If a shortage on knowledge, insight or skills is the cause of the problem (the learning request), then there is a realistic need to develop learning material. This is not the case when the learning request is to solve problems which are caused by money shortage, time shortage, unclear organization structure, unclear strategic management,  lack of leadership, the wrong equipment etcetera.

Onderwijskundig Ontwerpen, Het ontwerp als basis voor leermiddelenontwikkeling, Froukje Hoobroeckx en Els Haak, Houten/ Diegem 2002, pp: 22

Currently reading the chapter on determining the learning urgency of Hoobroeckx en Haak. Performing a research on the training/learning request is very helpful in understanding the learning urgency itself. But also to find out if the training/learning request will be a solution to the underlying problem.

How do I answer for this course design development step?

The difficulty in answering this question is that I don’t know the learning public. I am not in the situation that I am making a course for employers of some kind of organization.  The prospect of the course are individuals or small groups of people who are challenged by the fact that they need to provide e-learning in some from.
The exploring interviews will provide inside in the status of ‘digital didactic/ e-learning development’ understanding of the type of job roles which work with e-learning. The learning urgency is a urgency which the prospect/ client feels. Avetica does not actively search for customers. Customers find their way to Avetica. Up to now this has been sufficient enough.
Avetica is fully in the business of digital didactics, on a fulltime level we advise and implement digital solutions so we see clients struggle with the learning information solutions. The answer to problems often is the combination of IT and (digital) didactics. We cannot create a demand for a training but we can make the client realize that they are missing out on a lot of information.

Taken from another angle I can say that the course fully answers to a learning urgency, namely the learning urgency of Avetica’ s members. The course will initiate the professional development by the formulating of knowledge and experience, sharing of knowledge, testing and the evaluation of the training material.

I don’t see how I could do more research on the learning urgency. By keeping in mind that course design is an iterative process I can to alter the content if needed.

Activities for creating the research questions are: determining the content of the questions, development of the research questions and testing of the questions

Content of the questions

Besides the nature of digital didactics as a guideline for the research questions,  Avetica’ s mission ‘to make e-learning reachable’[1] also functions as a  guide. The mission statement ‘Making e-learning reachable’ can be exemplified by the three words of the motto:

E-learning: learning in an online environment (online, software)

Reachable: technical, financial, and organizational  possible (low cost tools, how to create)

Making: undertake purposeful activities (how to create)

The indication of the mission motto will be part of the course curriculum. Technical stands for the use of Information Technology, organizational  by how to create e-learning and financial stands for low production costs. Based on this input, the  topics of the research are digital didactics, learning, information technology, e-learning in general and e-learning development.

The next step will be the development of the interview questions

The remark of Hoobroeckx & Haak on the iterative process (elucidated in the past posting) sparked me with a new idea. I feel that I might have a closer look at the research questions. The exploring market research is a great way of getting to know a bit more about the market.

Looking at the guidelines for the analysis of the learning need I feel that I should take an iterative step. I am planning a meeting with all the consultants of Avetica to brainstorm about the following questions:

The course Digital Didactics: why?

• What is the problem situation for the client?
• What is the desired situation?
• What are the causes of the problem?
• Is the solution a course digital didactics?
• Are the costs and benefits in proportion?

I wonder if the client realizes that he is having a problem. I also wonder if the benefits will cross the costs.

So good to have a brainstorm session together.

Present will be my colleagues, Peter, Virgil, Arnout, Barbara and maybe Arnold 

For my literature review I am reading the book Onderwijskundig Ontwerpen (didactic/ pedagogic course design). It has been suggested to me by a couple of people. In The Netherlands it is the so called ‘bible’ for the educational professional.

I can see why this is. The review of managementboek.nl is very positive. It’s a practical book, without too much theoretical ballast. It describes the full course design activities. The design is a detailed plan which is the basis of the development of learning material. This can be a study book, CD-ROMs, elearning or a workshop. By having a good design, before you start, a lot of problems can be avoided. Design is all about thinking before you leap. One who reads this book will be capable to design systematic, relational, creative and realistic design.

Currently I am chapter 2 ‘determine the learning necessity’. It deals with the fact that how important it is to ‘look before you leap’. In the commercial sector a learning necessity  is called a education necessity. As a course developer it is very important to analyze the request before you start.

Course design starts with analyzing not with creating.

At the start of the process it is important to be critical, also during the following steps and processes. Designing is an iterative process. Take a few steps back and check if you are still on the right track.

Reading this am thinking if I am sure that I ask the correct questions in the interview. I will get back on this. To find out I am thinking about setting up a meeting and ask my colleague’s for advice. They will also participate in the training. 

I have formulated the research questions; eventually it has become an amount of 21 questions.

The questions have been formulated during a brainstorm session. My colleague Virgil has been so kind to assist me during this session. Having the fundamental idea of the course formulated it was actually quite easy to create the interview questions. Digital Didactics, Information Technology, Learning, elearning and elearning development, are the subjects I want to know more about.

After a revision I removed some questions since the answers would be irrelevant (too specific) for  the fundamental ideas of the course.

The answers have indicators to ensure a quick interview. The indicators can be encircled during the interview. The indicators also function as scaling for the eventual analysis. Most of the scaling is nominal however with no specific order, it is more a possible answer list.

I will send the questions soon and hope that Richard will provide me with feedback soon, because I have planned a testing of the questions with three experimental subjects.

I have the planning for the interviews fairly prepared. I am facing one challenge; how many interviews  will be sufficient to obtain a adequate observation of the market.

I don’t have a resource to advise me in this matter. The exploring market research is to obtain a feeling with the market and to find out if there are new or unknown topics we should cover.  The  nature of the research is qualitative, the analyses however will not come with hard conclusions.

A respondents amount of 20 would be fairly enough is my guess. However, I will research literature what amount of respondents is sufficient.

The next subject/ step in the planning process is the creation of the questions. This is currently in progress. I have  written quesitons, planning to rewrite them en evaluatie them again.

Wordt vervolgd, soon to be followed. 

Before starting the literature review, I want to know more about the situation of the course target group. Are there specific needs or area’s I am missing out on.

Types of research

There are three traditional types of research, the exploring, describing and causal research[1]. Exploring market research is the type of research undertaken to explore if there are subjects/ issues which need clarification and if there is extra or new information available on the subject. The insight in the target group might indicate that other course subjects could also be considered.

The market in Avetica’ s context is mainly the client base of Avetica; professionals engaged in the development and decision making on e-learning subjects. This makes that the exploring market research has many parallels with a client satisfaction research (by means of asking question measuring clients satisfaction).  The theory and action plan for doing the exploring research has been taken from  Drs. J-P.R. Thomassen book Client satisfaction, sense and nonsense[2].