Over the last few years, we have been immersed in the fascinating world of ACAD (Activity Centered Analysis and Design Framework), exploring its possibilities and above all looking for ways to invite more people to use these kinds of tools that we believe are interesting for thinking together about teaching and learning situations.
This journey led us to translate the ACAD toolkit into Spanish, a collaborative work led by Goodyear, Peter; Carvalho, Lucila; Yeoman, Pipa; Castañeda, Linda, & Adell, Jordi (2021), which provided us with a solid basis for our work.
In addition, we recently shared the fruits of our labour in a detailed study, reflected in the publication by Carvalho, Lucila, Linda Castañeda, & Pippa Yeoman (2023) entitled ‘The “Birth of Doubt” and “The Existence of Other Possibilities”: Exploring How the ACAD Toolkit Supports Design for Learning’ in the Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research. This study delves into how the ACAD toolkit supports design for learning, providing valuable insight into its applicability and benefits.
However, as we progressed in our research, we realised a significant obstacle: manually creating a toolkit (all those handwritten letters) tailored to the specific needs of an individual or institution required considerable effort. It was then that the idea of developing a “starter” version of the ACAD toolkit was born, at least of its Spanish version, with the aim of making this powerful tool more accessible.
Trying to remain faithful to the spirit of the original toolkit, we created a downloadable document, similar to the print&play that we have designed in the DALI project. This document allows anyone interested to download, print and use the ACAD toolkit in a practical and efficient way. We recognise that, although the printed boxes have their charm (and we have printed a few), the print&play format presents itself as the most useful option for those who are looking for a quick and adaptable solution and who read us from anywhere in the world.
The print&play has instructions on what and how to print it… and we think it is VERY convenient.
We want this starter version of the ACAD toolkit to be a gateway for educators, instructional designers and teaching professionals. We believe that by making these tools available to everyone, we are helping to democratise instructional design and foster innovation in pedagogy.
I am really pleased to share this resource with the community. You can find the downloadable document at https://digitum.um.es/digitum/bitstream/10201/135851/1/ACADToolkit_Espanol_P%26P.pdf (the permanent link to the UM repository is http://hdl.handle.net/10201/135851 ) and we encourage you to explore the possibilities offered by the ACAD toolkit on your journey towards continuous improvement in teaching and learning.
Download, print and discover the potential of the ACAD toolkit today!
Referencess:
- Goodyear, P., Carvalho, L., Yeoman, P., Castañeda, L., & Adell, J. (2021). Una herramienta tangible para facilitar procesos de diseño y análisis didáctico: Traducción y adaptación transcultural del Toolkit ACAD. *Píxel-Bit. Revista De Medios Y Educación.* [DOI: 10.12795/pixelbit.84457](https://doi.org/10.12795/pixelbit.84457)
- Carvalho, L., Castañeda, L., & Yeoman, P. (2023). ‘The “Birth of Doubt” and “The Existence of Other Possibilities”: Exploring How the ACAD Toolkit Supports Design for Learning’. *Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 12*(2), 340–359. [DOI: 10.7821/naer.2023.7.1494](https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2023.7.1494)
(I want you to know that ChatGPT gave me a hand writing this post -I never have time to blog- and deepl helped me with the translation…)
