Schum Blog About Instructional Design and Technology

Scope Creep

2010-12-09T19:26:00.000-08:00

I have not been involved in many formal professional projects but as a team leader at work I have frequently been responsible for scheduling and tracking the planning of events through informal processes. Scope creep is regarded as the most important single problem facing project managers and even in my informal experience it is easy to see why (Portny, 2008). Project teams involve a lot of personalities and they are often competing to get their own ideas and visions added to the project. As the project develops it is easy to fall into the trap of adding little pieces here and there without considering the impact on the project overall. After a while, those little individual pieces start to shift the focus of the project and take it off track.

Recently I was involved in planning a student appreciation event at work. As a team we decided that we were very successful at holding students to high academic standards but that we lacked fun events outside of the classroom for students to look forward to. We came up with the idea of student appreciation days so that students would develop more buy in into the school. We set up a schedule in which students could go to various activities hosted by teachers, we would grill lunch for them, and then we would have grade level competitions to end the day. The main focus was on interacting with students in a less formal way than we do in the classroom and just to have fun.

As the planning developed several behavior issues arose and bullying was recognized as an issue with one of the current classes. We had a meeting one day and somebody suggested that we add an anti-bullying message to the event at some point. That was fine with everybody. The next week somebody had heard about an anti-bullying program and they suggested that we spend the morning of the event day going through the program. We all recognized bullying as an issue and nobody disagreed with adding the program. The next week somebody had heard of a book about bullying and suggested we read it with students before the event and do something with it that day. All of a sudden out student appreciation day had been scrubbed for an anti-bullying seminar.

The next day I started talking to people about the event and I realized that many people were enthusiastic about discussing the bullying issue but were disappointed that they were not going to have a student appreciation day. Even those who had suggested changes expressed doubts that the event was going to be met by enthusiasm from students or teachers. I began the next meeting by recapping the original vision of the appreciation day and then asked if we really wanted to modify it. In the end we ended up sticking to the original plan and addressing the bullying issue through another forum.

As I reflect on the project I realize that I could have done things differently to better manage the scope creep. My role as team leader is typical of a project manager in that I am not anybody’s boss yet I do have the responsibility of fulfilling many obligations. I sometimes view my role as more of representing the ideas of the team and deciding on action based on the consensus of the group as oppose to dictating the path to take. However, I realize that a strong manager is always needed to keep the project on track and that it can be balanced with using the input of others. If I was in the situation again I would stick to the original objective and remind others of the vision and purpose. It is sometimes better to ask questions that lead people to conclusions in this case than it is to tell them that we will not or cannot do something. I would not be so quick to accept minor changes since they have a tendency to add up.

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Communicating Effectively

2010-11-18T19:08:00.001-08:00

Establishing clear communication is vital to the success of projects involving a complex web of personalities and tasks. Project members have a variety of communication tools at their disposal and picking the right one to meet the needs of the situation is an important skill for team members to develop. In this scenario we got to view the same message delivered through three different mediums to analyze the impact on the recipient.

My interpretation of the message did change from one modality to the next. The email concisely conveyed the request in a friendly and neutral manner. It was clear in the original message that Jane’s work was dependant on the completion of the missing report. She acknowledged the fact that it may be due to an all day meeting or other obligations but she did not directly blame Mark.

The voice message contained the exact same wording but it did not seem as urgent based on the tone of Jane’s voice. While the email had a hint of emotion to it, the voice mail was completely flat. I got the sense that it probably was not that important of a deadline.

After viewing the face to face scenario I became convinced that Jane was either a complete pushover or that she really did not care that much about the deadline for her work. Her body language, posture, and tone were completely relaxed and nonchalant. It would have been easy for Mark to dismiss her because she was not at all assertive. One would think that there would be some urgency or sense of confrontation when one coworker had to track down a past due assignment from another because their assignment depended on it.

Personally I would have chosen the face to face chat in this situation. If I was up against a deadline and needed a coworker to fulfill their past due obligation I feel it would be worth my time to track the person down and make absolutely sure that we were on the same page. However, I found the email to be the most effective mode of communication in this case. Jane could have improved it though by telling Mark exactly when she needed his report to be done instead of requesting an ETA. She also could have told him the specific type of information that she needed from him so that he could forward that if he was not going to get the whole report done in time.

The implication of this exercise is that the modes of communication with project team members have to be carefully considered. Each situation is unique depending on the context of those involved and the needs of the project. Often how something is communicated is just as important as what is communicated. Perhaps if Jane had been more assertive in the first place Mark’s report would not be past due.

As a side note-- As a student of instructional design I have to wonder about the decision by the design team to make the person in the face to face scenario an African American female. I did not think about it at all the first time I watched it, but the second time I had to pause. Was there a conscious decision on their part to cast the role as that specific person? Would the whole situation have been different if the person cast was a gregarious white male? If the decision was conscious on the part of the design team, what objective were they trying to meet?

Project Post Mortem

2010-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

The project that I chose to analyze for this assignment was the one I participated in for EIDT 6100. It was a group project in which we had to design a learning module to teach how to create engaging presentations. While the project was not unsuccessful, there were some bumps along the way. My analysis of it is based solely on my interpretation and that my group mates may have had a different perspective. I also want to stress that I don’t think any of my group members were at fault for the problems and that it was the process that presented obstacles.

The “Post Mortem” Review Questions in The Project management Minimalist recommend examining five specific phases of projects for processes that could be improved in the future. In the case of the 6100 Project, Phase I (determining needs) and Phase II (creating the project plan) were handled in large part by the structure of the project that was predetermined by the course designers. We were assigned specific roles throughout the project with one of us acting as project manager for a week.

During Phase I we had to decide what problem we would solve and each group member posted suggestions to the discussion board. We provided anecdotal evidence to support the need for our proposed project ideas and then voted on which one we wanted to move forward with. The nature of how the project that the group was going to focus on seemed to set up conflict from the very beginning. With five group members voting on a project that was going to determine a large chunk of their grade their natural inclination would be to support their own. Therefore, the project idea that we moved forward with was only going to win by a slight margin of votes with no majority support and four people were not going to have their project idea validated. An effective project manager has to be decisive but they should work to give all group members a voice when possible.

During Phase II there were some early warning signs involving communication with the group. Developing a project plan is a communication intensive process and we were relying on asynchronous communication through the discussion boards to coordinate our ideas. Portny et al. point out that, “computers don’t foster close, trusting relationships between people,” and, “if anything, technology makes it more difficult” (2008, pg. 48). We did our best to work with the situation but project managers in a real world situation would be ill advised to rely on asynchronous contact to organize work and assign roles.

Phases III, IV, and V involve questions related to the design, development, and implementation of the deliverables. As we developed the learning module we continued to be hampered by inconsistent communication. If one person proposed an idea it would sometimes take days for every group member to comment on the proposal. If clarification was needed it made the process longer. With project parts due on a weekly basis it became stressful to coordinate the actions of all the group members asynchronously and complete the individual actions by the due dates. There were times when group members simply had to move ahead with their parts without approval from the rest of the group.

The other problem during the final phases was the ambiguity of the project itself. It involved applying the ADDIE process which we were learning at the same time. We had weekly reading assignments and discussion board conversations that covered the same material that we were supposed to be using to meet our project deadlines at the same time. There was no example provided of what a final deliverable should look like and each group member had their own interpretation of the project instructions and rubric. It added another level of complication and stress to already difficult communication process. The project could have been improved if each team member was familiar with the process beforehand.

The lessons that can be taken away from a “post mortem” of the project are that communication, clearly defined roles, and agreement on vision and outcomes are important for a project manager to develop. The root of most of our problems as a group was the difficult communication through the online medium. We were ultimately successful in delivering the final project on time and we got a good grade on it. However, it was clear that many group members (myself included) thought that we could have done a better job.

References

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

The Future of Online Learning

2010-10-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

Online education certainly has its detractors and the constant commercials (like the one below) that promote the ease and convenience of attending classes do not add to its merit. Whatever your stance is though, it is most likely that an increasing number of people will be getting their degrees from online programs in the future. The increase in use of communication tools, the growing comfort that people have working online, and the ability to communicate with diverse groups are all powerful forces behind the momentum that online education is experiencing (Siemens, 2010). Even courses at traditional schools will be taking on traits of distance courses and eventually there will be no distinction between the two. The movement away from instructor led courses to ones in which students are taking more of the responsibility for learning is growing and eventually the traditional lecture based course that relies on the solitary wisdom of a professor will die out.

The ease of accessing information and the growth of online education has led to a democratization of the education system itself. Many people who would not have pursued degrees in the past for a variety of reasons, including location and the demands of hectic life schedules, can now attend courses. It stands to reason then that there would be some resistance from the traditional institutions that benefitted from controlling access of information to the few. Market forces will dictate that those institutions offer more dynamic and open ways of learning to their students.

Of course not all online courses or institutions are equal. Online colleges are profit driven and not all of them hold the quality of instruction as the number one consideration. The consumer needs to be wary and do their homework carefully before deciding which program to enter. Legitimate online institutions would be well served to develop marketing campaigns that focus on the quality of instruction rather than simply the ease of attending classes.

Instructional designers play a pivotal role in shaping the societal perceptions of distance learning. They should approach the design of each course as the underdog who really needs to put the best work forward in order to win acceptance. Courses should be built around rigorous activities that require students to solve problems and synthesize and evaluate information at a high level. Students should use collaborative tools such as wikis and discussion boards to complete assignments and share information. Be creating courses that challenge students and require their active participation, designers will be preparing them to be more prepared than traditional students. Workplaces will continually need students who excel at problem solving and collaborating in a way that passively listening to lectures cannot prepare them for.

References

Siemens, G. (2010). Video media presentation retrieved October 27, 2010, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4442084&Survey=1&47=5918289&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

2010-10-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

Online education offers a practical, cost effective, and potentially powerful alternative to traditional face-to-face training programs. Studies have shown that distance education may offer a significant return on investment, increase student motivation to learn, and provide increased access to students who would not otherwise have participated (Theory and Distance Learning, 2010). Institutions considering converting their training programs to either blended or completely online formats should take great care when planning for instruction though. While similar in many ways, online learning is best approached as a unique situation that demands careful planning around specific instructional strategies. Traditional training programs that are simply “dumped” online are unlikely to be successful.

The following guide offers practical advice to those who choose to convert traditional classes to the distance format: Converting to a Distance Learning Format: A Practical Guide to Ensure Success

The Impact of Open Source

2010-10-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have heard it said that reading the New York Times daily for 10 years would result in an education equivalent to attending an Ivy League school. I can’t remember who said it but I’m pretty certain that the source was not necessarily reputable, so I won’t speculate on the merits of it. I did think of it this week though as I pondered the potential of open course offerings and whether they might result in the equivalency of attending an Ivy League school without actually being accepted to one of the institutions we hold in such high regard. The answer of course is a resounding “no” but they are interesting nonetheless.

After browsing through a variety of open course offerings from Stanford, Yale, and several other schools I came to the conclusion that most were pretty much the same. I settled on History 7B, a course taught at UC Berkeley by Professor Jennifer Burns (http://www.jenniferburns.org/history-podcasts/history-7b ). I recognized Burns’ name from a Daily Show interview and since I teach American History, I thought it might be a worthwhile professional development experience. Burns’ course is typical of the history classes that I browsed through in that it is almost entirely lecture based. The course materials that are made available to open course students are the podcasts, course syllabus, and transcripts of the lectures. Some of the courses are accompanied by vodcasts but the video is either a static shot of the school logo or a continuous shot of the professor speaking.

I enjoyed listening to Burns’ open course and learned some new information but it does not meet the basic definition of a distance learning experience. At a fundamental level distance education has four components; institutionally based, separation of teacher and student, interactive telecommunications, and shared learning experiences (Simonson et al., 2009). History 7B is institutionally based and there certainly is separation in time in space between the instructor and students but that is where the similarities end. The course is missing at least two essential elements and “if one or more are missing, then the event if something different, if only slightly, than distance education (Simonson et al., 2009, p. 33).

Burns makes no assertion that her open course is intended to replace a classroom experience and reports that Berkeley University “believes that podcasting is a natural fit with its public-service mission” (Burns). The open course in this case represents a case of the “craft” or “dumping ground” approach in which traditional face to face offerings are recorded and posted online. It is not rooted in sound instructional design theory, the learning experiences are not created with the distance learner in mind, and there is no effort to use available technology.

While I do think that the open course offerings are truly interesting and informative, I was struck by the traditional nature of almost all of the classes that I browsed through. They all consist of a professor in the front of a large auditorium lecturing for almost the entire class. During Burns’ podcasts there are a few questions from students and a few short breakout activities but the overwhelming majority of the instruction is delivered via lecture.

One of the major arguments in favor of distance learning is the assertion that traditional classroom models are not effective any way (Moller et al., 2008). This is evident in the open course offerings that rely solely on lecture to transmit information instead of having students construct knowledge. Effective strategies would combine knowledge delivery with cognitive strategies and collaborative activities (Huett et al., 2008). Direct instruction has proven to do little to maximize learning and may even inhibit deeper understanding of topics (Moller et al., 2008). Well constructed learning experiences should also allow for learner autonomy and creativity.

Dr. Piskurich claims that given an option, a traditional classroom course where the teacher and students interact face to face would be the most desirable delivery mechanism for a class (2010). If that class were to be a lecture oriented experience though a carefully constructed online alternative would clearly be a better option. Much of the stigma that surrounds distance education is probably rooted in the observations of open course-type offerings as oppose to true distance learning designs.

Resources

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Piskurich, George. (2010). Video Program: "Planning and Designing Online Courses"

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

2010-09-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

For this week’s assignment I chose to focus on the following scenario:

Interactive Tours

"A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the art work on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district’s instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?"

Allowing the students to take a “virtual tour” of the museum could be as easy as a class set of computers with internet access. Most large museums have a strong focus on supporting education and provide extensive online resources for teachers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (http://www.metmuseum.org/education/index.asp) is one example that has a variety of resources online including image libraries, research sources, lesson plans, and pre-recorded lectures.

Using video conferencing technology would be a good solution to talk with the curators. Skype has been used effectively by teachers to consult with experts and to facilitate discussions with classes in other parts of the world. Skype is a free program with minimal equipment or technical requirements. TeachHub.com ( http://www.teachhub.com/news/article/cat/14/item/367 ) has an excellent example of a teacher using the technology to have author and illustrator Mike Artnell make a guest appearance in class. The technology offers two way communication and the possibility of a rich and interactive dialogue.

To tackle the group art critique, the teacher may want to use online discussion boards. A large group critique could be time consuming and hard to manage in a live classroom. The discussion boards would offer the students a way to think about and post insightful critiques. The teacher could increase student autonomy and motivation by letting students choose from a variety of pieces to focus on. Having students choose their discussion groups based on the pieces they select would be an effective way of dividing the class into more manageable discussion groups. The conversation could then be expanded by having students reply to other critiques outside of their groups.

Joyce Payne has an excellent and concise overview of prompting students to discuss art at http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3338/ . Her suggestions on how to prompt students how to describe, interpret, and evaluate art could easily be transferred to an online discussion format.

Defining Distance Education

2010-09-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

Prior to beginning as a distance education student, I was skeptical that an online program could be as challenging and meaningful as a face to face equivalent. Research seems to back the claims of online institutions that learning outcomes (for adult learners) are equivalent to those of brick and mortar institutions. As a student who is well in to the program, I would have to say that I still remain skeptical and have not been sold on the idea that distance education can exist on equal footing in all areas. While undoubtedly convenient, the distance in online learning does create barriers to the relationship building that is necessary for true the collaboration that would result in innovation. I may be biased as a teacher trained in a traditional setting, but I still feel relationships are essential to the most effective learning and that technology still falls short of bridging the divide.

http://mywebspiration.com/view/548831a16d1c

Distance education has long existed on the fringe of established educational practices. It has evolved significantly and become more complex since the first correspondence courses were offered in European newspapers in the 1830s. The basic definition of distance education has changed little. However, its significance continues to evolve as technology allows both the creators and consumers of content to communicate and learn in more stimulating environments. Online learning may even more accurately reflect the work scenarios that many adult workers find themselves in everyday.

There is no doubt that distance education is becoming a more powerful medium and that it is here to stay. The reputation as a fringe alternative to traditional settings has proven hard to shake (the go to school in your pajamas commercials that run constantly certainly don’t help) but repeated research and consumer demand has led to an explosion of online course offerings at all levels including most major universities. In his video “Distance Education: The Next Generation” Dr. Simonson discusses the s-curve of innovation diffusion and states that online learning has gotten past the point where it has to prove itself and is about to really take hold as a legitimate choice in education.

According to distance education proponents distance education offers several advantages in that it has a significant return on investment, may increase learner motivation, and provides increased access to education. Theories of distance education stress the equivalency of the online offerings to what would be offered in traditional settings and reach the same learning outcomes. Distance courses often focus on the autonomy of the learner in recognition that adult learners get the most out of the courses when they are allowed to construct some of their own learning experiences.

The drawback to the quick adoption of online courses has been a proliferation of ill designed courses that have been created using a “craft approach” to design. Many teachers have simply dumped their traditional content into an online setting with little regard for creating meaningful distance experiences. Lecturing has proven to be an ineffective teaching strategy and it certainly does not become any more effective when simply videotaped and posted online. Impediments such as lack of training in distance theory or technology, lack of time, and the stigma attached to teaching online have not helped the effort. Additionally, most of the research on the effectiveness of distance education has been done with adults and much remains unknown about the results in K-12 settings which have often used online courses simply for remedial courses. While promising, the full potential of online education has certainly not been realized although it continues to improve at a rapid pace.

Resources

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Learning Theories and Technology: Fitting the Pieces Together

2009-12-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks I have been teaching philosophy in my Honors World History classes. Since it has been on my mind I thought I thought I would link my own thoughts on learning theories to Plato’s Allegory of the Cave which is one of my favorite philosophical concepts.

The basic premise is that we are all get locked into our own “caves” and become complacent with our current knowledge unless we are prompted (or forced) to venture out. Technology used as a tool in conjunction with a foundation of solid learning theory makes it easier for us to venture out of the cave and create meaning in an information rich environment.

I had previously taken graduate level courses about learning theories during my student teaching program several years ago. Since I was mostly concerned about my daily survival and filling 100 minute periods in a room full of high school seniors in a required (and loathed) government class, the full implications of the theories were mostly lost on me. It has been a great experience for me to go back and delve into the theories a little bit deeper and get beyond the “shadow” knowledge that I had previously developed.

The most enlightening theory that has helped draw me out of my cave has been the idea of connectivism. I knew that emerging technologies should be changing the way that teaching and learning should be done but there seemed to be a gap in how that was explained by the theories that I had previously learned. I see connectivism as a very important step beyond constructivism in that it recognizes the access to information that students today have beyond just their normal social circles. On the practical side it will help me develop more relevant learning environments for my students. At this point I need to focus on developing ways of putting the theoretical ideas into practice. It also gives me a solid background and vocabulary for making the case to my colleagues and principal that we need to be focusing more on connectivist modes of learning.

Technology has certainly come to play a crucial role in my learning. For this first semester at Walden I have gone back and forth on whether online classes were on par with traditional ones. While some aspects of it are still growing on me, I can definitely say the environment has allowed me to focus on the relevant concepts that I feel could impact me the most. It has also allowed me to expand my learning network and expose me to things that may not always be apparent from my cave. I have already been experimenting with using social media in my own practice and am interested in developing applications for mobile use in my classes.

Connectivism

2009-12-06T12:12:00.001-08:00

Link (for more detail): Brian's Network

I tried to organize my concept map around what I saw as the three main inputs of my learning network; media, personal contacts, and work. I thought it was a good example of the “complexity and self organization” that was discussed in the web article about connectivism (Davis, et al., 2008). Many of the learning sources do not stand alone but are interconnected in many ways and information has several different routes to take in order to get to the user.

Google has become the primary source of facilitating learning for me and is usually the “go to” resource when I have a question. I use it to search for reviews, compare prices, aggregate news feeds, email, blogging, and building websites. When I hear something on TV or in conversation I can quickly verify it or find more information on it. Learning networks and technology have provided a great deal of transparency in the relationships between consumers and businesses, government and citizens, teachers and students, and many others.

My personal learning network definitely supports the central tenets of connectivism. Especially the idea that “connectivism is driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations”(Davis, et al., 2008). This is exemplified by my iGoogle homepage and dashboard for the RSS widgets from various news sources, professional blogs, email, and even local Doppler radar.

While I am personally fascinated with the implications and uses of connectivism, I do agree with some of the criticisms of it as a learning theory. Plon Verhagen believes “connectivism to be relevant on a curricular level as it speaks to what people should learn and the skills they should develop”( Davis, et al., 2008) However, it seems to stop short of explaining the way that people actually learn the information that they become connected to. In what I have read about it, it also does not ways that people can best utilize the networks that they build. It appears to borrow heavily on some of the principles of constructivism and social learning theory. Connectivism may be taking a step beyond the social aspects of constructivist theory with the guiding principle that “learning may reside in non-human appliances”( Davis, et al., 2008). In the past we were dependent on personal social contacts to facilitate learning but we can now go far beyond that by developing a strong network through technology.

Reference

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Imagination or Bust: The Century of China?

2009-11-22T09:01:00.000-08:00

Advice From Grandma
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: November 22, 2009
A great power that can only produce suboptimal responses to its biggest challenges will, in time, fade from being a great power.

An editorial from my favorite columnist hooked my attention this week and I couldn't help but think about the relevance to our current discussions as budding instructional designers. According to Friedman "Britain owned the 19th century, America owned the 20th century, and, it’s all but certain that China will own the 21st century." Fortunately, he does go on to say that it is not inevitable that China will become dominate because America still leads the world in the power of imagination. He cites the education system as an example of a problem that our leaders are trying to fix with suboptimal responses.

After reading the editorial I was left with the following questions:

How can the various learning theories be applied to foster imagination?

The current drive in education is an emphasis on measurable results. Can imagination be measured and assessed?

How do we push back against suboptimal attempts at fixing education and emphasize the type of thinking that will prevent a decline in American relevance?

Deeper Into Cognitivism

2009-11-15T14:33:00.000-08:00

The first article I looked at this week involved the creation of interactive videos to stimulate cognitive learning. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) in Britain has recently began adding videos to its training regime but has found that “one of its major drawbacks is the inability of the learner to fully interact with the medium” (Cherrett, Wills, Price, Maynard, & Dror, 2009). The CITB has recognized the need to go beyond lecture and involve students in decision making processes during situations that cannot be replicated in the classroom. To improve their curriculum they have been experimenting with short videos of scenarios that show dangerous situations. Students interact with the videos by clicking their cursors on the dangerous events when they see them in the video and then filling out a pop-up form with information on how the situation could be avoided.

According to the CITB, “the use of interactive video to enable learning through the process of experiencing failurehas great potential for fostering ‘deeper learning’ and enabling a more effective application of principles learned in the workplace” (Cherret et al., 2009). In this week’s discussion assignment, many people (including myself) stated that they felt learning through failed attempts was a great benefit to their own learning.

Additionally, the article also stated:

If learning is to occur, and information is to be coded effectively by the cognitive system for long-term retention, then it is imperative to design and construct the learning tool in a way that correctly utilizes the cognitive attention mechanisms. To achieve this, one needs to design learning with the ‘Three C’s of Learning’ in mind: control, challenge, and commitment. When learners have control over their learning, they are more involved and participate in the learning process, which is critical in maximizing engagement. Similarly, when the learners are challenged and are committed to the learning process, they active and the cognitive system is utilized properly (Cherret et al., 2009).

The experience with the CITB and their use of interactive videos supports this week’s course materials on cognitivism and the importance of meaningfulness. The textbook states that using “concrete materials and pictures enhances memory,” and “instructional tools such as manipulative, audiovisual aids, and computer graphics facilitate learning” (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009) The use of interactive video is a great way to add relevance that will encourage commitment to the learning process and ensure the long term retention of material.

The second article I read this week examined individual differences and their impact on encoding new material when learning through multimedia technology. Generally learners can be expected to be able to handle one new piece of information about every ten seconds in order for it to properly encoded into long term memory (Ormrod et al., 2009). However, some individuals may be able to process things at a much slower rate. This article explored the use of segmentation in order to meet individual learner needs.

The study outlined in the article was based on the segmentation principle that “states that a multimedia tutorial that provides the user with pacing control, through use of a Start/Stop button or Continue button, will result in greater learning than a tutorial that plays from beginning to end” (Lusk, et al., 2009). One of the most difficult challenges that I have had as a classroom teacher is accounting for individual differences when providing instruction to the group. The simple addition of adding basic user controls to multimedia teaching materials would offer a customizable learning environment that could suit the needs of individuals.

The article also discusses the idea of Working Memory Capacity (WMC) which “represents an individual’s ability to simultaneously (1) process a primary task in working memory, (2) maintain relevant information regarding the primary task in working memory and (3) access and retrieve relevant information regarding the primary task from long-term memory” (Lusk, et al., 2009). The authors suggest breaking down long video or multimedia presentations into smaller chunks or segments. Given that even the brightest individuals can only process a small amount of information and effectively, it makes sense that the most effective learning resources would be segmented into smaller parts to aid the learner and account for individual differences.

Both of these articles covered ideas that should be of practical consideration to those in instructional design. I often hear of videos being added to curriculum to make it interactive. A video itself is not interactive though. It has to be used in a way in which the student goes from mere viewer to participant. The designer also has to account for individual learner differences when developing teaching aids. Simple and effective ways of doing this are allowing the user to start, stop, and replay tutorials and to break them into short manageable chunks. Both techniques make use of sound cognitive teaching techniques.

References
Cherrett, T., Wills, G., Price, J., Maynard, S., & Dror, I. (2009) Making training videos more cognitively effective: Making videos interactive. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(6), 1124-1134.

Lusk, D., Evans, A.D., Jeffrey, J.T., Palmer, K.R., Wikstrom, C.S., Doolittle, P.E., (2009). Multimedia learning and individual differences: Mediating the effects of working memory capacity with segmentation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 40(4), 636-651.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.

Blogs to Expand My Horizons

2009-11-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

This week I discovered and reviewed several new sources for learning about the field of instructional design and technology:

Rapid E-Learning Blog- This blog is authored by Tom Kuhlman who has a master’s in IDT from Pepperdine and has over 15 years of experience in the field. The purpose of the blog is to share practical tips and tricks to help you become a rapid elearning pro. A scan of the information in the recent postings revealed many practical tricks that novices like myself could easily implement. It is well illustrated with great examples and it has many helpful links to other sites with free tools. The blog covers a variety of topics such as recording quality audio for screencasts, creating captivating PowerPoints, and how to be a successful project manager. I am highly impressed with this site and I can forsee spending quite a bit of time going through the huge amount of quality content.

E-Learning Curve Blog- Michael Hanley from Dublin, Ireland authors this blog that was a 2009 Irish Web Awards finalist for Best Educational Website and Best Podcaster. The content on this blog is more theoretical and author writes frequently about learning and development. Recent posts included a discussion of constructivist learning theory. The other major focus of the blog appears to be product reviews for both free and commercially available programs. While I don’t have the experience to yet understand the applications of many of the reviewed programs, I could imagine this being an excellent site to refer to as I progress.

ASCD Inservice: Technology- This blog is hosted by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development which has been around since 1943 and boasts over 143,000 members around the world. The purpose of the blog is to encourage discourse over pertinent educational topics and to share best teaching practices. It has various contributors, most of whom are active teachers or educational leaders. Recent post topics include using social media applications in the classroom and incorporating X Box programs in instruction. It also shares many tested and effective ideas for using technology sources in the classroom. As a classroom teacher I find this site useful because the contributors are other teachers who like myself are also faced with having only the bare minimum of resources to work with.

In addition to the blogs, I also came across two sites that are focused specifically on teaching history with technology. The first one A History Teacher was developed by Dan McDowell who graduated from the IDT master’s program at San Diego State. It has some great examples of projects he has developed with the knowledge he gained in that program. The second one Digital History has a collection of great resources and ideas for how technology can be incorporated in the classroom.