Introducing FeedbackFruits Learning Design Community

The Power of Community of Practices

Over the past decades, we have partnered with many institutions worldwide to support them in enhancing the educational quality. Such collaborations allow us to understand many challenges that faculties are facing, namely the ever increasing workload that results in the need for more support regarding professional development and innovation.

Communities of practice have long been recognized as key to address this challenge. These communities allow educators to collaborate, share resources, and support one another in implementing effective teaching strategies. In higher education, where pedagogical challenges are complex and varied, such collaborative networks are invaluable.

“Communities of practice could very well be the cure to what ails us in higher education.” - Robert Talbert

By participating in a community of practice, educators can:

• Share Best Practices: Exchange proven teaching methods and strategies.
• Collaborate on Course Design: Work together to develop comprehensive and engaging course materials (learning activities, rubrics, syllabus, etc.).
• Receive Feedback: Gain insights and suggestions from peers to improve their teaching methods.
• Support Innovation: Encourage the adoption of new technologies and pedagogical approaches.

The Learning Design Community was created with a mission to embody these principles, providing a structured platform for educators to connect and enhance their teaching practices collectively.

According to Maria Uglvig, our Product Manager, the creation of this community stems from a wish to bring educators together for collaboration and innovation:

“Since the beginning of FeedbackFruits we’ve learnt so much from partnering and collaborating with institutions all around the world, we’ve also seen an eagerness and curiosity from our partners to learn from each other, and share best practices. It’s always been central for us to build a community where we can collaborate, share and learn from each other, because that is the foundation for unlocking the power of pedagogy, and making it easier for every instructor around the world to teach successfully. The launch of the Learning Design Community is a first step towards that.”

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What is Learning Design Community

The Learning Design Community by FeedbackFruits is an innovative platform that allows educators to share, discover, customize, and scale a range of teaching templates (learning activities, rubrics, learning journeys).

Why Use the Learning Design Community

1. Enhance Teaching Quality

The platform provides access to a wealth of proven resources, helping educators improve their course design and delivery. By leveraging best practice templates, instructors can ensure that their courses are engaging, effective, and aligned with learning objectives.

2. Save Time

Designing high-quality courses and activities from scratch can be time-consuming. The Learning Design Community offers evidence-based resources that educators can quickly implement, saving valuable time that can be spent on enhancing student interaction and support.

Read more: 9 time saving tips for effective course design with FeedbackFruits

3. Foster Collaboration

The platform encourages collaboration among educators, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. By working together, teachers can create richer, more diverse learning experience for their students.

4. Stay Updated

With regular updates and new templates added by educators worldwide, the Learning Design Community ensures that teachers have access to the latest and most effective teaching practices.

5. Support from Peers

Engaging with a community of like-minded professionals provides a support network that can offer advice, feedback, and encouragement, enhancing professional development and teaching effectiveness.

How to Access the Learning Design Community

On our website

You can explore our many templates by visiting our Learning Design Community page, go to the template page (Learning Journeys, Rubric, Learning Activities) that you want, choose the filter options and download the templates in PDF format.

So what does each of the template pages provide you?

• The Learning Journeys consist of multi-step templates that show how to create a meaningful learning experience by integrating different pedagogical approaches and technologies.
• The Assessment Rubrics offer detailed sets of criteria to support self/peer/group evaluation of different skills in different activities.
• The Learning Activities present a range of activity designs that align with a vriety of learning outcomes and pedagogical.

On the FeedbackFruits platform

Accessing the Learning Design Community is straightforward and integrated into the FeedbackFruits platform. Here are the steps to get started:

Login to FeedbackFruits: Sign in to your FeedbackFruits account. If you do not have an account, you can create one through your institution's access or by contacting FeedbackFruits.‍

Navigate to the Toolpicker: In your dashboard, find the updated toolpicker, which now includes the Learning Design Community. The new interface is user-friendly, with tooltips and visual enhancements for easier navigation.

Explore templates: Click on the Learning Design Community to browse available templates. Templates are categorized into Activities and Learning journeys, with detailed previews and descriptions.

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Customize and Implement: Select a template that fits your needs. You can preview its contents and customize it before implementation. Once satisfied, add it to your course with a few clicks.‍

Engage with the Community: Participate in community discussions, share your own templates, and collaborate with other educators to continuously improve and innovate your teaching practices.

For more information and to get started with the Learning Design Community, you can reach out to our support team or visit our Help Center articles.

Inspiring Innovation and Collaboration

Ewoud de Kok, CEO of FeedbackFruits remarked on his vision to build the Learning Design Community:

The Learning Design Community is created to support and enable effective collaboration amongst the world’s best learning designers, leading to progress by building upon each other’s strength.”

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The FeedbackFruits Learning Design Community represents a significant step in our mission to help educators better collaborate and enhance their teaching practices. By providing a platform for sharing best practices, templates, and resources, it empowers educators to deliver high-quality, engaging, and effective education.

You can access and download all the templates via the Learning Design Community. If you want to use the templates in your LMS, connect with one of our colleagues for support.