http://www.hulu.com/watch/223158/tedtalks-salman-khan-lets-use-video-to-reinvent-education
Monday, March 14, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Week 7 - Chapters 28 through 32
From Chapter 28 locate 5 examples of distributed learning. You may pick and choose from the following list.
o Academic distributed learning – Online courses at TAMU-Commerce
o Hybrid classes – Hybrid courses at ACC
o Virtual classes – Virtual Yoga
o Distributed learning via virtual institutions – eBay University Learning Center
o Free distributed learning – Instructables.com (check out the pi day contest)
o Skills-based training – Professional Carpentry
o Knowledge based learning – Six Sigma Online
o Life skills – How to Ride Capital Metro Buses
I love the internet! You can learn anything! It is so empowering (like reading and libraries). This is why I am in education – to empower students to do and learn what they want.
Chapter 29 discusses the concept of reusability. Think back over the courses you've had over your educational career and identify one with poor reusability characteristics. Explain how the course could be redesigned to improve reusability without changing the underlying content.
I love this chapter about reusability. More than whole courses not being re-usable, it’s usually certain aspects that hinder reusability for the instructor, the student, or future students.
Instructor: I recently took an Assembly Language course (twice) at an undisclosed university that was not really re-usable by anyone involved. The instructor did not adequately teach what was tested, the students had to attempt to teach themselves using materials that were not well selected, and the same assignments were given year after year. Better grades were awarded for copying assignments passed down over the years than anything original submitted. The instructor was a lazy teacher, the students punished for attempting to learn, and course evaluations did not seem to make a difference. I honestly believe the best way to re-design this course would be to start with a new instructor who actually cared about teaching and is not solely focused on research.
Current student: I took an online course with videos that could be re-accessed, but the way it was set-up you had to watch a whole video to be able to find what you’re looking for. This is why I think that instructors who use a Flash converter for PowerPoints actually hinder student learning. PowerPoints are searchable, printable, and more user friendly for note taking. Flash movies are not, so I ended up not re-accessing information, and if I didn’t learn it the first time, I didn’t learn it. Studying didn’t happen at all because the only way to do it would be to watch every video over again multiple times. There was no distilling of information – it was just one big lump of a Flash video that was pretty much worthless to me as a student. The instructor should have just left the presentation in PowerPoint.
Future students: One example of this is the list of organizations and journals in chapter 26 of the text. Several of the links had changed and I had to find the correct page on my own. This is great if an author is looking to increase book sales and have a new rev come out every year or two, but not good for long-term use of a book and resale-ability of a text.
Chapter 30 takes a look at using rich media. Find or create a visual for instruction describing its surface and functional features.
This is a rich media diagram to explain the water cycle and the parts of the water cycle not visible to students in realistic settings.
Blue Box Project - http://www.blueboxproject.com/the-project
Website with visuals to help explain how to build a Tardis shed.
Chapter 31 discusses the future of instructional technologies in the near future from metadata to nanotechnology. Describe how nanotechnology could be used to improve a specific job or task you are familiar with.
If you define nanotechnology as “the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale” (Wikipedia), then an RFID (functional system) small enough to be implanted in a human would be nanotechnology. This is similar to Warwick’s capsule worn in his arm to open doors described on page 330 of the text.
The RFID could be used for book checkout and return in the library, account access in the lunch line, attendance tracking at the doors of the building, and student identification when accessing online resources or assessments. Anti-RFID folks suggest this will lead to violations of privacy. If information is stored externally (not on the chip) and only the ID is on the chip, this would make the chip simply another form of ID such as a driver’s license or a photo badge id. Instead of privacy being lost, I believe it is more accurate to say anonymity would be lost.
And finally! Chapter 32 provides two points of view on the direction of the field - the straight and narrow road and the broad and inclusive road. Which point of view do you agree with and why?
I am a “big picture” person, so I would go with the broad and inclusive road, leaving room for the straight and narrow. I can’t help but think of Ben Franklin, and how the diversity of his knowledge helped feed into his other interests and contributions to society. There will always be a place for specialists, but for everyone within a field to be a specialist trained in the same manner seems to be intellectual incest. Diversity within the field of instructional design seems to be much more open to innovation and new solutions. Ideally there would be a team of people working on instructional design, some traditionally trained and formally certified, and some SME’s from within an organization to provide relevant information specific to the instructional task at hand.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Week 6 - Chapters 24 through 27
Chapter 24 takes a look at lessons learned from the chapter's author for obtaining a position in instructional design. Take a look at a few of the sources provided for job openings from lesson 1 and search for at least 3 positions that are of interest to you. Describe the general nature of the positions and list the skills required for the job. Do you have these skills?
General description: Interpret client learning needs, create customized curriculum, develop e-Learning solutions, and partner with necessary teams to deliver results.
Skills required: Assessing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating learning solutions.
Applicant requirements: 2 years experience, BA/BS in related area, experience with e-learning systems preferred, MA/MS in related field preferred.
Notes: This position was also listed on the ASTD site and ISPI site. I could tweak my resume to apply my experience in the Software Process Team to apply to this job.
General description: Link between business development, content design and development, production, and clients.
Skills required: Manage team of Instructional Designers, define learning-solutions, build account loyalty, gauge program impact, and work well with all parties involved.
Applicant requirements: BA/BS in related field, advanced degree preferred, 10+ years experience, deep literacy, passion for design, demonstrated eloquence, collaborative and iterative approach, solution stewardship, flexibility, ability to learn on the job and self-paced, critical reasoning skills, and ability to travel.
Notes: The title of this job, “Solution Designer” or “Solution Architect”, sounds sooooo much cooler than “Fire-Putter-Outer” or “Trainer”. I think I need to use this title for what I do now. I am way under-qualified for this job because I have limited experience as an instructional designer.
General description: Responsible for all aspects of product development, including analysis, consultation with clients and SMEs, development, and delivery.
Skills required: Comprehensive knowledge of instructional design/technology and adult learning principles. Evidence of creating innovative and engaging learning materials, as well as developing and delivering technical training. Knowledge of web, multimedia, or graphic design applications.
Applicant requirements: BA/BS in related field, 2+ years experience, MA/MS in related field preferred, project management experience preferred, experience in Deaf community preferred including knowledge of ASL, higher education experience preferred.
Notes: This job caught my eye because I have family in New York and I considered attending RIT for my BS. The description is way too vague. It doesn’t say what the “product” is that is being developed. It looks like the “product” is just general learning materials and technical training. I could meet the minimum requirements here, but not the preferred requirements related to deaf community members.
General description: Entry-level instructional designer for Customer Support.
Skills required: Utilize ADDIE model, storyboarding, graphic layout, develop training, create and maintain training, coordinate with others.
Applicant requirements: BA/BS in related field, 3+ years instructional design experience, 2+ years e-learning design and development, understanding of rapid development tools, problem solving and evaluation, general office stuff, Instructional Design certificates, Flash & Dreamweaver experience preferred.
Notes: Working for eBay could be a monster like working for Dell, but I though I’d look at this listing anyway. I have Flash and Dreamweaver experience, but it was years ago. I would need to brush up if applying for this job. I also don’t have any certificates, but really, if I were going for a certificate, I would go for Lean 6-Sigma Blackbelt. Instructional design isn’t my cup of tea. I prefer general problem solving, and statistical process control and improvement gives me more flexibility there.
Remember that the field of instructional/educational technology is not just focused on education, but on business and industry as well. Look at the resources provided on page 258 in chapter 25 and select one of these links and complete the self assessment. What did you learn about yourself from the assessment?
I never took a career assessment, so I decided to go to CareerOneStop and check out the self-assessments. There were a bunch of them, and I opted to check out the skills profiler. The only job that came up as a good match for me was “robotics engineer”. It’s funny…I left a job in software engineering. The skill of sitting at a desk wasn’t listed on the profiler, and that was the huge problem I had with software engineering. What I learned about myself from the assessment is that I am not well categorized by this assessment.
My grandmother used to say that engineering was a personality type and not a career. I think I do a ton of engineering in the library that I work at. Working the in the Pillow Elementary library provides me with a good mix of problem solving and skills use as well as diverse social and intellectual stimuli to keep me fairly happy for now. In a few years I may tire of it and do something else. I just wish it paid more and I had the full time clerk I’m supposed to have so I could focus on the most value-added tasks.
Chapter 26 lists several websites for professional organizations and websites for professional publications. Visit 2-3 websites for professional organizations and 2-3 websites for the professional publications and address the following:
International Forum of Educational Technology & Society
o Professional organizations:
§ Mission
The International Forum of Educational Technology and Society (IFETS) encourages discussions on the issues affecting the educational system developer (including AI) and education communities. While recognising that this brief might be seen as too broad, it is proposed to conduct multiple discussion threads on more specific topics. This approach helps in developing specific aspects concerning the design and implementation of integrated learning environments while sharpening the overall vision about the purpose and processes of education. The discussions are aimed to be definitive and helpful in reaching some conclusions. The discussions are structured in the form of problem definition, fixed term discussions focusing towards some conclusive end. The conclusions are then put in concrete form for public dissemination.
§ Cost of membership
Free.
§ Publications
Journal of Educational Technology & Society
§ Conferences and meetings
None. Formal and informal discussions only.
§ Opportunities for professional development
None beyond participation in discussions.
§ Notes
I was familiar with IEEE, but did not know they had an Ed Tech forum before this assignment.
International Society for Performance Improvement
o Professional organizations:
§ Mission
ISPI's mission is to develop and recognize the proficiency of its members and advocate the use of Human Performance Technology.
§ Cost of membership
Regular - $165 annually
Young Professional (35 years old or younger) - $125 annually
Student - $60 annually
Lifetime - $1500
§ Publications
ISPI books, Performance Improvement Journal, PerformanceXpress, Performance Improvement Quarterly
§ Conferences and meetings
Scaling New Heights, Delivering Results
THE Performance Improvement Conference
April 10-13, 2011, Orlando, Florida
§ Opportunities for professional development
SkillCasts scheduled monthly available for an additional fee.
§ Notes
This looks like a very interesting organization and I am interested in learning more about Human Performance Technology and how I can apply HPT to student performance. I was not familiar with this professional organization before this assignment.
Learning and Leading with Technology
o Professional publications:
§ Focus/Goals of the journal
L&L articles emphasize practical ideas and provide how-to tips for integrating digital age skills (NETS) effectively into K–12 classrooms, curriculum, and administration. We also run articles focusing on trends and best practices in educational technology.
§ Submission guidelines
Please send a query before submitting a manuscript so the editors can ensure that the magazine effectively covers a broad range of topics. E-mail your query to Kate Conley, editor, at kconley@iste.org. Please include a brief but specific description of your article idea and why you think this information would be useful to the L&L audience. Be sure to include the kind of technology your manuscript will discuss and its primary outcome or effect on learning or teaching. Please allow one week to receive a reply to your query. The editor will let you know if you should proceed with drafting your manuscript. This process applies even if you have already written your manuscript.
§ Is this a peer reviewed journal?
No, it’s non-refereed.
§ Is the journal online?
Yes, the digital version is available to subscribers. For free you can access a sampling of articles from the most recent issues.
§ Notes
I would like to see what this publication has for the youngest learners. I was familiar with ISTE before this assignment, but not the Learning and Leading with Technology publication.
TechTrends
§ Focus/Goals of the journal
To provide a vehicle for the exchange of information among professional practitioners concerning the management of media and programs, the application of educational technology principles and techniques to instructional programs, corporate and military training, and any other kinds of information that can contribute to the advancement of knowledge of practice in the field.
§ Submission guidelines
Manuscripts are uploaded to the site and reviewed online. http://www.editorialmanager.com/tech/
§ Is this a peer reviewed journal?
Yes.
§ Is the journal online?
If you click on “Instructions for Authors” and then “Read Online” you can see previews, but you cannot read whole articles with out subscribing.
§ Notes
This would be a good journal to subscribe to if I were interested in educational technology in a variety of fields. I did not know about this journal before this assignment.
Chapter 27 looks at competencies for instructional design and technology professionals. If you were responsible for identifying the domains, competencies, and performance statements for a performance technologist, what would they include and why?
This is how I could best group domains, competencies, and performance statements for Performance Technologist based on my experience and the table on page 280 of the text.
Domain | Competency | Performance Statement |
Systematic | Problem Identification | Perform root cause analysis and rank obstacles. |
Use mathematical tools to assess variables and identify defined processes. | ||
Problem Solving | Identify possible solutions and quantify risk / reward. | |
Cast a wide net, not discounting suggestions without cause. | ||
Quantify effectiveness of solutions. | ||
Effective | Professional | Maintain professional relationships and work respectfully with others. |
Process Improvement | Compare beginning, improving, and improved states. | |
Establish a process for continual improvement when possible. | ||
Project ROI and determine actual ROI. | ||
Ethical | Professional Honesty | Maintain proprietary information. |
Honestly assess data, problems, and solutions. | ||
Credit sources. | ||
Professional Responsibility | Remain current with field trends. | |
Act in socially conscious and responsible fashion. | ||
Contribute to the field when possible. |
Friday, February 25, 2011
Week 5 - Chapters 18 through 23
Chapter 18 discusses instructional design in business and industry. Give an example of rapid prototyping and discuss how this could be used in education.
Often in the library I am lucky enough to teach the same lessons over and over for a couple of days. I can tweak what I need to between lessons to fix anything that I believe was unclear or did not come across to the students. What I really should do is document the final lesson, what worked, and what didn’t, so I will have all that information for next year.
Chapter 19 discusses instructional design opportunities in military education and training environments. I had the opportunity to work two summers in Orlando on a faculty fellowship in the advanced distributed learning lab (ADL) discussed in the book and saw first hand some of the constraints placed on some of the tools that could be used for learning. Pretend you are hired as a consultant for the military. They want to use technology in its training, but electronic access is not always available. Using the Full Spectrum diagram, what alternatives could you suggest for a successful program?
Full Spectrum Design: Average skill level, average rank/capability, for classroom, garrison/base, and deployed
In a classroom, you could do just about anything with training because you could have a 1:1 student to computer ratio. Trainings could be completely online and interactive.
On post in the US, it’s pretty much the same as the classroom.
When deployed, if you’re on the Forward Operating Base (FOB), it’s usually a guy talking or a guy talking along with a PowerPoint. If you want to go low tech, you could just go with the guy talking. When my husband was in Baghdad the Army had a computer café, but most training that involved technology was a guy talking through a PowerPoint and a bunch of soldiers watching.
When deployed, if you’re in a remote location, you probably have a radio, but would probably want most training to be conducted back on the FOB. I don’t know that you would want a bunch of tech out there that could be picked up if a soldier got shot. I know they have special access cards for military laptops, but I would want to err on the side of caution and not leave any security holes to be exploited.
Chapter 21 looks at radical educational change in P-12 settings. I visited the Chugach School District in Alaska and know Richard DeLorenzo very well. I can assure you that this change can occur in our schools. Review the Step-Up-To-Excellence methodology and the GSTE. Outline a staff development activity that will introduce both methodologies to your colleagues.
Guidance System for Transforming Education (GSTE)
1. Brainstorm our core values
2. Determine some discrete events to support and enhance our core values.
3. Determine what maintenance (continuous) events need to be established or used to encourage continuous improvement.
Step-Up-To-Excellence
This really doesn't apply to my district. We have 670 students in my school so comparing change in a 214 sudent district with student to staff ratios of 4 or 5 students to every student is a little rediculous. I would love to redesign our district like Chugach, but state law and funding would have to change dramatically. As it stands, we do not have "sufficient human, financial, and technical resources to launch systemic change..." listed on page 213. Knowing your audience is an important part of staff development, and my colleagues would laugh me out of the room.
This really doesn't apply to my district. We have 670 students in my school so comparing change in a 214 sudent district with student to staff ratios of 4 or 5 students to every student is a little rediculous. I would love to redesign our district like Chugach, but state law and funding would have to change dramatically. As it stands, we do not have "sufficient human, financial, and technical resources to launch systemic change..." listed on page 213. Knowing your audience is an important part of staff development, and my colleagues would laugh me out of the room.
My school has achieved dramatic improvement, but it was through BOY and MOY benchmark analysis and targeted tutoring.
Navigating through the ranks of a faculty member in higher education can be tricky. A good institution has support for its faculty and provides faculty development opportunities to grow and learn. Research three different university offices for faculty development. Answer the following questions for each office:
o What are the different names used for faculty development?
Ethics, reporting fraud & abuse, FIRPA, sexual harassment, information security, training and everything else that is required system wide in the A&M system.
o What division is it under?
Human Resources
o What services does it offer?
Required training, E-College training, and grant writing workshops.
o How often are programs given and what specifically are they?
Every year or every 2 years dictated by the red tape. Other trainings and workshops were provided as needed.
o What are the different names used for faculty development?
New Faculty Orientation, Blackboard Training, and not much else.
o What division is it under?
Library & Distance Education
o What services does it offer?
Wimba training and grant writing workshops.
o How often are programs given and what specifically are they?
As needed. Blackboard training was offered every semester.
o What are the different names used for faculty development?
Inservice
o What division is it under?
Various departments take part, human resources, instructional component, and advising.
o What services does it offer?
FIRPA training, help with instructional tech stuff, online course development.
o How often are programs given and what specifically are they?
Pretty much just once a semester, with a few training sessions as needed for Blackboard and online course development.
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