UserLab

Benchmarking the Next Generation of E-Learning Tools

What is the UserLab? UserLab is a dual strand facility which conducts both research and development in creating the next generation of e-learning tools, as well as undertaking research into the usability and usefulness of such tools for teachers and learners.    What underpins UserLab’s work? The building blocks for those reusable and interoperable units of learning that will be at the centre of the new, commodified teaching and learning economy. Specifically: Open content - the impact of releasing educational materials and tools for free use by learners and educators Learning design - representations that describe repeatable and adaptable pedagogical patterns for education in electronic learning environments Learning objects - those educational resources that can be "broken down" into modular components and subsequently reused by educators and learners   The theoretical basis for our user studies are: Socio-cultural based approaches - drawing from a wide range of theorising, including Activity Theory User-centred- informant design methodologies. Evaluation Frameworks- evaluation into use and feedback All rights, including copyright, in the content of the IET research group web sites are owned or controlled for these purposes by The Open University. In accessing any content from these web sites, you agree that you may only download the content for your own personal non-commercial use. Please respect the copyright of others when making use of any content from these websites for your research and ensure that all acknowledgments to authors remains intact. You are not permitted to copy, broadcast, download, store (in any medium), transmit, show or play in public, adapt or change in any way the content of these web pages for any other purpose whatsoever without the prior written permission of the Open University.