A Custom Learning Experience is the overall experience of students and faculty in a program designed specifically for your institution, according to your institution's unique context. Custom Learning Experiences can be used by higher ed institutions to drive revenue and donations, increase quality and number of applicants, support communities, and grow internationally. Last year ExtensionEngine created 70+ Custom Learning Experiences for some 40 clients like Harvard, MIT and more. We’ve discovered the key for delivering successful Custom Learning Experiences is properly aligning pedagogy and content with technology. Based on this experience, we’ve identified what works. This guide incorporates our 10 best practices you should implement when building you own Custom Learning Experience.

1. 1
10 Best Practicesto follow when creating a Custom Learning Experience

2. 2
When I was a professor (not that long ago), designing a class was not much
more complicated than “figure out what you want to teach, and then talk
about that and give an exam.”
Dr. Scott Moore
Me as the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of
Business at the University of Michigan, 2012

3. 3
Today, the adoption of online learning is exploding and
this has opened up many new design considerations.
• Build vs Buy
• Content management
• Hosting
• Live Interactions
• Messaging
• Security
• Mobile Support
• 3rd Party Integrations
PLATFORM:
• Anchored Instruction
• Authentic Assessment
• Competency Based Education
• Connectivist
• Constructivist
• Didactic
• Peer-based learning
• Project-based learning
• Scaffolded Practice
PEDAGOGY:
• Adaptive
• Interactives
• Live video
• Recorded video
• Simulations
• Text
CONTENT:

4. 4
The sweet spot of online learning
is where pedagogy, content, and
platform are inseparable.
con
tent
pe
dagogy
pl
atform
Content is digitized, searchable,
modular for multiple deployments,
and integrated into a network of
other learning resources.
Pedagogy takes advantage of
contemporary technology, including
the instant availability and storage
capability for digital content.
Platform supports pedagogy while
enabling discovery of content.

5. 5
A program which strikes this sweet spot is known as a
Custom Learning Experience

6. 6
Custom Learning Experience
The overall experience of students and faculty
in a program designed specifically for your
institution, according to your institution’s unique
context. All IP and revenue remain yours.
Custom learning experiences can be used by
higher ed institutions to drive revenue, increase
quality and number of applicants, support
communities, and grow internationally.
Defined:
Uses:

7. 7
In the last 18 months we’ve
had 70+ product launches for
some 40 clients including elite
universities, corporations and
foundations… programs that
touched millions of learners.
Our Clients

8. 8
Interested in learning how elite
colleges and universities have used
online learning to drive initiatives
across research, pre-matriculation,
post-graduation, and for-credit
programs?
Read on for the 10 best practices
Download our Whitepaper

9. 9
Now that you know what a Custom Learning Experience is, here are
10 Best Practicesto follow when creating a Custom Learning Experience

10. 10
Who are your target learners? (Think personas.)
What prior knowledge do they bring to your
program? What are their wants, fears, desires?
What do you know about their specific context
and use cases in an online setting?
1. Determine Learner Personas

11. 11
What are the outcomes your program aims
to achieve with the target learners? Ideally,
you can define an entire knowledge graph
complete with a hierarchy and taxonomy for
your learning objectives.
2. Define Learning Objectives

12. 12
Are you using a specific pedagogical model
(e.g., instructivist, constructivist, connectivist)
or a hybrid of many? Is it pure online or
blended? Some styles are better than others
but context matters.
3. Establish Program Pedagogy

13. 13
Are there unique elements of the learner
experience that you want incorporated? Is it
going to be synchronous or asynchronous?
Social? Video intensive? Immersive? Mobile only?
4. Outline the Learner Experience

14. 14
Want to view this SlideShare as a PDF?
Read on for best practice #5
Download this Document

15. 15
What platform will support your pedagogy and
content? Is it open source, proprietary, custom,
or hybrid? Each has distinct advantages and
disadvantages.
5. Specify the Learning Platform

16. 16
Who will be your subject matter experts? What
form will the content take? Content can be
licensed or created (or both). Will you need
to design new “teaching elements” that are
interactive or can you integrate existing tools
into your course?
6. Define the Content Details

17. 17
What is your assessment framework, e.g.
authentic assessment? Both formative and
summative assessments are a core part of a
successful online learning program. You will
also want to define whether and what type of
certification or credentials you will be offering
and tie that to your assessment strategy.
7. Decide on Assessments and Certifications

18. 18
Where is the “home” of the program and who
is responsible for operations and support of the
program? What are the resources available
in-house and what resources can be outsourced?
8. Find an Operations Organization

19. 19
What services are you planning to offer in
addition to the core learning? For example, will
there be personalized coaching or tutoring? Are
there optional, value-added services?
9. Define Support Services

20. 20
How will you measure success?
Set up both long- and short-term analytics.
Long-term analytics allow you to look at learner
outcomes, content performance, etc. Short-term
analytics allow you to measure and react in real-
time. You can use analytics to create a Plan-Do-
Check-Act cycle for learning.
10. Build in Analytics

21. 21
All of the activities above cost money to plan,
implement and operate, so who is going to pay
for that?
The underlying necessity to everything discussed
above is knowing what sustaining business
model exists for the program.
Ok we said 10, but this one is important...
11. Identify a Business Model

22. 22
I’m assuming that this comes across as a
fairly expansive list.
Custom learning experiences require a lot of planning and
coordination—but that’s what we’re here for.
We’ve launched 70+ Custom Learning Experiences in the last
18 months, and have learned a tremendous amount along the way.
Schedule a Consultation with Dr. Scott Moore

23. 23
About Me and ExtensionEngine
We are experts in Custom Learning Experiences.
70+ product launches for some 40 clients including
elite universities, corporations and foundations...
programs that have touched millions of learners to
date.
Services include platform and course
development, strategy, instructional design,
operational analytics, custom xBlock development,
theming, hosting, on-going maintenance and
support.
References & Clients include Harvard University,
MIT, College of the Holy Cross, Boise State
University, Microsoft, The Smithsonian Institution,
Ethicon, edX.
Dr. Scott Moore
ExtensionEngine
Chief Learning Strategist
LinkedIn: @drsamoore
Twitter: @drsamoore
Schedule a Consultation
with Dr. Scott Moore