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.
