Design Perspectives of Learning at Scale: Scaling Efficiency and Empowerment

How do we design technology for learning at scale? Based on an examination of a large number of influential systems for learning at scale, I argue that designing for scale is not an amorphous design undertaking. Instead, it builds on two distinct perspectives on scale. Systems built with a scaling through efficiency perspective make learning more efficient and allow the same number of instructors to help a much larger set of learners. Systems with a scaling through empowerment perspective empower a larger number of people to assist learners effectively. I outline how these simple differences in design perspective lead to large differences in design concerns, techniques, and evaluation criteria. Articulating prevalent design perspectives should make overlooked design opportunities more salient, help systems designers design for scale more deliberately and understand their tradeoffs, and open up new opportunities to designers who shift their perspectives.