Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology

1.   Distributed learning in academic settings refers to traditional colleges and universities offering online courses in addition to traditional “go to class” courses. It also refers to virtual universities. These are universities that do not offer the choice of physical classrooms. All courses are on-line, and there is no traditional campus per se. A student is able to get a degree without ever stepping into a traditional classroom. That’s pretty amazing to me. I can see this avenue of getting a degree getting more and more popular. It would also seem to be more economical. A student would be able to stay at home and take classes, however, there is something to be said for going away to college and soaking in that experience. I wouldn’t trade my four years in College Station for anything.

Corporate distributed learning offers training via a corporate intranet. These training sessions are always available to employees so they don’t have to wait on a corporate training schedule with limited offerings for classes. This is fiscally sound to companies and corporations. Out-of-town training and all the costs associated with that are eliminated or greatly reduced with this type of distributed learning. The courses that employees have taken are managed by a learning management system, so companies can keep track of who has taken what courses and what they have learned.

Virtual classes are classes that are experienced via the internet and called an online class. Virtual classes create a learning environment with live chats, and questions for teachers are sent via e-mail or asked during virtual office hours. Groups of students can even meet at a predetermined time in a chat room to discuss ideas for a group project.

Hybrid classes are online classes that still retain some element of having a traditional physical meeting place. Students may meet the instructor a few times a semester for presentations or for assessments. I had a library science class that met at the beginning and end of the semester.

Learning Is Wonderful!!

Skills-based training involves training for specific skills. For example, a plumber might take a course on pipe fitting. She is taking a class to learn a specific set of skills to improve her ability to do her job. There are many benefits to this type of training: increased productivity, reduced employee turnover, and reduced need for employee supervision.

2.   The text defines reusability as “the ability to use the same resource multiple times in multiple ways and in multiple contexts”. This allows learning to be reinvented and repackaged so it can be used in other contexts and fields. Applying the learning and adapting it to your needs can save time and money. New content can be reused instead of redeveloping it. I took a library course in cataloging and classification a few semesters ago. I really enjoyed the class, and I think because of my biology background I really enjoyed the classification aspect. It was sort of like a puzzle to solve. Overall, the cataloging and the MARC records information, such as where to put the comma and what needs a semicolon verses what needs a colon and where the period should go, all seemed a little tedious. I work in a district where I don’t have to do any cataloging at all. All cataloging is done at our Library Services Department. So, I guess the reusablility aspect of this class is pretty low for me. I think librarians would be better served if there were two cataloging classes. One could be for students who want to pursue a career in cataloging, and then a class for librarians who want to work in a school or public library.

It seems so easy!!

3.   For an example of rich media, I found a video online that demonstrates how to change a tire. This video incorporates sound and text as well. Each step is written for the viewer to read, and a narrator talks the viewer through each step. The video is of a real car and a real tire being changed. This is much more visually informative than, say, an animated video. Even though I have changed many tires, I still learned something new (the lug nuts are to be loosened and removed in a star pattern). I think this video would be very effective in teaching someone how to change a tire because it is very media rich, however learning how to change a tire by actually doing it is probably the ideal way to learn.

Wow! That's small!

4.   Nanotechnology has to do with the miniaturization of technology.  A definition I found defined it as “the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules). I remember reading a series of books, when I was but a lad, called the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (truly a genius who wrote scholarly works on everything from physics to Shakespeare). In this series, all devices were powered by microscopic nuclear reactors. I thought about how impossible that sounded, but science fiction can become science fact. Computers that are the size of a wrist watch would be a wonderful device to have. You could use voice commands to write e-mails or documents, and then tell it to print to a wifi printer. It could be used to locate books with the online catalog in the library. All of it would be voice activated, of course.

5.   It seems to me as if the “straight and narrow road” is sort of like the old school way of thinking or doing things. It wants to cling to its traditions and keep sacred its foundational tenets. Its methods of inquiry are the “established research methods”.  Its language is precise and straightforward, and it wants to keep outsiders out (“Tighten up the boundaries to ensure expertise and encourage strong credentialing and certification requirements.) I guess I tend to lean to this way of thinking. I think tradition and sticking to foundational tenets is important in keeping core ideals at the forefront, otherwise it becomes something else or a watered down version of itself. You might call these people purists. On the other hand, sometimes this way of thinking is resistant to change even if the change is for the good. You shouldn’t cling to something if it is outdated and ineffective just because it’s what we are used to or comfortable with. Sometimes change is for the better (What a cathartic last sentence for my blog!!).

Ain't that the TRUTH!!

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

1.    I found an instructional designer position offered by Monitronics International, a home security alarm monitoring company based in Dallas, through careerbuilder.com. This position requires development and design of instructional training platforms and materials for a variety of training projects (call center training, new employee training, management training, and operational training needs). Job requirements include: Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design (or related field), 2-5 yrs experience with developing instructional courses (required), 2-5 yrs of experience developing e-learning courses (preferred), ability to write learner-centered training objectives, experience with instructional design methodologies, and experience in creating pre-and post-assessments. Alas, I would not meet the requirements for this job.

The second position I found, also through careerbuilder.com, is offered by Jack Henry and Associates, a company that develops, markets, maintains and supports integrated data processing systems for in-house automation of standard banking and accounting applications. They are looking for an Instructional Design Specialist (IDS) to develop eLearning courses for external and internal customers. Essential functions include: researching, designing, scheduling, and implementing eLearning training projects, updating existing eLearning courses, and conducting training classes in a live or on-line virtual environment. Minimum qualifications are Bachelor’s degree (preferred), minimum of 12 months to 3 years of educational development training, and training knowledge. Under knowledge and skills were: desired experience with Adobe Flash, Adobe Illustrator, sound editing software such as Audacity or Sound Forge, Adobe Photoshop, and PowerPoint. I am familiar with most of the software listed, and I have some training knowledge, but I don’t have any experience designing eLearning training projects. 

The third position is offered by Lockheed Martin for their San Francisco offices. The position is listed as Site Team Leader & Instructional Designer. Job responsibilities include:  being able to read, write, speak, and understand English (can do!), be responsible for the “people management” for Petaluma, Alameda, and Oklahoma City (Oklahoma!! What?), and have instructional designer responsibilities. To me, these job duties are pretty vague. I think I could do what they listed. The requirements include a Master’s degree in Instructional Systems, Instructional Systems Technology, or Education (with a concentration in Educational Technology) or 5 years of work experience in a related field or a combination of education and training, be proficient in Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and computer graphics programs, and be a certified Master Training Specialist (I remember reading about the certifications in the text). Again, I have all of the software proficiency, but I don’t have the Master’s degree in the fields required. 

2.    I used www.careeronestop.org assessment called Skills Profiler. You rate yourself in many categories (Basic Skills, Social Skills, Problem Solving Skills, Technical Skills, System Skills, Resource Management Skills, and Desktop Computer Skills) on a scale from 1 to 7. I rated myself on each category. I don’t know if I have a glorified image of myself, or what, but I came out higher than average for each category. The suggested fields were education, science, and math fields. This sounds about right for me as these are my interests and what I have experience in. Usually when I fill out this type of assessment I get something really wacky like florist or landscape design. It felt good to get something I would really be interested in.

3. Professional Organizations

The first organization I research was the Asia Pacific Society for Computers in Education (APSCE). It was founded in 2004 (the text says 2003). Its objective is to “promote the conduct and communication of scientific research related to all aspects of the use of computers in education, especially within the Asia-Pacific.”  The cost of membership is $60 and $20 for students. The only publication I could find was their newsletter which comes out three times a year. The only conference mentioned is the 19^th International Conference on Computers in Education, ICCE 2011, which will be held from November 29-December 2 in Thailand.

Next, I researched the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Its mission is to strive 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. Membership for regular members is $150 and $40 for graduate students. The website lists several publications it is affiliated with (American Education Research Journal SIA Section, American Education Research Journal TLHD Section, Educational Researcher, and Review of Education Research). It hosts an annual meeting. This year’s meeting will be in New Orleans, April 8 through April 12. This year’s theme is “Inciting the Social Imagination: Education Research for the Public Good”. It offers professional development and training courses on such topics as “Introduction to Hierarchical Linear Modeling”, “Diagnostic Measurement: Theory, Methods, and Applications”, and “How to Inform Policy Makers: A Strategic Approach for Academics”. These courses range from $95 to $115.

Finally, I looked at the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Its mission 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. The cost of membership ranges from $75 for students to $400 for corporations. Members have access to the Tech Trends, Educational Technology Research and Development, Handbook for Research and Technology, and Getting Started in Educational Technology Research. The AECT International Convention will be held November 8-11 in Jacksonville, Florida. The conference is called “Celebrate 3.0: Design, Learn, Community” and costs $150 for early registration.

Professional Publications

The American Educational Research Journal publishes “original empirical and theoretical studies and analysis in education to improve education processes and outcomes.” There are several pages of submission guidelines. Some of the highlights include: APA style, between 20 and 50 pages in length, an abstract of 100-120 words, a notes and references section, and it should have tables, figures, and illustrations. It is peer reviewed and is online.

The American Journal of Distance Education’s mission is “to disseminate information about research and scholarship in the Americas”. This journal seeks original submissions about methods and techniques of teaching at a distance, about learning, and about management and administration. It is peer reviewed and can be found online. The website states that its audience is teachers, trainers, adult educators, and researchers.

The International Journal of Training and Development is an international forum for the reporting of high-quality, original, empirical research. This journal publishes research which ranges from the theoretical, conceptual and methodological to more policy-oriented types of work. There are many requirements that need to be met for publication: The article should be between 5,000 and 9,000 words, have double spaced with margins, will be reviewed with a “double blind” procedure, should have an abstract, and have precise references. The journal is peer reviewed and is available online.

The organizations and publications I researched seem to be great conduits for information and opportunities to present information. All of the publications I looked at really put an emphasis on wanting research and papers to be submitted to them. They encourage research and want this new research in their publications. All of the organizations would seem like great resources for getting a position. The more people you know, the more opportunities you’ll have. I was not aware of these organizations and publications before I started this assignment. I was amazed that the text book had listings for so many organizations and publications, and this is for one field of interest!!

4. To me, the competencies would include: Be a source of information (we have to educate and provide knowledge), improve communication, provide academic programs with information to improve and evaluate, be able to communicate with learners, and to provide flexible learning environments. There would also need to be mention of having the highest of professional standards of ethics, honesty, and integrity. I picked these because if I were learning from someone I would want them to have to follow these standards and practices.