Which Professional Setting Fits Me?

Review the content and settings in chapters 18-23 of our book. What setting or settings are you interested in working in when you receive your respective degree in Instructional Technology? Explain how you will fit in this particular setting. What questions (if any) do you have about working in this particular work setting?

Good question for a person who comes from the business world who was mostly assigned to military software development and training contracts who made the change to the educational world of teaching who now aspires to teach at the post-secondary level in some capacity. I know it sounds confusing.

Chapter 22 of Reiser & Dempsey (Higher Education) is the chapter that I was most interested. The symposiums of Byron Havard (assistant professor), Brenda Litchfield (faculty development), and Jack Dempsey (professor) were very intriguing. After 20 years of software development and training in corporate America, I wanted to do something else. Well, it was either buy a Harley and go across the country as Peter Fonda’s sidekick or change my career and do something else. It just so happen that a computer teacher was needed at the local high school and so I thought I would give it a try. It fit me like a glove. I love the autonomy of the profession as well as the challenge of creativity. For example, preparing a lesson plan based on DPI’s SCOS that will be informative, challenging, meeting objectives, fun and entertaining (and shhhhh, students don’t realize it, but actual help them learn something). Once I finish my MS, I would like to work in the post-secondary level in some way. I do know that I want to stay in the field of instructing, whether I am instructing students in a classroom (face-to-face or virtual) or instructing teachers to help them improve their instruction. I believe that I would fit in this type of setting because of my extensive professional background, and my newly acquired (actually still acquiring) educational background.

My second choice is the business and industry. I know…I left the field after my mid-life crisis and now I want to return? Well this time as an instructional designer and not as a software developer/trainer. My wife is an instructional designer and can attest to the fact that all of the concepts (design documents, storyboards, learning theories, design processes, etc.) that I have been learning so far in my graduate studies are integral concepts of the business environment of instructional designers. She wants me to hurry up, finish my degree, and start helping her with her company. On page 178, the author states, “many organizations have downsized their instructional design group…in response to budget pressures, and outsource work to design consultants on an as-needed basis”. I could not agree more. After being the victim of countless corporate downsizing, my wife was so fed up that she started her own instructional design company. She has work coming in all the time to the point that she has to turn away jobs. She has made more money now than as an employee and does all of her work from home. I thought, gee…I want to be her.

Media and Methods

Based upon your own teaching experiences (if any) and the contents of this lesson, what instructional media formats interest you? What instructional methods do you currently use this instructional media within an instructional setting? How do you anticipate using this instructional media within an instructional setting in the future? Make sure that you describe specific instructional methods.

One of the instructional media formats that caught my attention are SMART boards. Although I have never used them, I have seen them in action (the teacher/class next to mine). It is a 21st century chalkboard that connects content and technology. I have seen MS Word lessons on these apparatuses as well as Internet navigation techniques. Now we have to ask what type of instructional method could be used with this. This would be a good tool for demonstrations and student interactions and group learning. The instructor can use this to demonstrate a task, students can use it to duplicate the task, and students and instructors can use it to teach other students techniques and skills that they may already possess.

Another media format that I am interested in (but never used yet) is virtual reality. I saw a workshop at the Greenville summer conference on A Second Life. It is a virtual reality environment that lets you create your own avatar and basically lets you interact with other avatars in a computer-generated world with real life decision-making. For example, our instructor left his apartment to go to class and came back hours later to an empty apartment. He was robbed! He could refurnish his apartment if he bought renter’s insurance…no he did not. Bummer. I believe that online classes will eventually go beyond the eBlackboard environment and embrace the virtual reality environment where you can actually go to a simulated class for lectures, group discussions, projects, note taking, etc. just to name a few of the methods that this type of media would satisfy.

Another media format I would like to mention is distance learning. In fact, along with my MS I am obtaining a distance learning certification. I feel that more and more classes will be conducted via Internet. Of course the biggest advantage is convenience. Driving from Chapel Hill to Greenville for classes would be a major setback. I have also been associated with eCommerce class at the high school level that is taught online. The largest complaint that I have heard from others (usually those who have not experienced an online class) is that they want face-to-face interaction. They think that physically going to a class (old school) is the only way to learn. Well…an hour boring lecture (no offense to those in the educational field such as myself) can be replaced by lecture notes and pod casts demonstrations which can be read and reviewed at a convenient time and as many times as possible. Group work can still be assigned. I had a pysch class that had access to a chat room where there was no typing but actual interaction by talking (just had to press and hold the CTRL key to talk). Online courses are getting more and more advanced in the way of replacing conventional classrooms.

Assessing the ISD Model

What is your personal assessment of the ISD model? Critique it. Describe the strengths (if any) and weaknesses (if any) of this model? What activities of this model have you used in your experience as an instructor?

According to Dr. Sugar, there are literally hundreds of instructional systems design (ISD) models. How can we assess them all? You can’t, but the model that attempts to categorize the similarities of these different models is the ADDIE model which is an acronym for analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate. It is a good basic model and starting point for assessment of ISD. The strength of this encompassing model is the full cycle approach of instructional systems design. To me, it covers the general areas of ISD but also, each phase in this model can be broken into more detailed sub-categories. For example, the analysis phase includes analyzing the needs of the learners, the content, the tasks, and the resources. In another example, the evaluation phase can be sub-categorized into the CIPP evaluation model or Kirkpatrick’s model (Reiser & Dempsey, 2007).

As far as assessing some particular ISD models, I like the fact that evaluation, revision, and feedback were a part of every step in the process and not just at the end. This is another strength to the ISD model. This will help keep the project on track throughout the entire process and meet the initial objectives set forth. Some models used the terms formative and summative evaluation (Jerold Kemp Model, Dick and Carey Model). The formative evaluation is the assessment conducted during the development of a program.

The only model presented in Dr. Sugar’s lesson that I feel is a little weak is the rapid prototyping design model. There is no mention of formal evaluation throughout the entire process and does not show the connectivity between processes. Although it is not very detailed, I must admit that I have seen this lack of detail before in some of my old projects in the corporate world – "...just design it, develop it, install it, and maintain it (and ask questions later)".

As a teacher for Chatham County, the activities in the Dick and Carey model are used closely in my style of instruction. In our lesson plans, objectives must be stated on the board that will meet the overall goal of the unit, analyze entry behaviors and conduct instructional analysis, develop instructional strategies, select materials, conduct evaluations throughout the lesson or unit (formative) and an assessment at the end (summative). Also in this model, a step is mentioned that gives this model some punch. It is the “revise instruction” step that is connected to several steps in the process. Throughout the entire lesson and upon reflection (the drive home), I think about what worked and what did not work. What can I revise, re-do, or teach in another way to make it more interesting, more appealing, and/or more of a real-life example.

How Do People Learn?

In my experience, how people learn depends upon the target audience. I see both cognitive learning process and constructive learning process. I know that this may be an evasive answer, but true from my perspective. With the students that I teach, cognitive processing seems to be one method that these learners fit. These learners are active participants in their thinking. They receive information from the external world, categorizes the information internally that makes sense to them, and acquires knowledge (or learns from it). This approach to learning is somewhat structured, with information coming from teachers/instructors (external world). In the text, cognitive learning reflects positivist epistemology. Some of the characteristics of positivist are:
- knowledge exists independent of the learner
- this knowledge is transferred from outside source to learner
- classroom setting
- teacher directing/teacher driven
- objectives defined

I also see these students learning sometimes with the constructivism approach. These learners use prior knowledge to build a meaningful understanding of new content. Some of the lesson plans are created or built upon from previous lessons. Constructivism learning reflects relativism epistemology. Some characteristics include:
- learner is guided in constructing knowledge
- teacher facilitating/leaner centered
- goals negotiated

Example: In a desktop publishing class, students are taught about the different effects that color and aesthetics have on a publication (cognitive). Now relate what you have learned from this lesson and your knowledge of the Internet to construct a visually appealing website (constructivism).

I believe that a combination of the two may be the best approach to student learning and understanding. Sometimes new information must be presented and then internalized, other times the use of learned information is used to understand new concepts.

Instructional Design Job Search

I have located a Instructional Designer position on the ASTD website:
http://jobs.astd.org/jobdetail.cfm?job=2972012&keywords=instructional%20technology

I wanted to stay in the state of North Carolina and this position is located in the Davidson area. The company is called Aptara, Inc. and they have an opening an Instructional Designer/Project Manager. This position will be responsible for planning, analyzing, consulting, and managing new hire blended learning solutions. Other responsibilities include managing development and quality assurance.

Qualifications include experience in analyzing, designing, developing, and managing Instructor Lead Training and eLearning courses. Good training background along with a knowledge of learning theories and practice, technology is a plus. Also, experience in designing highly effective training materials would be helpful. The candidate must have good communication skills and writing skills and be able to work with subject matter experts (SMEs), programmers, designers, project managers and offshore teams.

This is a job that would interest me once I received my degree. I have worked with SMEs in my last job in the IT field developing not only customize software programs, but also training materials and conducted training courses to end-users. This position also refers to distance learning, which I will be certified when I finish my MS. Educational requirements are only a four year degree so I would exceed that expectation. The job is a contract job and some people may worry about this. But in today's corporate job market, they are all contract jobs. The definition of job security has changed in the past couple of decades.

Defining Instructional Technology - 6010

To me, instructional technology is defined as the use of technology resources that enhance learning and knowledge through a curriculum. Learning and learning styles have changed since the days of chalk boards. Technology resources such as the Internet, multimedia applications, web-based eLearning lessons, and distant education classes have improved education regardless of the subject matter. Instructional technology is not only being used in the educational field but also in the business environment. Public, private, and government agencies are in need of enhanced training materials (paper-based, web, applications such as PowerPoint) to teach various subjects from new employee training to product understanding. Enhancing curriculum through instructional technology is the chalk board of the 21st century.