic Systems Approach
We acknowledge responsibility for the effects of the design on the whole system and the learning system in design. All learning components are interrelated in a
holistic way, as in nature where everything is one.
Artificial boundaries of learning spaces constrict sustainability of the learning.
Understanding the internal connections among each of the components of
the learning environment is very important. It is also important to understand the linkages that aid global interconnectedness.
Planning and assembling of all the components and systems is be guided by a process
that allows the whole to emerge gradually from local acts. Another way to describe this is when there is a "perfect balance between the needs of the parts and the needs of the whole" (Alexander - The Oregon
Experiment p.14) There is no panacea or ideal off the shelf solution. It is important to make sure that the many acts of building will help create a whole instead of making up an aggregation of unrelated parts. In an
organic environment every place is unique and the different places cooperate to create a global whole. According to Alexander, the planning process seems to work best when there are an equal number of users and
administrators, in which each person helps shape the parts of the environment he or she knows best. Piecemeal growth works to create organic order. It is evolutionary and allows ongoing monitoring to occur. Patterns in
the online environment should be reviewed and modified as necessary, as this protects the well-being of the whole.
Learning Activities and the learning space are intertwined as part of the whole. The various
learning activities that occur in an online workshop, seminar, or course are supported by the learning space. According to Christopher Alexander (Timeless Way of Building, p. 70) the" pattern of events cannot be
separated from the space where it occurs." "The space supports this action. The two form a unit, a pattern of events in space." Our modules with the underlying learning principles form patterns for online
learning.
2. Relationship Building and Collaboration
Co-design of the learning environment with the client is our design choice . Working closely with the client helps achieve an
optimum learning environment solution. Standardized or off-the shelf solutions often fall short in supporting desired learning needs. Such standardization often pays little attention to local learning needs or available
resources and often reflects an inaccurate sense of efficiency and cost savings.
Relationship building is key as relationships bring more power into life. Online learning communities offer the opportunity to
increase the breadth of our relationships over geographic distance and time.
The people who use the environment should have a sense of ownership and feel that their learning space is theirs. People will
participate more in the environment if they feel responsible for their environment.
3. Sensitivity to Local Needs
A learning environment should honor the needs and culture of the
local group. Incorporating the local partner in the design of the learning system brings their perspective to the design. This helps to ensure that local knowledge and traditions are part of the design content and
process. Patterns can be inserted or deleted to meet the local needs. The learning environment contains global and local patterns.
4. Promoting Diversity
Incorporating diverse learning
methods and styles helps support sustainability.
- Different multimedia methods are used as part of the learning environment.
- Diverse learning requirements are established based on the group, the organizational culture, and the learning styles of participants.
- Multidisciplinary approaches to learning are encouraged whenever possible. Online learning environments promote learning about technology in addition to learning specific requested content areas.
5. Learning that is "Alive" - Support Individual's Needs and Potential
It is crucial that we seek to offer a learning environment that provides for each individual a sense of aliveness
and that contributes to the unique needs of individual learners. We strive to support the kinds of learning activities that allow learning forces to flow easily and lead to diminished pre-conceived ideas. Each component
of the learning environment should generate an aliveness, receptivity to learning, and should engender social relationship-building.
As Alexander says (Timeless Way of Building, p. 123) "The more living
patterns there are in a thing…the more it comes to life as an entirety, the more it glows, the more it has this self-sustaining fire…"
6. Action-oriented/Experiential
The learning environment draws
heavily on all the experiences of the participants. Online experiences should incorporate inner-directed reflective experiences as well as experiences that reach out socially to the broader global community. Through
dialogue, participants share their stories and experiences. The focus however, should not be entirely be on talking, but should promote an active, action-oriented approach to learning.
7. Simplicity, Directness and Mindfulness
The learning environment achieves more when it is direct and simple in its design. Too much complexity can distract from the learning focus. Being mindful of all needs
of the participants, as well as giving focused attention to the present are important qualities to evoke from learning participants and administrators.
References:
Guidelines and Principles for Sustainable Community Design
Robert Hsin Florida A & M University School of Architecture April 12, 1996
The Timeless Way of Building
Christopher Alexander Oxford University Press New York 1979
The Oregon Experience
Christopher Alexander, Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, and Denny Abrams Oxford University Press,
New York, 1975
