Theories, assumptions, and philosophical traditions as benefits to the instructional designer

19 Dec

If instructional designers have a lens with which to view or to reflect on a design process it can help support their practice altogether. This lens can be the knowledge of foundational theories, assumptions, and philosophical traditions of instructional design. Christensen (2008) writes it “helps later [to have this knowledge] when it comes to designing the instruction, but also serves as a guide for deciding how to analyze the learning tasks or content and how to assess learning.”

Smith and Ragan (2005) explain these three reasons to reflect upon philosophy and theory as an instructional designer:

Theories are the sources of principles from which many of the prescriptions for design arise, and understanding of the base helps both the learning from the text and ability to engage in application in the field.
Writers in this field need to acknowledge their bases of conclusions and recommendations.
Theories allow designers to explain why they make the decisions they do.

These justifications are all well and good, but instructional designers would be wise to take heed to the advice of Rod Sims (2006) who states you should “assess the relevance of theories and frameworks informing the design and implementation of those environments.”

Examination of the examination is a pertinent component for instructional designers who focus on the lessons and courses, but who want to think about the big picture in doing so.

References

Christensen, T. K. (2008). The role of theory in instructional design: Some views of an ID practitioner. Performance Improvement , 47 (4), 25-32.

Sims, R. (2006). Beyond instructional design: Making learning design a reality. Journal of Learning Design , 1 (2), 1-7.

Smith, P. L., & Ragan, T. J. (2005). Instructional Design, Third Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Apologies and Explanation

12 Oct

Dear readers,

As you may or may not know, I have recently started a PhD about Instructional Design for Online Learning. This in itself is a full-time job, especially given that I am taking two courses at once, per quarter. Add to this the fact that I am also working at a new job in a new country.

But to top this all off, two days from now I will be having a new baby boy. His name will be Mickey Thomas (some Thai name) Johnson. He will be born here in Turkey, fifteen minutes from my home at an excellent hospital named Medicana. I am both nervous and excited.

With these new additions in life, my posting for the next three years will not follow the: “Attention, Proof and Strategy” format I have set out to do. It will however showcase and sometimes call for feedback about some of the assignments or thought processes I will be working on.

The theme, “Technology, Design and Education” will still be prevalent with my forthcoming posts, just the formatting will be different, be miscellaneous, be wacky and be wild.

I look forward to writing more and hope you understand my rationale for this (temporary?) change.

Sincerely,
Tom father-to-be Johnson

2 Comments

Posted by Dr. Thomas Johnson | ict-design.org on October 12, 2011 in Design, Education, Technology

Tags: Capella, Father, Instructional Design, Online Learning, PhD, Relief, Son

Google to teach speaking

25 Aug

Attention:

You might not sound as smart as you think, especially if you consider how you sound in a foreign country. Maybe you think your pronunciation is great, but you can’t understand why no one gets what you are trying to say. There are things that you can do to practice. One of the best sources I have recently been referred on to was Rosetta Stone (RS). The reason I like it is because the software ensures reading, writing, connecting thoughts, listening AND SPEAKING!

It does not translate words for you. At first I thought this was a silly way of learning, but after going through the RS system for a while I realized that building upon reference ideas and then repeating them was a great way to learn. The drawback, however, is the cost. (£149.00) In that case, I have a workaround answer for you, but I will get to that after I have shown you proof that the RS system works.

Proof:

While researching for proof that Rosetta Stone was the best way to learn online or off out on the market, I found some contrasting evidence. Some people spoke very highly of the product, such as these reviews:

Without a doubt the highest praise went to the ease with which reviewers were learning. Courses were described as being instinctive and natural, even though many had been skeptical about there being no English on the Rosetta Stone software. A lot of learners said that their children were also following their course and were enjoying the quizzes and games. Rosetta Stone seems to be engaging for any age group. The pace seemed to be appropriate, and many users liked a feature of the CD-ROM where it automatically started each session with a quick review of what was previously studied. (http://www.therosettastonereviews.com/)

Rosetta Stone helps you learn 31 various languages spoken all round the world. It dishes some different and interesting techniques to get accomplish to the languages you want in your armory. People who want to study languages difficult to understand for fun or individuals who loves incomprehensible languages, should also give Rosetta Stone a try. (http://judgesreviews.com/software/rosetta-stone-reviews)

However, this review was only a partial glimpse:

Some people will get benefit out of Rosetta Stone. I can see how it would happen. I did indeed learn something from this program, including having my first ever conversation in Dutch, which gave me an enormous boost of confidence.(http://www.fluentin3months.com/rosetta-stone-review/)

A further read of this same reviewing would show you this review as well:

Injecting this confidence is something that Rosetta Stone does very well but to be honest the time would have been much better spent on other tasks. (http://www.fluentin3months.com/rosetta-stone-review/)

With that said, I have to personally say that I can see the benefit and enjoyment factor present with the RS method. If you have time, it is worth giving it a try to see if the slightly expensive system is worth it to you. If not, read on and maybe I have some alternative solutions.

Strategy:

There are many free websites to learn another language. A good example of an English site for this is learn-english-online.org Like most, it allows you to read, to write and sometimes even listen, but the sites do not include speaking.

Along comes Google!

I figured this out when my wife, who is not a native English speaker was trying to use the Google VoiceSearch found when you are using Chrome as your browser.

She was having the toughest time. It was a little funny, especially when I heard what she was trying to say and what was coming up on Google. For example, she might try to say, “Samui, Thailand” and it comes up, “Simile Highland”. It takes some practice. Sometimes it is even necessary for me, as a native English speaker to hear what she is saying and tell her to say the word(s) with more enunciation or inflection on a certain part. How Google works well, is it confirms automatically where I might say to her, as her teacher, that she is saying something incorrectly, but she doesn’t hear it herself. She might insist she is saying it correctly, but I have no proof.

Well, now I do.

This Google App is available on iPhones, iPads and I am sure lots of other devices. Because of this, it means teachers can carry it around for students who are trying to pronounce something for immediate confirmation about whether what they are saying is said correctly or not.

All-in-all, I love the idea. I hope to apply it through technology integration in classrooms, by carrying around a smart phone and pulling it out when the need is there.

Who says we should ban phones in schools? With enough ingenuity there are plenty of authentic applications for them. Now, if I can justify spending $15,000 for Microsoft’s MS Surface Table to the school, that would be neat.

Computer Labs are made wrong. Here’s why:

24 Jun

Attention:

Get rid of rows of computers in your school!!

How many schools have you been to where the computer labs are a room full of 20-30 computers lined up in rows around a the room?

Lots?

Me too.

This is old school thinking and it’s wrong. A computer lab should not be row upon row of computers. There is no need. We have wifi and students have laptops of their own (or they should).

More and more forward-thinking schools are implementing laptop programs. If this is the case, get rid of the desktops. Put them in the library or put two or three computers in each classroom. Donate them to the office staff or the underprivileged school down the road. Be more savvy when you invest the money into technology.

Proof:

“Results confirm the hypotheses that [students] seated in circles engage in significantly more on-task behavior than those in rows and that [student] seated in clusters engage in more on-task behavior than those in rows but less than those in circles.” http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=1985-18658-001

Yet most computer classrooms in schools still have row upon row. The desktop computer no longer needs to be the standard. The laptop, the tablet and the smart phone are smaller, useful technologies that need to be employed effectively.

Computer classroom designers might take a look at leaders in the field, Google’s and Facebook’s headquarters, to see what fun engaging design looks like:

GOOGLE

images from http://www.reactorr.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/google-land/

FACEBOOK

images from: http://freshome.com/2009/10/15/facebook-headquarters-in-california/

I wish schools I have seen or worked at looked fun like this.

Strategy:

Then what should the computer classroom of 2011 and beyond be?

Outdoors – Why limit the confines of classroom learning to a classroom? Get kids outside experiencing and doing, with tablets and cellphones connected to the internet as supporting reference tools or better yet as creation tools for capturing, writing about, drawing and much more. Take students on trips to the mall, the store, the field, behind the school, the cafeteria, and nature. Read more about outdoor classrooms here.
If educators have to works indoors, two words: Beanbag chairs (Swiss balls could also work) – They are lightweight, movable workstations. Put electric/data ports for charging and connectivity throughout the floor of EVERY classroom and put lots on the walls. (At least until they mass market wireless electricity)
Group centers and Circles can easily be formed by the teacher for collaborative physical meeting points.
With the new-found money in the budget, invest in specialized media centers: graphics tablets, video raid systems, video greenscreens, music stations and studios with sound editing capabilities. Computers aren’t just for using the Microsoft products. Start thinking about how the other subjects like art, drama, phys ed, and science can be using them.
Fitness rooms with setups to place tablets are a must. Make sure you have speakers to plug those iPods into.
iPads and iMovie are a must for drama class and why not for the sports field.
Wacom tablets are a new must for art class which can now also be called Digital Design class.

Administrators and educators:
Think outside the box. Redefine the computer classroom. Think Engaging. Think Useful. Think Fun! Invest more in your wifi.

Good luck with the future.