Basic Design Procedures for E-learning Courses

Designing and developing instruction and learning is a complex process. Analysis of the behaviour of expert designers shows that it cannot be divided up into a simple, linearly ordered sequence of steps that, if duly followed, will inevitably lead to sound instruction. However, even if each expert has his or her own way of designing and developing instruction, we can still discern a number of phases that are an idealisation of the Instructional System Development (ISD) process. The five phases one often distinguishes are analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. Each phase concludes with a product. The evaluation phase, for example, typically results in an evaluation report that records the success, or lack thereof, of the entire design and development process, but often also serves as input for the next design and development cycle. Furthermore, each phase often involves using tools that improve the quality of the end prod-uct, or enhance efficiency or efficacy of the process. These tools may vary from checklists and manuals to software. We start this chapter with a brief discussion of the five ISD phases, set-ting the stage for our main subject: a discussion of how the Learning Design specification can assist and inform the Instructional Design (ID) process proper.