TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 

PORTFOLIO DESCRIPTION
The assignment for TELE consists of an individual portfolio submission. The assignment is worth 100% of your marks for the
module. There are four elements to the portfolio, shown below, with the relative percentages for each (note that as the poster
session/demo has been eliminated, the total for the three components is now 90%, which will be scaled to 100%)::
JOURNAL: WHAT MAKES LEARNING MEANINGFUL?
For this part of the portfolio, you will be documenting one positive learning experience from your past. You will be asked to
consider this experience in terms of its theoretical underpinnings, and underlying assumptions about how people learn and
what motivates them. You will then reflect on whether, and how, the elements of your positive learning experience can be
implemented in a technology enhanced learning environment, with reference to your own learning environment prototype.
Specific instructions are provided for each of the five entries, which you can find in the Assessment section of Canvas, and
also in Mahara. Please work on each entry when the relevant topic is introduced during the term. Although the journal is
only due at the end of the module, along with the rest of the portfolio elements, writing entries over the course of the term
means that 1) you will actually be able to use these personal reflections to inform the design of your learning environment
prototype, 2) you will have finished this element of the portfolio well before the final deadline and 3) I can give you feedback
on your entries before you submit them if you would like.
LEARNING ENVIRONMENT PROTOTYPE
This component of the portfolio involves the design of a technology enhanced learning environment prototype (in the
broadest sense: this could be screen based, gesture based, involve tangibles, augmented reality, or embodied interaction,
etc.).
Element Percentage
Journal: What makes learning meaningful? 15
Learning environment prototype 25
Project report 50
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You should start by deciding on a learning focussed issue of your choice. Then, using theories of learning, motivation and
relevant research, you will develop a technology enhanced learning environment, device, etc. which addresses the issue.
Your solution should make appropriate use of relevant technologies, and consider the needs of the learner, as well as the
learning context.
Your solution will be developed iteratively over the course of the module. Many of the practical sessions will focus on a
specific task related to the design process. Note that although this is an individual assignment, you will be working in groups
in the practical sessions in order to discuss your ideas and get feedback and, later on in the term, to test your prototypes and
get user feedback. You will be given worksheets to guide you through these tasks, and you should download the relevant
one for the week from Canvas and complete as much as possible before the session. You should then bring the sheet to the
practical session in order to get feedback. These completed worksheets will be included in your project report as
appendices (see below). Note that from March 23rd, face to face sessions will not take place, therefore you will be given
detailed advice on how to seek feedback from your practical group in a remote manner.
In designing your learning environment, you should focus on “innovative interactions”, i.e. ways of approaching a topic
which go beyond standard methods of teaching. This may involve the use of novel technologies (e.g. augmented reality,
virtual reality, gesture-based interactions, etc.), but you can equally design a desktop/tablet/mobile learning environment,
provided you can clearly show how the interactions afforded by your environment are novel and/or innovative in a way that
could benefit learning. Your learning environment also needs to embody your chosen theories of learning and motivation in
a clear and rigorous manner. You should be aiming for a mid-fidelity prototype (not all of the functionality needs to be
implemented provided that you can explain your overall idea clearly in the project report). This prototype should be
included as part of your portfolio.
PROJECT REPORT
This document should be approximately 3000 words in length, and should include the following sections:
1. Intro – what is your project topic? Why did you feel it was an issue that needed to be addressed in a new way?
2. Background/Related research – describe the background to the issue you chose. How is it typically taught? Are there
any existing technology enhanced learning environments which teach this topic? How do they do so? Are there any
problems with their approach(es)?
3. Design/development/implementation process – describe your design process from start to finish (referencing relevant
practical worksheets as appropriate, included as appendices). Also, where appropriate, provide evidence of feedback
received remotely, either through a link to your digital prototype where it is possible to see comments made on the
prototype by your practical session group, or by including, for example, evidence of feedback through group emails or
other means. Discuss the initial idea, how it developed over time, and how it changed in response to feedback received.
Finish by describing the final prototype (using illustrations where appropriate).
4. From theory to design – which theories of learning and motivation influenced the design of your learning environment?
How were they embodied in the design (provide specific examples)? Assume that the reader has a general familiarity
with the main theories, so only provide a brief overview of those relevant to your project (but any theories mentioned
should be appropriately referenced). Why did you choose the theories that you did? Do you feel the approach was
successful, or would you do things differently?
5. Innovative interactions – in what ways does your prototype afford “innovative interactions”? Is the technology (e.g.
hardware) innovative? Is it a particular form of interaction that is different? Does it offer a novel way of learning about a
specific subject? Do you think it improves on existing/traditional techniques? If so, how? And why?
6. Reflections on the design process – looking at the whole design process (not the final product) how successful do you
feel it was overall? Reflect on the extent to which things worked, or didn’t, and what you might do differently.
7. Individual reflection – what goals did you set yourself in undertaking this project? Did you meet them? What knowledge
and skills did you acquire as a result? More broadly, what did you learn from doing the project?
8. Appendices – include your completed practical worksheets here, as well as any materials which document digital
feedback received from your practical session group.
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Approximate mark allocation for the report
Note that the following percentages are not hard and fast rules, but should give you an idea of the relative importance and
scope of each section:
Intro (5%)
Background/related research (10%)
Design/development/implementation process (30%)
From theory to design (20%)
Innovative interactions (10%)
Reflections on the design process (10%)
Individual reflection (10%)
Overall clarity of document, references, etc. (5%)
POINTS TO NOTE
1. The portfolio is an individual project, however, during the practical sessions you will be working in groups to discuss and
evaluate each other’s ideas. Note that there will be no peer marking: the aim is simply to get feedback from others.
However, it is very important that you attend the practical sessions regularly: if you cannot provide evidence of iterative
feedback through the semester, you are unlikely to pass this module. Note that from March 23rd onwards, face to face
sessions will no longer be taking place, please so ensure that you gather digital feedback from your practical group
members remotely.
2. The mark allocation (p. 1) could suggest that most of the work will be put into the project report. In truth, designing the
learning environment and the accompanying poster and demo is likely to be more time-consuming than any other
component. However, it was decided to allocate marks in this way in order to put more weight on your learning process,
rather than on your prototype: one term is really not enough time to develop a fully functional learning environment
prototype, therefore I will be looking for evidence of what you have learned through the design process, and how your
views on learning have developed over time (as evidenced by the project report and journal).