New Directions in IDT

For my current position as a professor in an occupational therapy assistant program, I have considered many possibilities for incorporating IDT into curriculum instruction.  After lengthy deliberation, I have concluded that e-learning, rich media, and digital games and simulations would be the best choices for the type of learning that is required of my students. 

The e-learning platform we use at our college is CANVAS.  It provides an opportunity to distribute slide presentations without the need to make multiple copies, share announcements to prevent multiple questions on the same topic from the students, and a method to provide forms needed for assignments.  Also, there is a grade book function that allows input, calculation, and viewing of grades both by the professors and the students.  The structure of CANVAS provides a much easier mechanism of distribution of materials and prevent excessive use of paper, etc.  I feel I would be working much harder at very simple things without the use of the learning management system.

I believe that the use of rich media will become a productive way of instructing my students.  Because our Program is in its infancy, six weeks to be exact, our department (of two) is just trying to get from day to day; however, I aspire to begin to add to our curriculum audio and animation to enhance learning.  Unfortunately, my first cohort of students might not get that enriched experience, but I hope to incorporate it very soon.  The students could gain knowledge about diagnoses, watch skills being demonstrated and explained with audio, and hear explanations about different types of speech patterns or the like.  Obviously, the students will be able to learn the material without the rich media, but there will be some coursework that would be greatly improved with its use. 

Finally, I am hoping to be even more ambitious in the future and be able to incorporate gaming and simulations into the curriculum.  The development phase would be labor intensive, but it could afford learning opportunities that students could use for more complex learning such as muscles and their movements.  I plan on taking a gaming and simulations course in my graduate work, so I hope to learn more about the process and find a place for gaming to fit into my curriculum enhancement plan.  Again, students will be able to learn without the gaming element, but I feel it could help to provide motivation and interest to a subject that is complicated and tedious. 

                                       

                                                           

E-learning platforms do not appear to present significant ethical concerns in their use.  They are secure and tests can be administered with the system.  As with any other technology, there are considerations regarding the use of copyrighted information and ensuring the students can continue to achieve learning outcomes.  In regards to changes needed for those with disabilities and cultural considerations, the learning management system can be very user friendly and can be accommodated and modified.   Audio content can be captioned, visual content can have audio added, and tests can be given without need for time limits.  It would be unlikely that the LMS would become a problem for a culturally diverse student population except, perhaps, for any language barriers that might be present.  The content designer at our college would be able to advise me if I needed to create materials that would require accommodation.  The content designer would also have to approve material that would be presented in an exclusively online or hybrid format.   I have used the LMS for my current classes, as mentioned above, and I went through multiple hours of training in its use prior to the implementation for my courses.

The rich media content could potentially present similar ethical issues to those of the e-learning platform.  The primary concern would be copyright infringement and commitment to the learning outcomes for students.  Rich media could be modified to accommodate visual, auditory, cognitive, and physical disabilities.  As stated previously, captioning of audio, audio for visual information, and timing of activities could be changed as needed.  The animation component could potentially be harmful for those with cognitive issues or those who are prone to seizure activity with computer-generated motion that was too sudden.  The Disability Services department at my college could provide guidance when considering the use of rich media in our curriculum.  The biggest limiting factor for me at the moment is my ignorance in the development of the rich media content.  I am hoping to be more familiar with its development as my graduate studies continue.    

Finally, gaming and simulations would likely present the greatest challenge to accommodations and, to a lesser degree, any ethical considerations.  Copyright issues, as well as possible professional service or personal gain issues, could arise.  I am hopeful that any game I developed would revolutionize the training of therapists; therefore, I would need to consider how I would use the game.  I would not want to misuse the game to try to gain from it any more than the benefit of the education of my students.  The accommodation for those with disabilities would have to be considered to a greater degree than with the other types of IDT mentioned.  Many games have quickly changing backgrounds, flashing lights, and some might not include an audio component.  Captioning and the addition of audio could be highly time consuming and difficult to produce.  I could receive guidance from technological experts at the college, but I would need to decide if the game would be absolutely necessary for the content mastery of my students before the additional accommodations were made.  I have yet to learn the technology for developing the games and simulations, but I am sure that once I complete the coursework, I will be more likely to understand the skills necessary for development and application.  

Overall, I feel that the IDT methods of e-learning, rich media, and gaming could enrich the Program where I work and provide a unique learning environment for the students that we train.  Though some of the processes are still unfamiliar to me at this point in my graduate studies, I am confident that when I gain the appropriate knowledge, I will be able to apply it to create a stronger, content-rich program for the required knowledge of the future therapists we educate.  

Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

My situation is rather unique and unlike most graduate students in Educational Technology.  I am an Occupational Therapist and have practiced for 17 years.  In January 2014, I began working as a professor and fieldwork coordinator for the developing occupational therapist assistant program at Tyler Junior College.  I was asked to consider pursing a master’s degree in order to be eligible to become Program Director when the current PD is prepared to retire.  I chose the Educational Technology Leadership program so that I could pursue a degree that was education-based, without holding a teaching certificate.  I am hoping to gain knowledge and training to enhance the education of our students.  Though the training of therapist assistants requires hands-on and face-to-face interaction to develop specific skills, the advances in technology should be able to provide unique opportunities for student learning and advance our Program beyond what similar Programs are offering.   The Program Director position will not be available to me for a few years, but in the meantime, I plan to help develop curriculum and use technology frequently in our students’ educational process. 

In my degree plan, I am including electives in higher education and gaming and simulations.   These electives will support and enhance the area of education where I am currently working.  I do not feel I have learned enough at this point to know exactly what skills I need to pursue, but I am hoping to develop simulations and web-based learning for the students to gain knowledge without the need for direct instructor intervention.  Our Program has been limited by state legislation and we are concerned about our ability to provide all of the skills necessary to our students prior to their graduation and licensure exam.  The knowledge from my graduate education should provide additional support to the curriculum and enhance the students’ learning. 

Finally, I don’t feel that professional organization membership would benefit me at this time.  I am currently a member of the occupational therapy professional organization and feel that would support my current position more than the technological organizations.   I will consider a membership with the technological organizations if we determine it will support our Program and student success.  

Trends & Issues Various Settings

Instructional Design and Technology is prevalent in many contexts and is subject to the same ebb and flow as any area that relies on technology as its cornerstone. Three areas where this is most evident, and most relevant to my current position, are health care education, P-12 education, and post-secondary education.  Health care education trends are moving towards problem-based learning and simulations where the integration of technology is key.  P-12 education also is also seeking the broader integration of technology into student guided learning and solidifying knowledge and skills for the use of technology in the 21^st Century.  Post-secondary education is leading the way in technology integration with the growth of online environments and LMS for easier and faster distribution of information, grades, and training.   In all three cases, the use of technology can help reduce the work on the instructors, after the development and implementation stages are completed.  With all of the benefits that technology integration provides, however, there are inevitably going to be drawbacks and obstacles.  In health care education, the use of technology is ideal for providing objective knowledge, but it is not yet able to provide the interpersonal skills needed for working directly with people.  In P-12 education, technology benefits the educators by allowing them to use technology for lower level learning and memorization, but the technology has not yet proven to be significantly more effective than the teacher’s instruction when assessed objectively.  In post-secondary education, technology presents challenges because very few of the current professors are willing to broaden their current knowledge base to include the use of technology in their instruction.

 

In my current position as a professor for a new Occupational Therapy Assistant Program, my duties include instruction, development of new curriculum, implementation, assessment, and planning.  We are a Program of two – myself and the Program Director.  The load is significant and it is challenging to determine the best way to provide the knowledge needed to our students in the most effective way possible.  My position mirrors the integration of all three of the types of education I have discussed above: I am in the field of health care education, in a post-secondary setting, with many of the same challenges that P-12 educators face.  As a Program, we are trying to balance simulation with hands-on learning and integration of interpersonal skill development.  Problem-based learning is important and the method in which our students will be tested for their national certification exam.  We are a Program in a post-secondary context which includes the use of a LMS and the tendency to shy away from the new technologies that could aide in education that are unfamiliar to both of us as practitioners and as educators with limited experience in the classroom.  Finally, as in the situation of P-12 educators, we need to prepare our students for documentation systems that are electronic and assistive technology that could benefit future patients.  We have to consider this without forgetting about the art of the practice of OT which involves direct contact with people in times of great need and vulnerability.  I am hoping we can strike a balance, which will be ever changing, between “modernization” of our field with the use of technology and the “old school” way of interacting with patients and achieving their personal goals. 

On a more global scale, the idea of educating the world’s learners is a much more complex one.  I believe our American education system is attempting to integrate the complexities of a modern world with a slow moving process in trying to convince those who are reluctant to “get on board.”   The models of IDT use in Asian countries are based on significant governmental support, but that is not the only method.  There are creative teachers in Japan that have struck out on their own to develop new, subject specific methods that are shared among teachers in the same subject become a “tradition.” (Suzuki & Jung, 2012) These methods are passed along and prove to be effective.  In Korea, IDT has been most dominant in the corporate world.  The government in Korea has begun setting “national learning policies” (Suzuki & Jung, 2012) for e-learning and teacher mandates for training every 3 years.  Though it appears that both Japan and Korea are incorporating technology into educating their children, their methods seem to be based on governmental control and mandates.  In the U.S., continuous teaching training is required, but it is not concentrated on technology.  The idea of governmental control of teacher education could potentially provide the students opportunity, but it would not provide for individuality of the need of the students in a particular state, city, or district.  Not all areas can afford the training, equipment, and facilities that will allow the students the exposure and use of technology.  Over time, this is occurring, but the implementation is gradual as the more experienced teachers can be trained and educated on the benefits and use of technology.  Our national laws are present, but not as restrictive as Asia.  Conversely, European education is much more traditional, emphasizing didactic learning. Europeans are more skeptical of the online concept and see the idea as restrictive and not as flexible.  Americans can learn from this idea as well: technology is not a substitute for a teacher.  It is an enhancement, a supplement.  Technology does not automatically make teaching, or learning, better.  Its judicious use is important, but not exclusive.  

Suzuki, K. & Jung, I. (2012).  Instructional Design and Technology in an Asian Context: Focusing on Japan and Korea. In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 239-247) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Human Performance Technology

 A performance problem, to me, is one that prevents efficient achievement of goals and objectives.  In relation to my therapy students, I have found there is an issue that is beginning to emerge: the students want to ask so many questions that are related to topics other than those we are currently discussing, and there is so much material that needs to be covered in such a short amount of time, I am finding that we are becoming further behind in our learning schedule.  The program director and I have brainstormed an idea that will hopefully decrease that interruptions during class time.  We have decided to periodically, every two-three weeks, have an informal lunch with the students that will allow them time to ask us questions and seek clarification/ answers in a non-threatening, relaxed environment.  This also provides a chance to engage with our students and build a relationship with them that will, hopefully, encourage them to increase their participation and learning in the Program.  It is an intentional sacrifice of our time that is outside our office hours, but our first "meeting" seemed productive.  We can now ask the students to refrain from asking unrelated questions during class time, and reassure them that our Friday lunches can be a time that we can discuss those questions without affecting necessary instructional time.  The meetings are not mandatory, so the students have the opportunity to attend, or not.  We are hopeful that this will prove beneficial to their time in our Program.  

An additional problem we are anticipating is that students may not be understanding the information when it is provided in class, but do not feel confident this early in the Program, to ask questions.   We are planning to provide an index card to the students at the end of class once a week, possibly more, so they can write down something they have a question about or would like further clarification on so that we can address those concerns before they are tested on the material.  It can also be a chance for the students to write down something they have learned in class so we can get an idea about their level of understanding of the material to guide our teaching.  That can give us an indication about moving forward with new material which will build on what has already be provided.  

Performance support systems were first introduced in Gloria Gery's book, "Electronic  Performance Support Systems in 1991.  The definition has evolved in the past fifteen years and can be defined as "a system that provides performers with varying levels of access to support information and tools at the moment of need." (Nuygen, 2012)  As it relates to the problems of my students asking unrelated questions and students asking for clarification of concepts by using the note cards, the idea of performance support is a possibility.  I suppose students can be asked to email questions to be addressed outside of class time; however, the concern I see with that would be the absence of the benefit of others hearing the questions and the answers as well as the removal of the sense of community the face-to-face interaction provides.  It also goes against the idea of "moment of need."  In reality, the "moment of need" idea is what is presenting the problem in the first place.  The students want to share a story or ask about something that doesn't relate.  If I took time out for even half of my students to do that, I would never be able to convey the information needed.  The chance for the students to respond after class on the note cards for their need of clarification of a topic, seems to be a more immediate type of performance support.  Our Program is not set up with a lot of online components to support classroom learning, so the idea of having computer information to directly relate to the material is not a solution at this time.  

In relation to management of knowledge related to the problems we are facing in our Program, the best knowledge would be the tacit knowledge from my fellow professors.  I can ask other, more seasoned, professors how they deal with extraneous questions and how they make immediate assessment of students' learning without asking each of them individually.  The method of collection would most likely be word of mouth. The other possibility would be to include our professional development specialist on campus to see if she had any ideas, and/or if she would help to conduct a short survey of other professors outside the School of Nursing and Health Sciences for ideas and suggestions.  She could then share the information with her monthly PD emails and include the information in the annual new professor training.  She also has links to training and information on her PD page to information for professors to refer to when they have a "moment of need."

Informal learning at the College where I work is frequent, almost daily, in fact.  There are numerous professors in our School and we often have lunch, sit in each other's offices, and email with questions and discussions.  The informal learning is often shared by word of mouth.  Again, our professional development specialist could likely be a benefit to managing and distributing the information we share in those informal sessions.  The technical programs in our School have a unique nature in the type of learning and material needed to be given to the students.  Some of the informal learning could be shared with other professors, but some of the learning might not apply to professors in other Schools.  Most of the informal learning is spontaneous in nature and would be difficult do replicate for others.  It is likely that other Schools within the College conduct their informal learning as we do.  Fortunately, we have a person designated to help provide needed knowledge management and the types of learning for the professors at our College.  She is open to suggestions, addressing needs as they occur, and seeking out new information and making it available to the professors who need it.  

Nyugen, Frank. (2012).  Performance Support.  In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 96-104) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Evaluating and Managing Instructional Program and Projects

Instructional design models are numerous and the evaluation models are varied.  It is important for educators to continually evaluate their instructional methods to ensure effectiveness.  Two examples of evaluation models for this purpose include Rossi's Five-Domain Model and Patton's Utilization-Focused Evaluation Model (U-Fe). 

Rossi's Five-Domain Model indicates that "each evaluation should be tailored to fit local needs, resources, and type of program." (Reiser and Dempsey, 2012.)  This model emphasizes five areas of assessment including: needs assessment, theory assessment, implementation assessment, impact assessment, and efficiency assessment.  Each of these areas are crucial to determining effectiveness for any instructional design.  When planning courses for our particular Program, the two professors were guided by accreditation standards from our national organization for educational institutions.  Those standards included all aspects of theory, implementation, impact, and efficiency for our therapy students.  The needs assessment for our Program, and its content, were completed prior to course development.  However, the course content, theoretical base, and implementation specifics have been planned and carried out by the Program Director and myself. Since our Program is brand new, classes have been session for two weeks, our efficiency and impact have not been able to be assessed at this time.  In my situation, instructional design should not only lead to learning and learner satisfaction, but the learning should be directly applied in my students' future career in the treatment of their patients.  The impact and efficiency will be gauged by the students' success on their national certification exam and licensure as well as their ability to find a job and begin practicing. 

When using Patton's Utilization-Focused Evaluation Model, the instructional designs are assessed by readiness assessment and a situational analysis, identification of primary users and uses, focus and design, assessment of data, continuous use of assessment, and meta-analysis.  In relation to my current Program, many of these same domains have been described related to Rossi's model; however, two exceptions are the addition of the specifics of continuous use of assessment and meta-analysis.  Our courses will undoubtedly undergo frequent assessment as we test our students and determine the effectiveness of our instructional methods and content.  A meta-analysis would also be beneficial after we begin to have graduates of our Program and collect information regarding certification exam pass rates and employment percentages.  That would be an even stronger assessment of the instructional effectiveness.  

If I was put in the position to develop professional development sessions related to technology use in the classroom during a period of economic decline, situational leadership would be an effective way to facilitate and manage the project and resources.  First, it would be important to take inventory of the available resources and determine the strengths/skills of the team members for the project. Second, an assessment of objectives for the PD sessions would provide a plan for the content and design implementation. Next, team members would be assigned to various aspects of the sessions including content, video/audio as needed, and evaluation of staff learning based on the team members' abilities.  I would encourage the team members to work from other PD sessions which have been previously designed to provide direction, institute sessions that utilize current material and available technology, and search for related resources that already exist and can be adapted to their current needs. This could prevent the need to invest unavailable resources in new materials.  It would be important as the manager for the project to consistently praise and reward, as able, the effort and results of the team members' work.  Frequent monitoring of team members, and the sessions as they develop, would prevent decreased efficiency and increase objectives being met without excess work that does not produce the needed results.  I would also encourage team members to "test" their material and design to reduce the need for follow up after the PD sessions have been implemented with the staff/faculty.  

Johnson, B. R., Dick, R (2012).  Evaluation in Instructional Design: A Comparison of Evaluation Models. In R. Reiser & J. Dempsey (eds.) Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (pp. 96-104) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. 

Theories and Models of Learning and Instruction

Epistemology is the history of the various foundations of instructional methods.  It includes the psychological views and cognitive views of humans and their makeup.  The text referenced the idea of schemas and cognitive load which are not theories or methods of learning in themselves, but lay the groundwork for theories such as Gagne's nine events of instruction and constructivism.  One of the obvious differences between the theories and underlying beliefs is that the beliefs are the building blocks of the theories and do not stand on their own as a template for instructional design.  However, without the epistemologies, the theories and methods would have no foundation of research in the supporting areas of psychology or cognition.

I find it difficult to identify one epistemic "stance" because I see my self in all three stances.  I have not been trained as an educator, so my frame of reference is based on my training as an occupational therapist. In my approach to patients, I consider their point of view (perception) as well as their context including diagnosis and history. When regaining their daily living activities, they are very task oriented and use problem based learning.  Based on my own education and my current position of training future therapists, it will be important to approach their education in the same manner.  The students need to understand where their patients are coming from.  Additionally, the training they will receive in their own education will be presented in both positivist and relativist ways and the application will be completed in a constructivist/contextualist manner.  The fact that occupational therapists do not approach their patients from only one stance is what makes the profession so unique and tailored to the individual needs of our patients.  

If I were to consider an instance where my perspective was challenged by the perspective of an instructor, I believe it would be in a Mental Health in OT course where my instructor was unwilling to acknowledge facts as often as patient perception and an ever-changing outlook with each patient.  In retrospect, not being able to have an element of concreteness was very disorienting for me.  I believe that I lean more towards a positivist/contextualist stance, but I am willing to include the realitivist elements of each person in order to approach the complete person in treatment.  

As an educator, I am still trying to find my true "stance" for instructional design (obviously). I am continuing to absorb new information related to teaching so I can find my best approach to the training of my students as future therapists.  

Problem solving from a behaviorist perspective would be based on cues from the environment and consequences which would result in repetition, and learning from, a situation.  A constructivist perspective would allow freedom to impose their own meaning on an environment and learn from the process of that freedom.  The behaviorist theory does not allow for educated guesses and self-imposed change because it relies only on results that are seen; conversely, the constructivist methods allow for a very open approach and it may take longer to produce a solution. Learner motivation related to problem solving will also vary based on approach.  The behaviorist perspective might affect motivation by not allowing for freedom and keeping the student "tied down", but those students that like structure would feel comfortable and more motivated. The constructivist perspective would not give enough guidance for those who need it and would provide freedom for those students who thrive in an environment where they can guide their own learning and remain motivated.  

Defining the Instructional Technology Field

My definition of instructional/educational technology has primarily been the idea of media -- computers and the like.  The definitions found in the text, Trends and issues in instructional design and technology, are far more specific and include design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the process of instruction.  My exposure to "educational" technology has been limited to my experience as an occupational therapist and the use of technology in the treatment of patients with environmental controls, communication devices, and the use of a tablet for task specific practice such as visual or memory skills.  With this being my second course in educational technology, I am starting to open my eyes to a new world of technology and its use for more than lecture presentations.  

I have just begun my teaching career, so my skills in developing instruction are in their very early stages; however, I participated in a professional development workshop on my college campus to prepare new/novice professors for teaching.  The information was most certainly student (professors as the students) centered and goal oriented.  The PD specialist was intent on providing the professors in attendance with the tools they would need to become better instructors of their respective subjects.  The performance and skills provided were meaningful and the PD specialist was careful to engage the attendees in the process of learning the skills -- a team effort.  The final two aspects, measurable outcomes and empirical/self-correcting,  were difficult to achieve as the results of the skills learned would not be evident until the students began writing papers and taking tests to determine the effectiveness of the professors' teaching.  The PD specialist was very focused on the professors staying engaged in the process of learning the skills and not being passive learners.  The attendees were asked to form groups of varying sizes, discuss scenarios and reflect knowledge, and provided with task oriented, media rich, and interactive methods to gain the necessary knowledge.  Aside from the inability to assess the professors' ability to self-correct and measure outcomes, the aspects of instructional design were obvious and evident throughout.   

I believe Reiser excluded teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from his definition of instructional media because they are more part of a "historical" definition of instructional media and they do not take into account the broad nature of the definition of media which has evolved.  The teachers and books are more the support to the delivery of instructional material of the modern educational system.  The prevailing idea of the constructivist theory with problem based learning and flipped classroom models provide the students with a greater opportunity to incorporate technology which is more reflective of the "real world" environment.  I would not say the "purpose" of instructional design is to incorporate media as much as modern instructional design lends itself to the inclusion of media to facilitate the greatest benefit to the learner.  The method of instruction should most closely reflect the environment in which the learner will be functioning after the learning has taken place.  More often than not, the "environment" will be less books and teachers and more interaction with technology for task completion in education or their career.  

Reiser, Robert, A. & Dempsey, John, V. (2012) Trends and issues in instructional design and technology.  (3rd ed.) Boston: Allyn & Bacon.