July 2006 Volume 9 Number 3 - CiteSeerX

Suhonen, J., & Sutinen, E. (2006). FODEM: developing digital learning environments in widely dispersed learning
communities. Educational Technology & Society, 9 (3), 43-55.
FODEM: developing digital learning environments in widely dispersed
learning communities
Jarkko Suhonen and Erkki Sutinen
Department of Computer Science, University of Joensuu, Finland, P.O.BOX 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland
jarkko.suhonen@cs.joensuu.fi
erkki.sutinen@cs.joensuu.fi
ABSTRACT
FODEM (FOrmative DEvelopment Method) is a design method for developing digital learning
environments for widely dispersed learning communities. These are communities in which the geographical
distribution and density of learners is low when compared to the kind of learning communities in which
there is a high distribution and density of learners (such as those that exist in urban areas where courses are
developed and taken by hundreds or thousands of learners who are simultaneously present in the area).
Since only limited resources can be allocated for the design of a digital learning environment for widely
dispersed learning communities, it is necessary to use what limited funds are available to obtain valid
feedback from stakeholders and to utilize such feedback in an optimal way. In terms of the FODEM model,
the design process consists of asynchronous development threads with three interrelated components: (1)
needs analysis, (2) implementation, and (3) formative evaluation. In needs analysis, both theory and
practice are used to define specifications for the environment. In implementation, fast prototyping in
authentic learning settings is emphasized. Finally, formative evaluation is used to evaluate the use of the
environment within the thread. FODEM has been applied to develop ViSCoS (Virtual Studies of Computer
Science) online studies and LEAP (LEArning Process companion) digital learning too in the rural regions
of Finland where the population is geographically widely dispersedly.
Keywords
Design Methods, Digital Learning Environments, Online Learning, Formative Evaluation
Introduction
Digital learning environments (DLEs) are technical solutions for supporting learning, teaching and studying
activities (Suhonen, 2005). A digital learning environment can be educational software, a digital learning tool, an
online study program or a learning resource. A digital learning environment may thus consist of a combination
of different technical solutions. A DLE may thus be used as the basis for an e-learning program (Anohina, 2005).
The development of effective DLEs is not an easy task. The challenge when developing DLEs for us to use
technology ingeniously and creatively to solve problems and meet the needs that arise in various technological,
educational and cultural contexts (Kähkönen et al., 2003). The best design methods are those that help designers
to develop innovative and effective solutions by clearly depicting the most important procedures and aspects of
the development process (Design-Based Research Collective, 2003).
A widely dispersed learning community refers to a student population that is thinly distributed over a relatively
large geographical region or throughout a long period of time. Since widely dispersed learning communities like
this are restricted by cultural, geographical or temporal factors, they tend to be relatively small in number. A
widely dispersed learning community might, for instance, consist of 30 students who live in an area with a radius
of 200 kilometers and who are learning Java programming. Such characteristics have two consequences: firstly,
a thinly distributed community needs outstandingly accessible DLEs because the students live too far away from
one another to offer or receive assistance, and, secondly, not even the sum of fees collected from such a small
number of students can finance excellent DLEs of the kind we are contemplating. Such difficulties have given
rise to in poorly designed ad hoc DLEs. Table 1 presents typical differences between widely dispersed and dense
learning communities. The United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) is an example of a dense learning
community where the student numbers are reasonably high. For instance, the UKOU offers a full range of
degrees and it has over 200,000 students. According to Castro et al. (2001) and Bork and Gunnarsdottir (2001),
the UKOU has a full-scale preparation system for the courses. Several years and millions of euros are invested to
make high quality learning products to be used over several years. The evaluations and course improvements are
often conducted to the final version of a DLE.
This paper explains how we applied a FODEM (FOrmative DEvelopment Method) to create effective DLEs for
the Finnish context which is well known for its widely dispersed learning communities. Apart from meeting the
needs of a widely dispersed learning community, FODEM has to prove itself as a practicable DLE design
method. Whatever method is used, it has to be responsive to the diversity of learners’ needs and situations, to
ISSN 1436-4522 (online) and 1176-3647 (print). © International Forum of Educational Technology & Society (IFETS). The authors and the forum jointly retain the
copyright of the articles. Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies
are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by
others than IFETS must be honoured. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to republish, to post on servers, or to redistribute to lists, requires prior
specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from the editors at kinshuk@ieee.org.
43