Week 16

“Think about instructional design in general. What have you learned this semester about working in teams? What about process? What else?
Also, what did you learn from the Evaluation of the product?”

The important thing I learned in this term in regards to working with teams is that a good team is very important and a good team leader is equally important. In our particular project we were fortunate to have all workers and only one leader. Everyone got along and it all went very smoothly. In terms of process, a good leader is a key element of this. She/He keeps the machine running and makes sure that input and output are what it needs to be. Communication is key here.
In terms of evaluation, I did learn that it is sometimes hard to get workable feedback. It’s easy to chime and say “great job” without giving any serious thought to it or offering any constructive feedback. Our leader sent us one evaluation that appeared to have more to do with the Moodle interface itself than with our actual content.

Overall, I did learn that instructional design is a lot more than simply writing up material and posting it online. I currently teach online and am going to approach my Winter and Spring courses a little differently now that I’ve been introduced to things such as ADDIE and people such as Romizowsky (spelling on that may not be correct).
-D

CECS 5210 Blog posting week 14

Think about your product. Will it do what your client wants? How will you measure it? Are you happy with it? Unhappy? Why?

I think our project stands a very good chance of success. Assessment will come via direct feedback from the University as well as usage and feedback from new faculty as they come online at UNT.  I am happy with the overall project and I know that it will always be evolving and will need to remain fluid as needs and expectations change.

-D

Session 5 Blog Posting

Based on your experience in Vyew last week, how would you design a lesson that would require its use (besides letting everyone have free reign that is.) What are the affordances of the system that would be helpful in your particular system? Does using it fit with the way you learn or not? What is good or bad about it? Would you use it at all as a student?

Vyew is a fascinating medium in that it combines conferencing, chat, and desktop visuals.  This technology already exists, but to have it free is a definite plus.  If using this as a teaching tool, I would have the class meet online one week with the goal of everyone in the class to spend ten minutes demonstrating an indespedible website or free software package to their classmates.  The session has to be done online and synchronously.

In terms of affordances, Vyew has the WOW factor that a lot of technologically oriented people tend to flock to.  It does offer real time (both a positive and a negative), archivability (positive and negative), and interactivity (basically a positive).  The downside that I see is that with this many features, sometimes one can get bogged down in the bells and whistles and forget about the real material.  Does it fit with the way I learn? It would depend on the material.  At work we have a similar system and I have been entertaining the notion of using it to conduct some real time software tutorials in an online class that I currently teach.

-D

Session 4 Posting

Note to self: You really need to get these done earlier in the week.

This session I am to write about how analysis and design are related for me.  I’ve had the oppportunity to design a few courses myself the former obviously dovetails into the latter.  I was reviewing Bonner’s Implications of Cognitive Theory article and I was drawn to a phrase that I had underlined, but forgotten about. In it she says: Needs assessment . . .should be comprehensive and theory free (page 5).   I found this unusual that someone would actually advise eschewing theory when assessing needs in a given situation, but in reflection it does make sense.   As stated a paragraph later, the needs exist on their own.   Proper analysis will dictate the design and not the other way around.    Romiszowski’s Black Box approach shows us that analysis can take on a variety of forms, and that proper analysis can be tricky at times.

-D

What I know about Instructional Design.

I have to admit that most of what I’ve learned about Instructional Design has been learned on the job.  I’ve written and teach three undergraduate level Communications courses and have learned that a cookie cutter approach doesn’t really work.   Adapting two of the courses to online formats has showed me that much creativity is required to keep the material relevant.  One course I teach requires a good textbook while the other requires some pretty creative assignments to engage the students.

One thing I have learned is that in ANY instructional setting: be it online, face to face, or a blended setting; instructor involvement is key in keeping things moving smoothly.

-D

About me:

1. Danny Rose – not my full name but close enough.

2. I have been employed at Dallas Baptist University as Head of Audio Visual since 1989. I am also an adjunct professor in the Department of Communications here at DBU. I’m currently in the CECS program trying to finish my coursework and keep my sanity intact.
3. What I hope to learn in this class is how to better design online learning environments. I like teaching online and am always looking for ways to do it better.
4. I work in audio visual so I’m around technology all the time. I also handle the school’s smart classrooms and try to keep them running.
5. I live in Dallas, Texas. Oak Cliff to be exact.
6. Best email for me is drose@unt.edu. That forwards to my gmail account where ALL my stuff lives.
7. I’ve written three courses here at DBU: Technology In Communication, Nonverbal Communication, and a film course. The first course has been taught face to face, online, and as a hybrid. Nonverbal is online only (although I did get to teach it face to face a few years ago – had a blast), and the film class is face to face only. Face to face courses use an online shell for assignments, exams, and grades.

Looking forward!
=D

Game Design: Learning versus Entertainment

In terms of designing games that entertain versus games that educate, there are a few differences that come to mind.

 

In designing a game to entertain versus a game to teach and entertain, one has to be careful to not get too far away from the educational aspect.  With the myriad of games in existence, it might be easy to veer too far to one side or another. Teaching and entertaining must be equally focused with the outcome of learning firmly in sight.

 

Cheating – in modern games, players learn to manipulate the rules to their advantage.  In a game this is a comparatively harmless annoyance, while in a game designed to teach, cheating can cause a person to miss some important content.

 

Narrow focus/audience due to material covered – in designing a game to teach, one might take the audience into consideration.  Card games and role playing games have age and experience qualifiers, but in designing a game to teach those same qualifiers will be drastically different in terms of experience, age, and desire to learn.

 

Games offer a voluntary diversion. People play them when they want.  In a learning scenario, the player is sometimes there unwillingly, ergo the designer’s job of drawing in the learner is a tad more difficult.

Magic the Gathering – What can one teach with it?

Magic the Gathering is a fairly complex game that requires a bit of a learning curve to master.   In teaching with it, one might look at the issue of economics as a test of its ability to teach a concept.

Audience would be those who are naturally drawn to the game itself: namely adolescent males, the same audience that can be tricky to reach.

Purpose for instruction: using a card game (basically an analog) can get the students’ attention via its novelty: most students in this category are fairly jaded to CAI of any type.  The card game is also not reliant on a live network connection, specific hardware, or even power.  It can be played anywhere and anytime with the standard MtG deck.

Format would be a card game only.   No extra hardware or add-ons would be needed.

Epistemic stance- one could design the game to encompass any or all:

Objectivist looks at how the market works on its own.

Relativist might look at how one might manipulate the market

Subjectivist would allow the students to compete against one another.

Cards would be re-assigned as assets and commodities.  Players would compete against one another, and one version worth considering would allow multiple players to play simultaneously.

Here’s hoping I got some of this correct.

-D

Second Life

In my time spent playing with Second Life, I’ve learned a few things. For those of you not in the know, Second Life is a completely virtual environment that allows one to explore, live, buy, sell, and do almost anything else on a computer that one can do in real life (and I mean almost). Following are a few things I’ve picked up as per the assigned blog post.

1. Democracy island was established as a community fair, town hall, and as an advocacy area for things related to Second Life.

2. The Ramber General Store is located in Gluphisia, which is Texas shaped oddly enough.

3. Haunted Island was not accessible via the search in Second Life, so I have no real idea as to what happens when one animates the ropes near the Red River.

4. Second Life would be useful for teaching geography, critical thinking, and game theory skills among others.

5. Advantages to using it are the inherent WOW factor and the ability to create learning environments within the world.

6. Disadvantages would be buggy software, hacker wannabes trying to crash the system, software that is very flexible and a little difficult to learn, and the requirement of a live broadband internet connection at all times.

7. In terms of design for instruction and learning activities, one would need to keep the end user in mind. More on this in the succeeding questions, but one would need to be able to assess and play to the strengths of the topic, the learner, and the software. Maybe use a virtual scavenger hunt to generate interest in geography, or have the student design a virtual business and try to make it a viable entity. Basically, take a real world concept and try to adapt it to work in a virtual environment.

8. Assessment could involve an old style test, or maybe a presentation or essay detailing what occurred in the virtual environment.

9. In terms of audience, a proper learner would need to have (or be willing to learn) the skills needed to manipulate the software. Learners not willing to do this would be frustrated by the learning curve required.

10. Cognitive or learning principles that could be used would include constructivism, relativism, and objectivism.

11. NECC’s Eduisland was impossible to locate correctly using the standard search.  I did end up in one location (named EduIsland) that hosted a small collection of condominiums but nothing of any real educational value was accessible.

12. I found the Second Life Campus, a place where classes can meet.  The Well of Knowledge eluded me, but hosting a class here can add an extra degree of interactivity to a normal online class. The ability to chat vocally also is a plus, but things like this tend to be very bandwidth dependent.  Even a standard 1.5 Mbps DSL connection has some lag involved with it.

13.   I located the Sloodler’s Compound (San Jose State U) but it shows as a group and not as a location, ergo I cannot go there.  Once I get more acclimated to the interface, this could change.

-D

My Flash Game – Posting for March 12, 2007

Since I teach college level students, my goal is to design a game that will teach one of the basic concepts of copyright, mainly fair use. In terms of design, I’m still working on an approach, possibly first person shooter where one must identify the target based upon criteria that the student must first learn: (the tenets of Fair Use, length of a copyright, the standard definition of a copyright, items that can and cannot be protected via copyright, an improperly filed copyright, etc . . .)

 

This may change once I fully realize the challenge that lies ahead, but you gotta start somewhere. 

 

Wish me luck.

 

-D