This is my final presentation of my instructional design project developed for Edtech 572. The purpose of this instruction was, "To demonstrate to current faculty members of Clarkston School District a new software program called Moodle and have them create an online presence to foster communication and enhance school learning within the district."
Comments on Report #1:
My instructional design project was to develop a class for the faculty of Clarkston School District to introduce them to Moodle software and create an online presence. After identifying a problem I conducted a front end analysis to determine its causes, a solution, and whether the solution was financially feasible. I had developed my purpose of instruction. As I continued through the Dick and Carey model of instructional design, I conducted a goal analysis, identified sub skills and entry behaviors, and conducted a learner analysis. All of this led me to the completion of report number one for the class.
Comments on Report #2:
Report number two seemed to me to be the hardest part of the instructional design process. It was during this phase of the project that I felt I learned the most about instructional design. As I have progressed through the instructional design process, I received some valuable input from my one-to-one and small group evaluations. This input has caused me to make a couple of revisions to report number one.
The first was the removal of step eight which was designed to teach students how to develop an interactive quiz. In my formal evaluation it was commented on by both novice and experienced students that this might be a bit overwhelming for a three hour training. As a result, step eight has been removed from the first report.
The second change was the removal of the pre and post tests to put the focus solely on the project based assessment, since it was felt this would impact students' attitude and motivation to the overall class. The comments I received stated that when the faculty was pre-tested, they tended to develop a more negative outlook on the preceding training. This was information received from both test subjects and my IT Coordinator who has conducted many technology trainings in the district.
Clearly identifying objectives is a staple of good teaching, and I really felt that this was very informative for me. I have spent many hours writing objectives for my teaching, but the way the process was explained in the Dick and Carey book seemed to really resonate with me. They mention the three basic criteria of a good objective as behavior or skill identified in the instructional analysis, conditions that will prevail while a learner carries out the task, and criteria that will be used to evaluate learner performance.
The instructional strategy was a concept that I understood but had just never conducted to the degree I was forced to in this process. As I worked through the instructional sequence of my instruction, pre-instructional activities, student grouping, and pre and post test, I was very comfortable. When I began to create the link between objectives and instructional activities, feedback for each objective, and strategies for teaching the terminal objective, I was out of my comfort zone. I felt what I learned will benefit me not only in instructional design but as a teacher as well.
The last portion of report number two was very comfortable for me. Developing instructional materials is something that I do daily, so I was not concerned about that process. Also the formative evaluation was interesting for me. I have always sought input into my lessons and teaching. I liked the formative assessment piece, but having students attempt instruction prior to completion is something that is very valuable but not always possible.
Comments on Report #3:
As I began to develop report number three in my instructional design process I felt that I was coasting at this point. The feedback that I received from current staff and administration in our district supported what I have designed. I realized with the completion of the formative assessment that the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) seemed to be very appropriate for my instruction. After that I just had a few adjustments in my instructional materials and on the website I would use for the instruction. At that point the project was completed.
Materials:
1. In my instructional design I will used the following materials:
A blank website template for each member. (Using Moodle I created a classroom for each of the prospective students with the same format for instruction.)
2. Computer Lab (Used schools computer lab to provide PC, projector and internet connection..)
Projector
3. Internet Connection and Survey (click here to see a copy)
4. Instructional Packet ( Created a reference sheet for students to refer to if they felt lost or confused.)
Summary:
The whole instructional design process was very intriguing to me. I really felt that this is a field that I would like to study more. While I know that I have a long way to go in learning all of the nuances of this process, I really feel that I got a good idea of what instructional design is all about. The success that I had with my instruction developed in this class further motivates me to look into this field with great interest.
