Designing e-learning

One of the resources the Australian Flexible Learning Framework provides is an online introduction to Designing e-Learning. This has a Gallery of strategies as well as information on Learning design and Learning materials. This is all a bit much to take in and it is best to start with the suggested five steps:

1. Get started in e-learning
2. Explore e-technologies
3. Plan an e-learning initiative
4. Design an e-learning course
5. Develop an e-learning plan

I find the travel metaphor used confusing, with e-tours, travel packs, itineraries and stops along the way. It would be simpler to use the technical e-learning terminology, than have to work out what these are about. But apart from that, the material is very well structured and clearly written.

Each of the five steps has a short "Itinerary" with the equivalent of about one printed page of text. This has between three and eight (usually four) items ("Stops on this tour"). Each item has a few lines of text, with perhaps three to five bullet points, and a link to material from the "What you'll need from the travel pack". The travel pack materials are Word Processing documents, Power point slides and links to external e-Learning web sites.