Artefact 1 demonstrates how the final assignment in MDDE 604, Instructional Design in Distance Education, has helped shape me as an e-Learning designer and online educator and how it has prepared me to overcome the many challenges inherent of distance education.
The link: Canvas: Reading and Writing Intermediate.
My Live and Profitable LMS
Gaining and Applying Instructional Design Strategies
The requirements of Assignment 4 were to create a unit of instruction based on the theory presented in the course and contributions from my fellow students. Although I had completed seven Moodle LMS courses at the time of this assignment, I had very little knowledge of how to create a course in an LMS (1.1). AU course developers and instructors make it look so easy, logical and seamless. However, when creating my own instructional unit in Moodle, I soon found that this was definitely not the case (1.2). My understanding of course flow was quite different compared to my in-class teaching experience, so I felt I was once again a novice teacher learning how to design a course curriculum.
Although there are similarities between designing an e-Learning course in Adobe Captivate, as I will explain in artefact 2, there are also some substantial differences. First, I had to understand when to use an LMS over courses designed in Captivate (1.5, 1.6). Through discussions, I learned that, in practice, LMSs are used in academics, not in training. I then felt learning outcomes would be better achieved if I used a Canvas LMS to host my online English writing and reading course. As an instructor, I often felt more of an entertainer than an educator, so I could increase engagement in the most disengaged student. One challenge was how to engage and retain students in a LMS.
I had also learned that teachers are typically responsible for designing their own LMS courses, so we are often responsible for choosing our own platform. MDDE 610, Survey of Current Education Technology Applications, has given me the tools to select and analyze a variety of available software applications that can be used to create my own courses (2.6, 3.4). I was confused with the plethora of viable applications, so I used a SECTIONS analysis (1.4, 5.3) to help me decide on Canvas LMS, which would best suit my requirements (3.1, 3.2). To further increase student engagement, I adopted a few other technologies into my LMS, which proved popular with my students (1.5, 1.6).
I keep two comments in mind that my instructors had made while creating instructional units; firstly, “A teacher may not be available or prepared to compensate for poorly planned instructional materials so good instructional design is critical.” Secondly, “How long is this dreadful PPT show (voice over slide) going to continue??? Never go more than 6 minutes!” From this experience, I found that using PowerPoint slides and recycling YouTube videos should be done with caution because they don’t apply many of the learning theories critical for effective learning to occur (2.4). These simple ideas are the cornerstones of my e-learning designs (2.1). I also learned that direct criticism, although painful, is very effective.
I have taught very diverse groups of ESL students, from primary grade students to corporate CEOs, all of whom had diverse language requirements and abilities. I was stuck on how to transfer the flexibility of in-class teaching to online learning. I was grateful to be introduced to tools such as LORI and the FOG reading index (2.2, 5.10). I have since applied these tools as an instructional designer to systematically meet the abilities and needs of my target learners (3.3).
My first attempt at this assignment was returned with the comment that I had failed to address the critical ninth stage in Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction, which was to achieve transfer (2.1). I relied on my in-class expertise and combined it with online learning theory to find a solution. I feel that feeding information to students is simple, my challenge was in designing activities that would help achieve knowledge transfer and improve retention (1.3). I have been easily doing this in class for 20 years, but it was a different story when teaching online. My professor instructed me to design activities that would better address Gagne’s ninth level (1.8). I added role-plays and simulations to achieve the highest level of learning, knowledge transfer. I knew what had to be done but I wasn’t sure how to do it in the software. I watched a few online tutorials then created activities that required students to apply and transfer their understanding. I now ensure that activities are relevant to the learner and the content includes real-world examples with knowledge checks along the way (1.9, 2.3).
A direct result of this assignment was the development of my own online reading and writing course in Canvas (2.5, 2.7). This course has eight active students. I have applied what I learned in MDDE 604 to provide clear, concise and logical learning material to engage the students, challenge them and provide timely feedback to help them reach their goals in becoming effective writers (3.5). If interested, this course can be found here: Canvas: Reading and Writing Intermediate.
Competencies Achieved
1) Problem Solving, Analysis, & Decision Making
1.1 Recognize problems
1.2 Define the aspects of problems
1.3 Formulate questions
1.4 Find and access information
1.5 Critically evaluate the relevance of information for a given situation
1.6 Compare alternatives using critical analysis
1.8 Justify these solutions
1.10 Recognize the wider implications of specific knowledge
2) Instructional Design & Development
2.1 Critically analyze and discuss the implications of personal perspectives and epistemological orientations for the teaching-learning process
2.2 Appropriately apply systems theory and systems analysis techniques to instructional design situations in distance education
2.3 Describe and appropriately apply a range of learning and motivational theories to instructional design situations in distance education
2.4 Describe the activities of the instructional design process and the advantages and disadvantages of using them in distance education contexts
2.5 Develop instructional products or learning objects in distance education
2.6 Critically analyze and discuss the common criticisms and controversies relating to the use of traditional and emerging instructional design models in distance education
2.7 Apply instructional design principles and models in distance education, in your workplace, or in other instructional contexts.
3) Communication Technologies and Networking
3.1. Use a variety of communication and document-sharing tools to create, reflect, and communicate with others
3.2. Analyze and evaluate the various applications and implications of these technologies
3.3. Justify the applications of these technologies in real-life contexts on the basis of theory and research
3.4. Compare and evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages of these technologies in various distance education contexts
3.5. Apply these technologies in distance education and in real-life instructional contexts.
5) Research
5.3 Access and critically evaluate sources and content for quality, applicability and relevance
5.10 Demonstrate the use of communications and other technology-based research tools
This is a good start, but there is certainly room for more critical self-reflection (more of the metacognitive processes – your thought processes going through the learning experiences) and more demonstration of HOW you feel you achieved or experienced the acquisition of the competencies you list in brackets.