From contents to activitiesmodelling units of learning

Abstract

This paper discuses the description and design of units of learning (e.g. a lesson, a course) in web-based learning. To date, educational design was heavily based on content definition and organization. Currently, activity design is gaining a great attention. There is a shift from contents to activities that is directly related to the apparition of Educational Modelling Languages (EMLs), of which IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD) is the most outstanding proposal. IMS-LD supports the definition of learning activities considering environment, goals, structure, and participants in an activity. But these aspects are not enough to design certain learning types, for example collaborative learning activities involve a lot of aspects and elements related to human-computer interaction and human collaboration. In this paper we consider a framework of elements that gather the different aspects that should be included in the design of collaborative learning activities.