Assignment 5 -- Systems Approach Model for Designing Instruction

The theory "Systems Approach Model for Designing Instruction" by Walter Dick and Lou Carey explains the Dick and Carey model for instructional design. This model breaks down the instructional material in smaller components, and instruction is targeted to the skills and knowledge that needs to be taught.

Elements of the Dick and Carey model include:

• Determining instructional goal
• Analyzing the instructional goal
• Analyzing learners and contexts
• Writing performance objectives
• Developing assessment instruments
• Developing instructional strategy
• Developing and selecting instruction
• Designing and conducting formative evaluation
• Revising instruction
• Summative evaluation

This model is "based on the idea that there is a predictable and reliable link between a stimulus and the response that it produces in a learner."

This model seems like it will be easy to follow -- but we will certainly find out as we proceed through our instructional design project!!!

Why ID? Benefits of Instructional Design Models and A Brief History of ID

These two articles were very interesting to me. I had no idea that the instructional design models came about during World World 2 when the nation had to be trained quickly and troops deployed quickly. The ID models that were developed were instrumental in effectively training a large number of troops. Another national crisis that brought about the next "evolution" of instructional technology that focused on the design of the entire educational curriculum was a political war in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite that began the "space race." At this point in time, America was forced to reevaluate the educational system.

Instructional design models can help with internal communication, can speed up a course planning process, can be used to evaluate existing instruction, and can be used as a tool for general planning. I liked the example of using an ID model for planning your next vacation -- I just might give this a try!!!

As more and more classes become non-traditional, instructional designers have to anticipate the needs of learners and design instruction that builds in resources, activities, and feedback. An appropriate delivery mode must also be chosen. With the expansion of the Internet and hypermedia, new ways of approaching learning and instruction are being discovered every day!

Methodologies and Theories of Elearning

This article had lots of information regarding the different methodologies and theories of elearning. I believe that instructors who plan on teaching an online course need to go through pedagogical training in order to be an effective online teacher. Motivation is a huge factor in online teaching. Teachers' roles have changed to more of a facilitator with online courses. One of the roles of a facilitator is to increase student motivation and "develop the skills or strategies" of the students. The online learning environment must be structured so that students are able to take ownership of their own learning.

Another theory that I believe is important is the adult learning theory. Most distance education students are adults between the ages of 25 and 50. It is necessary for the online instructor to understand how adults learn.

Instructional Design

In this article, I liked the definition of instructional design; "bridging concepts of technology and education." One of the most important roles of an instructional designer is to analyze learning needs and goals and then develop a delivery system to meet those needs and goals.

Instructional design gives structure to students with the process of working through course material. There have been many studies done on online learning vs. traditional classroom learning and the success/failure rates. The growth and success of elearning is very closely linked to the design of quality learning.

Instructional Design - Spring 2009: Information Literacy Resources

For an assignment in our Instructional Design class, we were to the explore the information literacy resources section of the www.novemberlearning.com website. This section was very interesting to me as I did not know several of the items listed.

I took the quiz and scored enough points to be considered "moderately savvy". I guess I would rather be "moderately savvy" rather than "downright nerdy!!"

I did not know that you could find the publisher of a web site. I looked up several of the websites I look at on a daily basis. I noticed that some of the "news" websites were published by the same company so I guess there is a standard for "news related" companies.

I liked the fact that you could look up the history of a web site. Some of the websites that I looked up dated back to as far as 1989. I would not have thought that websites were that popular 20 years ago!

I feel it is very important for the public to know whether they are on a personal web page. The story of the professor at Northwestern was interesting. I am sure that some people who viewed this web page thought the professor's opinion was an opinion of Northwestern University rather than the professor. It is also very important to know the publisher of a website as with the Martin Luther King example that was given. This website does look legtimate, and I am sure students have gone to this website thinking they would find history details of Martin Luther King only to find that this website was racially motivated. If teachers are assigning a research topic, they should probably look up the publishers of websites in order to protect students, especially if students are doing research during school hours.

I am presently teaching a Microcomputer Applications class this semester, and I plan on incorporating some of these activities into my Internet browser chapter so students can be better informed regarding the Internet.

This activity was very informative to me as there were several questions that I did not know.

Web Mastering Class -- Assignment 5

Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the book, The Non-Designer's Web Book, was enjoyable to read, especially since I do not have much web design experience.

Some of the concepts that I learned from reading these chapters include:

• Background images -- they can enhance a web page but can also make the text difficult to read if you choose one that is "too busy."
• Different kinds of links and how they are placed in web pages.
• Guidelines for making e-mail links -- there are certain rules that apply to make it appropriate for an e-mail link.
• Graphic files -- Depending on your web authoring software, the graphic files must be in your web site folder before you put it on the web page.
• Organizing files is very important -- there are certain rules to follow regarding how you name files.
• The importance of planning ahead. You need to know your target audience and what you want your web site to accomplish.
• Differences between using print and the web. Using the web is beneficial especially when you have constant changes in your product information; however, sometimes the file size can play a role. Print is more portable, cheaper to read, and more familiar.
• When designing web pages, do not center all the text. Turn borders off when appropriate. It is important to create a focal point.

So far this class has been a great learning experience for me because web design was one of the IT areas that I really did not have much knowledge. I guess you can't know everything about IT!!!

Alan November's National Education Computing Conference presentation

I watched Alan November's NECC presentation. In my opinion, one of his most important points was the fact that teachers are not connected. Schools act like they are the "learning police" in not letting students have access to technology tools. He related a recent trip to China and talking with an 11-year-old girl in Hong Kong who showed him some of the technology tools that she uses. He stated that there was more technology freedom in China than there was in the United States.

Another point he made that I wholeheartedly agree with is the fact that students should not have to memorize knowledge. They should have access to all knowledge when taking an exam. I am definitely a "real world" person and with the IT classes that I teach, I feel that students should know how to apply concepts to problems that exist in the IT world and not just memorize details.

A third point that I felt was excellent was Mr. November's statement that we should "prepare students to be globally connected" by teaching them proper grammar and syntax of the Internet.

I also enjoyed some of the tips he gave on searching and how you can type in "view:timeline" in Google and it will organize the results in date order so you get the most recent results.