Artifacts:

[ Click to launch ]

Reflection:

This is an overview of my Informal Learning assignment from ED671 – Learning Environment Design. For this assignment I designed a self-guided audio walking tour of Worthington, Ohio’s numerous National Historical Register properties. As shown in the overview presentation, the walking tour materials which are available from the companion web site include of a narrated audio podcast and printable tour guide brochure.

Creating an effective informal learning environment could be the ultimate test of a designers mastery of processes such as design, development and learning. Unlike most formal products, informal settings do not allow much control over how or even if the audience interacts with your content. Perhaps the greatest achievement for us is to create learning experiences that are appealing and entertaining enough to draw attract an audience on it’s own. As opposed to them being required to participate which is frequently the case in many other settings.

The main challenge of this project was figuring out how to seamlessly fit all the pieces together to create a solution that is easy to implement, execute and maintain. A big part of this was clearly understanding the processes involved and how they impact the end result.

Perhaps the most important process of all for the success of this project is the process for participating. Anyone with internet access can simply download all the information and content they need to take the tour. For those who may be less technologically capable, complete tour packages are available from the historical society offices which are the starting point for the tour.

This project has been a great opportunity to learn more about my own local history and make some community connections with the historical society staff. Professionally, this has been a great chance to practice the integration of the various relevant processes involved in the design and development of learning.

This work shows how I’m able to successfully integrate various processes into a single, cohesive, appealing solution that is flexible as well as being easy to implement and maintain.

Other related materials referenced in the overview presentation:

[ Click to view printable tour Guide ]

[ Click to view tour map ]

[ Click to view web site ]

Artifact:

E-game Analysis – [PDF]

Reflection:

This artifact was part of the E-game assignment from EdTech 670 – Exploratory Learning Through Educational Simulation & Games. To satisfy the stated goal “to design an educational game or simulation that is presented to the learner electronically” I chose to design a work place harassment role playing simulation in Second Life (SL). This course was my first exposure to Second Life and multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) in general.

Building an effective learning experience of this type requires an understanding via both inductive and deductive logic of the affordances provided by Second Life and how learners mentally process their experience with the game. Designing an effective solution requires a synthesis of several instructional factors such as how learners perceive, think about and remember the content in the context of this new medium.

Dr. Dodge captures my thoughts perfectly with his comments that balancing simplicity, efficiency, and playability against realism, richness and complexity are challenging design tasks. My first and most significant challenge was to understand how SL works and what the implications are of conducting a learning event within this environment.

This was a great opportunity to gain understanding and experience with a MUVE and have the door opened to the many possibilities they have to offer. In the right situations, Second Life provides an opportunity to design a very rich experience that offers a unique set of learning opportunities. This project also provided a chance to practice the analysis and synthesis of the instructional and technical elements required to develop an effective learning experience.

This project demonstrates my acquisition of some requisite SL skills including basic object creation and scripting skills. Also, an understanding of the unique characteristics of the SL environment including the benefits and limitations provided me with the ability to achieve a creative and effective learning solution.

Being new to Second Life, and MUVEs in general, the biggest lesson I took away from this was the awareness of an entirely new delivery method with its own unique set of characteristics. This work has added a completely new dimension to my learning solutions “toolbox.” As a result, I now have a learning design option in which learners can experience a sense of self, distance, and interactivity that provide an enriched experience in comparison to most other mediums.

Artifact:

795A Client Project Final Report [ PDF ]

Reflection:

Context:

This report is the result of my EdTech 795A client project which was an evaluation of an SDSU undergraduate mechanical engineering course (ME203) delivered via a blended format for the first time. This blended course was adapted from an existing classroom equivalent. Of the two weekly sessions, one was held online and one was face-to-face in the classroom.

My role for this project was primarily focused on the online sessions of the course and included developing a data analysis strategy to collect relevant information, analyzing and interpreting this information for the purpose of providing observations and recommendations.

In pursuit of sound recommendations this project included the following activities:

• Pre-class “Hybrid Readiness” Survey (Appendix VI)
• Class observation logged based on Gagne’s Nine Events of Learning (Appendix V)
• Student survey (Appendix VII)
• Personal Interview with the professor (Appendix II)
• Review of relevant literature

According to the dictionary, a system is “an assemblage or combination of things or parts forming a complex or unitary whole.” This project typifies a situation with a combination of numerous parts with varying cause and effect relationships that have a multitude of consequences. The very process of instruction is comprised of the systemic interaction between teachers and learners.

The most significant challenge of this project was narrowing the focus down to the most important and achievable recommendations. There were a large number of instructional improvements that could be made for this course but they needed to be prioritized in a reasonable way such that the easiest ones to implement with the biggest anticipated benefit could be put in place ahead of other less essential concepts.

This was an excellent opportunity to get real consulting practice with the added benefit of feedback from two fantastic professionals in our field, Dr. Marcie Bober and Allison Rossett. Additionally, this was a great experience working on a real project with the unique spin of participating at a distance and being able to make use of several different technological systems to help make up for not being able to be on-site.

This project shows that I am able to recognize the relevant factors from the systems involved and prioritize the corresponding recommendations for the maximum benefit within a given set of constraints. Additionally understanding how the systems interact with one another to provide solutions derived with a holistic view of the environment. Based on my observations, I was able to identify several opportunities for improving the current system..

Relating recommendations involving the pertinent concepts in a manner that can be clearly understood to stakeholders who do not have much of an educational technology or instructional design background is also and important skill on display with this project.

One lesson I took away from this project was that sometimes there are systemic factors outside our control that impact what we can and can’t do. For example, recommending that professors participate in more professional development to improve their instructional skills is not likely to have much of an impact if the administration officials do not provide the incentive, time and financial backing that allow it.

I was also reminded during this project how systems interact with one another. Changes in one often impact one or more of the others. For example, the delivery medium has a significant impact on other aspects such as instructional approaches to the content while the content itself can have an impact on which delivery method is most effective and so on. When changing one part of the system we must always be aware of how other parts are effected. Obviously, we wouldn’t want to take one step forward in one area while taking two steps backwards in another. This type of systemic, overall view is important so that we can see the details within the context of the bigger picture.

Artifact:

EdTec 690 – Educational Blog Content Analysis [ PDF ]

Reflection:

The purpose of the analysis from ED690 – Methods of Inquiry was to determine the amount and type of learning that takes place in educational blogs. With this goal in mind, we performed a content analysis of 16 high school and college course blogs. These blogs were categorized into two groups representing two different types of courses. A secondary examination was done to see if there were any significant differences between the two different types of blogs. This artifact was a group effort that summarizes our conclusions and the analysis upon which they were based.

This entire project from start to finish was based on data. To start, our research involved the data of others gathered as part of a literature review. As the project progressed, we implemented a methodology to gather our own data which was analyzed and provided the basis for the conclusions contained in this artifact. Without this data we would not have any kind of foundation for testing and supporting the validity of our hypotheses.

As with many data analysis efforts, the first challenge we faced was to identify the proper set of data to be examined. Perhaps our biggest challenge was implementing a coding scheme so that data collected by each member would be as consistent as possible minimizing inter-rater variances. Being relatively inexperienced with this type of research, this project was an excellent opportunity for me to gain an understanding of the process while investigating a very current and relevant topic that can be applied to other areas of educational technology practice.

The main skill demonstrated here is the ability to properly gather and appropriately analyze data relevant to the hypothesis being tested. This work also shows an understanding of how to apply the appropriate statistical tests and correctly interpret their implications.

During the course of this project I learned how to interpret a number of common statistical analysis measures – ANOVA, Wilcoxon, positively skewed, normal distribution, etc. and how those measures can be used to prove or disprove your stated hypothesis. Since, I had very little data collection experience prior to this project, the most important thing I took away from this work was the importance of having a sound methodology in place before collecting any data. We usually have some sort of intuitive feeling when we approach this kind of analysis. This project showed very clearly how to confirm or invalidate those gut feelings and provide a solid, widely acceptable basis for supporting our conclusions.

This reminds me that the importance of asking the right questions is at least equal to, if not greater than, the importance of getting the right answer.

“It’s better to have a rough answer to a right question, then a detail answer to a wrong question” – Lord Kelvin

Artifact:

Video: “Running Shoes 101: How to Select the Appropriate Running Shoes“

Reflection:

This video is my Educational Video Workshop assignment from EdTech561-Advanced Web-based Multimedia Development. Being an avid runner, I have met a lot of new runners who do not realize that running in the wrong type of shoe can cause injuries. This video provides a basic introduction to the various types of shoes available and how to select the appropriate type.

This was one of my most technically challenging projects of the entire program, mainly due to the fact that the skill set required for this project was new to me at the time. During this project I researched and tested various software tools before settling on the best combination of tools. To produce this video I employed software tools for storyboarding, script writing, audio recording and editing, graphics creation and editing, slide presentation, and of course, video production and editing.

The greatest opportunity this project provided was for me to discover and gain experience using the appropriate process for developing educational videos. This includes steps such as audience analysis, content outlines leading to a narrative treatment, scripts, story boards, and production plans in addition to the technical aspects of audio/video editing.

My biggest challenge was transforming my sketched out, paper vision into a “real” video format. It took me a few tries to get the technical details worked out. I ran into a few dead-ends with software options due to steep learning curves or lack of necessary functionality before finally arriving at a satisfactory solution.

This work shows my ability to research and select the right kinds of tools for a given situation considering existing constraints. In this case I came up with a creative solution using a combination of basic tools to create a product that is technically sound while achieving a professional appearance.

Although challenging, the process of identifying and solving the issues that I encountered on this project enabled me to learn a great deal about the technical aspects of designing and producing a video. I’m certain that I learned more by facing these challenges than if I was able to simply breeze through it without encountering those challenges. Solving these issues gave me confidence in my video production skills and a realization that it isn’t as difficult as I had previously envisioned.

Perhaps most importantly it provided me with a sound framework to work within on a number of projects that have followed and continue even today. This project taught me what to consider when conceptualizing and planning a video production. Most importantly I was able to acquire an understanding of valuable tools such as story boards and production plans as a result of this project. Plus I learned not to be intimidated by video productions and that although they require a lot of work it is a fun, enjoyable process.

“It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers – they help us to learn.” -John Bradshaw

]]> http://tmiketaylor.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/technical/feed/ 0 tmiket Quote Icon http://tmiketaylor.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/communication/ http://tmiketaylor.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/communication/#comments Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:42:07 +0000 tmiket http://tmiketaylor.wordpress.com/?p=10 ]]> Communicate clearly to achieve professional goals using visual and verbal modes to explain and persuade.

Artifact:

[ Click to view ]

Reflection:

This artifact was the final product of the “Educational Multimedia Workshop” from EdTech561-Advanced Web-based Multimedia Development. This project began with content and audience considerations, progressed through planning, prototyping and testing, before arriving at the finished product shown above.

Communication is undoubtedly one of the most important skills we can have as designers of learning material. We must often translate complex, puzzling concepts into a simple, easily understandable format. The biggest challenge for this project, as well as just about all others is the ability to say more with fewer words. The ability to boil a complex topic down to a few paragraphs of plain English. Publishing this article in the Encyclopedia of Educational Technology (EET) is a great opportunity to show case our skills and understanding in such a visible forum and to contribute to such a valuable resource for the field of educational technology . Writing this article was also a great chance to practice writing writing clear, concise content items.

This artifact displays my ability to effectively design and deliver effective visual and written (verbal) communications.etc. This project illustrated a good feel for adapting a message appropriately for the given audience and the ability to effectively design that message using many different elements including visual design concepts.

The main thing that I learned from this project was how to take a potentially lengthy, complex topic such as this and boil it down to the essentials. Additionally, it reconfirmed my belief that what constitutes essential is determined by the characteristics of the target audience. One guiding principle I always strive to follow is to say more with fewer words. This is a very challenging goal but one that is extremely important when designing learning content. For example, when designing for general audiences one of the questions I ask myself is “Would my parents understand this?” If the answer is no, then I probably need to continue working until the answer to that question becomes yes.

Another important lesson I took away from this project was the importance of testing. Technical, usability, readability, and learnability testing. Sometimes ideas and concepts that seem simple, intuitive and clear to a designer immersed in a project are not perceived this way by those in the target audience.

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” -Mark Twain

Artifact:

Reflection:

This artifact is the result of the individual learning assignment from EdTech 671 – Learning Environment Design. For this assignment we were asked to design and build a small, individualized e-learning tutorial. I chose the topic of how to improve your Google search results.

Completing this project involved proposing an appropriate instructional goal, drafting a task analysis, drafting an appropriate learning outcome statement and classifying it according to the content-performance matrix. During development we also incorporated appropriate opportunities for practice and assessment.

In addition to fundamental instructional design principles for content definition, task analysis, outcome statements, etc. this project also required consideration of principles related to motivation, cognitive load, practice, assessment and feedback and how to integrate them all with one another.

For example, the following outcome statement illustrates the application of the Component Display Theory (CDT) as presented in Ruth Clark’s book “Developing Technical Training: A Structured Approach for the Development of Classroom and Computer-Based Instructional Materials.”

Outcome Statement:

Main Objective: Given a set of scenarios, the student will be able to correctly use the Google search operators that will maximize the effectiveness of the search results. (apply principle)

Sub-tasks:

• The student will be able to correctly recall the Google search rules. (remember fact)
• The student will be able to correctly recall the Google search operators (remember fact), how they impact the search results (identify principle) and how to use them properly. (apply principle)
• When given a scenario, the student will be able to determine which combination of search operators to use to achieve the most effective search results (apply principle)

Since this project could be on any topic we wanted, the first challenge was narrowing down the possibilities and properly defining the scope of the content. Some personal conversations led me to the realization that most people rarely use anything beyond the most basic Google search features which is why I selected this topic.

This work served as an excellent opportunity to implement many of the principles, theories and models that I had encountered up to this point in the program. Applying the content-performance matrix, relevant design theories, and technical development principles on a successful project was a nice tangible way to tie them all together.

This work shows how I’m able to understand and appropriately apply instructional design and e-learning principles to design successful e-learning content. This artifact implements instructional theories and principles such as:

• cognitive load theory – individual pages are not overloaded with information, audio narration is not accompanied on the pages by redundant text which would negatively impact learning (although it is available for participants without audio capabilities); assessment and practice to encourage learners to process the content thoroughly.
• usability principles – successfully passed accessibility test by webxact.watchfire.com; narrated text is available by choice for those who are hearing impaired or lack appropriate audio equipment.
• visual design principles – shows appropriate use of design elements such as color, contrast, typography, and white space.

The project served as an excellent lesson on how to successfully integrate the various principles, theories and models into a single, tangible learning product. It reminded me how all the relevant pieces interact and combine with one another to form the resulting solution.

This was also another project that reinforced the need for a testing process. Usability, technical and learnability testing are almost always beneficial. Particularly when e-learning technology is involved.

Artifact:

[ Click to launch ]

Reflection:

This artifact is a group presentation from ED 690 Methods of Inquiry that summarizes our content analysis of selected educational blogs to determine the amount and types of learning they contain. This was the culmination of a series of individual tasks leading to the formation of our group and continuing through the content analysis project outlined in the presentation.

The success of most group projects is usually based on how well those involved communicate with each other. Effective interpersonal relationships and communication facilitate group success by providing a common understanding of the team expectations and goals, improving coordination and cooperation, and eliminating the need for assumptions or guess work.

Group projects are challenging. They are even more challenging when the participants are geographically dispersed and have little, if any, familiarity with each other. Fortunately, we were able to use our collective interpersonal skills in conjunction with technology to help us overcome these obstacles and make our project a success.

The first hurdle our group needed to clear was how to minimize the barriers of distance and multiple time zones while maintaining clear communications to keep everyone in sync with their project responsibilities. To this end we used a combination of email, instant messaging (IM), phone calls, a wiki for asynchronous brainstorming and collaboration, web conferencing and an online file sharing service to distribute large files too large to send via email.

All of these processes and tools helped us maintain clear and frequent project communications as well as made us familiar with each other more quickly than if we hadn’t had these options available.

This was a great opportunity to be a part of a successful, high performing team. During the course of this project, we experienced several members taking leadership roles at certain times, while easily transitioning into a more subordinate role at other times depending on the area of focus.

This work demonstrates the ability to effectively participate and contribute to the success of a project team. As the team member responsible for generating the final deliverable from the collection of everyone’s efforts , I’ve shown the ability to clearly communicate and manage project requirements to successfully complete a group project.

This experience taught me that clear, commonly acknowledged goals and effective, timely communications are key factors of success for any team projects. Involving everyone in the planning and decision making process was definitely a key to our success. This involvement was especially helpful by enabling us to plan around a vacation by a group member in the middle of the project and still meet our deadline.