1. Identify five key concepts or themes related to
eLearning Design and Development and explain what you know about each.
1. Analysis: It is
crucial that, during the design phase (and earlier), that the following areas
be fully analyzed and assessed (at the very least): identify both the needs and
expertise of the instructors and students, the accessibilities and capabilities
of the intended technology, the characteristics and of the instructor and the
students and the content of the course.
2. Set Goals and
Objectives: The concept includes not only the goals and objectives that the instructor
will expect the student to achieve, but also how the student will achieve them.
3. Activities: As
we have explained in past blogs, activities should include absorb, do and
connect activities. These activities will determine how content is presented,
transform information into knowledge and tie together new skills/knowledge with
previous skills.
4. Interaction:
Design and development must provide the following vital three types of
interaction: Student-Content, which is how students retrieve and submit
content; Student-Student, which is communication and collaboration (ex. Assignments
on Google docs) between and among students; Student-Instructor, which includes
all communications and collaborations between the students and the instructor.
5. Assessment:
There must be an inclusion of assessment into the design. Assessment is the
means of ensuring that students are understanding the content, meeting goals
and objectives and applying the new information effectively.
2. Speculate on the future of eLearning and what your
role in that future might be.
I am very new to
the digital age of technology as both a student and as a future designer/developer.
Although I have learned so much this quarter, I still am very uncomfortable
with my knowledge and skills in this area. I am like a ‘duck out of water,’ but
I feel like this is an area that I am really going to excel in once I get a bit
more comfortable.
E-learning is
becoming a very big part of education, and it is time for educators to get on
board. Although I am not a teacher, as I have mentioned before, I am a tutor
for students K-12. As a tutor, I even find myself using computer components in
my homework center; it is particularly useful as I have 6-10 students per day
and I am the only tutor. I have used Google to find valuable information;
Aries, which is a system that the district uses for teachers to record grades,
homework status or student issues; YouTube which provides many different
learning aids; apps on an iPad in the class; online dictionaries; and many
other media. These all provide resources for my students both in the classroom
and can be accessed when they are at home. My difficulty with that is that many
of my students come from lower income areas and do not have access to internet,
or have parents who do not allow them to use the internet. All of these areas
are directly related to the key concepts we have been discussing all quarter.
I see my role as
the Instructional Design person. Horton describes that effective e-learning
starts with sound instructional design, which requires selecting, organizing
and specifying the learning experiences that are necessary in order to teach
somebody something (p. 3). He also explains that the instructional design
process is independent of the technology that will be used and/or the personnel
used to create those experiences (p. 3). Basically, it is the duty of the
instructional designer to ensure that all necessary components of the course- goals/objectives,
content, activities, and assessments.
I hope one day to
join those “digital natives” and “digitally fluent” people and be in the
position of institutional power to push for e-learning in our K-12 system. We
have many, many students who will benefit from online learning classes in the
public educational system.
3. Revise the eLearning development
template/instructional design process you developed earlier for yourself. Be
sure to:
a) List all of the roles of people who will be
involved in the typical development.
b) Identify your role.
c) Explain the type of courses or other eLearning
development the template is for (higher education course, corporate training
etc.)
d) Provide
a clear label for all included elements.
e)
Provide a clear description of each included element.
f)
Provide a narrative explaining how the template would be used.
There are a
variety of members in the design and development process, and each has a
specific role and provides a specific service; all are experts in their areas.
Instructors provide the course content (from
the current f2f class), objectives/goals, activities, and means of assessment
for the course.
Instructional
Designer, who ensures that all necessary components are included and how they
will be incorporated into the design and development of the course.
Developers:
Including the technology and software experts who provide the support,
programming and design in all aspects of the course.
My role is the
Instructional Design Expert. My job will
be to ensure that all aspect of the course design is included to ensure a
successful and effective e-learning environment. I will analyze the needs and
expertise of the instructor and the future students. I will design an
environment, using the current f2f format (if applicable), that will meet the
objectives and goals of the course. I will then determine the means and media
of content retrieval and submission. Next, design activities to ensure
effective understanding of the course content. And finally, design the best
means of assessment (quizzes, CFU’s, exams, papers…), thus ensuring the
successful understanding of course content and achievement of course goals and
objectives.
My interest is in
K-12 education. My template is geared towards the K-12 e-learning environment-
the course or topic specific.
As per my previous
e-learning instructional design purpose, my template is as follows:
1. Analysis:
a. Identify needs and experience of students/instructors by first
determining the level of comfortability the instructor has with online
learning, as well as the experience in the e-learning environment. Then,
analyze the learner’s needs and abilities- what is the motivation for learning,
attitude for learning, discipline, communication skills, social skills and
digital experience.
b. Technology access and capabilities: In an article by Ronsisvalle
(2005), it is explained that approximately 98% of schools have access to
computers and Internet; therefore, these students have the technological access
and capability to utilize this valuable tool (p. 118)
c.
Characteristics of
instructor/students:
d. Content: Analyze the content that is to be incorporated into the
course, and determine the best approach for incorporating it. Content
including, for example, lectures, text readings, supplemental readings or
articles; also includes student submissions of content.
2. Set Objectives/goals:
a. Setting the objectives and goals must be in line with what the
instructor expects of the students, and how the student will achieve those
expectations
3. Activities:
a. Apply the absorb, do and connect activities necessary for
achieving those goals/objectives. Absorb activities include how course content
is presented (presentations, readings, stories). Do activities include the
transforming of the information (absorb) into knowledge (practice, simulation,
discovery activities). Connect
activities bridge the gap between the ‘absorb’ activities and the ‘do’
activities; tie together new skills/knowledge with previous skills/knowledge
4. Interaction involves any and all
communication and collaborations that are required to be effective and
successful in the course. There are 3 main types of interactions:
i. Student-content- which is the means by which students retrieve and
submit course content/information.
ii.
Student-student- which includes any
and all means that students use to communicate and collaborate with each other.
iii.
Student-instructor- which includes
any and all means of communication and collaboration between students and the
instructor.
5. Assessment includes the means of ensuring
the effective and successful understanding of the course content. This can be
done by providing portals for:
i.
Quizzes/ exams/ finals
ii. Papers
iii. Projects
iv.
Discussion forums
6.
Select the media
that will best present and support the course, ensuring a successful and
effective e-learning environment.
The template will serve as a blueprint, just
as an architect would draw up when designing a building. It will allow you to
view and monitor the progress of the design project, as well as ensure that all
components are included. This can be presented in a table, as in the text, or
(as I am most comfortable being a business major) a flow chart. This will show
the natural progression of the project and readily point out any areas missed
or of concern. Either method used, and must include all components of the
course and all the people involved in the design and development process,
including their specific roles and duties.
Horton- our text
Ronsinvalle,
T., Watkins R. (2005). Student Success in Online K-12 Education. The Quarterly Review of Distance Education,
6 (2), 117-124.