JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
October 2004
How to Create a Learner Guide
Introduction
Firstly let’s have a quick look at what a Learner Guide is. The Learner Guide should do as the name suggests: guide a student or learner to information or exercises to achieve a particular Outcome or performance criteria of a piece of learning (eg. from a SQA Unit). It is also recommended practice that the URL of the educational website you embed in your Learner Guide is included in the Information Gateway resource of evaluated educational websites (http://www2.sfeu.ac.uk). These websites are mapped to the SCQF (Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework).
Accessing the Learner Guide
Use the Internet to access the web address URL: http://www.learnerguide.co.uk You will be presented with a log-in box which asks you to input your Username and Password.
Figure 1: Logging-on to the Learner Guide host website
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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If you have not yet been given a username and password you can request access from the e-college team, Centre for College Development, SFEU. E-mail Jean Henderson, eLearning Advisor (jean.henderson@sfeu.ac.uk). Enter your Username and Password into the screen input boxes and press the Submit button. This should take you to the start-up page of the Learner Guide where you select the link for Administration. (NB. ‘Complete a Learner Guide’ button shows students and you a listing of available created subject Learner Guides.) When in Administration you should have an Admin screen like this:
Figure 2: Accessing the XML Learner Guides
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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Under ‘XML Learner Guides’, click the hyperlink for List guides. You should arrive at a screen with a listing of Learner Guides by subject title. Here you can look at various Learner Guides for different subjects. To create a new Learner Guide click on the New Learner Guide button.
Figure 3: Requesting a new Learner Guide
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The next screen capture asks you as author to give the Learner Guide a title and a succinct description.
Figure 4: Titling your Learner Guide and entering metadata If you scroll down this metadata page you will see other metadata fields are included and you can refer to the SFEU suggested FE metadata profile (URL: (forthcoming)) or UK Educational LOM (http://www.cetis.ac.uk/profiles/uklomcore) for further information about these metadata fields. Note you must actually complete all sections of this page in order to advance into the rest of the template pages. Fields to complete are: • • • • • • Title Description Language – leave preset as English Keywords Identifier – leave the auto-generated code you see Version – insert, eg. 1
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Name – your name should be detected and generated automatically from your computer log-in details – but you can edit this as required. For role: choose, eg. author from the drop-down menu. For organisation: enter the name of your college or project. Copyright – enter Copyright the name of your college, organisation, institution or perhaps project sponsor or funder. URL – leave ‘unknown’ unless instructed to do otherwise.
• •
Scroll down after inputting the asked for descriptions in the input boxes and then press the Submit button at the foot of the Learner Guide web page. Consult trained metadata professionals or resource centre librarians, if so advised. Press the Submit button again to resave any additional data entered. Next scroll down to the foot of the list of Learner Guide titles which appear chronologically. You will find your guide listed with the date you created it at the foot of the listing.
Figure 5: Your new Learner Guide appears at foot of chronological listing of titles Identify the Learner Guide you’re creating by title and author name. Let’s have a look at the five icons that appear at the right-hand side of the Learner Guide title. Try rolling your mouse gently over the five icons and you will see a title appear for each in turn.
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Edit learner guide details Preview learner guide in new window Edit pages Delete learner guide Next select the centre icon ‘Edit pages’ . Double click on this edit pages icon and you will see the set template pages that are the main building blocks of all Learner Guides.
Figure 6: Learner Guide template pages You are however able to input appropriate guidance and instructions for your students in these pages. Let’s take each in turn:
‘About the symbols used in this document’
Click on the ‘Edit pages’ icon – to open this page. NB. the symbol content of this particular page should not be changed.
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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The following screen page should open:
Figure 7: About the symbols used in this document The four Learner Guide icons or house style symbols are listed and named and you can choose the most relevant one for each of your Learner Guide pages. Below are the icons or navigation flags that should be used consistently to aid learner navigation through the material.
Instruction
Task
Review
Assessment
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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Let’s move on to the next page: Introduction. Here you can describe in a few sentences or paragraphs what the Learner Guide is about. Include a statement identifying the target population of learners for whom the materials are designed; including where appropriate, the context for use and details of the prior knowledge and skills recommended to gain benefit from the Learner Guide. Notice that there is a small question mark beside the various headings (eg. Title; Page Type). If you click on the question mark a pop-up textbox appears with further information.
Figure 8: Pop-up help box facility From this page on, you can start the real creation and crafting of your Learner Guide material for your students. Remember to scroll down and press the Submit button to save your work and return to the menu of contents pages in your Learner Guide.
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The next page is Objectives where as it implies you can list the objectives, aims and learning outcomes. Include a clear statement of learning outcomes (what the learner should be able to do and/or know by completing the materials), including as appropriate context, level and relationship to qualifications, eg. Unit code and Outcome number.
Figure 9: Objectives page of Learner Guide Have you noticed the various formatting tools where you can control the format, style and appearance of the text that you input to the various Guide pages? Basically they resemble icons that you use for Word text formatting and create the same actions. Therefore you can use bold (B) for emphasising key words or titles; create bulleted or numeric lists, etc. You can select between various Fonts or point Sizes in the drop-down menus provided. These style tools are available on all the pages of the Learner Guide. Remember though that your college or institution may have a recommended house-style for publications and learning objects to adhere to. Remember to scroll and Submit each page of the Learner Guide in turn. This saves your work. The Learner Guide has undergone a lot of testing and development so errors should now be rare – but save regularly to ensure data is stored.
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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The next page is Resources you will need.
Figure 10: Resources you will need Here you can mention the Internet connections, website accessed and any special features, eg. downloads, Flash, Media player, Acrobat Reader, etc. As necessary any special equipment or instruments, eg. watches, rulers, etc.
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The final ‘set’ template page is Assessment information where you can perhaps include some information about formative assessment (it is not envisaged that the Learner Guide will be used for summative assessment). Remember to indicate the page type by the ‘assessment’ icon. Normally the Learner Guide would only include formative assessment but explain this to your students. Make clear whether any assessment provided in, or linked to, is diagnostic, formative or summative. If summative state whether it contributes to a specific qualification or credit. There should be clear information on opportunities for assessment, related to certification and qualifications, and about credits and their level (eg. SCQF).
Figure 11: Assessment information After these set template pages you can now add as many additional pages to your Learner Guide as required. However remember that ideally the LG should be 10 or 12 pages long to be readily usable and achievable by the learner, covering only one outcome or ‘bite’ of learning.
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When the ‘template’ five pages have been created you can start to generate new pages by using the Create a new page button at the foot of the LG page.
Figure 12: Create a new page For each new page you create you must include a Title and select the appropriate icon (instruction, task, review, assessment) that you wish to appear on the finished page. Using this structured template lecturers can complete the Learner Guide by adding additional pages of relevant information. Generally the content should be learner centred. Content should be accurate, up-to-date and relevant to the learner’s needs with material peer-reviewed and quality checked by editors and learning technologists. Some Notes: The Learner Guide does not have an equation editor as yet, so Maths or Science staff may find that they cannot embed symbols. The recommended practice for mathematical expressions or equations is to author the full maths working in Word equation editor, save your calculation as a graphic, then import as a graphic into the Learner Guide. Do not cut and paste from a Word document (formatting may be copied which generates errors) – use a simple text editor like Notepad if required to author text – or just input directly to the LG template. You can however cut and paste material between pages of a Learner Guide or between different subject guides.
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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Yes you can add graphics and images to your Learner Guide. Please remember though IPR and copyright regulations, so ensure it is original artwork or from a copyright free source. Insert your cursor at the point on screen where you wish your graphic to appear. On clicking on the Add Image button you will see a pop-up box like Insert Image shown below:
Figure 13: Insert image Press the Browse button to search through your computer directories for the appropriate graphics location. Select the appropriate graphics file in jpeg, gif format. Remember to add the Alternative text for image in the blank description field to aid website accessibility. Press the Submit button (lower left of Insert Image pop-up box). The image file path and description should now be embedded within the appropriate Learner Guide page. As always press the Submit button so that it is saved and created for learners to view.
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Embedding hyperlinks: The Learner Guide has a facility for linking to website pages and you can cut and paste the URL into the tool shown, then press the Add button for it to be embedded into the Learner Guide:
Figure 14: Embedding hyperlinks Once you have input your content into the Learner Guide you can Preview Pages by clicking on the appropriate link. The Learner Guide will open in a new window and you can view the product as a student will access the Learner Guide material. You can return to the Edit Learner Guide Pages if you wish make any changes or additions. Remember to resave each page before exiting though. If you have input a lot of textual information in a page of the template you might find because of scrolling that the tools and font selection panel are no longer conveniently visible on screen. A convenient tip is to go to View menu, then: Text Size: set to Smallest. Set this only temporarily and this should help you use all the tools – then go back and restore to the original text size before going on to the next page. Learning Design Issues – hints and suggestions • • • • • • • • • • Keep instructions clear, simple and user friendly. Make the instructions comprehensive or stand-alone – remember the learner may be using the Learner Guide at home. Try to avoid inserting too much text on one page (avoid scrolling down). Avoid cluttering the page with dense text paragraphs. Use bullet points and simple statements. Provide interaction, ie. visit websites, give students exercises, etc. Keep font size/style consistent – remember accessibility (we recommend Verdana 12 point). Some students or classes may have limited ICT skills so keep simple. Remember download times on old or basic computers so do not use complex graphics or link to websites with lots of rich media. Do not try and teach a whole Unit – a Learner Guide should take the learner 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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• • • •
The XML Learner Guide file can be loaded into your college VLE and further interactivity or instructions can be added (including tracking and marking, etc). Try to proof and quality check your work for mistakes or typos before piloting with learners. As the Learner Guide is an ICT tool some would argue use a spell checker, but better still use common sense. It’s often a good idea to get a colleague to work through your Learner Guide before using it with students.
Pedagogical Checklist • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Provide motivating features (eg. by allowing learners to set their own goals, or by relating the learning to their work). Use language at the appropriate level and complexity for your target audience. Allow routing through the learning material to by-pass what is already known or not required. Adopt user-centred design. Enable learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures to relate to the content by ensuring that portrayal of society reflects its diversity (eg. gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, etc.). Link to suitable websites giving instructions on navigation or searching to direct learning to educationally relevant subject content. Take the learner from known established facts to new learning in appropriately sized stages; be self-contained with lengths appropriate to level and content of learning; suggested study time should be stated as a guide to the learner. any medium chosen within websites included in the Learner Guide should contribute to the learning, and not be used just because it is available. Provide learners with the best way of understanding processes and acquiring skills and knowledge. Give regular summaries and reviews. Design your Guide to engage the learner in participative learning. Integrate support into the Learner Guide rather than be tutor dependent. Indicate how, and at what times, the learner can contact a tutor for support. Encourage appropriate guided peer dialogue. Allow self-assessment and regular feedback. Make the learning relevant to the learner and interesting, enjoyable or fun. Offer opportunities to apply newly acquired knowledge and skills in real or simulated settings.
Presentation
Materials (printed and web-based) should conform to a recommended house style. The following advice and tips should be kept in mind: • • • • Do not use excessive font style, font size, colours or CAPITALISATION. Images and graphics must have copyright clearance. Illustrations should be applicable and free from all forms of discrimination and promote diversity. Remember good screen layout and web page design. Include adequate white space and avoid clutter.
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JISC X4L Maps and Learner Guide Toolkit
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• • •
Remember to include not only text, but appropriate captions and annotations, graphs, diagrams and tables. Keep your Learner Guide fairly short – around 12 pages. Check spelling and try to eliminate typos, etc.
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