The last section of your textbook discusses the concepts of distributed learning, reusability, rich media and the future of instructional design. Focus on the following for your post:
From Chapter 28 locate 5 examples of distributed learning.
The U.S. Army Distributed Learning System (DLS) acquires, deploys and maintains a worldwide learning infrastructure that innovatively combines hardware, software and telecommunications resources with training facilities and course content to deliver a cohesive, Web-based solution.
DLS is part of the U.S. Army >>Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS). PEO EIS is responsible for project management of DoD and Army business and combat service support systems, as well as related Army communication and computer infrastructure.
VT Online is a part of Virginia Tech University that allows undergraduate and graduate students to obtain degrees completely online, much like TAMU-Commerce.
This site includes online courses and training for employees of the Mohawk/Dal-Tile Corporation. My husband uses this site for job training, i.e. communication, leadership, time-management, software certification, etc.
This site is a huge social networking group of English teachers and librarians. Teachers can post questions, lessons, ideas, etc. and receive feedback/help from their peers. They also host book studies over current literature concerning English education. I use this site often as a reference when planning new lessons/units.
Using text, graphics, and video, this online defensive driving course lets you finish on your own time and promises to be entertaining as well. Applications work on iPhone, iPad, and Android as well.
Chapter 29 discusses the concept of reusability. Think back over the courses you've had over your educational career and identify one with poor reusability characteristics. Explain how the course could be redesigned to improve reusability without changing the underlying content.
One of my early classes (I won’t mention which one) that focused on a certain aspect of education was so boring I hated attending. It wasn’t that the information was boring but the professor certainly made it that way. Every week it was the same old same old. Come into class, pick up notes, watch the power point while the instructor read it, go home, do reports, come back to class, take a test, etc. The material was certainly reusable but that was about it. There could have been more interaction between instructor, student, and classmates that would have made the information presented become much more interesting. This information could have also been presented in online modules. They could have been broken down into different chunks of information. The modules could have allowed the ability to practice working on some of the content and then come to class with questions for discussion. The modules could have been reused for upcoming classes since the basic information will not change.
Chapter 30 takes a look at using rich media. Find or create a visual for instruction describing its surface and functional features.
I love this site for it’s online science stimulations and use them quite a bit in my classroom
PhET: Online Science Simulations—University of Colorado at Boulder
This site contains several basic simulations for physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, and math. Students are able to play with the simulations and see the cause and effect of their actions.
The surface features include animation, sound, and interactive simulation properties that give automatic feedback (created using Java).
The simulations’ communication functions are representational, relational, transformational, and interpretative.
The psychological functions include minimize cognitive load, build mental models, support transfer of learning, and support motivation.
The functional features of the simulations are meaningful and allow the student to achieve success through their own understanding. They show definite cause and effect relationships, allow student interactions, and keeping animations simple and sound to a minimum. Overall, this is a great site for middle school and secondary science teachers to use to help students understand difficult concepts.
They also have a blog that you can follow for updates, questions and new stuff that is introduced on the site.
Chapter 31 discusses the future of instructional technologies in the near future from metadata to nanotechnology. Describe how nanotechnology could be used to improve a specific job or task you are familiar with.
Wouldn’t it be cool to use nanotechnology to put tiny computers in student ID cards? The computers could communicate with the classrooms and do “administrative paperwork” so the teachers could have more instructional time. They could take attendance as the student came in the door, track the student’s location, locate them quickly, be their library card, log into school computers, and maybe even lead to finding out where behavior and discipline problems appear. It would be the bathroom pass, hall pass, and a pass for school functions as well. Now, this would be cool!
And finally! Chapter 32 provides two points of view on the direction of the field - the straight and narrow road and the broad and inclusive road. Which point of view do you agree with and why?
I know I drive down more of the broad and inclusive road. Technology is an ever-changing endeavor and one can never be to prepared. A narrower agenda would not afford the technological expansions that might present themselves in the near future. One of the major factors for my preference emerges in the broad and inclusive road to results. This exemplifies a more diverse array of research accomplishments and a similarly diverse set of tools and models useful in different field settings.
This is a good video introduction and series to ID!
Chapter 24 takes a look at lessons learned from the chapter's author for obtaining a position in instructional design. Take a look at a few of the sources provided for job openings from lesson 1 and search for at least 3 positions that are of interest to you. Describe the general nature of the positions and list the skills required for the job. Do you have these skills?
Job #1
Multimedia Developer
Institution: Elon University
Location: Elon, NC
Category: Admin – Instructional Technology and Design
Admin - Computing – Multi-media
Posted: 3/2/2011
Application due: 4/1/2011
Type: Full Time
Elon University, the nation's "#1 School to Watch" (US News and Report), is seeking a Multimedia Developer who excels in creating and managing highly professional multimedia projects. The developer will be responsible for planning, designing and creating multimedia projects for academic and administrative departments.
A Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university in Graphic Arts, Communications or related field is required; a minimum of two years experience in a graphic/multimedia production environment is essential. Qualified candidates will be highly creative and artistic as well as versed in a variety of Web development languages and multimedia tools. This position requires excellent communication and organizational skills; the developer must excel in project planning, delivery and communication with clients (such as faculty, staff and students) in collaboration with the academic project management process. Application deadline is April 1, 2011.
As much as I would like to be hired for this job, I do not meet the degree qualifications. I believe I am becoming versed in a variety of Web applications though this class but I don’t believe I have the skills for the position.
Job Summary: JOB SUMMARY:
The Coordinator for the Student Technology Center manages the day-to-day operations of the facility, and promotes technology literacy among the general student population of SVSU.
The Student Technology Center
The Student Technology Center is a technology learning laboratory that promotes student literacy with technology. The Center provides the following academic services.
1. Supports the general student population of SVSU with one-on-one tutoring and small-group and in-class workshops on communication technologies (including software and hardware) common to academic and professional use.
2. Supports the undergraduate programs in professional and technical writing and graphic design, and the graduate program in communication & digital media with a supported work environment, specialized tools and technologies, and professional development opportunities.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Coordinator for the Student Technology Center guides the ongoing development of an interactive learning facility. On a day-to-day level, the Coordinator manages personnel and equipment, coordinates services, and promotes the facility.
Personnel and equipment management. The coordinator manages a staff of part-time student tutors. Includes facilitating professional development of staff in areas of technology knowledge and tutoring/presentation strategies. The Coordinator monitors all facility equipment (e.g., software, web-based computing environments, hardware).
Service coordination. The Coordinator manages tutoring and workshop services. Includes creating or facilitating development of teaching materials and workshops. The Coordinator works with liaisons from Professional and Technical Writing, Graphic Design, and Communication & Digital Media to facilitate support of those academic programs. The Coordinator engages in ongoing assessment of the facility's effectiveness and clients' needs.
Facility promotion. The Coordinator promotes services offered by the Center using available media outlets (e.g., SVSU web site, Facebook). Includes collaborating with personnel from other campus centers and services.
Related Duties and Responsibilities
The Coordinator identifies and engages in ongoing professional development opportunities related to the activities of the Student Technology Center.
Other tasks and duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Baccalaureate degree in professional and technical writing, information design, graphic design, instructional technology or a closely related professional area.
Experience working in a tutoring center or training facility (either academic or corporate).
Recent experience with and up-to-date knowledge of the computing and communication technologies supported by the Center. Includes Windows-based and Apple computing platforms. Must be able to support a variety of information and document design activities, such as print and web design, audio and video production, screencasting and podcasting. Includes software (Adobe Creativity and Web Design Suites, Adobe Captivate and Acrobat Pro, Microsoft Office Suite, Corel Wordperfect Office Suite, and related packages), web-based learning and computing environments (Sakai, Blackboard), and other communication tools (Techsmith Jing, Snagit, and Prezi Prezi). Includes digital cameras, digital video recorders, and document scanners.
Must be able to lift/move items weighing up to 50 lbs. Preferred Qualifications: PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Master's degree in professional and technical writing, information design, graphic design, instructional technology, or a closely related professional area.
Well, another neat job that I would be interested in that I am not quite qualified for. I guess I have a lot to learn yet……
Job Summary
Coordinates various projects for the Instructional Design department. Assigned projects include, but are not limited to, new academic and occupational program research, development and implementation.
Essential Functions
40%-Coordinates, tracks and reports on a variety of projects for the Instructional Design Services Department.
30%- Researches, coordinates, tracks, and assists in the evaluation of new academic and occupational programs.
30%-Assists in the research, design and implementation of specific college initiatives, coordinating activities with various departments within the college and with community organizations.
Minimum Qualifications
-Experience coordinating multiple projects in a team environment
-Experience in research and report writing
-Excellent written communication skills
Desired Qualifications
-Formal project management training
-Bachelor's degree in any field
-Masters degree preferred
-Experience in higher education
-Experience in academic or occupational program research and development
Special Working Conditions
Some evening and weekend hours may be required; may require prolonged computer monitor viewing; may require lifting up to 10 lbs.
Excellent, one that I qualify for, have the skills to do and would love it, except that I’d have to move to Arizona. Although for the pay, I might consider it…LOL. I’m sure they will actually hire someone with the experience they desire but this would be an interesting position in regards to research in this field.
Remember that the field of instructional/educational technology is not just focused on education, but on business and industry as well. Look at the resources provided on page 258 in chapter 25 and select one of these links and complete the self assessment. What did you learn about yourself from the assessment?
Self-Assessment Exercise
I used the ASTD Career Navigator Self-Assessment for this exercise. I found this assessment to be a little confusing. I had to join the site to use it as well. I did save the report as it might be interesting to explore more in-depth in the future.
I rated myself as an entry-level specialist since I do not have experience in this particular field. I’m not quite sure what I learned as the report did not give me specifics so I’m not positive that I did it as I was supposed to. I found out that I had a high level of skill in many areas because they pertained to my teaching position and my experience on owning and managing a business. Other high level skills were delivering training, personal skills, and interpersonal skill. I did like how the assessment matched my weak areas with resources (books, workshops, info-lines, training and development) that I could take to strengthen these skills
Association for Educational Communications and Technology
Chapter 26 lists several websites for professional organizations and websites for professional publications. Visit 2-3 websites for professional organizations and 2-3 websites for the professional publications and address the following:
Professional organizations:
Mission
Cost of membership
Publications
Conferences and meetings
Opportunities for professional development
Professional publications:
Focus/Goals of the journal
Submission guidelines
Is this a peer reviewed journal?
Is the journal online?
How is the journal and organization useful to you and your career? Were you aware of the organizations/journals that you researched?
Association for Educational Communications & Technology
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology is to provide international leadership by promoting scholarship and best practices in the creation, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning in a wide range of settings.
Cost of Membership:
New Regular Membership: 125.00
New Student Membership: 75.00
Publications:
Educational Technology Research and Development
A bi-monthly publication of the Association for Educational Communications & Technology
TechTrends - Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning
Instructional Science
Educational Media & Technology Yearbook
iTech Digest
Learning and Instructional Technologies for the 21st Century
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning
Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary
Distance Education: Definition and Glossary of Terms
2011 AECT International Convention
'Celebrate 3.0: Design.Learn.Community' November 8-12, 2011
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront
Jacksonville, Florida
AECT in SecondLife
Opportunities for Professional Development:
Membership includes the opportunity to attend a Summer Leadership Institute.
There are also divisions of AECT that focus on more specific aspects of the field. Members communicate through blogs and nings.
Design and Development; Distance Learning; Graduate Student Assembly; International; Multimedia Production; Research and Theory; School Media and Technology; Systemic Change; Teacher Education; Training and Performance
Analysis:
AECT would be a very useful organization for anyone involved in improving instruction through technology. Members carry out a wide range of responsibilities in the study, planning, application, and production of communications media for instruction. Because it provides an international forum for exchange and dissemination of ideas for members it is a very valuable tool for communication and exchange of information not only within the United States but world-wide.
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
Mission:
The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education is an international association of individual teacher educators, and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and faculty/staff development. The Society seeks to promote research, scholarship, collaboration, exchange, and support among its membership, and to actively foster the development of new national organizations where a need emerges. SITE is the only organization that has as its sole focus the integration of instructional technologies into teacher education programs.
Cost of Membership:
ProfessionalMembership:
$115 (US); $130 (non-US)
StudentMembership:
$35 (US); $50 (non-US)
Publications:
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education (JTATE)
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE)
Conferences and Meetings:
SITE 2011 - Nashville, TN -
March 7 - 11, 2011
Opportunities for Professional Development:
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
SITE members participate in Special Interest Groups (SIGs). These SIGs are organized under three councils: Information Technology, Teacher Education and Consultative.
Analysis:
It is very important to learn how to incorporate technology into teacher education. This organization allows for opportunities to work and collaborate with members on areas of common interest and concern. Members can participate in teacher education, instructional technology and consultive SIGs and councils. They can also participate in SITE Early Career Mentoring Network, helping to direct the growth of a local division and regional chapter, and have access to the AACE Career Center. Their publication JTATE that deals with technology and teacher education would be very valuable as a tool in finding out what is going on in the field and opportunities for continuing educaiton.
Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks
Focus/Goals of the journal- A Consortium of Institutions and Organizations Committed to Quality Online Education
The aim of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks is to describe original work in asynchronous learning networks (ALN), including experimental results. Our mission is to provide practitioners in online education with knowledge about the very best research in online learning. Papers emphasizing results, backed by data are the norm. Occasionally, papers reviewing broad areas are published, including critical reviews of thematic areas. Papers useful to administrators are welcome. Entire issues are published from time-to-time around single topic or disciplinary areas. The Journal adheres to traditional standards of double-blind peer review, and authors are encouraged to provide quantitative data; currently JALN's acceptance rate is 25%. The original objective of the Journal was to establish ALN as a field by publishing articles from authoritative and reliable sources. The Journal is now a major resource for knowledge about online learning.
Submission guidelines-
Please use this style guide and attached template to format your paper submission for publication by Sloan-C. The template speeds up the process for Sloan-C to publish your paper in multiple formats. Please use the Chicago Style for referencing, numbering references in the order they occur in the manuscript rather than in alpha order. Before uploading your paper to the JALN submission site, please be sure to proofread and spell check your article.
To attach and apply the Sloan-C template to your paper, please follow these instructions:
Save the template file as sloanc_template.dotx (for Word 2007 and later) or sloanc_template.dot (for earlier versions). Be sure to save it as a template file rather than as a document .docx or .doc file.
Open the document you want to format for Sloan-C submission.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
Click Add-Ins.
In the Manage list, select Word Add-ins, and then click Go.
Click the Templates tab.
Under Global templates and add-ins, select the check box next to the sloanc_template to add the styles to your document.
If the template or add-in you want does not appear in the box, click Add, switch to the folder where you saved the sloanc_template, click it, and then click OK.
[In earler than 2007 versions of Word, the process is similar: In your open document, open the Templates and Add-ins dialogue box under the Tools menu. Click on Attach and browse to find the sloanc_template.dot you saved in step 1 above. Click OK. The template is now attached to your document. Go back to Tools>Templates and Add-ins and click on Organizer. This opens the Organizer dialogue box. In the Styles Available in pull-down menu, select sloanc_template.dot (Template).]
To organize styles:
Highlight all the styles in the Sloan-C template in the left-hand column of the dialogue box. These styles should all begin with “sc”.
Choose the Copy option to copy these styles to the right-hand column and your Normal template. Click “Yes to All” to over write your existing styles.
In the Styles Available in pull-down menu, switch back to your original document that you wish to format for Sloan-C. To make the process easier, you may want to delete any old styles that are associated with your paper.
Highlight the “sc” styles you just copied into your Normal template in the right-hand column, and copy the styles into your original document using the Copy button in the dialogue box. Again, click “Yes to All” to overwrite existing styles.
Again, highlight the “sc” styles in the normal template in the right-hand column, and use the Delete button to delete these styles from your normal template if you do not wish for all new documents to have Sloan-C styles in their style menus.
Close the Templates and Add-ins dialogue box.
You are now ready to apply the sc styles to your document. To do this: Highlight the text in your document to which you wish to apply formatting. Go to the Styles pull-down menu on your toolbar or to Style… under the Format menu. Select the appropriate sc style from the drop-down menu. This will apply the style to your highlighted text.
Finish formatting your entire document with the appropriate styles. Please note the Page Setup and the Styles In Use are defined in the template provided. The setup and styles and their descriptions are listed on the Definitions page below as reference.
All articles should include an Introduction or Historical Background section, Summary/Conclusions, References, Acknowledgments section, if applicable, and final section About the Author(s).
References, tables, figure legends, and furnished art should be embedded in the manuscript such that the manuscript is in final form when submitted. Sloan-C will accept manuscripts with either embedded graphics or linked graphics. If the latter is submitted, please make absolutely sure that all the links referenced in the manuscript are included. All the figures should be submitted in GIF or JPEG formats with the article.
Tables and figures: Tables and figures should be used only when they can present information more effectively than in running text. Care should be taken to insure that tables can be effectively presented in html, since articles will be in both html and acrobat. Legends should be at the bottom of each table (10pt bold). Illustrations: Figures should be numbered in series and all legends should be included at the bottom of each figure (10pt - italic). Symbols (open or closed circles, triangles, squares) and lettering must be clear when rendered in GIF or JPEG format. Please review all figures after converting to GIF or JPEG format to insure that they are readable. If the author wishes to use color figure, (s)he may do so since this is an online journal and no additional costs are incurred for color. (Please note that if the material is eventually published in print, all color illustrations will be translated into grayscale illustrations.) If the author uses MS Word or any other editor that permits linking of GIF or JPEGs images to the manuscript, we will accept the manuscript with these files. PDF files should have GIFs or JPEGs embedded. Interlaced 89a GIF is preferred.
Line drawings and graphs: Original line drawings and graphs should be submitted as GIF or JPEG files.
Photographs: Photographs can be accommodated as GIF or JPEG files; authors should carefully crop images prior to saving as files. Remember that the smaller and fewer GIFs or JPEGs in the paper, the more quickly the paper can be downloaded.
Formulae and Equations: Mathematical equations should be arranged to fill the width of a single column. Subscripts and especially superscripts (i.e. exponents) should be written with care. All signs such as +, -, =, <, or > should be spaced, but the components of mathematical products should not be spaced. Do not use multiple lines unnecessarily. In order to avoid errors, it is important that all formula matter be carefully arranged with special attention paid to correctness of symbols, location of subscripts and superscripts. Note that we would prefer any complex equation to be rendered as a GIF or JPEG image.
Copyrighted Material: Authors who want to make use of artwork already published are required by copyright law to ask the owner of the copyright (usually the publisher) for permission to do so. Please be careful to assign proper credit; for example, in the legend of a figure "...from (reference); reproduced by permission of...." If any verbatim quotations of text amount to more than a few words, the same procedure should be followed. If authors use material from their own published work, permission must be obtained from the publisher. If an article is accepted for publication the author must provide the copyright permissions for already published material. If the author receives permissions faxed from the permission grantor, (s)he may fax or mail these permissions to us.
Sloan-C believes authors must secure permissions from information that is on the Web. Although copyright law is not completely clear on this point, for the JALN and other Sloan-C publications the author must secure permission for anything that is reprinted.
Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright: Please fill out the accompanying form AuthorCopyright.pdf and upload as a supplementary file with your submission
Is this a peer reviewed journal? yes
Is the journal online? Not all is online, just some free downloads.
How is the journal and organization useful to you and your career? Were you aware of the organizations/journals that you researched?
The above journals and organization can be very beneficial to my career. They provide guidance and insight to the field of which my profession. As an educator working toward a specialization in instructional technology, it is extremely efficient to be able to access these types of references and be able to network with other educators and colleagues.
eLearn Magazine
Focus/Goals:
eLearn Magazine is where e-learning professionals turn to produce more innovative and effective online education and training. We strive to be the leading source of high-quality information on technology for corporate training and higher education.
Submission Guidelines:
Contact Lisa Gualtieri or Jill Duffy with a clear and well developed idea for an article (about 3 paragraphs is all we need), or submit an article as a Word document attached to an email using the format guidelines below.
Editorial Process
All contributed articles will be edited according to eLearn's editorial process, explained below.
Once a submission has been accepted, the authors will be asked to submit a draft (unless already completed) of the article by a deadline.
Upon delivery, the article will be reviewed by eLearn Magazine's editors and editorial board.
Next, the author may be asked to revise the article, based on the board's comments. A new deadline will be determined.
When the author delivers the revised article, or if the author's first draft is accepted, the editors will review it, edit it, and assign a tentative date of publication.
All authors are required to sign a standard copyright release form, which the editor will provide. Details of the form are available prior to submission upon request.
Format
Please submit your article as a Word document or RTF (see the Submission Guidelines below for complete instructions).
Your article should include:
At least one suggested headline or title for the article, subject to change.
Authors' full names and affiliations.
Body of the article, with NO images.
A 3- to 4-sentence author biography with an email address and links to your web site and blog, if applicable. If you would prefer your email address not be made public, please indicate that.
Sidebars, if applicable, such as a list of links to resources or additional reading.
Peer Reviewed? No, this is a magazine, not a scholarly journal
Is the journal online? eLearn is only online!
My Analysis:
Because this publication is free and easily accessible, it makes it very useful. Articles focus on everything related to integrating technology in the classroom. There is unlimited amounts of information on almost all venues of educational technology, including, but not limited to, podcasting, webinars, virtual role-playing, and numerous other topics. This will be a site that remains bookmarked.
Chapter 27 looks at competencies for instructional design and technology professionals. If you were responsible for identifying the domains, competencies, and performance statements for a performance technologist, what would they include and why?
Domains:
·Communicate in visual, oral and written forms
·Apply current research and theory to practice
·Update and improve one’s skills and knowledge in instructional design and related fields.
·Identify and resolve ethical and legal issues of design in the work place
Competencies:
·Determine the project appropriateness to the instructional development
·Conduct needs assessments
·Write statements of learner outcomes
·Specify instructional strategies
·Evaluate instruction/training
·Plan and monitor instructional development projects
·Communicate effectively in many ways
Performance Statements:
·Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations and the resources within them
·Facilitate individual accomplishments and remove obstacles to achievement of organizational mission outcomes
·Maintain the widest view of the usefulness for, and impact of, their interventions
·Have a peer relationship with anyone engaged in the improvement of worthy performance
·Give and get support and professional aid from colleagues
·Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of organizations and the resources within them.
