Final Reflection - ITD 612P

I have found the instructional design process to be valuable in thinking about how to achieve learning objectives and create assessments that actually measure those assessments. In the hurried life of a teacher, it can be easy at times to overlook the careful thought that must be given to instructional design and assessment. The design process allows one to slow down and think about learning and the results that are sought in the end. It was interesting to learn about task analysis and learner analysis, as these are both important factors in designing lessons.

A challenge for me is making sure that my assessment matches the learning activitiy. For example, I learned to think about embedding questions as students watch a video. This is a wonderful way to measure student attentiveness and absorption while they are viewing a video. Another challenge is encouraging student interaction through an online class. Asking students to comment on what is being studied, and comment on their peers posts is a great way to try to connect students to one another.

If I could do something differently in the ITD 612 project, I may have chosen a different module. I am now teaching workforce development employability skills, so in a future project I can explore something along those lines. I do plan to share my syllabus unit with the English department at my institution to see if they are interested in adapting it.

Overall, the ITD 612 Design Project was a helpful experience in my journey in instructional design. I look forward to learning even more skills moving forward.

Final Reflections ITD 602P

 I have enjoyed ITD 602P and learned more than I might have imagined several months ago. The course has provided valuable experience for me in using and exploring different types of technology in education. I was most surprised by the OER module; I did not realize that so many free resources are available online. Those finding are a game-changer for me as I move forward with helping students at the community college-level. I faced challenges in creating a video and building a website. My son that passed away in 2020 was my IT person at home; I felt he was smiling and encouraging me as I figured out how to insert that audio file on my website. I honestly do not have any constructive criticism to offer at this point; I am still digesting and processing all I have learned.

I enjoyed the resources shared by classmates that many of them have used. They were able to share their experience with various LMS and other types of technology. I was glad to share my perspectives also having taught community college students online in the recent past.

I was impressed with the OER I found for English Composition at the freshman college level. A group of faculty at AUM worked together to create an amazing resource called Composing Ourselves and Our World to use with freshman composition students. This work could be adapted to use with students in different ways; this material was one of my favorite finds of the semester. I enjoyed learning about how to evaluate OER for a particular set of students (Elder, 2019).

After creation of my own video, I considered interaction according to Bates (2015). What types of activities would I create to measure student interaction with my video? I have created quizzes and other measures before when teaching, but this course gave me a new way to look to look at both presentation and assessment.

I look forward to my next ITD class, where I am sure I will expand my thought processes even more!

References

Bates, A.W. (2015).  Appendix 2: Questions to guide media selection and use. In Teaching in a Digital Age. 

Burrows, E., Fowler, A., Fowler, H., & Locklear, A. (n.d.) Composing Ourselves and Our World. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Composing Ourselves and Our World – Simple Book Publishing (pressbooks.com)

Elder, A. (2019, July 1). Introduction to Open Educational Resources. The OER Starter Kit

Philosophy of Technology for Teaching

I am developing a philosophy of instructional design and technology as I reflect upon ways I have taught in the past, and look for improved methods for the future. I find technology to be a wonderful resource in education and training, as it is a necessary tool for surviving in today's world. Students can learn various types of information and apply that knowledge through technology, as well as learning how to utilize the technology itself.

I do subscribe to Mayer's rationale of multimedia learning, which states that students learn more "from words and pictures than from words alone" (2009, 2017). I can recall an interesting example of this theory from my student teaching days in 2013. The teacher I was working with did not use much technology in the classroom at that time. One of my first tasks was to teach vocabulary to the students for a particular literature unit. I would compose a presentation and have an image on each slide with the word, plus the definition. The students loved the images, and I do believe through my informal observation that it helped some of the class members retain the word meanings. An image can provide context to students who may previously have never encountered a word or concept and have no framework for applying it.

Interaction is certainly an important part of my instructional technology philosophy. I have found that different types of interaction promote learning, especially in an online setting. Moore discusses the importance of both learner-instructor and learner-learner interaction (1989). I have taught both in-person and online English courses at the community college level. In my online class, I tried to comment and interact with each student about their work, so they would know I am a real person that wants to help them, and not some faceless entity in the computer. I also had the students participate in peer reviews in the online format, as well as in class. Students as a rule resisted this format, but you could see them become more comfortable with their work when they collaborated with others. Both of these types of interaction are especially important in a digital format, as they are valuable methods of learning and help students connect outside of themselves.

When working with students in an online setting, I do consider the SECTIONS model of Bates (2015). The "ease of use" and "cost" considerations are crucial when dealing with the community college students in my area (Bates, 2015). Some students do not have access to the necessary technology and internet; they do not realize this when they enroll in a distance course. I assist the students with solving these problems. Students can come to campus to do their classwork; they can purchase laptops with Pell grant funds. Community options for internet access also exist. Connecting students with appropriate resources is important in distance learning.

My personal philosophy of instructional technology includes designing appropriate learning materials that engage learning, but do not overwhelm the student. I also find that using all three of Moore's types of learner interaction (learner-content, learner-instructor, learner-learner) to be paramount to increased learning (1989). Finally, student access to technology must be considered as a facet of student success even before online learning begins. As a lifelong leaner, I look forward to adding more ways to use technology to my teaching toolkit.

References

Bates, A. W. (2015).  Choosing and using media in education: the SECTIONS model. In Teaching in a Digital Age. (8.1 - 8.10). 

Mayer, R.E., (2017). Using multimedia for e-learning.  (Links to an external site.)Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33(5), 403-423. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12197

Moore, Michael. (1989).Three Types of Interaction. (Links to an external site.)American Journal of Distance Education. 3. 1-7. 10.1080/08923648909526659. 
 (Links to an external site.)Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33(5), 403-423. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12197