Now let’s move on to my next topic which is digitizing reading materials.

I know some of
you already encountered what I’ll be presenting today but we need to come up with
outputs kaya naman magkakaroon lang tayo ng refresher on how to digitize our reading
materials. We already conducted training sa kotobee, sa paggawa ng video gamit ang
powerpoint and others. So brief discussion na lang ang gagawin natin today kasi we
never had training ng ganito sa lahat ng English leaders and this is also in support of
our project digitize which is part of the reading program of the division. This is also a
way for us to collaborate and help each other sa mga materials na nagawa na natin in
reading.

How to Digitize your Educational Content?

Before translating content into a digital format, it’s important to understand where the
material is heading. What’s the end point?
What is the learning experience you want to create?
Who is it for? Is this a homework product or for in-classroom use? Is it a tool to help with
exam preparation or a full-curriculum self-paced learning output?
In this way, we’re not coming at the solution from a content-first approach (which is the
case when creating PDFs of existing textbooks for instance) but from a user-first
approach.
It’s important to always keep in mind exactly what the material is trying to achieve and
how it will be used. Traditional print media is limited; digital provides many possibilities.
So a clear end goal is vital, or the product can get lost in the development process.
This question defines exactly why you are creating the material and how the content
must be digitised to advance the product’s capabilities beyond that of traditional print.
Once answered, we can start transforming the content. There are three stages of
implementation.
Stage 1: Curriculum Mapping
A curriculum map is a framework that defines what a student is trying to learn. It is best
created by the subject matter expert and the editor.

Defining the Curriculum Requirements of the Subject Area

Different subjects require different approaches to curriculum mapping. Will this be a
maths solution or a language solution? Which aspect of the subject will it focus on? In
this phase, we define any special metadata requirements for mapping the curriculum of
this subject.
Structuring the Curriculum Map
Once the subject matter is defined, we create a list of everything a student is trying to
learn. It’s then grouped into topics (or chapters) and ordered into a default sequence.
This defines how much needs to be learned and in what order.
The contents of a textbook can be a good starting point for this however, it might not be
the order in which the student learns the material. The connections between everything
a student must learn are vital.

Success tip: One thing vital to the success of a material is the input from the ground.
Authors or teachers will have ideas about what does and does not work in the
classroom. The publisher should take note of these points and collaborate with the
author to make the product the best it can possibly be.

Stage 2: Learning Design

Following our initial question, “What learning experience are you trying to create?”, we
now dive into more detail to define the instructional design and the content requirements
of the product.
A textbook is quite fixed in terms of what learning is but, because a digital product has
more options in terms of what it delivers, it’s important to be clear about the role the
solution plays within the student’s learning.
Is this a homework practice product, a revision product, a complete self-learning
product, video learning or an app?
(Yes, with such explicit intent, a lot of learning will not be addressed. But your solution
will be focused and effective. We’re not trying to create a cure-all solution.)
The level of definition we achieve here includes, for example, how many videos and
practice questions are required at each level of the curriculum map, a plan for the
difficulty levels of the content, and the various hints and suggestions to support students
through the curriculum
Stage 3: Content Development (Authoring)
With the first two stages complete, we now have an outlined material with a number of
empty ‘buckets’ for which content is needed.
Previewing Content
The live preview function allows an author to see how the content appears and then
alter it during the authoring process. This means the product is easily changed if an
author or editor isn’t completely satisfied. It also helps instil confidence in an author if
they are tentative about the digital process.