What Matters in Higher Education A meta-analysis of a decade of learning design

Abstract

The Journal of Learning Design (JLD) has had a relatively short history of open-access peer-reviewed publication in the broad field of multidisciplinary pedagogy and learning design in higher education with a focus on the innovative use of technology. It began in 2005 and its decade of publication has coincided with a period of great volatility in higher education largely wrought by technology and changes in the demographics and location of our student populations. During this decade, learning design has received growing attention as educational institutions have grappled with shifts to blended learning, incorporation of Web 2.0 technologies in course offerings, and conduct of fully online program suites. MOOCs, certification and badging have swept us off our feet at the same time as increasing scrutiny has been applied to ensure program quality and more efficient delivery methods. The Journal of Learning Design (JLD) has been a contemporaneous witness to this period of change and, along with others of its ilk, has provided an authentic discourse of how our authors, who identify as system leaders, academics and learning designers, have addressed the challenge of a changing learning environment.