The Wave of the Future

Section 8: New Directions in Instructional Design and Technology

This section of the textbook addresses new directions and emerging technologies for IDT. For your final post, reflect on how you might apply each of the following in your current or future position in the IDT field:

1. distributed or e-learning environments My favorite e-learning environment for my 8th-10th graders has to be edmodo.com.  That one site is revolutionizing how I teach and interact with my students.  I was grading an assignment last night, noticed that a large percent were failing, so I posted the make-up assignment on the class "wall" even before I distributed their papers.  For class presentations, students turn in their files to Edmodo.  After that, I can log in to our main computer and open each file for their presentation, eliminating the need for flash drives.  Often, students come to class knowing about new technologies from cool articles that I post to our online class "library."  Students can take polls or comment on each other's thoughts in real-time.  Page 281 asks the question:  "Do we have the conceptual models to adjust to this shifting landscape?"  Sometimes, I feel very equipped, since teaching this way melds with my personal inclination for technology.  Other times, I feel like I am barely scratching the surface of the capabilities of e-learning environments.
2. reusable design or learning objects I learned through the chapter reading what exactly a learning object is.  Now I realize that creating learning objects is a reflex for teachers with little time and with many learning objectives for their students.  For example, during the "setting the stage" part of the lesson cycle, I like to use short clips from sites like Youtube to get students excited about a lesson.  Or I might use the same comic strip to teach two different character traits.  I plan to start looking at the objects I bring in more objectively so I am even more intentional about using the learning objects that I work so hard to find to cover more than one topic. 
3. rich media The use of rich media allows me to speak the same language as my students.  Most of them are interested in video games which have evolved to be highly sophisticated and surprisingly education, with developers of shooting games using the names and images of real military battle gear, etc.  Today's students are used to learning through a narrative.  I will be looking for ways to bring that richness into my everyday teaching.  (Below is a picture of "King" George Washington as reimagined in the Assasin's Creed video game)

4. emerging instructional technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cybernetics, Web 2.0, virtual worlds, electronic games, etc. Last spring, I learned during a tour of the University of North Texas' College of Engineering about the existence of hobbyists and enthusiasts who created video games in their spare time.  Microsoft XNA is (allegedly) simple enough for students to use to develop their own video games using saved chunks of code that they can access from a library.  I am still working with get our school an Xbox so that our students can start working on the virtual environments of the future.

Developing Professionally

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

1.    Based on these intentions, explain what you need to learn. What skills and qualifications do you need? Will you obtain the skills you need in the required courses in your program? What electives might you need to take to help you develop skills specific to your aspirations?

Since I already have my dream job, my goal is to develop my skills so that I am the absolute best at what I do. I teach technology, engineering and robotics courses at the middle and high school level, so getting my M.Ed. in Educational Technology directly aligns with my desire to know my content well. I will still need more resources to develop my engineering skills and knowledge. Courses in physics, robotics, engineering design and basic construction would be beneficial and I could take them free online. Coursera.com hosts hundreds of free online courses from 33 of the nation’s top colleges. Click here to read an article about the site from CNN.  I found a course called “Control of Mobile Robots” taught by a professor from Georgia Tech that starts in January that I am highly interested in taking to further my knowledge.

 

2.    Finally, carefully examine the professional organizations and conferences listed in the chapter titled "Professional Organizations and Publications in IDT." What organizations would best support your continued learning after you graduate? Do you think you would benefit from joining those organizations before graduating? Explain why or why not? What conferences or annual meetings do you think it would be helpful to you to attend? Select at least two and tell what you could learn from attending.

I am interested in the American Educational Research Association mostly because of its broad focus on research related to many parts segments of education, not just technology.  Their website includes resources like rebroadcasts of lecture series and an online job board. Dues are $40/year for graduate students.  I am also  interested in learning more about SALT (Society for Applied Learning Technology) to help offer content-specific information about technology education in particular.  I would definitely benefit from joining these organizations now since they would help me stay up-to-date with all of the latest research in my fields and allow me to explore career opportunities that I may not discover otherwise.  The Annual Brown Lecture Series on the AERA site was of particular interest to me.  It focuses on issues pertaining to equality in education.  SALT has a conference coming up in August on Interactive Learning Technologies that sounds like it would be beneficial for learning about new platforms for electronic student interaction.

 

What do I want to be when I grow up?

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

 

This section of your textbook focuses on jobs in the profession of instructional design and technology: lessons and tips on how to get one and organizations that can support the job search and continued learning in the IDT field. Many of you already have a job in the field or in a related field; however, based on this week’s readings, you’ll reflect on where you are, where you want to go, and what you need to learn or do to get there.

 

1.    Begin your post for this week with some background: what is your current job, what program are you enrolled in, what brings you to that program, and what do you expect when you graduate (change jobs? obtain a promotion?).

 

I am currently the Robotics/Technology Teacher at the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas ISD.  I’m new to the content, so I joined the Educational Technology-Leadership M.Ed. program simply to become a subject matter expert to improve the quality of my instruction.  In two classes, I’ve already learned many valuable techniques and approaches as well as increased my technical know-how.

 

This chapter allows us to stop for a second and ponder the age-old question:  “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I am grateful to live in a time when professional evolution is an expected part of a career arc.  One of our administrators showed the music video below to our students for inspiration.  As an adult, the chorus of the song reminds me of the professional freedoms I am privileged to enjoy.

 

 

Nas “I Can” video

 

2.    Next, describe the kind of work that you want to do and the type of organization or institution in which you want to work. Use the WorkMatrix^TM in the chapter titled “Getting a Job in Business and Industry” to help organize your thoughts. Do you most desire first, second, third, or fourth level service? Or would you rather design or develop instruction? What features of work are important to you? What economic sector do you want to work in?

Thankfully, the WorkMatrix™ reminded me that I am currently doing exactly what I want to do, where I want to do it and with the population that I feel called to serve. I feel most fulfilled in first level service delivering creative content to excited and capable students.  I get fulfillment from helping others learn and feel more capable.  I would struggle in a job where progress is hard to monitor.  I also need support and trust from my employers and from the population I am serving. I prefer working in public service, specifically, in public education.  I have worked in non-profits and private schools before.  What I quickly discovered is that every segment has its own unique set of struggles. 

 

Interdependence Helps with Evolution

Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

The chapters in this section identify trends and issues with instructional design and technology in a variety of settings: military, health care, P-12, higher education, and around the world. In this week’s blog post, tell which setting you are working in or intend to work in. Then identify one thing that you learned from reading about each of the other settings and explain how that concept, idea, or approach could be adapted to your setting.

Page 178 of our text makes the following declaration to start this section:

Instructional design today encompasses much more than simply producing instruction. It is now associated with analyzing human performance problems, identifying root causes of those problems, considering a variety of solutions to address the root causes,and determining and implementing the appropriate solutions (Rothwell & Kazanas, 2008).

Because of this new broad definition of instructional design, more crossover exists between different arenas and strategies that apply to broader audiences.  I am a technology/robotics teacher at a public school.  One of the things that most teachers will agree on is that “good teaching is good teaching,” meaning some standard strategies apply to most all children no matter their level.  The same tenet goes for instructional design.  This section encourages me to glean from a variety of arenas to hone my instructional design techniques. Below are the ideas from several different arenas that I plan to use in my school setting:

Ideas from business and industry: 

Businesses hire external instructional designers to assess their effectiveness and design instruction accordingly:  I think I can change the way I view observation walk-throughs by my administration.  Instead of waiting for them to randomly happen, I should proactively ask for an observation to help with my overall delivery.  That would require an increase in my humility, but would ultimately make me more prepared to effectively teach and learn.

They use technology as a training solution:  Now that we have www.edmodo.com, I could set up folders in the links and attachments library that have articles to help my students with common issues.  Also, I could do a better job of creating platforms, like blogs for them to offer technical support to each.

Ideas from the military:

The military explores high- and low-tech options as solutions to problems with training design (page 189).  I think that we as teachers are too quick to assume that a high-tech answer is the best route for delivering information.  There are sites and apps for pretty much anything that can be imagined and the accessibility to these technologies has increased with whole districts having 1:1 laptop and iPad to student ratios.  I was teaching a lesson in the computer lab where students were to post their responses to www.corkboard.me .  It is a virtual corkboard where students “pin” virtual post it notes and type their answers.  However, I spent more time correcting behavior—students were purposely typing on other student’s notes, resizing their notes so that they covered the entire screen, etc.  Since that lesson earlier this year, my new mantra is “sometimes a post-it note just needs to be a post-it note.” As I plan every lesson, I want to make sure, like the military, that I am using the most effective mode of delivery, be it low- or high-tech.

Ideas from healthcare:

Problem-Based Learning versus Evidence-Based Medicine-As I read this section, I could not help but think about the way teachers traditionally learn.  We follow an arc similar to that of med students in that we go to school for training, observe, teach under supervision, then we are deemed ready for the classroom.  However, the switch to Evidence-Based Medicine is interesting in its emphasis on physicians finding evidence from medical literature.  I have decided to become more of a scholar-teacher.  Currently, my first reflex when I encounter a problem is to talk to other teachers.  I rarely ever look for educational literature written by experts.  One of my first steps was enrolling in TAMU-C.  My next step is going to be to read Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov over the winter break with a friend who teaches my same age group.  Please list any books that have been helpful to you in the comments section.  I am looking forward to building my library and learning to do scholarly research reflexively as I encounter issues in instructional delivery and design.

 

Ideas from higher education around the world:

Instructors are content experts but may not be pedagogical experts (page 218, 221).  This was a resounding theme in this chapter from instructors around the world.  I feel like teachers in P-12 are just the opposite—we know pedagogy, but not necessarily all of the nuances of our content (theory, instructional history, etc.).  In fact, I think that pedagogy prowess is valued more highly than content expertise.  That would explain how districts can so easily reassign teachers to new content and grade levels for arbitrary reasons like fluctuating enrollment numbers. My goal is to continue to dive deeper into my content until I am a true subject matter expert and resource for my students and colleagues.

Informal Learning

Chapter 17 describes types of informal learning. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened to include others?

My campus has our Learning Community meetings every two weeks where all of the teachers and administrators come together to share best practices.  Our administration does a great job of scripting these and having training information ready to present, but the best learning opportunities come during the last part of the meeting where they open the floor to questions.  For instance, our district is focused on implementing multiple response strategies.  One teacher asked the group for ideas.  By the time we left, we all had a list of responses that fit her situation as well as mine.  We could share those learning moments if we took the time to record and catalog the responses.  I feel like codifying and managing these moments would remove the authenticity of the learning.  As close as we could get to replicating is possibly creating a list of discussion stems, talks that the faculty might encounter during new units, etc.  Additionally, after my experience with this class, I'm thinking about creating a blog for our teachers to facilitate online conversations like those we have during our meetings.

Data to Support the Need for Intervention

Chapter 16 explains knowledge management: the way we manage information, share that information, and use it to solve organization problems. Organizations, such as schools, accumulate a great deal information/data, which must be organized in a way that we can make sense of it in order to use for making decisions. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above and how would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?

The on-site stress management experts could gather tacit information through brief behavioral assessments designed to find identify cues pointing towards stress.  Assessments can be given at specific increments throughout the school year with designated scores receiving designated intervention plans.  Due to the sensitive nature of the information, the data would have to be collected covertly and shared only as needed and with the teacher’s permission.

On-Site Stress Support Groups

Chapter 15 presents performance support systems. Define performance support systems and explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.
 

Performance support systems are practical, individualized, ever-available helps for a person to do their job effectively and add the most value to their system.  A performance support system could possibly help improve teacher motivation, especially if it helps with stress management.  Also, teachers will need stress-management support at the campus level so that they are able to feel as if someone can identify with their struggles and offer practical, tried-and-true solutions. According to our text, providing help “at the point of need” is a crucial component of effective performance support.  On-site stress management experts would be able to intervene before stress levels became excessive.

Teachers Need Incentives, Too!

Chapter 14 discusses the concept and evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem.

As the school year progresses, teacher motivation is waning (mine included).  This prompt motivated me to revisit incentive pay for teachers and how it could positively impact teacher performance.  On page 137 of our text, it states that “a system that rewards people for their behavior without accounting for accomplishment encourages incompetence” (Gilbert 2007).  At my campus, we are occasionally verbally rewarded for completing tasks, like getting grades turned in on time, perfect attendance, etc., but our administration is limited in the fiscal incentives they can offer us and still comply with district and state policies.  Although “new incentive systems” are listed on page 140 as one of the interventions at the disposal of human resource development professionals, for some reason, it almost seems that society expects teachers to be “above” requiring incentives to encourage performance and that our reward should come from shaping lives.  However, both Gilbert’s Behavior Engineering Model and the HPT model of the International Society for Performance Improvement list “adequate financial incentives contingent upon performance” and “compensation” respectively as intervention and incentives.  In his article “Most Likely to Succeed” (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=1) , published in The New Yorker in December 2008, Malcolm Gladwell argues that incentive pay for highly effective teachers would benefit the education system just as it does the world of investment bankers.

Team Dynamics: Situational Leadership

Chapter's 12 & 13 focus on project management and how to manage projects when resources are scarce. You have been assigned to develop a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology use in the classroom for teachers during a time of economic decline. How will you use Situational Leadership to facilitate this project and manage scarce resources?

 

I would approach the task by breaking it into small, doable segments by planning the first training in the series as a group, then letting my team plan the other trainings with my supervision.  I would follow the four phases of situational leadership as outlined by Hersey in 2001.  During phase 1, I would convene the team to establish my authority and experience developing teacher training and assess their strengths/weaknesses.  I would present my ideas for how to divide the workload.  I would give specific deadlines for their drafts of their trainings, etc.  Then, we would reconvene for a follow up on tasks assigned during our initial training.  As we enter phase 2, I would meet individually with each team member to applaud their hardwork and help them to narrow down the best of their ideas.  Then, each team member would present their best training topic ideas for critique to the large group.  Next, we would actually deliver the training as we designed and enter into phase 3.  During our debriefing meeting after the training, we would go over the aggregate results of the participant evaluations and celebrate our successes as well as plan to combat our weaknesses.  Phase 4 would consist of my team developing their ideas and going straight to the large/group critique meeting.  Each team member would then develop their own timeline for implementation.  Phases 3 and 4 would remain the same until all trainings have been developed.

Evaluating Evaluation Models

 

Reflect on what other questions that instructional design evaluation should address besides whether the instructional design leads to comparable amounts of learning and learner satisfaction as traditional methods. What else would be useful to know?

 

I would like to see an evaluation model that also addresses retention of learning and long-term achievements of participants.  I also prefer the models that are broken into logical chunks because those models can help answer the questions regarding which parts of the instruction were effective and which were ineffective so that the designer does not always have to evaluate the intervention or program as a whole but can figure out which parts work and which do not. 

Instructional Design Evaluation Models

All too often instruction is developed with little thought as to how evaluation of learning or the effectiveness of the instruction will take place. When evaluation is considered on the front end of the instructional design process, it is often limited to evaluating whether the instructional design is more effective than traditional methods.

 

For this week's reflection activities, I would like for you to concentrate on the following:

Chapter 10 discusses evaluation in instructional design and provides you with two evaluation models, the CIPP and Kirkpatrick models for evaluation.

 

Evaluation of innovative instructional practices began using methodology familiar to scientists—experimental groups versus control groups.  In the midst of a revolution in education that spanned the 1960’s, Michael Scriven coined and defined formative evaluation (designed to improve a product or work) and summative evaluation (designed to derive any other information about a product or work, including its overall value).  He believed it necessary to take the intent of evaluation into consideration before analyzing its effectiveness.

 

Chapter 10 highlights the CIPP model of evaluation by Stufflebeam which is comprised of four individual evaluations—context evaluation (assessment of the environment in which the intervention would take place), input evaluation (assesses the resources used), process evaluation (assesses how the program is implemented) and product evaluation (assesses the results and outcomes).  In this model, the evaluator is an essential part of the evaluation process and is involved from the beginning. 

 

Additionally, this chapter discusses the Kirkpatrick model for evaluating training, first proposed in 1959.  As I read the paragraph introducing the model on page 99 (in the 3^rd addition of our text), I realized that the Kirkpatrick model is a perfect example of a “schema” or “mental structure” as Wikipedia defines it.  There are four levels of evaluation that can be utilized alone or together, but that build on each other. 

·         Level 1:  Reaction

·         Level 2:  Learning

·         Level 3:  Behavior

·         Level 4:  Results

 

http://www.ftknowledge.com/ftk/how/evaluating.html

 

Search for at least two other models used for evaluation and summarize these models.

The Kemp model is comprised of nine different steps represented visually by nested ovals.  According to this site from the University of Alberta,http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edit573/modules/module4.htm, the nine steps can be defined as follows: 

1.      Identify instructional problems, and specify goals for designing an instructional program.

2.      Examine learner characteristics that should receive attention during planning.

3.      Identify subject content, and analyze task components related to stated goals and purposes.

4.      State instructional objectives for the learner.

5.      Sequence content within each instructional unit for logical learning.

6.      Design instructional strategies so that each learner can master the objectives.

7.      Plan the instructional message and delivery.

8.      Develop evaluation instruments to assess objectives.

9.      Select resources to support instruction and learning activities.

The outer two circles are there to remind the implementer that planning, revision, formative assessment, summative assessment, project management and supporting the program occur at each of the nine steps and repeat throughout. 

 

 http://tomdorgan.com/mit/def/defDesign.html

 

Like the Kirkpatrick model, the TVS or Training Validation System model (Fitz-Enz, 1994) was designed to evaluate training utilizing these four evaluation steps:

1.      Evaluate the situation through pre-assessments

2.      Determine the needed intervention according to the data from step one

3.      Assess the impact by comparing pre- and post-test data.

4.      Derive the value of the training using concrete methods like Return on Investment calculations

Source:  http://www.ifets.info/journals/5_2/eseryel.html

 

 

Describe how you would use them to evaluate your instruction.

Honestly, I most likely would not use the Kemp model to evaluate my instruction because of its specificity and because it has about twice as many aspect to consider.  However, for some, the detail of the model would be its strength, especially when beginning to understand the basic concepts of instructional design.  Other strengths are that it addresses sequencing the content in a logical manner rather than a blanket prescription for implementation in step five and that it addresses differentiating learning for the individual student in step six.  If I were using this model, I would focus on steps five and six to help strengthen my instruction.  In my opinion, the other steps are already inherent in the traditional teaching cycle.

 

Conversely, the TVS model seems a little too succinct and may or may not be the best model for me to use to evaluate my instruction.  I appreciate its emphasis on pre-and post-testing.  I rarely formally pre-asses my students, but I believe that they could benefit greatly from it.  However, the TVS model does not seem to clearly explain what should happen in the classroom during the time between those two assessments.



Question 3: Differing epistemic stances lead to differing approaches to learning and instruction, and ultimately to problem-solving. Explain differences in problem-solving when approached from behaviorist and constructivist perspectives. How do the approaches differ in both the nature of the problem to be solved and in facilitating the problem solving process? Finally, what effect might these differences have on learner motivation?

Behaviorist’s approach to problem solving:

Behaviorist would make sure they fully understand the problem or objective, assess what they know and don’t know about the given problem, break the problem into small pieces,  find ways to practice the skills needed to solve the problem,  implement these new skills,  evaluate all feedback they are given during their attempt.  Then, repeat the implementing and evaluating feedback loop until they worked through all segments of the problem.

Constructivist’s approach to problem solving:

Constructivists would present the problem, then surround the learner with authentic materials to help them solve the problem,  put them in teams so that they have collaborators and possibly connect them to other distant teams with the same goal, allow the teams to set their own pace and goals through the problem-solving process, then allow reflection of the problem-solving process. The teacher would act as facilitator.  Unbeknownst to me, I have been instructing using this method for the last year with my robotics teams.  For both FIRST Robotics Competition and BEST Robotics, my students are given a problem, a set of standard parts and six weeks to solve the problem.  Industry volunteers help lend expertise and support to the process.  We opened each session by reviewing the questions or problems from the last meeting and we closed each session with the students listing their ideas for what each sub-team should do for our next meeting, what materials we needed and what research they would need to do to fulfill their tasks.  I realized at the end of the first competition that although I was the proverbial "guide on the side," my expertise was more crucial to their success than is implied in our text.  I have since done some research and training and plan to compile a list of websites for them to go to for particular problems until they build their knowledge base enough to be able to apply what they have learned to a variety of situations. 

Behaviorist’s approach to problem-solving and its effect on learner motivation:

Because of the analytical approach to problem solving and the vital role of prior knowledge, the behaviorist’s approach should theoretically motivate the learner to research the problem more thoroughly in order to solve it.  The behaviorist approach should also motivate the learner to value feedback since it is crucial for the implementation of their problem-solving strategy.

Constructivist’s approach to problem-solving and its effect on learner motivation:

Since constructivist hugely emphasize the design of the environment and the authenticity of the experiences to the real world, learner motivation would depend mostly on learner interest.  One of the teacher's primary functions has to be to stoke the interest of the students in the midst of the problem-solving experience, thus igniting their passion to take their learning in varied and deeper directions. 

Postivists vs. Relativists vs. Contextualists

Question 2: Chapters in this section present two contrasting epistemic stances: positivist and relativist. However, a third stance, the contextualist or hermeneutical, is also widely recognized. This stance falls somewhere between the strictly objectivist/positivist beliefs about knowing and the purely subjectivist/relativist stance. While designers and educators with a positivist stance generally apply behaviorist principles to the design and development of instruction, those with either a contextualist or relativist epistemological framework employ constructivist theories and methods. However, relativists ascribe to radical constructivist approaches, while contextualists draw upon social constructivist theories and models. Based on what you’ve read about positivist and relativist epistemologies, as well as behaviorist and constructivist approaches, try to more fully describe a contextualist epistemology. How might it differ from either a relativist or positivist stance, and how might social constructivism differ from either behaviorist or radical constructivist approached to learning and instruction?

 

As stated with the root of the question, posivists subscribe to behaviorist principles, meaning they approach learning more scientifically than experientially.  Behaviorialists believe that learning can be explained and enhanced based on observations, modifications and feedback in a continuous loop. The sign of success for a behaviorialist is positive change in behavior.

 

Conversely, relativists apply radical constructivist theories where the learner acquires knowledge form their environment and then construct their own new knowledge based on authentic experiences. Radical constructivists believe that learning comes from their environment.

 

In the middle of these two perspectives stands the contextualist.  Given the information presented about positivists and relativists, I believe contextualists blend the tenets of the two epistemologies together to formulate, where the learner acquires knowledge using the scientific observation/feedback loop of behaviorialists, but the instructional designer also uses purposeful contexts to guide the learners through the process in a series of small learning experiences. 

 

 

Epistemology apparently has nothing to do with plants

Question 1:  "Epistemology (the study of what and how we come to know) is discussed in multiple chapters in this section. Distinguish epistemology from instructional methods or theories. What are the differences between theories, methods, or models of learning and epistemologies or underlying beliefs about ways of knowing?"

Epistemology is basically the study of how we learn, with learning loosely defined as the purposeful acquisition of knowledge.  Instructional methods and theories result from researchers' observations of learners and their categorization of common patterns in learning.  Methods and theories operate on the "assumption that instruction will bring about learning"  (page 35, Trends and Issues in Instructional Technology, 3rd Edition, Reiser and Dempsey). 

 

It took me until page 46, when the textbook offered “historical perspectives” on constructivism with instructional models for me to deduce that theories, methods and models typically are the application of the underlying beliefs or epistemologies that the researchers developed.  Both should be mixed with specific knowledge of the particular content and audience to develop a specific approach for particular learners.

What is the role of the teacher and the purpose of instructional design?

In the 3^rd chapter, Reiser distinguishes instructional media from instructional design, excluding teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from the definition of instructional media. Why?
Reiser states that teachers, chalkboards and textbooks were the primary means of students getting information prior to the 20th century and that instructional media initially related to supplemental materials, not primary delivery modes.

Would you consider teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks instructional media?  Chalkboards and textbooks are instructional media—ways to convey information to students.  Teachers, however, are more than media because they can evaluate the needs of the students not only empirically but subjectively.  Chalkboards and textbooks cannot tell if a student is misunderstanding a concept because the student skipped breakfast or is going through a traumatic time at home.  Teachers are uniquely positioned to evaluate the teaching and learning process with more clarity and precision using the many intellectual, social and emotional cues learners offer.

Is the purpose of instructional design to incorporate media into instruction?  I believe the purpose of instructional media is to most effectively convey information to students in a way in which they can understand and apply it.  We may or may not accomplish that purpose using media.  The beauty of instructional design is that it asks the teacher to analyze and evaluate the learner objectives and convey those objectives by the most expedient medium, whether that is by teaching the students a rhyming song or by using iPads.

My Lesson Versus the Six Characteristics of Instructional Design

Reflection Question:  Next, think of a lesson or unit of instruction that you have developed. Or if you haven’t ever taught or developed instruction, think of one that you have received. How does that lesson adhere or fail to adhere to the six characteristics of instructional design?

One of my early lessons this school year in my Concepts of Engineering class (9^th grade level class) was to challenge the students to create the fastest car they could using Lego pieces and a rubber band.  The goal was to teach the students the concept of rate, the importance of the engineering design notebook and highlight the characteristics of a good team.   Below is my evaluation of the lesson using the six characteristics of instructional design:

Six Characteristics of Instructional Design

1.  Student centered:  The lesson was active and hands-on from the start, which hooked the student’s interest.  They often did not want to leave the class when it was time for dismissal.

2.  Goal oriented:  They had a week to go through the engineering design process.  The goal was for their car to be the fastest car in the class.  The learning objectives were woven throughout their process of attempting to meet the challenge. 

3.  Focuses on meaningful performance:  Instead of just memorizing the formula for rate, the students had to use the formula to tabulate the speed of their car and use their calculations to compare their speed with others. 

4.  Assumes outcomes can be measured in a reliable and valid way:  When I do this lesson over again with my Concepts of Engineering students next year, this is the characteristic that I will work to adhere closer to.  I taught the students the formula for rate through racing cars.  I assessed the students’ learning of the formula using written questions.  I should have assessed them the way I taught them or incorporated practice word problems into the lessons to give them practice.

5.  Empirical, iterative, and self-correcting:  The students automatically evaluated their cars against other cars.  If theirs was not the fastest, then they independently went back through the engineering design process to find their flaws. 

6.  A team effort:  The lesson I used was a modified version of the one created by Dr. Ken Barry from the University of Texas at Dallas.  He is an engineering expert and has tested this lesson with hundreds of students.  I was able to glean from his experiences, then modify the instruction to fit my audience.

Reflecting on the Definition of Instructional Technology

How do the definitions in the first chapter of Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology by Reiser and Dempsey compare to your own definition of instructional or educational technology?

 

The definitions broaden over time from highlighting the method of delivery to encompassing the process of the learner.  My definition has evolved over that same path.  Early in my teaching career, the focus was on the method of delivery and making sure that I included the mandatory “use of technology” in each of my lessons.  Now that I better understand the art of teaching and the process of learning, excitement over the method of delivery comes second to the ability of the medium to effectively teach the stated objective.  Instead of using technology for technology’s sake, I now strive to only use technology when the medium can add depth to my lessons.  I agree with the second definition given by the 1970 Commission on Instructional Technology—teachers utilizing instructional technology should “employ a combination of human and non-human resources to bring about more effective instruction.”


What experiences or other influences have shaped your definition?

The change that has most shaped the broadening of my definition of instructional technology most is my recent ability to easily access so many different technologies.  When I started teaching in 2000, overhead projectors were still the main electronic equipment in classrooms, with a few very fortunate teachers having access to old Macs loaded with Oregon Trail.  At my last campus, we were excited just to have a 15-computer lab.  Now that I teach at a brand new magnet school in Dallas ISD, I have been inundated with equipment, apps and training.  We have Kindles, iPads, DLP projectors, interactive whiteboards, document cameras, microphones, self-paced computer-based engineering curriculum, Youtube.com access, and the list gets longer by the day.   Having all types of instructional media has made me hone my knowledge of each and more specifically examine how to best utilize the different types.  

How has your definition changed from examining the definitions in the first chapter of this book?

The AECT defines the adjective “technological” to describe both processes and resources—“technological processes are those that involve ‘the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to accomplish practical tasks.”  As I was reading the chapter and the various definitions, I kept wondering how in some sections, the authors were talking about instructional technology, but no electronic devices were mentioned.  Technological processes describe how you use and apply information, versus technological resources which are the means by which you apply the information (i.e., videos, MP3s, apps, etc.). 

Welcome to my tiny corner of the World Wide Web! Please feel free to join in as I use this site to process new revelations regarding educational technologies and their use in high school and middle school classrooms.

I am currently a grad student at Texas A&M Commerce pursuing my M.Ed. in Educational Technology and Leadership.  All references to specific page numbers come from our textbook for Educational Technology 561:

Reiser, R. A. & Dempsey, J. V. Trends and issues in instructional design and technology, 2^nd ed.