Posts tagged distance learning
An OPM Decision Framework for Universities

Universities across the UK are under increasing pressure to grow digital provision—fast. But while the ambition is there, the implementation is often where things fall down. Questions crop up like:

  • Do we have the internal expertise to design and deliver high-quality online courses?

  • Can we scale recruitment and student support without an OPM’s infrastructure?

  • What’s the cost difference between doing it all ourselves vs. outsourcing some parts?

  • How do we avoid building an internal model that becomes unmanageable or underused?

This framework helps answer those questions by providing a structure to assess your institution’s readiness, capabilities, and priorities.

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Crafting Effective MOOCs: A Strategic Guide for Universities

In the evolving landscape of higher education, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have emerged as a pivotal tool for universities aiming to extend their reach and showcase their academic excellence. However, developing a successful MOOC requires meticulous planning and a deep understanding of both the chosen platform and the institution's unique identity. At Learning Design Solutions (LDS), we partner with universities to navigate this complex process, ensuring that each MOOC is both pedagogically sound and reflective of the institution's brand.

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Human vs AI Video for Online Courses

By experimenting with creating both human (me) and AI (Synthesia) presented video for the Learning Design Solutions demo course, I’ve found that both have definite pros and cons, and ultimately both can be the most appropriate approach depending on the context - aren’t we lucky to have the choice! Here I lay out my experience and what I’ve learned about when to use either (or both).

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Embracing AI in Course Design – Insights from Creating the ‘Principles of Responsible Management’ Course

In an exciting new project at Learning Design Solutions, we embarked on a journey to harness AI for designing a fully online, university-level course titled Principles of Responsible Management. This course, aimed at Master’s students, spanned four weeks and was structured for 5 UK academic credits (CAT points), equating to about 50 hours of student engagement. With AI at the core of the design process, we aimed not only to streamline the course development timeline but to uphold robust educational standards rooted in learning science and sound pedagogy. Here, I’d like to share some reflections on the process and what we learned along the way.

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Does your university need to work with an OPM to go online?

Post-pandemic and post-emergency remote learning, a lot of institutions are recognising that they can and should put some of their programmes online. Acceptance of online and the recognised need to provide alternative modes of learning have helped everyone see that a bigger presence in the online space is desirable if not inevitable, but does a university need an OPM partner to go online?

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What is the add-value of lectures?

What is the purpose of a lecture? If students have constant access to rich resources on pretty much every subject we would want to teach, why should we spend time talking to them about that subject, rather than letting them investigate for themselves?

In this short article, I look at how we can ensure that our lectures add value - both in live teaching settings, and micro-lectures added to asynchronous online courses.

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