Design is a critical to the successful development of any interactive learning environment (ILE). Moreover, in technology enhanced learning (TEL), the design process requires input from many diverse areas of expertise. As such, anyone undertaking tool development is required to directly address the design challenge from multiple perspectives. We provide a motivation and rationale for design approaches for learning technologies that draws upon Simon's seminal proposition of Design Science (Simon, 1969). We then review the application of Design Experiments (Brown, 1992) and Design Patterns (Alexander et al., 1977) and argue that a patterns approach has the potential to address many of the critical challenges faced by learning technologists.

Processes and tasks in organizations become increasingly complex and dynamic. This requires managers of expert teams to quickly gain knowledge and insight outside their prime area of expertise. In these situations analysis tools and decision support tools are required. Often, such tools are used by experts to compose models that managers can use to gain specific insight in complex tasks and decisions. An observed paradox in this process is that once the first model is made, the insight into the system reveals the “real problem” and thus several iterations of the analysis, design and modeling are required to create a model that provides the required support. A proposed solution to increase the efficiency of re-designing is the use of patterns, also named building blocks. This allows the expert to re-use components to accommodate new requirements. However, the advantage of building blocks goes beyond re-use, design efficiency and flexibility. This paper argues that in addition to the benefits described above, there is a specific added value for the use of building blocks by novices to acquire analysis, modeling and design skills. We propose that building blocks decrease the cognitive load of both the design task and the effort of acquiring these skills. We use cognitive load theory from educational psychology to theoretically underpin this proposition. Empirical evidence is presented through two exploratory experiments.

Peer-evaluation is a powerful method for fostering learning in a variety of contexts. Yet challenges of application in contexts involving personal values received little attention. This study used a design-based research approach to explore such challenges in an undergraduate educational-philosophy course. The study was organized in three design-and-implementation iterations of a peer evaluation activity. Discrepancies between student and instructor scores were explained by bias due to non-objective student personal stands. Refinements to the design, based on emerging design principles a) assisted students to better differentiate between objective criteria and personal opinions, b) increased learning gains, and c) decreased tensions between different cultural groups.

Learning design patterns assist the development of effective courses, because patterns capture successful solutions. Pedagogical patterns are commonly created by human cognitive processing in "writer's workshops". Inductive techniques could be used to detect or determine patterns in existing data, or learning designs. This assumes that the learning designs are available in a format that is machine interpretable. The IMS Learning Design specification enables the formal coding of learning designs. We explain that we expect patterns to occur in the method section of a learning design and in particular in acts. We explore several inductive techniques that could be applied to existing learning designs in order to detect and determine patterns and discuss how these could be applied to create new learning designs.

Groupware development support should educate developers on how to design groupware applications and foster the reuse of proven solutions. Additionally, it should foster communication between developers and end-users, since they need a common language and understanding of the problem space. Groupware frameworks provide solutions for the development of groupware applications by means of building blocks. They have become a prominent means to support developers, but from our experience frameworks have properties that complicate their usage and do not sufficiently support groupware developers. We argue for a pattern approach to support the technical aspects of groupware development. Patterns describe solutions to recurring issues in groupware development. They serve as educational and communicative vehicle for reaching the above goals. In this article, we provide a pattern language focusing on technical issues during groupware development. Experiences when using the language in an educational setting and a product development setting have shown that the patterns are a supportive means for the proposed goals.

Technologically enhanced learning environments raise complex challenges for their designers, developers and users. Design patterns and pattern languages have recently emerged as a potential framework for addressing some of these challenges. However, the uptake of design patterns has been slow outside of the computer science community. We argue that this is largely a consequence of a weak positioning of pattern languages, as a form of delivering expert knowledge to layperson, and suggest an alternative view: the development of a pattern language as a community endeavour. In terms of open education, the workshop model can be viewed as an open production process for developing educational resources, in our case design patterns. We propose a model of pattern elicitation workshops, in which collaborative development of a pattern language provides a framework for sharing design knowledge within interdisciplinary communities. This model was iteratively developed at five international conferences. It was then postulated as a design pattern itself, encompassing a series of practices and a set of supporting tools. We believe this model could be applied in a broad range of communities concerned with the development of open digital educational resources.

(doi:10.1207/s15327809jls1301_4)

Ontological Innovation and the Role of Theory in Design Experiments

Andrea A. diSessa​‌ Graduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley Paul Cobb​‌ Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

The motivation for this article is our belief that theory is critically important but currently underplayed in design research studies. We seek to characterize and illustrate a genre of theorizing that seems to us strongly synergistic with design-based research. We begin by drawing contrasts with kinds of theory that are relevant but, we contend, by themselves inadequate. A central element of the type of productive design-based theorizing on which we focus is "ontological innovation," hypothesizing and developing explanatory constructs, new categories of things in the world that help explain how it works. A key criterion to which we adhere when discussing ontological innovations is that theory must do real design work in generating, selecting and validating design alternatives at the level at which they are consequential for learning. Developing and refining an ontological innovation is challenging and requires the kind of extensive, iterative work that characterizes design experiments more generally. However, the pay-off in terms of clarity of focus and explanatory power can be great. We present two case studies that illustrate the development, refinement, extension, and instructional application of ontological innovations.

In recent years the Human–Computer Interaction community has witnessed a growing interest in the use of ‘design patterns’ and ‘pattern languages’, a representation for design knowledge based on the work of the architect Christopher Alexander. In this paper, we re-examine Alexander’s work, highlighting his participatory approach to design, his use of patterns in design generation and his ethical commitment to designing life-enhancing artefacts. Based on this review, we report on three studies exploring the use of pattern languages as tools to support a participatory approach to interactive systems design. Our results suggest that pattern languages can enable users to participate in a generative design process but that issues of form and facilitation need careful consideration.

{<I>Design Patterns</I> is a modern classic in the literature of object-oriented development, offering timeless and elegant solutions to common problems in software design. It describes patterns for managing object creation, composing objects into larger structures, and coordinating control flow between objects. The book provides numerous examples where using composition rather than inheritance can improve the reusability and flexibility of code. Note, though, that it's not a tutorial but a catalog that you can use to find an object-oriented design pattern that's appropriate for the needs of your particular application--a selection for virtuoso programmers who appreciate (or require) consistent, well-engineered object-oriented designs.} {Now on CD, this internationally acclaimed bestseller is more valuable than ever! <P> Use the contents of the CD to create your own design documents and reusable components. The CD contains: 23 patterns you can cut and paste into your own design documents; sample code demonstrating pattern implementation; complete Design Patterns content in standard HTML format, with numerous hyperlinked cross-references; accessed through a standard web browser; Java-based dynamic search mechanism, enhancing online seach capabilities; graphical user environment, allowing ease of navigation. <P> First published in 1995, this landmark work on object-oriented software design presents a catalog of simple and succinct solutions to common design problems. Created by four experienced designers, the 23 patterns contained herein have become an essential resource for anyone developing reusable object-oriented software. In response to reader demand, the complete text and pattern catalog are now available on CD-ROM. This electronic version of <i>Design Patterns</i> enables programmers to install the book directly onto a computer or network for use as an online reference for creating reusable object-oriented software. <P> The authors first describe what patterns are and how they can help you in the design process. They then systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. All patterns are compiled from real-world examples and include code that demonstrates how they may be implemented in object-oriented programming languages such as C++ and Smalltalk. Readers who already own the book will want the CD to take advantage of its dynamic search mechanism and ready-to-install patterns.}

The second of three books published by the Center for Environmental Structure to provide a "working alternative to our present ideas about architecture, building, and planning," <I>A Pattern Language</I> offers a practical language for building and planning based on natural considerations. The reader is given an overview of some 250 patterns that are the units of this language, each consisting of a design problem, discussion, illustration, and solution. By understanding recurrent design problems in our environment, readers can identify extant patterns in their own design projects and use these patterns to create a language of their own. Extraordinarily thorough, coherent, and accessible, this book has become a bible for homebuilders, contractors, and developers who care about creating healthy, high-level design. "Brilliant....Here's how to design or redesign any space you're living or working infrom metropolis to room. Consider what you want to happen in the space, and then page through this book. Its radically conservative observations will spark, enhance, organize your best ideas, and a wondrous home, workplace, town will result"San Francisco Chronicle. A handbook designed for the layman which aims to present a language which people can use to express themselves in their own communities or homes, and to better communicate with each other.

One of the important themes that emerged from the CAL’07 conference was the failure of technology to bring about the expected disruptive effect to learning and teaching. We identify one of the causes as an inherent weakness in prevalent development methodologies. While the problem of designing technology for learning is irreducibly multi-dimensional, design processes often lack true interdisciplinarity. To address this problem we present IDR, a participatory methodology for interdisciplinary techno-pedagogical design, drawing on the design patterns tradition (Alexander, Silverstein & Ishikawa, 1977) and the design research paradigm (DiSessa & Cobb, 2004). We discuss the iterative development and use of our methodology by a pan-European project team of educational researchers, software developers and teachers. We reflect on our experiences of the participatory nature of pattern design and discuss how, as a distributed team, we developed a set of over 120 design patterns, created using our freely available open source web toolkit. Furthermore, we detail how our methodology is applicable to the wider community through a workshop model, which has been run and iteratively refined at five major international conferences, involving over 200 participants.

This paper introduces Collage, a high-level IMS-LD compliant authoring tool that is specialized for CSCL (Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning). Nowadays CSCL is a key trend in e-learning since it highlights the importance of social interactions as an essential element of learning. CSCL is an interdisciplinary domain, which demands participatory design techniques that allow teachers to get directly involved in design activities. Developing CSCL designs using LD is a difficult task for teachers since LD is a complex technical specification and modelling collaborative characteristics can be tricky. Collage helps teachers in the process of creating their own potentially effective collaborative Learning Designs by reusing and customizing patterns, according to the requirements of a particular learning situation. These patterns, called Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns (CLFPs), represent best practices that are repetitively used by practitioners when structuring the flow of (collaborative) learning activities. An example of an LD that can be created using Collage is illustrated in the paper. Preliminary evaluation results show that teachers with experience in CL but without LD knowledge, can successfully design real collaborative learning experiences using Collage.

Design pattern creation, especially in the e-learning domain, is a highly complex process that has not been sufficiently studied and formalized. In this paper, we propose a systematic pattern development cycle, whose most important aspects focus on reverse engineering of existing systems in order to elicit features that are cross-validated through the use of appropriate, authentic scenarios. However, an iterative pattern process is proposed that takes advantage of multiple data sources, thus emphasizing a holistic view of the teaching learning processes. The proposed schema of pattern mining has been extensively validated for Asynchronous Network Supported Collaborative Learning (ANSCL) systems, as well as for other types of tools in a variety of scenarios, with promising results.

{ Patterns in Game Design provides professional and aspiring game designers with a collection of practical design choices that are possible in all types of games. These choices, called patterns, are used to illustrate the varying types of gameplay found in games. For the purposes of this book, gameplay is defined as the structures of player interaction with the game system and interaction with other players. This includes the possibilities, results, and reasons for players to play. By putting these elements of gameplay into practical patterns, designers have access to a common set of concepts that can be used by all developers, allowing game projects to be approached with more standard tools. These patterns help designers put their concepts and ideas into words, which makes communication between members much easier. The patterns also help with making design choices, understanding how other games work, and inspiring game ideas. The book itself is divided into two main parts. The first part covers the theoretical aspects of describing games and defining the template used to develop the game design patterns. The second part includes the actual patterns divided into chapters based on the aspect of gameplay they cover. The patterns can be used in any order and referenced as you would a dictionary. By studying these various game design patterns, designers learn about the choices they?ll have to make when using a pattern in their own designs, and they?ll gain an understanding of what gameplay is, so that they can design better games. }

Action research is gaining recognition as a methodology accompanying the introduction of technology into organizations and learning. Yet, the results of action research often remain restricted to an organization’s context. In order to allow for a generalization and broader recognition of results, we abstract patterns of teaching/learning activities, organize them in a reusable, conceptual framework, and complement them with useful parameters as well as results from their application. Our proceeding is guided by the Person-Centered Approach that we adopt for blended learning and project work. This paper describes the pattern repository on PCeL (Person-Centered e-Learning) as the central structure within our action research framework and discusses means of generalizing and objectifying our findings.