Many higher education institutions in the United States had to implement a strategy of rapid pivoting from face-to-face to online learning in response to the Spring 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face learning posed a high risk of uncontrolled widespread of the virus, thus, classes had to switch rapidly to a remote mode of instruction that leveraged online learning technologies. The rapid pivoting from face-to-face to online learning posed unprecedented challenges. It is widely accepted among the communities of instructional designers, educators who teach online, and higher education administrators that designing online courses requires more than mirroring face-to-face courses in the online environment (Watson et al., 2017). Instructional strategies adopted in face-to-face instruction are not as effective in online learning environments as research has shown (Baldwin et al., 2018), and as students have remarked[1]. The application of instructional strategies tailored for online learning ensures meaningful learning experiences (Watson et al., 2017); thus, a quality online learning experience. For example, quality online learning experiences do not require weekly meetings as students live in different time zones and adopt an asynchronous approach to learning to ensure flexible and equitable access to course materials. However, providing faculty support for the rapid pivot from face-to-face to online learning with limited time and instructional design resources is uncharted territory. Faculty and instructional designers were challenged to support quality learning experiences through online course design in less than two weeks at many campuses across the country.
In recent years, publications on microlearning have substantially increased, as this topic has received extensive attention from scholars in the instructional design and technology discipline. To better characterize and understand microlearning, there is a need for comprehensive bibliometrics assessments of the literature on microlearning. To this end, this bibliometric study collected 208 relevant publications on microlearning from the Scopus database, published in diverse contexts. Using quantitative topic modeling and qualitative content analysis methods, we identified four major themes in these publications, namely: (1) design of microlearning; (2) implementation of microlearning as an instructional method strategy and an intervention; (3) evaluation of microlearning; and (4) the utilization of mobile devices for microlearning. Based on the study findings, we discuss the significance of the study and provide implications for research and practice, particularly in fostering rigorous inquiry on the topic of microlearning, expanding the context of research to include K-12 settings, and focusing on mobile-based microlearning.
The purpose of this study was to investigate instructional designers' needs during a rapid transition to remote learning due to COVID-related shutdowns of campuses, schools, and organizations. For the purpose of this study, we chose a large Facebook group for instructional designers as a medium of informal learning. Following a mixed-method study design, we answered the following research questions: (RQ1) What needs did instructional designers express and report in an informal learning environment during the In what way did an informal learning environment facilitate peer-to-peer support for instructional designers? The findings of this study highlighted diverse expressed needs, ranging from educational technology needs to COVID-19 specific and general pedagogical needs. We found that peer-to-peer support between instructional designers was facilitated in an informal learning environment through an exchange of ideas and advice that were prompted by questions/requests for support. The study begins to document the needs of instructional designers during the COVID-19 crisis in instructional design technology (IDT) literature. The online environment we studied seems to provide numerous options for informal learning activities for instructional design professionals.
Learning design and technology (LTD) researchers can use the Window of Interactions framework to provide context, explanation, and critique to the field. This framework provides the opportunity to analyze the technological characteristics of different types of interactive objects, including learning objects and learning environments, while keeping in mind pedagogical affordances. Using the framework enables LDT researchers to establish a link between interactive features of learning objects and learning goals and find better ways to design interactive learning experiences.
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