Reflections

This semester had introduced me to the basics of design. When I walked into class the first day I knew absolutely nothing about instructional design, and though I have a very long way to go in my understanding of instructional design, I feel like I have learned a lot from this class.

1)You will never get it right the first time - When you are designing instruction you will always have to make changes and re-evaluate. That is part of the job. If you think your first draft is perfect, you probably aren't looking at it correctly and should have someone else offer feedback.

2) It is okay that you will never get it right the first time- I think great designers have embraced the idea that they are not failures if they have to change and re-do. Revision is a great learning process!

3) It doesn't matter what you think of your design, it only matters if it works- When I have been going through the design process I have been tempted at times to focus more on the look of the design, instead of if it really helps the learners. Successful designs focus less on packaging and more on great instruction.

4) Give yourself plenty of time to pay attention to the details- Details take so much time! To complete a project well, I think the best tool you can give yourself is sufficient time. If you feel like you don't have enough time for detail, then your design could really suffer.

5) Learn from others' bad designs- I think one of the most interesting topics in class was when we talked about bad design. There is so much bad design out there and it can help us avoid mistakes that have already been made. By learning from others mistakes we can be ahead of the game in making great instructional design.

I know I still have so much to learn, but I am grateful for the things I have learned in this class!

Online Learning at a Non-Profit

A friend of mine is a manager of educational development for a non-profit organization. The organization is designed to help minority entrepreneurs with their businesses. Recently, the organization has implemented an online learning management system.

Anyway, he was telling me that the students who are using the LMS to take their tests are scoring significantly higher than previous courses. One particular student mentioned how being able to take the test at his convenience was a main cause of why he did so well on the test. This caused me to think about the discussions we had in class about the effect of media on learning. Here it might seem logical to assume that the reason learners are receiving better grades when using the LMS to take their test might have something to do with the LMS itself. But when you investigate some of the reasons the students believe they did better, you realize it has little to do with the technology itself and more to do with what the technology allows you to do, in this case take it at your most convenient time. This idea of taking it at your most convenient time can be replicated without technology, in the form of testing centers.

Just another thing to think about.

Formula for Success

After spending so much time on our projects, what have you learned?

I have learned a great deal working on my design project. I think one of the most important lessons has been the more attention you pay to detail before putting pen to paper, the easier it will be once you begin designing. After you begin to design, the need to pay attention to detail does not diminish. For me, a person with very little patience for detail, it has been great in helping me start to develop a new and important skill.

I think I am also learning how to look at instruction from a different perspective. It is easy to focus on merely what needs to be taught and learned instead of, what will this look like to the learner? Will it make sense? Will it build upon previous knowledge? Have I presented it in a way that will allow for maximum success for the learners. This shift in view is key for designers. You can design the fanciest instruction in the world, but if it is not done with the learners in mind it will be worthless.

I think the Dick and Carey facilitated this shift in view. They created a model that allows for a lot of thought for the learner. While the Dick and Carey model might not be perfect ( I don't have any complaints), I believe that if followed correctly it can provide a formula for successful instruction.

Integrating Computers Part 2

In the article we read on Integrating Computers into schools, one concern raised that the use of computers might give student too much control over their learning experience or minimize the need for teachers. Two questions about this were brought up on the discussion board and I just wanted to further explore them on my blog.

The first question posed was whether or not computers were capable of allowing students too much control over their educational experience and second, was there such a thing as giving students too much control over their educational experience.

I will address the second question first. I think the answer of whether or not you can give learners too much control over their educational experience is dependent on what the goal of the learning is. If the goal of the class is to allow learners to learn about an undefined goal, just as long as they learn something, it is very unlikely you can give students too much control over their educational experience, because they are allowed to discover what things interest them and pursue knowledge in that area. This is of course assuming that they are in a educational environment where nothing they would discover or be exposed to was inappropriate. However, if the goal of the instruction was to understand fractions, it is possible to give learners to much control over their education, a balance of instruction and discovery learning is important. Learners might feel they understand a concept that they don't if they are not having to answer to an instructor. Feedback is critical.

As for the question of whether computers could ever provide learners with too much control over their learning experience, I think it depends on what society expects computers to do and how they expect learners to interact with computers. There are those who believe that in the future there will be very little need for actual instructors and software can be designed to instruct learners in a way that will negate the need for classroom instructors. While it might be possible for this to happen technologically speaking, I don't think it is a good idea. I think that the human factor is essential for most learning environments. I don't believe much in online degrees or online courses as a sole method of learning. I do believe they can contribute to the overall educational experience. But an ideal learning environment would also include instructors you meet with face to face.

Computer Technologies in Schools

We read in class a very interesting article on integrating computer technology into schools. The article lists several obstacles faced by schools in using technology. I feel like schools are in a tough place when it comes to using technology. When a new technology is developed that could possibly benefit education, they are thrown into the public education arena and are expected to be used. However, a lot of times these new technologies aren't being used, or are not being used fully. In several instances this is due to the fact that most teachers are not trained in how to incorporate these technologies in their classrooms. To use the technology would require a lot of training.

I believe providing all of these technologies to schools that don't know how to use them is a waste of resources and time. This is not to say that schools should not be provided new technologies regularly. But great thought and care should be spent on evaluating if the schools are prepared to utilize this technology. If not, what can be done to truly prepare them to use the technology. This I am sure would be a slow process. But I think if we are more efficient in the preparing of schools for technology, we won't have to play this catch up game once schools already have the technology and are unable to use it.

Blogs/Discussion Boards

This has been my first opportunity to blog. I have never blogged for fun or for school. As a teaching tool it feels to me like a hybrid of a journal and a class discussion. I think some positive aspects of blogging is that it allows for a deeper and longer discussion of topics without taking lecture time. People who feel uncomfortable speaking up in class have an outlet to share their ideas without the anxiety. I think some drawl backs of blogging is that a lot gets lost in translation. When I try to read someone's blog and then the comments people make about the blog and then the comments people make about the comments other people made about the blog I am often confused! I think sometimes blog discussions turn into group monologues, where everyone is just speaking and no one really listening.

In Richard E. Ferdig and Kaye D. Trammells' article entitled, "Content Delivery in the 'Blogosphere', the authors state that blogs are a great tool for social learning, as taught by Vygotsky. I can see their point. Blogs do provide students an opportunity to solidify their knowledge through social interaction. But I think blogs/discussion boards are only affective if they are well organized and the learner can see a coherent stream of discussion and ideas.