Blended Learning – Page 5 – Digital Learning Dispatches

This week we hosted Professor Grainne Conole who earlier in the year was formally appointed as an Adjunct Professor within the NIDL. A highlight of Grainne’s visit was the half-day workshop she facilitated to an invited group of DCU and linked College staff on the topic of learning design. Drawing on her recent book Designing for Learning in an Open World, and more specifically the 7Cs Framework, Grainne explained key differences between the field of Learning Design and more traditional conceptions of Instructional Design.

She then explained a number of innovative ways of helping academic staff to articulate the design process in order to better realise the affordances and opportunities available through new digital technologies. This was productive line of discussion which generated lots of good ideas. As an outcome of the workshop the NIDL team is already planning when to schedule a design challenge for staff. We are also looking forward to working with Grainne again in her new role in the National Institute.

Welcome to the core team of staff within the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University. The National Institute brings together staff previously in Oscail and the Learning Innovation Unit under a new organisational structure, which includes the Open Education Unit, Teaching Enhancement Unit and Digital Learning Research Network. The new Institute aims to build strong community of practices and a distributed leadership network by harnessing the significant expertise that already exists within the University and linked Colleges. Our staff welcome your ideas and any feedback as we endeavour to establish the NIDL as a driving force in helping to transform lives and societies through the powerful combination of 21st century pedagogies and new digital technologies. We are currently working on the full website for the NIDL and this should be ready to launch in the next month or so.