Positioning Learning Design: Learner Experience and the challenges of transforming teaching practice

Whilst effective design of reproducible learning experiences is perceived to be strategically important for educational institutions and many tools to assist in the processes of design and coordination have been developed, evidence suggests that these tools have had little success in gaining traction within the broad user base of teachers and learners. Using a case-study of the international expansion of a UK university, we show how an examination of the design of reproducible learner experiences which facilitates the separation of design from delivery has been necessitated. We describe an international computer-coordinated learning activity which has been designed to simulate the situation of international delivery and highlight communicational practice. The exercise also models the practices of online activity design and its efficacy in cross-cultural situations. Through an analysis both of the problem of the University and the activity to develop staff, we create a model of the conditions for the more widespread adoption of LD technology in the sector. To produce this model, we draw on the findings of the JISC SPLICE project, which aimed to change practice with social software, and on the Positioning Theory of Harré. We argue that with the redescription of the case-study using these distinctions, the priority to maximise the effectiveness of communications in the institution, the provision of good teaching and the coordination of a multi-national educational operation can be linked. Given these priorities, the model shows LD technology presenting a natural solution both for teachers and educational managers.