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Summary
The goal of the Modular Learning Initiative is to bring more flexibility to authoring and delivering learning experiences, by making all levels of the course hierarchy (components, units, subsections and sections) independent, composable, re-usable, and deliverable as stand-alone learning products. This will directly impact course authors and designers in a number of ways:
Reduce time spent on course creation by eliminating the need to recreate content and by introducing composable templates
Diversify the authoring experience by breaking reliance on the prescriptive course structure and offering flexible pathways to design modular pathways around learning objectives and competencies
Position the platform to more readily integrate with adaptive learning tools and services
Problem/Opportunity
In the short-term, this will fix a number of immediate pain points and needs in the course authoring workflow, including:
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Build and deliver a more diverse portfolio of learning products, in addition to courses
Make learning products readily available to incorporate adaptive learning tools and services
Enable content sharing and syndication between organizations
Supporting Market Data
We saw this project as an opportunity to introduce and refine an approach to data gathering and market input that is as inclusive and community-wide as possible. Our goal was to capture common needs and pain points that reflect the majority of user experiences across the Open edX ecosystem, and synthesize them into common user stories.
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All stakeholders agreed that one immediate pain point to resolve is being able to easily reuse any and all parts of the Open edX course in other courses.
Over half of the stakeholders indicated the desire to create content outside of the course structure, including full units and sections.
At least 3 stakeholders have near-term plans (2 funded, 1 in-development) to deliver learning products that are smaller than courses, such as singular sections, singular units, or short sequences of sections.
The most desired missing piece of content functionality is taxonomy tagging at all levels of the course hierarchy.
The second most desired missing piece of content functionality is point-and-click integration (and configuration) of third-party LTI apps.
Approach and Solution
The challenge of this initiative is that it spans multiple authoring flows and delivery needs, some of which intersect and build on each other, and some of which are indirectly related. However, with a landscape-level view of the Initiative and the right incremental sequencing, we can meet the immediate needs of the majority while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the platform to author and deliver cutting edge learning pathways.
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As such, the phases become increasingly less detailed as this memo progresses, providing a high-level narrative arc for the initiative without becoming mired in prescriptive approaches prematurely. This means Phase 1 is fully fleshed out, with a recommended technical approach, benefits and tradeoffs. Phases 2-6 are works in progress, with user stories, high-level feature requirements, and an open process to gather technical approach questions.
Phase 1: MVP: Studio Copy & Paste STATUS: IN GROOMING
Phase 2: Easier to author content modularly STATUS: EARLY DESIGN AND TECHNICAL DISCOVERY
Phase 3: Easier to use LTI apps and adaptive engines STATUS: NOT STARTED
Phase 4: Easier to deliver content modularly STATUS: NOT STARTED
Phase 5: Easier to create and sync master courses and presentations STATUS: NOT STARTED
Phase 6: Easier to share content STATUS: NOT STARTED
Open Technical Design Questions
Where would folks add LTI components into a course in the future. Would they be added into modular learning units, or would LTI tools, effectively be peers of units?
If we think about learning experiences as "implementing the interface" enrollable, would all enrollables have an opaque key? I’m thinking of support for learning presentations that are not courses.
If we make the simplifying assumption that the LMS is just a course “player,” how should we handle course/block configurations that might include secrets? Where would shared confirmations for LTI tools be configured in the “authoring environment” or in the “delivery environment?”