Hello Everyone! My name is Shirley Acklin and I am a secondary education teacher in economics for a public school district in metropolitan Atlanta. I have been in education for the last 15 years and have taught in various school districts in several states. I love incorporating technology into instruction by using interactive boards, student response system (i.e., clickers), and ipad 2 as a teaching tool. In attempts to build a resource that will help me refine my interest I have conduced an in depth search and I have found three excellent resources dedicated to the area of instructional design. The first is a blog site created by Jo Schiffbauer which discusses learning and teaching in the 21st century. The link to this website is as follows: http://teaching21c.blogspot.com/ The blog contains helpful links that provide information informing teachers how to engage learners by using digital story and VOICETHREAD as a integral part of teaching and learning. What intrigues me about this website is that she shares her personal interests in history and photography and she explains how technology can be interwoven into these areas. Another interesting link that I found was to the Learning Solutions Magazine. In this month's publication an article by Marc J. Rosenberg discusses how learning has moved from the traditional way of teaching by lecturing to a more student-centered approach. And, while standards-based instruction tend to eliminate a plythorea of content that is not necessary or to the point, teachers can incorporate more meaningful and authentic strategies with collaborative learning groups using case studies, simulations, and role-playing to help learners see the value of lessons. A link to this website can be found below: | |
http://raypastore.com/wordpress/category/instructional-design/
Archive for the ‘Instructional Design’ Category
World of Warcraft in Education
Sunday, February 27th, 2011This week I am going to be implementing World of Warcraft in my gaming and simulation class. We are going to be exploring the use of WoW as a learning tool. Specifically, I am going to be showing my students how WoW can be used for:
Teamwork
Math
Writing
Reading
Economics
and much more
For this lesson, I am having all students download and install the free version of WoW on their computers before class. I have divided the class up into teams and each group need to choose a Race in the game and then create a character based on that Race. When students arrive in class, we are going to have a brief discussion on MMORPGs and their use in education. Then we are going to play WoW. My goal is to get each team to work together and level their new character a few levels together. Game play will last around 1 hour. After, I will have the class watch my computer and I will show them many of the other things they can do in WoW as their new characters are really unable to do very much. This will be lead into an online discussion on WoW throughout the week and its use in education. Then next week, we are having a guest speaker who will speak on their use of WoW in K-12 Education.
This is a very exciting week. I will post how the activity goes. Here are some links on WoW in education:
Kids Perceptions
A Schools Wiki
Teamwork
Math
Writing
Reading
Economics
and much more
For this lesson, I am having all students download and install the free version of WoW on their computers before class. I have divided the class up into teams and each group need to choose a Race in the game and then create a character based on that Race. When students arrive in class, we are going to have a brief discussion on MMORPGs and their use in education. Then we are going to play WoW. My goal is to get each team to work together and level their new character a few levels together. Game play will last around 1 hour. After, I will have the class watch my computer and I will show them many of the other things they can do in WoW as their new characters are really unable to do very much. This will be lead into an online discussion on WoW throughout the week and its use in education. Then next week, we are having a guest speaker who will speak on their use of WoW in K-12 Education.
This is a very exciting week. I will post how the activity goes. Here are some links on WoW in education:
Kids Perceptions
A Schools Wiki
What is multimedia?
Tuesday, May 25th, 2010Such a common word in our vocabulary yet so many people do not know the definition so here it goes….
Multimedia refers to a combination of both verbal (text, narration, audio) and non-verbal (pictures, images, graphs, icons) representations used in a media environment. They can be used for communication and/or learning.
Multimedia refers to a combination of both verbal (text, narration, audio) and non-verbal (pictures, images, graphs, icons) representations used in a media environment. They can be used for communication and/or learning.
Time Compressed Instruction
Friday, May 21st, 2010What is time-compressed instruction?
Time compressed instruction is audio that has been increased in speed, yet has preserved its quality.
What are the advantages of time-compressed instruction?
My research has shown that you can compress audio/narration up to 25% and still retain high level learning and problem solving skills as long as images are used in conjunction with the narration. This could save 25% of training time if done right, which is a significant time-savings.
What are examples of time compressed instruction?
Normal speech – 0% compression
Compressed at 25%
Compressed at 50%
How do I compress speech?
Check out my video on using a free program called audacity to do it. All you need to do is change the tempo speed. At 33% tempo change, time is compressed 25%
Time compressed instruction is audio that has been increased in speed, yet has preserved its quality.
What are the advantages of time-compressed instruction?
My research has shown that you can compress audio/narration up to 25% and still retain high level learning and problem solving skills as long as images are used in conjunction with the narration. This could save 25% of training time if done right, which is a significant time-savings.
What are examples of time compressed instruction?
Normal speech – 0% compression
Compressed at 25%
Compressed at 50%
How do I compress speech?
Check out my video on using a free program called audacity to do it. All you need to do is change the tempo speed. At 33% tempo change, time is compressed 25%
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Sunday, April 25th, 2010Attached is a paper that describes blooms taxonomy. Although Blooms taxonomy is highly regarded as a way to break down levels of learning, I feel that its not a very practical guide to develop training. I personally like the levels: fact, concepts, rules/procedures, and problem solving knowledge objectives. However, in research I like to specifically see factual/recall and problem solving/transfer knowledge measured. Additionally, I question studies that use these measures but have not taken the appropriate steps to establish the tests validity and reliability. Thus I feel there is a need in education research to put together a book that has instruction and tests that have been validated so that researchers can use appropriate materials in their studies.
Blooms Taxonomy
Blooms Taxonomy
Levels of Achievement
Friday, March 26th, 2010Levels of Achievement
In order to create effective instruction, representations must be structured to promote comprehension and decrease cognitive load capacity. To accomplish this task, theorists have developed learning taxonomies. Learning taxonomies attempt to organize levels of information that are processed differently in a hierarchal order to increase learner comprehension of the material presented (Gagne, 1985). The purpose of a learning taxonomy is to order learning objectives in a hierarchal structure where information, such as facts and concepts, are presented as a prerequisite to high level processing strategies such as problem solving. Nitko (2004) states “To assess higher-order thinking abilities, it is often necessary to develop tasks for which the solutions or answers depend on a particular piece(s) of introductory material presented along with them.” (p. 232). Presenting information in the hierarchal structure allows designers to effectively align objectives in a structured way, which complements instruction and augments comprehension. While there are several theorists who hold their own version of the learning hierarchal structure, they all share the same basic theoretical paradigm. Examples include Gagne’s levels of complexity, the instructional consistency/congruency model, and the component display theory.
Gagne’s levels’ of complexity is a hierarchal learning taxonomy, which aligns information in categories of facts, concepts, rules, and high-order rules or problem solving techniques (Gagne, Wagner, & Briggs, 1998). Gagne explains that in order for learners to be able to perform high-level tasks such as rules and problem solving, they must first have the prerequisite facts and concepts.
Gagne states, “In solving problems for which instruction has prepared them, learners are acquiring some higher-order rules (that is, complex rules). Problem solving requires that they recall some simpler, previously learned rules and defined concepts. To acquire these rules, learners must have learned some concrete concepts, and to learn these concepts, they must be able to retrieve some previously learned discriminations.” (Gagne et al., 1992, p. 54).
Dwyer (1978) encourages the use of an instructional consistency/congruency model, which introduces prerequisite objectives prior to presenting information that is required to process high-level learning tasks, such as problem solving strategies. The instructional consistency/congruency model is structured similarly to Gagne’s levels and presents itself as levels of facts, concepts, rules/principles, and problem solving objectives. The model helps ensure that learning objectives, instructional content, and assessment items are congruent to each other so that information is both presented and assessed within the same level. Other models with similar theoretical foundations have been a proposed as well. For example, Merrill’s Component Display Theory classifies “learning objectives (or capabilities) along two dimensions: performance level (remember, use, or find) and content type (facts, concepts, principles, or procedures).” (Ragan and Smith, 2004, p. 632).
The purpose of these models is to effectively measure achievement of content, ensure that both high and low levels of learning are measured correctly, and that learning objectives are aligned in an order that promotes learning. This helps ensure that the instructional methods and strategies being implemented are structured in a way that benefits learners’ processing abilities.
In order to create effective instruction, representations must be structured to promote comprehension and decrease cognitive load capacity. To accomplish this task, theorists have developed learning taxonomies. Learning taxonomies attempt to organize levels of information that are processed differently in a hierarchal order to increase learner comprehension of the material presented (Gagne, 1985). The purpose of a learning taxonomy is to order learning objectives in a hierarchal structure where information, such as facts and concepts, are presented as a prerequisite to high level processing strategies such as problem solving. Nitko (2004) states “To assess higher-order thinking abilities, it is often necessary to develop tasks for which the solutions or answers depend on a particular piece(s) of introductory material presented along with them.” (p. 232). Presenting information in the hierarchal structure allows designers to effectively align objectives in a structured way, which complements instruction and augments comprehension. While there are several theorists who hold their own version of the learning hierarchal structure, they all share the same basic theoretical paradigm. Examples include Gagne’s levels of complexity, the instructional consistency/congruency model, and the component display theory.
Gagne’s levels’ of complexity is a hierarchal learning taxonomy, which aligns information in categories of facts, concepts, rules, and high-order rules or problem solving techniques (Gagne, Wagner, & Briggs, 1998). Gagne explains that in order for learners to be able to perform high-level tasks such as rules and problem solving, they must first have the prerequisite facts and concepts.
Gagne states, “In solving problems for which instruction has prepared them, learners are acquiring some higher-order rules (that is, complex rules). Problem solving requires that they recall some simpler, previously learned rules and defined concepts. To acquire these rules, learners must have learned some concrete concepts, and to learn these concepts, they must be able to retrieve some previously learned discriminations.” (Gagne et al., 1992, p. 54).
Dwyer (1978) encourages the use of an instructional consistency/congruency model, which introduces prerequisite objectives prior to presenting information that is required to process high-level learning tasks, such as problem solving strategies. The instructional consistency/congruency model is structured similarly to Gagne’s levels and presents itself as levels of facts, concepts, rules/principles, and problem solving objectives. The model helps ensure that learning objectives, instructional content, and assessment items are congruent to each other so that information is both presented and assessed within the same level. Other models with similar theoretical foundations have been a proposed as well. For example, Merrill’s Component Display Theory classifies “learning objectives (or capabilities) along two dimensions: performance level (remember, use, or find) and content type (facts, concepts, principles, or procedures).” (Ragan and Smith, 2004, p. 632).
The purpose of these models is to effectively measure achievement of content, ensure that both high and low levels of learning are measured correctly, and that learning objectives are aligned in an order that promotes learning. This helps ensure that the instructional methods and strategies being implemented are structured in a way that benefits learners’ processing abilities.
Is HTML Dead?
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010It appears that the recent Web 2.0 craze is really catching on and standard HTML pages are becoming a thing of the past. Many people are creating their web pages via blog software such as wordpress and/or utilizing CMS software such as Moodle/Joomla/Drupal, etc. These software packages are free and easy to set up. They only require programming experience if you want to change their interface or modify them. Otherwise, they are stand alone packages that any user can set up. Many sites are converting to these applications because they allow for more interaction, are easy to set up, and very easy to edit and maintain. So is HTML dead? Not right now but its use as a stand alone web language is declining dramatically.
Instructional Design Models
Saturday, December 19th, 2009An instructional design model is a systematic set of instructions for developing instructional materials. The models are designed so that materials have high quality and that each step in the process follows a set of guidelines/requirements. There are many ISD models, which include Dick and Carey and Morrison Ross & Kemp, ADDIE, ASSURE, etc. In my opinion, ADDIE tends to be the most popular in both the educational and corporate worlds. Below is a quick run down of two models and a very high level description of each step within that process.
Models:
ADDIE
Analysis – Includes conducting a need/front end/gap analysis to analyze requirements, cost, learners, resources available, timeline, and developing a course of action
Design – Develop instructional objectives, strategy to present objectives, assessment items for each objective
Devleopment – Development of instruction
Implementation – Implementation of instruction
Evaluation – Evaluate instruction (formative and summative)
ASSURE
Analyze Learners
State Objectives
Select Media, Methods, and Materials
Utilize Media and Materials
Require Learner Participation
Evaluate and Revise
What is Instructional Design?
Saturday, December 12th, 2009I am asked this question quite often, especially at things like jobs interviews and by my students. They are looking for a one sentence answer, which is quite difficult because the field encompasses so much. However, I think I have developed a one sentence answer that should give people an understanding about what ISD is. Keep in mind, this definition is very high level:
A systematic process for developing instruction, which improves learner achievement of a learning objective that is measured through assessment. In order to improve instruction, models, strategies, and theories are used in order to assess the current situation, create learning objectives, develop instruction that meets those objectives, and then to develop an instrument to assess those objectives.
Here is an image that depicts my definition of Instructional Design: http://www.raypastore.com/knowledge/ISD_process.jpg
A systematic process for developing instruction, which improves learner achievement of a learning objective that is measured through assessment. In order to improve instruction, models, strategies, and theories are used in order to assess the current situation, create learning objectives, develop instruction that meets those objectives, and then to develop an instrument to assess those objectives.
Here is an image that depicts my definition of Instructional Design: http://www.raypastore.com/knowledge/ISD_process.jpg
Instructional Design Process: Concept Map
Saturday, November 28th, 2009The following is a concept map that outlines the instructional design process beginning with learning and ending with the final results of the instructional design process. This concept highlights my personal definition of what I believe ISD truly is:
Instructional Design Concept Map
Instructional Design Concept Map
No comments:
Post a Comment