Section 7 New Directions in Instructional Design and Technology

Distributed learning is any educational experience that uses many things, including technology, to enable learning. This certainly includes distance education.  I use all sorts of materials with my students and they all help enable learning but at first it was hard to think of a way that I could do any sort of distance education with my kindergarten students! I did however do something very much like distance education a month or so ago. Discovery education sent me (and I am sure every other teacher that they had email addresses for) a link to a live lesson about the solar system.  My students and I watched the live lesson and learned so much! It was a great experience for all of us! I also considered for myself the many online classes that I have taken to make myself a better teacher, whether it is at the university level or local classes offered online by my district. 

Reusable design was something totally new to me when I began reading about it.  I learned that reusability means being able to use a resource (most often reachable through a web browser) many times, many ways and for many reasons.  I think that Google™ Docs has really helped me make my lessons more reusable! I plan all of my lessons in Google™ Docs as well as create slide shows to aid in instruction and it is very easy to go back and make changes to them as necessary.  I share these documents with my colleagues and they are able to reuse them as well.  Tumblebook™ Library comes to mind as well! I use Tumblebooks.com very frequently.  This is a website with various eBooks for children.  They are relatively short and it is easy to search for a specific topic or author.  I have used these eBooks in various content areas or sometimes just for fun!





 

Using rich media in the classroom is something that most people find easy nowadays! It seems that there are many programs that are specifically designed for educational purposes.  One of the things in the chapter that really caught my eye was the section on simulations adding value to an instructional program.  It was interesting to read and find out that the students who participated in one particular math simulation learned better than their peers who did not.  In the past, I have used programs like IXL math, which is actually found online, to have students practice math problems.  I have often wondered if they were really learning from such a program.  The text mentions that learners may need scaffolding in making sense of a simulation.  This made me think that maybe I should provide manipulatives for my students to help make the transition from the concrete to abstract a little less trying.

 

Although Siri is not real artificial intelligence, this could be a great tool for my youngsters to use when wanting to research a topic.  How easy would it be for them to simply say something like “search the web for volcano pictures” and have them pop right up?  I think this would be a great help for someone who may not have the skills to type in what they are looking for.  Just having a few iPads in the classroom would be beneficial! There are so applications that are educational and would help students learn or practice skills. 

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

I began teaching six years ago.  I have only taught kindergarten and that is what I am currently doing.  I absolutely love this age for children! It seems that this is a great time of learning for them and it is very rewarding to be a part of that.  I often tell people that I have the most important job in the world because each year I get 22 little people who barely know the alphabet and when the year is over, they are able to read and write! That may not really be the most important job in the world but it feels very important to me and I am proud of what I do.  I am working on getting my masters in curriculum and instruction. I really have no plans to go anywhere or do anything different for a long time (if ever)! My main reasoning behind going to graduate school was that I felt like many of the things I learned in college were useless because I didn’t have a way to apply them when I was learning them.  I wanted to be a better teacher and now I feel like I am learning so much and it is all relevant to me! If I decide that I do not want to be a regular classroom teacher, I think the only thing that would be left for me to do is be a reading specialist.  I cannot imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to work closely with children. 

I want to continue teaching young children, this will take place in an elementary school such as the one in which I am working.  When completing the WorkMatrix™ I was not at all surprised to see that the most desired type of work for me fell under the first-level service.  Part of me is interested in developing instruction but only as far as curriculum writing goes.  Geographic location is a huge deciding factor for me when considering the features of work.  Right now I can walk to work in about 5 minutes and it is wonderful! I can’t imagine having to commute after being so close!  The section in our textbook about psychological and economic income was interesting to me.  While I may wish that being a kindergarten teacher was a high income job, it is not and I am perfectly happy to stay where I am and that is where the psychological income comes into play.  Simply because I plan on staying where I am, teaching kindergarten, for a very long time doesn’t mean that I do not have things to learn.  I have already obtained a teaching certificate but in order to keep it renewed I have to participate in several continuing education classes each year.  I have already noticed that some of the things that I learned as an undergrad have changed and evolved of the last few years.  I must make it a priority to keep learning and stay up to date on new developments in the educational world.  I will be a student for the rest of my life!

 

There were so many professional organizations to choose from! Many of them would not benefit me but I did find a few that I thought would be helpful as far as keeping me updated in my field.  The first one that I chose was the International Society for Technology in Education.  Their website states “The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving learning and teaching by advancing the effective use of technology in PK–12 and teacher education.” One of the things that sold me on this organization is the fact that they acknowledge and include the younger grades, so many times when discussion technology in education, the younger students are not included.  I believe that we do not give our youngsters enough credit sometimes when it comes to what they can do, especially involving technology.  They certainly aren’t strangers to it like I was as a child! ISTE is holding a conference in San Antonio this summer, which is close and reasonably priced and I think I would like to attend.  It promises hundreds of sessions and sounds like a great learning experience!

The next professional organization that I chose was International Technology Education Association.  Similar to the last organization that I mentioned, this organization also speaks to educators of young students.  When I visited their website the name was different but the description very much the same.  The new name for the organization is International Technology and Engineering Educators Association.  They have developed a curriculum called Engineering byDesign™ to help promote technological literacy in education.  This program seems to begin early and continuously build skills as students gain more knowledge.  I looked at some of the sample activities and I was impressed at how cross curricular the program was! There was a quote on the website that I wholeheartedly agree with, "The Engineering byDesign™ Program is built on the belief that the ingenuity of children is untapped, unrealized potential that, when properly motivated, will lead to the next generation of technologists, innovators, designers, and engineers." This sounds like a great program from which I could learn much!

Section 5 Trends and Issues in Various Settings

I teach kindergarten so I would definitely fall in the P-12 category.  While reading the section on P-12 educational change, I found the explanations of the different types of change very helpful.  I now understand the difference between piecemeal and systemic change and how it applies to education.  I also understand that it the process of change and not the product that needs attention.  I think we must do what we can to stress the importance of ecological systemic change to our administration in order to get the school system where it needs to be.

While reading about instructional design opportunities in military education and training environments, I felt like I could really identify with the delivery environment section.  It mentioned that training is always center stage for members of the military.  I certainly think that teaching is that way as well! I feel like I am always being trained for something new! The difference is that members of the military must be trained where they are, whether they are in a classroom or deployed somewhere.  I think that if administration gave teachers more options on the delivery environment of trainings we might get more out of it.  I am often uncomfortable sitting all day in a workshop but I took several online trainings this summer sitting on my couch and learned as much, if not more, than I would have if I had to sit in a training room somewhere. 

 

 

In health care education, whether learning from a problem based program or evidence based, certain things pertaining to dealing with patients must be learned.  I found that I could really relate to the section on altruism and professionalism.  Medical practitioners are much like teachers in the way that they deal with people.  Medical practitioners and teachers both require open lines of communication to help build trust and great interpersonal skills.  Medical students are sometimes required to diagnose hired actors that are trained to mimic varied diseases and conditions.  It would be interesting to see how something similar for teachers would work. 

 

During my reading about instructional design in business and industry, I found the success factors of a project very interesting. Klimczak and Wedman found that the two most important factors for a successful program were training strategies and tangible resources. While trainers felt that implementation support was relatively important, instructional designers felt it was least important. Their roles were the sole reason for the difference in opinion. As an educator, I fill both of the roles in a lot of ways. Just as an instructional designer should, this section reminded me that when planning (for myself or my team), I should also make sure to consider how it will be implemented. That directly affects the success of the project.

I found many things that I could identify with in the higher learning chapter.  It seems that, much like me and my colleagues, these people who work in higher education feel the pressure to get things done! As I was reading the section by Byron Howard, I felt the pressure that he was under and his comment about often taking on too much really hit home! I think that we all stretch ourselves thin at times trying to better ourselves and our students.  We have to remember that what we push ourselves to do and what we accomplish offers us the greatest reward, being appreciated and valued by our students and colleagues.

 

 

 

 

 

Section 4: Human Performance Technology

Chapter 14’s discussion of human performance improvement reminded me of the changes that have happened in my district and on my campus for the last few years.  A few years ago the district that I work for went from having one K-1 campus, one campus for second grade, and one 3-5 campus to having 3 K-5 campuses. This was a huge adjustment for anyone who had worked in the district very long.  Principals were shifted, many of us were separated from our favorite teaching partners or grade levels and most of us had to work in a new building! It was not an easy transition.  Many people were very unhappy with their new assignment.  It created a very cold almost hostile working environment; it was like it was every man for himself! Nobody wanted to work together to the point that there was even some backstabbing going on!  This continued the next year, when the district decided to make the three K-5 campuses K-6.  Once again many teachers were unhappy.  Last year our superintendent decided to retire and once again, many teachers were upset and worried about changes. All of the changes that our staff had been through seemed to really impact the motivation of the staff.   Things were getting done but it seemed that the passion that had once fueled them had faded.

This year our administration has implemented staff affirmations.  The staff members write a note when they want to recognize another staff member for something positive and can either place it in their teacher mailbox or in a treasure box in the office where the assistant principal can read it during the morning announcements.  We also have a superhero doll (our school theme is superheroes) that we pass around each Friday at the school assembly where the giver publicly affirms the receiver. This has been very touching to watch each Friday!  Before this year, wearing jeans was a very rare occurrence but each staff member received a jeans pass as a birthday gift before school started.  The administration also now gives out jeans passes to staff members as a reward for various activities that are not required but allow staff members to work together with others that they may not normally work with.  Some examples include helping with the campus float for the homecoming parade, working Chick-Fil-A night, helping with another grade’s evening musical, etc.  I really think that, although it may seem simple, the jeans passes and affirmations really helped the campus come together.  It is really beginning to feel like a family and the atmosphere is no longer hostile but very pleasant.

An electronic performance support system is a way that computers can help solve human performance problems.  Using a computer application, users can access several tools that will help them improve their performance.  The tools can provide help in many areas of performance from providing simulated experiences to step by step instructions on how to complete a task.  I do not think that an individual electronic performance support system would help my campus build the camaraderie that the affirmations and jeans passes has.  However, some sort of performance support system for work groups could have been beneficial.  When using a performance support system for work groups, the users are working together to perform an interdependent task.  This could be a way to help individuals work together on a specific project when they normally would not.  I could see this being helpful in bringing content specialist from each grade level together to work on some sort of vertical alignment of the TEKS for a specific content area. 

Knowledge management systems are a way of organizing information so that it is meaningful to the user and can help solve a problem. There are 4 types of knowledge: explicit knowledge, tacit knowledge, common knowledge and undiscovered knowledge.  There are 3 components to a good knowledge management system.  Codification is the component in which explicit knowledge is collected and organized for easy retrieval.  Collaboration is the component that focuses on the tacit knowledge, providing a platform for people to share what they know.  Collaboration and codification are very important and together can lead to new ideas and the certainty that everyone knows what they need to know.  Access is the third component and should provide a way for the knowledge seekers to easily access the knowledge gained from the collaboration and codification components of the knowledge management system.

Considering the problem of lack of motivation in my coworkers, I think a knowledge management system could have helped the administration arrive at a solution earlier than they were able to.  First, the administration would have to have enough information from the staff to identify what the problem was, maybe in the form of an anonymous survey.  Then, if they had access to a knowledge management system designed specifically for increasing motivation and cohesiveness among workers they would have been able to draw from others experiences in dealing with the same issue and had access to their problem solving solutions. 

I feel like my life is full of informal learning experiences! My coworkers and I are constantly discussing things we have tried, lessons that have been successful and we often work together to come up with new ideas about how to do something.  I use my computer for all sorts of research to find information about new activities, lessons or just general information.  If I want to know something, chances are I am going to try to find the answer myself.  We learn so much from our everyday experiences and that is also a form of informal learning.  I think that if done properly, informal learning and formal learning can easily be interconnected.  I love to read and I love to read “teacher books” as I learn so much from those types of things.  Our campus does a book study each year and because of the way it is conducted, it kind of takes the informal learning into formal learning.  Each month our grade levels meet and discuss the month’s reading assignment.  This is a chance for us share the new knowledge that we have gained and how it pertains to us.  This is also a great time to hear other’s perspectives and gain new insight.  While each grade level reads the same assignment each month and has a discussion, each grade level also chose a particular section or chapter to present, in detail, at a faculty meeting.  This is more of a formal type of learning as opposed to the informal learning that is taking place from individuals reading alone and discussing as a small group. 

 

Section 3: Evaluating, Implementing and Managing Instructional Programs and Projects

In my research I started reading about the Snyder Evaluation Model.  The Snyder Evaluation Model involves participants in the evaluations. The Snyder Evaluation Model has three phases: process evaluation, outcome evaluation and short cycle evaluation and the three cycles build on each other for a complete model.  The process evaluation is simply analyzing the process to allow participants to see how their activities helped with their goals.  The second phase, outcome evaluation, uses the information from the first phase to determine the effects of the activities.  The third phase, short cycle evaluation, gives time to reflect on the outcomes and make changes to the evaluand, or what is being evaluated. 

This model could be used to evaluate instructional design in many different subject areas and grade levels.  I could even use this model with my kindergarten students in the form of picture surveys or individual interviews.  I often use an iPad during my guided reading lessons to allow students to work on word wall words on the chalkboard application.  I could easily conduct an interview with my students after the lesson to ask them to explain to me how using the iPad application helped them learn the word wall word. How they responded would help me determine the outcome: did they actually learn the word? Finally I would ask them if they preferred the chalkboard application to an actual chalkboard or whiteboard.

The next evaluation model that I read about was the Logic Evaluation model.  This model is very similar to the Snyder model as far as phases go.  The Snyder model is more participant based than the Logic model.  Depending on the variation that you use there are four to six steps for the Logic model.  For this blog I will explain the basic four: situation, input, output, and outcomes.  The situation step allows for explanation of what the purpose of the project.  The input phase evaluates the resources that are put in to make the project successful. During the output portion of this model, the activities are evaluated based on the impact that they had.  The final portion of this model, outcomes, allows for evaluation of short term, medium term and long term impact that the project had or could have. 

I would like to use this evaluation model for a science unit on living and non-living things.  The situation would be students learning enough characteristics to classify different organisms and objects into two categories, living and non-living.  Under the input portion of this model I would evaluate my materials: books, videos, slideshow presentations, picture cards, etc. For the output portion of this model I would evaluate how well the student learned the lesson and how they will be able to apply that knowledge to the same concept in a more advanced setting.

While it is important to know whether or not the instructional design is more effective or at least as effective as traditional methods as well as taking student satisfaction into consideration, there are other questions that an evaluation should help answer. 

1.    Is the project developmentally appropriate?

2.    Are the objectives met?

3.    Is the project relevant to learners?

4.    Is the project learner centered?

5.    Are the learners given opportunity to apply knowledge?

6.    Is the program cost effective?

There are too many questions that if answered could greatly benefit instruction to really give a complete list.  I think the most important ones focus on the learner.

Let me imagine this… Resources are scarce, it’s a time of economic decline and I’m in charge of developing a series of professional development sessions focusing on technology use in the classroom?!?

Sounds like a tall order but it can be done. Using the Situational Leadership approach requires the leader to change their style to fit the situation and that is exactly what I would have to do. The Situational Leadership approach is based on three factors: the amount of guidance and direction a leader gives, the amount of socio-emotional support the leader provides and the readiness level that followers exhibit in performing the specific task.  I would begin by assembling a team of colleagues that are well educated on the use of technology in the classroom and would be excited to give their time to a project like this.  I would meet with them and discuss what the goals and limitations are for this project, all the while emphasizing open communication between all team members.  Since I would be on a limited budget, these team members and their time are my main resources for this project.  I would rely heavily on their creativity to help me develop the professional development sessions and in following the four phases of Situational Leadership, my directions would taper off.  I would make sure to keep the lines of communication open for the course of the four phases. Together, we would work to complete this project with only using the technology resources that are available to us and focus on topics that the team members are confident in and knowledgeable about.  Since we are in an economic decline, we would have just been in an economic peak and should have some resources to use.   I would encourage my team to focus on professional development topics that are relevant to the teachers and could easily be used with outdated technology but also applied to new technology in the future. 

 

 

References:

http://learningforsustainability.net/evaluation/scale&intensity.php

http://learningforsustainability.net/pubs/cjds.html

http://www.aral.com.au/resources/snyder.html

http://www.idrc.ca/uploads/user-S/10553606170logframebib2.pdf

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html

 

 

 

Section 2: Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

I want to begin by saying that this section was difficult for me.  I read and reread most of it several times trying to be certain that I understood what the authors were trying to express.  That being said, I believe that epistemologies, methods and theories are all closely related. Epistemology, according to the text is “the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge and understanding – their foundations, assumptions and validity” basically what we know or sometimes think we know and how we use or apply it.  Methods are the various ways that a person might teach something.  Theories describe how we learn and how we can teach to help students learn more efficiently. I see the three as being connected because we can agree with a certain one or several learning theories and use a variety of methods to teach our subject matter but our epistemic stance influences our decision.

Since someone with a positivist stance applies behaviorist principles to instruction basically they are saying “I am teaching you the absolute truth and whether you believe or understand it or not, it will still be the truth” Someone with a relativist stance teaches with pure constructivist theories and basically they are saying “The truth is out there, I will give you activities to help you construct the truth in your mind but it is up to you to make it what you need it to be.” Since a contextualist is somewhere in between the two perspectives but draws upon social constructivist theories, I can only assume that their thoughts on teaching would be something similar to “There is a truth out there but it can be seen in many ways.  I will give you activities to help you construct your truth but be open to others’ truths as well.” A contextualist epistemology considers that we cannot know something without knowing the context that it applies to and realizes that different contexts will lead to different understandings.

When problem solving is approached from a behaviorist perspective it is usually objective driven and presented in such a way that accepts only one correct answer, in reality there may be more instruction than actual problem solving taking place.  Constructivist approaches to problem solving are different in that they are more constructional than instructional.  They focus more on problem solving, the students are in control, and provide support to one another while the teacher is there as a facilitator. Learner motivation is critical to learner success.  Learner motivation only comes when the subject matter is relevant to the learner and in most cases the learner will find the subject matter more relevant when they are given an opportunity to participate in the subject selection. With that being the case, I think that a constructivist approach to problem solving would be more motivating for learners. 

Section 1: Defining the Field

Since I was waiting on my textbook to arrive I tried to get an early start and really thought about what I thought instructional or educational technology was.  The best definition that I could come up with was that instructional or educational technology is the use of any technology that aids in instruction.  This is a very general definition but my ideas come from other classes that I have taken and what I think of when I use technology in my classroom.   It was very interesting to read about the changes over the years concerning how to define instructional media.  As I was reading, I began to realize how hard it must be to create a definition for a field that changes so much! Although my definition was very general, I feel like as I read the definitions, in the order that they were listed in the book, I agreed with them more and more.  Oftentimes I would wonder why I didn’t include a certain thought in my own definition.  I didn’t mention anything about instructional design in my original definition, mainly because I didn’t realize it was a separate part of instructional technology.  I am so glad that the next chapter explained instructional design!

The lesson that I would like to compare to the 6 characteristics of instructional design is one that I developed for another technology class.  This math lesson is designed for kindergarten students who have had some practice with numbers to 10.  Before this lesson, students will have been taught numbers to 10 and how to use one to one correspondence to count numbers to 10.  They will also have been taught and had ample time to practice recognizing numerals and will have had practice matching numerals to a set of objects. I could list several specific TEKS that this lesson covers but the main goal for the lesson is for the students to be able to compare numbers to ten. I opened the lesson with a review of counting objects in a group to 10 modeled under the document camera with students counting along. After several examples, we worked together to complete a pencil and paper activity to teach the students how to compare numbers. The students then played a game located on the website for the kindergarten McGraw-Hill workbook to practice their skills.  The next day we went to the computer lab and the students worked on the IXL math website to complete the activities for comparing numbers to 10. I was able to check the IXL report to see how well the students did and pull small groups to reteach as necessary.  I feel like this lesson was very successful and adhered to the 6 characteristics of instructional design.  Every part of my lesson was focused on the students and their learning, I knew what the goal was for my lesson and had ways to determine if the students were learning, and while I did allow time for review and recalling information, the students had ample opportunities to perform their new skills.  I picked the activities for this lesson alone without consulting anyone, but in a way, I would consider the creators of the games and websites that we used to be my partners in making this lesson successful.

 

I think that Reiser excludes teachers, chalkboards and textbooks from instructional media because most discussions about instructional media that were discussed in the textbook did not include those things as instructional media.  I do however believe that teachers, chalkboards and textbooks should be considered instructional media.  I do not think that the purpose of instructional design is to incorporate media into instruction. I struggled with this decision.  On one hand I thought yes, that is exactly what it does but after reading I now feel like instructional design is a procedure that helps focus the use of instructional media on productivity and learning.  

 

A first time for everything!

I just created my first blog! It was much easier than I anticipated! I am looking forward to learning tons of new things!