Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and New Technology

Distributed Learning

Corporate Distributed Learning -- With the technology today, Human Resource Director does not have to hire a trainer/speaker onsite to train the staff; however, the staff can be trained through the Intranet, private network maintained by company or organization accessed by authorized employees.

Academic Distributed Learning -- Younger students who have yet learned to read or write could use tools like voice thread to record their voice as they share their knowledge.

Hybird Classes  - - Students attending class with instructions from the instructor face to face in a classroom setting and on the Internet.

Knowledge based learning -- Knowledge based learning is learning that revolves around both the knowledge that the student already has, and the understanding that they are going to achieve by doing work.  My local university has a technical program such as dental hygienist program.  The students are taught the “how to” procedures then practice on senior citizens at the nursing home on Thursday.

Distributed resource support -- Purpose of skill-based training is to teach employees how to do their jobs faster and more efficiently. For example, sending the accounting department to a workshop on the accounting software they use. If they learn new tricks and shortcuts for the system, their productivity will increase and spend less money.

Reusability

I have learned so many technology applications during the program, I’ve created an ePortfolio as to store my artifacts.  Now that I have taken more technology courses, I need to update my ePortfolio.

Rich Media

http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/kidsite/arcade/arcade.html?activity=buildafish

This website helps students understand the habitats and survival instincts of fish.  This interactive website will capture students’ interest.

                        Nanotechnology       

Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field of discovery. Scientists working in physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, information technology, metrology, and other fields are contributing to today's research breakthroughs.  This link is an excellent teacher resource: http://nanozone.org/index.htm .

Although molecular atoms designs are too above Primary grade students’ understanding, they can learn about nanotechnology in different ways, such properties of matters, electricity, and the solar system.

Broad and Inclusive Road

I prefer the Broad and Inclusive Road because it’s an extension of the Strait and Narrow Road.  I like the full range of data research inquiries, technology applications, and its flexibility.

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

• 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? 
• Information Technology Trainer for Penn State
• Responsible for delivering both lecture and hands on training for financial software applications in face to face and distance formats. Develop proficiency with multiple administrative financial computing software products on various platforms. Create, maintain and update training materials for face-to-face and eLearning. Develop and maintain positive relationships with various department personnel and support staff. This job will be filled as a level 2 or level 3, depending upon the successful candidate's education and experience. Typically requires an Associate's degree (Bachelor's degree highly sought) or higher, plus two years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience for a level 2.
• I have Bachelor’s degree and familiar with banking software because I have worked in the MIS department of a local credit union while attending college.

o    Coordinator of Instructional Technology for Ferris State University

§  The Coordinator of Instructional Technology will collaborate with, lead, support, train, and assist faculty and others in using instructional technology tools for teaching in face-to-face, mixed delivery, and fully online environments.  Master's degree from an accredited institution. Three years' experience using and training others in the use of instructional technologies. Experience in web design and knowledge of web standards such as HTML and CSS. Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously.  Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including building collaborative relationships and the ability to work in a diverse team environment and provide technical information to a non-technical audience.  Excellent organizational, service-orientation and problem-solving skills.

§  I would be very interested; unfortunately, I do meet all the criteria in for this position.

o    Blackboard Systems Specialist/Team Leader for California State University, Sacramento

§  The Blackboard Systems Specialist and Team Leader provides expert-level leadership to a technical team that provides comprehensive campus-wide support for the mission-critical Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) environment. Lead supervision is provided to an Information Resources and Technology (IRT) Division team of Blackboard Application, server, infrastructure, database, Help Desk, and related specialists that together support our Blackboard environment.  In addition, the Blackboard Systems Specialist coordinates closely with managers and staff who provide faculty/student training and support for use of the LMS, ensuring that all technical support is closely aligned with user needs.  Critical areas requiring leadership include transitioning from WebCT to Blackboard 9.1, ensuring stability and reliability of the LMS environment, integrating other applications and functions into the LMS, problem resolution and liaison with Blackboard support, staff lead responsibilities, and business continuity planning. 

§  I do not the skills to meet the requirements for this particular position.

• 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? 

o    I’ve completed the self-assessment using http://www.astd.org/ and selected the Specialist position.  After rating myself from 1 being No/Limited Proficiency to 5 being Exceptional Proficiency for its seven sections, my self assessment was output into a PDF Files.  The report provided me Recommended Resources which are the books, workshops, training & development, etc. based on the scores provided at the Item level.

o    While taking the self-assessment, I can relate to the process developing an IEP for a student.  I can recall designing the lesson to accommodate the students and interpreting their assessment data to find the TEKS that they show weakness and re teach.

• 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:
• Professional organizations: International Society for Technology in Education

§  Mission: The ISTE community is advancing excellence in learning and teaching through innovative and effective uses of technology.

§  Cost of membership

§  United States Members
Premium Membership: $215
Standard Membership: $95
Retired Educator Membership: $59
Student Membership: $39

• Non- U.S. MembersPremium Membership: $290
  Standard Membership: $120
  Retired Educator Membership:  $84
  Online: $49
• Publications: Books, Periodicals, and Classroom Materials
• Conferences and meetings:  ISTE's annual conference and exposition, formerly the National Educational Computing Conference or NECC, is the world's premier education technology event.

• Professional organization: Association for Educational Communications and Technology
• Mission: The mission of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is to provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creation, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning in a wide range of settings.
• Cost of membership: Regular Membership $125
• Publications:
• Education Technology Research and Development
• Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning
• Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning
• Conferences and meetings: AECT Annual Convention

• Professional publications: American Educational Research Journal

§  Focus/Goals of the journal: The American Educational Research Association (AERA), a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.

§  Submission guidelines:  Section on Social and Institutional Analysis (SIA) publishes scholarly research that addresses significant political, cultural, social, economic, and organizational issues in education. It welcomes analyses of the broad contextual and organizational factors affecting teaching and learning, the links between those factors and the nature and processes of schooling, and the ways that such “external” domains are conceptualized in research, policy, and practice. The editors invite articles that advance the theoretical understandings of the social and institutional contexts of education and encompass the diverse communities of schooling and educational research. They welcome research across a wide range of methodological paradigms, including ethnographic, historical, narrative, legal, experimental/quantitative, critical, and interpretive approaches; they also invite studies that make the nature and use of educational research itself a subject of social and cultural inquiry.

§  Is this a peer reviewed journal?

§  Yes, American Educational Research Journal is a peer reviewed journal.

§  Is the journal online? 

§  Yes, American Educational Research Journal is an online journal.

• Professional publications: Educational Technology, Research and Development
• Focus/Goals of the journal
• Define the disciplines and professional activities that comprise the field of educational communications and technology.
•  Serve and represent professionals in the field and support professional growth.
•  Advance scholarship and practice that contribute to and enlarge the knowledge base of the field.
•  Promote policies that ensure the humane and ethical use of educational communications and technology at all levels, from the personal through the international.
• Submission guidelines

§  The Research Section assigns highest priority in reviewing manuscripts to rigorous original quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods studies on topics relating to applications of technology or instructional design in educational settings.  Such contexts include K-12, higher education, and adult learning (e.g., in corporate training settings).  Analytical papers that evaluate important research issues related to educational technology research and reviews of the literature on similar topics are also published. This section features well documented articles on the practical aspects of research as well as applied theory in educational practice and provides a comprehensive source of current research information in instructional technology.

§  The Development Section publishes research on planning, implementation, evaluation and management of a variety of instructional technologies and learning environments. Empirically-based formative evaluations and theoretically-based instructional design research papers are welcome, as are papers that report outcomes of innovative approaches in applying technology to instructional development. Papers for the Development section may involve a variety of research methods and should focus on one or more aspect of the instructional development process; when relevant and possible, papers should discuss the implications of instructional design decisions and provide evidence linking outcomes to those decisions

• Is this a peer reviewed journal?
• Yes, Educational Technology, Research and Development is a peer reviewed journal.
• Is the journal online? 
• Yes, Educational Technology, Research and Development is a journal online.

• How is the journal and organization useful to you and your career?
• All the journals and organizations are very relevant to my career.  They all focus on technology in education which is the most important focus for all educators, especially for library media specialist.
• Were you aware of the organizations/journals that you researched? 
• Yes, I was aware of both journals publication because of peer review article critiques that I have to submit for my courses in this program.

• 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 information was retrieved from www.ispi.org
• Domain I: Focus on Outcome
• Competency: Focus on results and help clients focus on results
• Domain II: Systemic Process

§  Competencies:

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The assessment of the need or opportunity. 

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The analysis of the work and workplace to identify the cause or factors that limit performance.

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The design of the solution or specification of the requirements of the solution.

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The development of all or some of the solution and its elements. 

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The implementation of the solution. 

§  Be systematic in all aspects of the process including: The evaluation of the process and the results.

o    Domain III: Value

• Competency: Explain the importance of doing work that adds value and the importance of demonstrating the value gained.
• Domain IV: Partnership
• Competency: Utilize partnerships or collaborate with clients and other experts as required.

Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

• Chapter 18 discusses instructional design in business and industry. Give an example of rapid prototyping and discuss how this could be used in education.

Ø  As I read Chapter 18 about rapid prototyping and how it can be implement in education, I thought of students of Career and Technology Education (CATE) students.  Students in programs such as Computer Drafting can generate 3 dimensional using computer aided design software.

• 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?

Ø  After reading the problem Staff Sgt. Rios has with training his new crewman cross-trained on different weapons and the communication system.  The implementation of Deployable Learning Resource Centers (DLRC) will be a brilliant resolution to Staff Sgt Rios’ problem.  Because I have limited knowledge with the military organization, I have no other suggestions for a successful program.

• 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. 

Ø  Step-Up-To-Excellence (SUTE) is an exceptional methodology because my district is implementing this methodology.  We have witnessed successful results based on our TAKS scores.  Before the implementation of SUTE we had 3 Unacceptable campuses out of 11 campuses, as of the last TAKS administration, our district did not have any Unacceptable campuses.  This is a great stride for our district.

Ø  Since my district is implementing SUTE, our teachers are familiar with it; therefore, I will introduce the GSTE methodology, then we will break into small group to compare both methodologies SUTE and GSTE.  Afterwards, teachers will share their findings and discuss how GSTE and/or SUTE will benefit the campus and district.

• 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.

Name of University	What are the different names of used for faculty development?	What division is it under?	What service does it offer?	How often are programs given and what specifically are they?
University of Houston	-Staff Training and   Development -Educational Development	Human Resource	Other educational and training opportunities on UH campus: a. Administrative or technical training b. Continuing Education courses. c. Other courses offered by university institutes or centers.	Did not specify
University of Louisiana	-Training and Development -Professional Development	Human Resource Management	-Faculty Technology Center - Other professional development offered by university institutes or centers.	-As neeeded
University of Lamar	-Staff Development -Professional Development	Human Resource Management	-Professional development offered by university institutes or centers	Did not specify