Digital coaching aids (DCA’s)– the name coined by TAFE Tasmania for their small learning objects, are digital learning resources for both teachers and students using simple, readily available software programs. They are essentially small bites of stand-alone subject matter in a digital presentation format.

The Products:

Structurally the digital coaching aids are made up of small coherent chunks of information that together form the basis of a structured learning resource. They are typically conservative in their scope and have been purposely restricted to specific segments of a learning field. In other words if we are looking at a broad subject like plant morphology, this subject could be broken up into a range of different topics, each having the potential to be a coaching aid. In this case you could have one based on the morphology of a leaf, then another on the stem and so on. They could all then be linked together as required by the trainer or trainee and potentially reused in other contexts. 

Each of the digital coaching aids can consist of combinations of elements such as text, digital photographs, short video segments such as the “on call coach”, readily accessed links, downloadable materials such as pdf files, Flashfiles and other emerging file formats. One current design has incorporated the concept of the electronic book based around a chemical label interpretation exercise. This progresses from an interactive title page to a contents page where each item then links through to other pages of the book. Navigation buttons are also provided plus simple navigation maps eg, “bread crumbs” which give users the opportunity to move comfortably through the resource. The degree of hyperlink and custom show use differentiates this model from standard linear MS PowerPoint presentations thus introducing the power and flexibility available in other hyperlinked environments such as the web.

DCA’s can be designed to incorporate assessment materials such as interactive formative revision exercises or can be linked to online summative assessments.

Some are multi-layered or branched in their design. Each coaching aid therefore consists of a number of separate MS PowerPoint presentations with the capacity to link others or drop them as required. This provides the capacity for individual contextualisation of each learning resource.

Copyright, access, equity, readability and operability are some of the issues that have been and will continue to be fundamental in determining the overall format of these
resources. The next stage of development will be devoted to setting up templates or guidelines that will enable a standard of production for these unique learning resources.

The following is a selection of pages from a chemical label interpretation, digital coaching aid

Title pages

Content Pages with linked information

Linked subheading provide more information

Specific label areas are highlighted and linked

Screen tips provide additional information and links

Links provide specific detail

For more information on Digital Coaching Aids visit the Digital Coaching Aids Design Studio