Project article
Summary
Futurelab is developing a research programme to identify the full range of strategies and conditions required to enable innovation in the design and development of digital learning
resources.
Through desk-based research, interviews, questionnaires with key stakeholders and observations of design practice, the research programme will generate a common conception of what 'counts' as innovative practice. We will generate a map of existing innovative practice in this field within the UK, and identify the methods, techniques, institutional cultures and development practices that contribute to innovation in the development of elearning resources. The research will result in recommendations to promote the practices and techniques that may be needed to foster more innovative and creative practice.
Context
If the UK education system is to respond to the changing needs of learners in a digital society, and to fully exploit the potential of new technologies in supporting learning and teaching, it is clear that significant improvements in the quality and use of digital learning resources are needed.
These improvements will only come through innovation, risk-taking and the development of new approaches to collaboration between experts from a wide range of different sectors and fields.
At the present time, however, there is little widely shared information on what such new approaches might look like, in order that others might adopt them, and little public and shared understanding of how these approaches might be put into practice. What is also absent is a more generic and widely
shared understanding of the tools and techniques for innovation that are used in non-educational settings, for example drawing on the advances made in recent years in high-tech and 'knowledge economy' industries. At the same time, at policy level, we need an understanding of the conditions
which facilitate and encourage these innovative practices in order to create a policy climate which actively fosters this shift.
In order to effectively progress towards the government's e-strategy goals in the design of the next generation of learning resources, there is a need to identify and learn from innovative practice, and to clarify the different techniques and resources available that enable innovative approaches.
Project outline
The research programme has the following key objectives:
- to identify what constitutes innovative practice in the design and development of digital
resources for education
- to investigate models of innovative practice outside the realm of education technology
- to generate a map of different approaches to innovation in the design and development of digital
resources for education
- to produce guidelines for industry and policy communities highlighting recommendations for developing innovative practice in the design and development of digital learning resources.
To achieve these goals, we will work with a wide range of stakeholders within the technology, education and creative communities. By conducting an in-depth literature review in the areas of innovation and knowledge creation in the education field and in the field of knowledge industries, we will identify key features that can already be identified as characteristic of innovative practice.
In partnership with Futurelab's network of practitioners, researchers and key policy makers, we will develop a shared 'outline' understanding of what constitutes innovative practice in the design and development of digital resources in education.
Building from this point, we will work with this group to generate a list of groups, individuals and organisations identified as representing innovative practice, and from contact with the initial selection further examples of such practice will be unearthed. This sample is likely to draw on both
academic, practitioner and industry sectors and will form the basis of case studies of innovative practice in the design and development of learning resources. These will contribute to a 'map' of innovative practice which identifies lead practitioners, key techniques and the key cultural and
institutional conditions which facilitate such innovative practice in the educational technology sector.
From this point, the research programme will develop a set of recommendations and guidelines which
will be presented with a view to informing key industry and policy communities.
Contacts
For more information about this research programme, please contact Dan Sutch:
innovations@futurelab.org.uk
October 2006
