lodeStar Learning Web Journal

By Robert N. Bilyk

When I began envisioning the LodeStar eLearning authoring tool in the late 90s, I had three very strong realities in mind. First, instructors are very very busy people. Second, there is a plethora of strategies that instructors can use in their online learning that increases the probability that learning will take place. Third, instructors are very very busy people. I began prototyping LodeStar with those realities in mind.

By the time Mark Burrs and I incorporated LodeStar Learning in March, 2003, we were well on our way to addressing the first reality. We made LodeStar easy to learn and easy to use for very busy people. Secondly, we incorporated all of the instructional strategies that one would ever hope to use in an eLearning authoring tool. Well, not quite. That has been a work in progress ever since we began.

Today, I’m happy to report that that work in progress is evident in LodeStar version 5.7. The continuous improvement of LodeStar through its successive versions is evidence that we’re committed to keeping the tool simple enough for busy people to learn and use, but also powerful enough to enable instructors to incorporate effective instructional strategies in their eLearning and leverage the power of video, audio and animations in their lessons.
We’re committed to the idea that a teacher can choose a LodeStar template in order to mobilize an effective instructional strategy that is appropriate to the type of learning being promoted. Our latest template called Flasher is evidence of that.

Flasher was inspired by a friend of mine who is tasked with creating multimedia learning objects for a major university. She liked our Flashcards template, but wanted an engine with simple multiple choice questions, so that it would restrict the possible answers a student might give.

We created Flasher as a marriage between Flashcards and Brancher (another LodeStar template.) Flasher enables an instructor to create a series of quiz items. The student answers questions. Missed questions get repeated at variable intervals. This is a well known instructional strategy called variable interval queuing.

Some may argue that answering multiple choice questions represents the lower end of the continuum in terms of student performance. We are mindful of that, but also recognize that this type of activity has its place. Students need to understand the terms, concepts, and procedures, and rules of a particular field of knowledge before they can begin to engage with the content at a higher level: make decisions, make judgments, problem solve.

So then, how can an instructor move on to engage students at that higher level? In support of higher order thinking, we created Brancher. In version 5.7, we continue to refine Brancher and expand on its capabilities. With Brancher, instructors have the ability to create menus so that students can choose their learning path. With Brancher, instructors can stream in audio podcasts, videos and even embed one YouTube video per learning object. Finally, with Brancher, teachers can create problem solving scenarios or procedural decision points that take advantage of Brancher’s branching capability.

An example

With the continuous improvement and expansion of LodeStar, we’re helping instructors climb the ladder. Instructors can climb from the use of LodeStar in rehearsing students on terms and concepts to the use of LodeStar in supporting cooperative learning, decision making and problem solving.

Climbing the Ladder has been a theme at LodeStar Learning. The LodeStar authoring tool was designed to help instructors climb the ladder and create engaging, effective eLearning matched to different types of learning. LodeStar 5.7 furthers that design.

Also, in support of the theme, we are working in concert with Instructional Designs Incorporated to plan an instructional design workshop. The goal of the workshop is to continue to address the needs of busy faculty, but to help instructors choose the right instructional strategy for the type of learning they wish to promote and, where possible, to put that strategy to work with the LodeStar authoring tool.

If you are interested in this type of practical instructional design workshop for your faculty, please email me at

for a preliminary draft of the workshop syllabus. We’d love to hear from you.