This chapter analyses the issue of effective design based on cross-principles. Based on theoretical-practical data, it proposes a new didactical model that reflects both the digital textbook' structure and the processes triggered by the digital textbook. It is argued that there are many instructional system design models, but the didactic model is a conceptualisation of processes based on postmodernism philosophy. The core of the didactical model is the processes for and of cognitive activity, designed as a pedagogical scenarios and managed through externalization, internalization, intermediation and cognition. At all knowledge management phases the personalisation of the digital content can be made on cognitive, affective and psychomotor levels. Conclusions and future research are provided at end.
TopIntroduction
Digital textbooks are developed on the base on different design models. Customizable content is important part of digital textbook development. Model based design approach relies on explicit norms to describe the instructional process. Usually, eTextbooks are stored in digital libraries. Therefore, eTextbooks are on digital platforms: VitalSource CourceSmart, Classroom Voces, Discovery Education Techbook™, aPperbook, Boundless Textbooks etc. There are many sites that sell and tend textbooks: Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Cengage Brain, Chegg, Coursemart, DigitalTextbooks.com, eCampus.com, Kno, Textbooks.com, Vitalsource, Zinio etc. There are some innovative apps, also. Yuzu, a digital learning platform aims to offer students next generation reading. Google Play Books offers to search within a particular word or phrase, bookmark chapters and pages, highlight and annotate key passages and get access to dictionaries, translation tools etc.
All above mentioned eTextbooks were developed based on ADDIE model, proposed in 1970s, or on most recently Agile model (known also as Agile Software Development model). Thus:
- •
ADDIE model represents a systemic approach for individualised and traditional teaching materials. It consists of five phases: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. At the Analysis is required to detail the course content, to establish objectives and to identify the learner skill level. At the Design is recommended to design content, assessment instruments, exercises, subject matter and lesson planning. At the Development phase it is created the content following the design phase’s blueprinted. At the Implementation phase is recommended to develop procedures for training, including curriculum, learning outcomes, delivery and testing procedures, using of software/hardware, registration etc. The Evaluation phase aims to ensure that stated goals at the first phase will meet the specified needs and issues.
- •
Agile model represents a type of incremental model. In case of digital textbook each step is developed in rapid life cycles software when the results in small incremental releases with each release building on previous functionality. Each step is thoroughly tested to ensure quality.
Let us analyse ADDIE and Agile models in comparison with the meaning of innovative teaching/instructing models. Teaching is a synonym of Didactic. Other words related to “Didactic” are: academic, cultural, informational, informative, instructive, scholarly, scholastic, tutorial etc. Conceptually, a didactic model of the digital textbook describes the interdependences between teacher, student and content. What do teachers need to know in order to teach well with digital textbooks? First of all, that teaching is not learning. First, “learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime. Learning and work related activities are no longer separate. In many situations, they are the same.”(Siemens, 2014, p. 1). Second, the role of patterns in learning is important, but is not crucial. Third, in digital didactics a pattern may represent a concept map or a plan of instruction. It was argued (Toledano, 2002) that a pattern is the abstract representation of a good solution for a concrete, and generally frequent, problem that happens in one or more contexts. The principal objective is capturing good practices that allow us to improve the quality of the design of systems, determining objects that support useful roles in a specific context, encapsulating complexity, and making it more flexible.
The metapattern goes beyond the pattern and represent “the pattern which connects” (Baterison, 1979, p. 10). The role of metappaterns is to form understanding in the underlying mechanisms of patterns and the forms in which they work, and even as a classification of patterns. The metapatterns “communicate” through hermeneutic dialogue and assemble patterns in a totality.
This chapter investigates the didactic model for digital textbook use and development. It is an attempt to synthase the generalised didactic model based on postmodernism philosophy. It is expected that a didactic model will specificity conditions dealt with digital textbook learning design.