Instructional Design. Creating an interactive digital product for education

Table of contents

1. Introduction

2. Theoretical background
2.1 Problem analysis (educational need)
2.2 Corporate efforts toward Sustainability Development Goals
2.3 Reflection on Finnish curriculum
2.4 Reflection on German curriculum
2.5 Objectives
2.6 Target group

3. Educational concept
3.1 Learning theories
3.2 Educational models
3.2.1 Blended learning and flipped classroom
3.3 Delivery medium
3.4 Description of interaction

4. Evaluation
4.2 Likert-scale questionnaires
4.3 LORI-questionnaire
4.4 Calculation of the results
4.5 Results
4.6 Interpretation and Discussion

5. Conclusion
5.1 Summary
5.2 Reflection on the international cooperation

6. Bibliography

7. Attachments
Attachment A
Attachment B
Attachment C
Attachment D
Attachment E
Attachment F
Attachment G

List of tables

Table 1: Overall rating, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation

1. Introduction

Digital learning is nowadays a main field in education science and is about to gain even more importance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the western world. Google serves as example to show the impact of e-learning in the 21st century. The enterprise started to train future digital experts for elearning scenarios in summer 2020 an is aiming for teaching 10 million people in the creation of e-learning by the year 2021 in Europe, the middle east and Africa (Horizont Redaktion, 2020).

Within the process of the creation of e-learning content, knowledge about instructional design is a very important part in developing effective elearning scenarios. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the call for instructional designers at universities is high, after most of the semesters were done with remote-teaching and simple webinars, but for the upcoming fall, many universities need to transform their recent teaching into interactive e-learning units. In the context of instructional design, it needs a more intentional approach to teaching. Questions like "What are the goals of a course and how can they best be achieved with digital methods?” describing the goal of instructional design (Decherney & Levander, 2020).

Instructional design is an emerging field in education. Many programs about instructional design are available in different universities all over the world and the demand is still high (Decherney & Levander, 2020).

Because of the meaning of instructional design in the field of elearning, the german university “FernUniversität Hagen” offers the participation in context of the third module called “development and evaluation of digital media” in the master’s degree program of “education and media - eEducation”. Students were able to join an international cooperation project over a period of six weeks, where students from three different universities had to create an own digital product. Communication within the group and the creation process of the product took place entirely online. Tools as shared documents, chat, a learning management system and video-calls were used by the students and the supervisors. Beside the german university “FernUniversität Hagen”, students from the “university of jyväskylä” from Finland and the “open universiteit” of the Netherlands where part of the project. Students were merged into different groups to solve the given tasks by the supervisors of each university. The main content of this paper, especially the digital product which will be presented, was the result of the work of group 3 with the members Jens Leber (FernUniversität Hagen), Minjee Kim (university of jyväskylä), Hanna Laaksonen (university of jyväskylä) and Linus Liss (FernUniversität Hagen).

There was a mandatory research question given to be used within the project. The question was: "How does the interactive digital product meet the quality criteria, outlined in LORI, to support learning?”. Based on the research question, the goal of the project was the development of a supportive digital product. The grade of the supportive effect was measured by the quality criteria of the Learning-Object-Review-Instrument (LORI).

Every part of the digital product is based on the consensus of all group members as well as the feedback which the group received from their supervisor.

The following paper is structured in theoretical background, the educational concept and the evaluation of the digital product which was developed. The paper ends with a conclusion about the design of the product and a reflection of the author about the creation process in an international team

2. Theoretical background

2.1 Problem analysis (educational need)

Under the recent COVID-19 influence, the interest in well-being and sustainability has risen. Finland and Germany, who have been praised to be successful in controlling the pandemic, are the same ones who have active roles in global discussion of sustainability. Based on Finnish and German curriculums, hypothetically a sustainability program was created that expands from household contributions to international alliance. In this paper and the prototype, in particular, the focus is on looking at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues which would belong in the middle of the program.

For corporate examples, four companies from Finland and Germany were selected that hold favourable international reputation: Kesko, Rovio, Adidas and BMW. The goal was to see in which areas they have strength in maintaining sustainability in connection to their main products. For instance, while Kesko focuses on responsible food source and supply chain leading to sustainable lifestyle, Rovio talks about safe and family-friendly game content and brand licensing. Still, both companies have common interest in employee wellbeing and renewable energy. Using these sources, the purpose of this lesson is to teach what the scope of the sustainability talk is and what practices are being done on the corporate level.

2.2 Corporate efforts toward Sustainability Development Goals

To solve global challenges, the United Nations formulated and agreed on 17 "UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)”. These objectives are meant to secure a worldwide sustainable development on an economic, social and ecological level. Global companies, in turn, started to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for a more sustainable production (United Nations, 2012, p. 2).

A mobility-provider, the BMW Group, for instance, follows structures and concepts like reducing CO2 emissions, (electro)-mobility patterns, renewable energy, sustainable supply chains, diversity and long-time employee development (BMW Group, 2019, p. 11). Nearly similar strategies pursue Adidas as leading manufacturer of sportswear. Related to Adidas sustainability report of 2016, key objectives were saving water, innovating materials and processes, conserving energy, empowering employees, improving health (Adidas AG, 2016, pp. 14-51). One of the SDG both companies share is SDG 3, "good health and well-being”, with fostering responsibility for their employees and giving them the chance to help shape their working environment (BMW Group, 2019, p. 11). These findings suggests that they also represent SDG 12, titled “responsible consumption and production”. In case of the BMW Group, water, energy and waste had been reduced per produced vehicle by 45%. Supply chains were optimized for more resource efficiency (BMW Group, 2019, p. 11). Similar to BMW, Adidas reduced water-consumption for production by 50% as well as using renewable materials for their products and saving energy by installing LED lighting in stores and production places since 2013 (Adidas AG, 2016, pp. 14-35).

2.3 Reflection on Finnish curriculum

The educational need for the product is also based in the Finnish curriculum and its objectives of instruction for social studies. According to Finnish national core curriculum, the aim of social studies as a subject is to support student’s growth into active and responsible citizens. The task of this subject is also to guide students to evaluate societal and economic issues and to compare different opinions and ways of acting connected to them from the point of view of different groups of people and value objectives. The viewpoint of societal topics is expanded to cover global issues. The aspect of sustainability is also mentioned in the objectives of instruction, O8, which is to guide the students to understand the basics of economy, to manage their personal finances and to act as a responsible consumer with the principles of sustainable development (Finland, 2016).

To become a responsible consumer and understanding how to make sustainable consuming choices, students must learn what the principles of sustainable development are and how corporates support or act towards sustainability in their processes. By evaluating sustainability reports, students can become more aware of making sustainable choices. There are four key continent areas in social studies for 7-9 grades in the Finnish NCC (Finland, 2016, pp. 215-217) which are C1 Daily life and personal life management, C2 Democratic society, C3 Active citizenship and involvement and C4 Economic activity. The product is based on C4, which is about getting familiar with the basic concepts, phenomena and key actors of the economy and also examining the economy from the viewpoints of sustainable development and different economic actors.

2.4 Reflection on German curriculum

In Germany recommendations for the schools regarding an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) were developed by the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Culture of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK, 2007) and guidelines submitted in the orientation framework for the learning area “Global Development” (Schreiber & Siege, 2016). As a central competence that needs to be acquired, the competence to design the future (Gestaltungskompetenz) is mentioned there, which describes the ability to apply knowledge about sustainable development and to recognize problems of unsustainable developments (Ständige Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (KMK) und der Deutschen UNESCO-Kommission (DUK) [KMK & DUK], 2007, p. 5). As a possible starting point for the topic CSR discussed here can be referred to the subject of economics in the orientation framework (Krol & Zörner, 2016). There, it is stated that the students need a basic understanding of economics as a subsystem of sustainable development in order to recognize and understand the importance of economic action in politics, society and the environment (Krol & Zörner, 2016, p. 289). It is also about learning to take economic perspectives and to be able to take positions on them. Emphasis is placed in particular on the consideration of the students' everyday life context, their perspectives for action and their own contact with economic processes regarding the development of the learning arrangement (Krol & Zörner, 2016, p. 290). These recommendations are well received, for example, in the core curriculum of the subject of economic and politics in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in “content area 8: Act as consumers” for the development and promotion of reflected consumer competence (Ministerium für Schule und Bildung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen [Schulministerium NRW], 2019).

2.5 Objectives

SWBAT know where they can get information about companies’ CSR goals and be able to distinguish which information is relevant for their consumption.

SWBAT understand how their individual actions meets the corporate sustainability efforts and predict the consequences of their consumptions.

2.6 Target group

The target group consists of co-ed 7-9 graders (13-15 years old), in total of 28 divided in groups of four. The students have basic knowledge on environmental and economic sustainability from previous lessons. Students have basic digital literacy from their daily lives and will be given a digital tool to work with Howspace. Students are wanted to build intrinsic motivation toward the topic with a learning experience that is closer to students’ daily lives.

3. Educational concept

In everyday teaching, the use of media is often intuitive. A typical reason for this is the problem that the teacher wants to present a certain situation in a vivid manner. The field of media didactics deals with how media can support or improve learning. The choice of media represents a structural moment in the process of teaching and learning. Therefore, for the use of media in the classroom, the consequences of the medium for teachers and learners as well as for the overall lesson design must be clarified (Tulodziecki & Herzig, 2010, p. 110).

The educational concept based on learning theories and educational models as well as the design of the digital product will be explained.

3.1 Learning theories

The educational research is based on constructivism. Constructivism is based on the idea that knowledge is constructed by individual learner by reflecting on their values, beliefs and previous experiences, which are shaped by situational and cultural contexts (Bodner, Klobuchar, & Geelan, 2001, p. 3; Kerres, 2018, p. 158). In constructive learning, there must be a balance between instruction and construction and the traditional role of teachers shifts to a role as facilitator or coach (Brooks & Brooks, 1999, p. 5). This theory focuses more on the learner and his or her previous knowledge less than on the content of teaching (Smith, 2016).

Effective learning requires motivation, interest, and activity with clear goals. We saw this learning process as of constructive value and our goal as setting a main goal and enable the learners to explore the theme and construct their knowledge. Furthermore, learning also requires appropriate orientation and guidance. By using an interactive medium, teachers can formulate a template which gives situation specific instruction and feedback (Mandl & Reinmann-Rothmeier, 2006, pp. 613-658). In sum, the central task of teaching is to support learners with helpful learning task and instructions as well as creating a learning environment which supports the construction of knowledge by embedding learning in social and multiple contexts and confronting the learners with authentic problems and multiple perspectives (Mandl & Reinmann-Rothmeier, 2006, pp. 640-641).

Based on the statements of constructivism and the action-oriented topic of sustainability, action-oriented learning is a main part of the designed product. The principle of action orientation is linked to two demands: learning should be relevant for later action and learning itself should be done in the sense of the above concept of action. The action-orientation is intended to promote the development of children, which must result in interactive tasks that are adapted for learning and that development-stimulating impulses arise in the moment of dealing with the given tasks of a certain topic. In the context of action and development orientation, there are three further principles:

Orientation of needs (needs should be brought into the classroom), orientation of the situation (tasks have to do with situations of the life of the learner and new things can be related to life situations) and experience and development orientation (previous experiences serve as starting points for learning processes and new experiences are gained during the learning process) (Tulodziecki & Herzig, 2010, p. 180).

Regarding the topic in which the students have to learn to reflect on their actions with regard to the influences of their environment and with regard to their effects, it therefore seems reasonable that the students should have the opportunity to construct their knowledge about sustainability and create their own opinion on the topic in a self-directed learning process accompanied by the instructor as a guide and in exchange with each other.

3.2 Educational models

The attention is drawn to the topic of sustainability in life-related content and self-directed learning processes, through which students can become aware of their own self-efficacy and their possible influence on sustainable developments. Learning how to act as a responsible consumer with regard to sustainability requires a multitude of competencies that are interlinked: a basic understanding of sustainability, which is assumed in this learning unit, the ability to seek out relevant information such as CSR reports as well as judging these reports in relation to their own actions and global consequences.

In order to achieve these learning goals and to promote this kind of character building, the project method is used (Kilpatrick, 1918). With this method students are allowed to engage in a self-directed learning process by being able to pursue self-selected, life-related projects (Kilpatrick, 1918, p. 3). In addition, these projects are embedded in a social context by working in groups in order to stimulate the exchange and reflection about the artefacts that will be created and about their own actions (Knoll, 2014, p. 668). According to Constructivist perspectives, the situated, collaborative form of learning is conducive to the individual’s knowledge construction as well as particularly critical thinking (Gokhale, 1995). The project culminates in the creation of a digital artefact respectively a digital page as their project results. With the later presentation of the same and the thereby promoted reflection it is to be ensured in particular that the importance of one's own consumer behaviour is made transparent to the students themselves (Klenowski, 2002, p. 4).

The concept also uses parts of the Cognitive apprenticeship model (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1988) to support the activity of the students since working self-directed on a project is a difficult task where the students need guidance while also getting used to the tool (Ching & Kafai, 2008, p. 2602). The basics and functions of the tool are introduced through modelling and example videos. As a guide-by-the-side the instructor is available as a coach who can monitor the actions of the Students through access to their page. Furthermore, the tool is intended to support the process of the students’ project by providing constant access to relevant information from the first lesson and by guiding questions and tasks that structure the process through scaffolding.

3.2.1 Blended learning and flipped classroom

The setting of the digital product is a form of a blended learning approach. Blended learning is a way of modern digital learning in which digital media provides impulses and serves as a tool for knowledge development whereas concrete action and problem solving takes place in the group. This pursues the goal to build up sustainable and transferable knowledge to a certain topic (Niegemann et al., 2004, p. 151-152).

Blended learning represents the combination of media-supported learning with face-to-face elements. The targeted combination of media-based learning offers, and traditional forms of teaching can achieve many advantages. Blended learning increases the motivation of the learners, since there is no single interaction with a computer, but working with digital media is part of the collaboration in the group, which is permanently supervised by a teacher (Kerres, 2018, p. 23-24).

The combination of online and presence elements is located under the term "flipped classroom". For the online phases, videos of lectures are made available as well as further materials for independent and self-controlled learning. In the attendance classes, the focus is on working out group exercises and presenting solutions. In flipped classrooms, activities are shifted from classroom to the home of the learners (Kerres, 2018, p. 24).

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