Update on RIDLR

The Research in Designing Learning Resources – RIDLR – team has been working throughout the 2016 fall semester to clarify our focus and scope of work. To that end we have posted several concept papers that define the dimensions of learning resources that we propose to study. Concept papers on generative learning, cognitive flexibility, level of engagement, and reflection have been posted on our site at: https://ridlr.syr.edu/publications/.  The authors are now in the process of expanding these concept papers for publication in a variety of journals.

We also have started a concept paper to describe key terminology that will be used by the team. As we continued to explore related literature it was apparent that key terms in this area are used inconsistently. For example, the terms educational resources, instructional resources, and learning resources are used throughout the literature, either … with no clear definition … interchangeably suggesting these terms all mean the same thing … or each having different meanings within or across articles. Our goal is to provide clear and distinct definitions of our terms so that it is clear what we are studying and how we are studying each. Look for this concept paper soon…

We are also happy to welcome a new webmaster, Susan Bock, who will help bring more social media connections to our website so that we can have better outreach to those interested in the areas of digital learning resources.

We have a lot going on including sharing our work at conferences and invited sessions… and we have been engaging with some new partners from around the world to talk about our scope, focus, project definition, and opportunities to collaborate. Our goals this year are to continue to refine the definition of our work and begin articulating our future research activities. We are also conducting some small startup research projects to begin to investigate our ideas and constructs.

 article contributed by T. Koszalka