Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology

5 examples of distributed learning:

1. Academic distributed learning

Secondary Settings http://mindmaps.wikispaces.com/Distributed+Learning+Examples
With the emerging prominence of blogging, students are able to connect with students from around the world. Rather than merely learning about the American perspective of the Revolutionary War , students in the United States can live blog with classes in Great Britain hearing their unique perspective about this transformational war. Imagine the conversations that would occur in this example of real world learning. How about pairing of classrooms in Vietnam with our students while they study the Vietnam War? And then, the students could play protest songs like “War” by Edwin Starr or “Give Peace a Chance” by John Lennon to the children in Vietnam to gain their perspective on what Americans were facing at that time. Why not even Skype in men and women who served in Vietnam to vary the interpretation?

Lennon sings "Give Peace a Chance"

Vietnam Soldier

2. Hybrid class
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/bjohnson/bridge/009189.html

Educational Technology Bridge
Where education plugs in
« Time Main Why do Blogs Die? »
November 5, 2004
Example Hybrid Class
Mark Harvey (Theatre Department at UMD) has an example of a hybrid class he would like to share with others.
This course meets face to face on 2 days each week (Monday and Wednesday), but the third day originally scheduled is moved to online threaded discussions.
Take a look at Introduction to Theater Arts (Hybrid Class) to see the logistical and pedagogical adjustments that allow this class to be such a success!
Posted by bjohnson at November 5, 2004 3:01 PM
Comments
Really great post, Barbara!
Posted by: Micky Mouse at May 24, 2005 9:20 AM

3. Skills-based training
http://www.pponline.co.uk/video/weight-training-single-leg-squat-41741

A skills-based program is driven by results or outcomes, and focuses on desired behaviors, rather than process. Skills-based training identifies an individual’s competencies and skills gaps, and offers structured, development solutions to overcome those gaps. Each individual’s competence in vital skills is regularly measured, acted upon, nurtured, and molded.

4. Virtual classes
http://www.coe.uga.edu/workethic/on_linelesson.htm

The on-line instructional resources provided here are designed for use in schools or training programs where people are being encouraged to appreciate the importance of work ethic, further develop their own work habits and attitudes, and improve employability skills.
Teachers and instructors using these materials will find a link on the lower portion of this page that will assist them in using the lessons in a classroom setting.
Select the lesson you are to work on next:
· Lesson 1 - Why Work Ethic?A brief lesson about why work ethic is so important in the information age workplace and why it will continue to be important in the future.
· Lesson 2 - What is Work Ethic?A lesson that defines work ethic and includes information about important worker characteristics that employers are seeking.
· Lesson 3 - Interpersonal SkillsExamines the role of interpersonal skills as an aspect of work ethic, emphasizes its importance in the workplace, and helps learners to develop strategies for improving interpersonal skills.
· Lesson 4 - InitiativeExplains initiative as a part of work ethic, helps learners to evaluate their own initiative, and encourages them to use initiative in appropriate and productive ways.
· Lesson 5 - Being DependableEmphasizes the importance of being dependable and helps learners to identify areas for improving personal dependability.
· Lesson 6 - Other Employability SkillsOther employability skills related to work ethic are considered in this lesson along with activities to prepare people for success in the information age workplace.

Student web materials:
Provision has been made here to add pages created by students. These pages should reflect the overall purpose of the web site to encourage the development of good work habits and work ethic. In particular, student designed pages that encourage interpersonal skills, initiative, and being dependable are especially appropriate.
Teachers who would like to submit student work to be added to this section should either send the web materials on floppy disk to Dr. Hill or e-mail them as an attachment, preferrably all together in a zipped file, so that they can be added to this section of the web site. The intent is to provide a public forum for the display of student work. Materials will be reviewed for content, design, and appeal prior to posting them to the web site.
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Materials for teachers and instructors:
For teachers who are using these materials in class or instructors using the web site for some other type of education or training, some additional items are provided here to enhance the presentations done in conjunction with use of the web materials. An Instructor's Guide has also been developed and is being pilot tested in selected sites.

The content and opinions expressed on this Web page do not necessarilyreflect the views of nor are they endorsed by the University of Georgiaor the University System of Georgia.


Copyright©1999, Roger B Hill. Ph.D. This page last updated on 30-Jan-2006

5. Free distributed learning
http://www.speedofcreativity.org/category/edtech/distributed-learning/
According to our textbook, “distributed learning is any educational or training experience that uses a variety of means, including technology, to enable learning.” This learning can take place anywhere, anytime, and distance is not a barrier.

Reusability
One course that comes to my mind that had poor reusability was a science methods course I took when I was working toward my bachelor degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. My primary major was English and my secondary was Reading; however, the Science methods was a required course in those days. I had to put together a massive notebook of science experiments with stated objectives and lesson plans. For all the hard work I put into the project, I did earn an A, but I never revisited the contents of the notebook because none of it applied to English. Now, as I consider the idea of reusability, I can see that the science notebook of activities could have been used as prompts for writing activities for my English classes. The students could research some of the science topics and write a paper – such as a research essay – on that topic. I could provide a list of pre-approved electronic resources for them to read on the topic that would allow them to exercise their reading skills. It would also be a good opportunity to teach note-taking as they found important information on that science topic. This would be a meaningful way to provide cross-curricular content in my English classes.

A special notation I would like to make here addresses inactive links. I have found in the online courses I have taken over the past three years as well as in a UIL website I recently visited, that many hyperlinks led me to a page that stated “This page no longer available” or something similar. I think this is a problem with using hyperlinks or websites in instruction. Sometimes the person or persons responsible for embedding the websites or links into instruction, fail to check on those links periodically to make certain that they are still active. It is time consuming to go back and check on these links, so whenever possible, students or other individuals who discover these inactive links should report them to the proper person/s in authority over the material to insure removal or correction of those links. I bring this up because when I think of reusability, I remembered that these inactive links can sometimes affect the reusability of the instruction where they are embedded.

Using Rich Media
The visual for instruction that I found is a video titled, What Causes Earth to Change Seasons produced by Ignite Learning.



The surface of this visual is a colorful demonstration of the earth’s rotation with a clear display of the northern and southern hemispheres. There is a narrator who describes each phase of the earth’s rotations through the twelve months and the four seasons of our calendar year. There are also arrows that point to the hemispheres and the direction of earth’s movement, as well as labels for the months and seasons.

The functional features include transformational graphics that illustrate the motion of the earth and the change in the seasons. Another functional feature is that the animated visual is explained in words by a narrator which supports Mayer’s (2001) Modality Principle that states “Students learn better from animation and narration than from animation and on-screen text” (p. 184). The narration is paced at a rather slow speed which accentuates the presentation and allows for differentiation towards English language learners. The colors and the motion are appealing but not seductive (distracting – Garner, el al 1991, Garner, et al 1992). There is no overload of auditory/verbal effects to limit learning as Meyer (2001) states in his Coherence Principle: “students learn better when extraneous words, pictures, and sounds are excluded rather than included” (p. 184).
This video has an effective balance of visual and auditory effects that is appealing to the learner and holds interest from beginning to end. Also the video content is relevant and valid.

Nanotechnology
As I pondered over the question of how I could use nanotechnology to improve a specific job I am familiar with, I thought of my own classroom. One of my frustrations each year is that of remembering the names of my students and their background information. I feel strongly about “knowing” my students but each year it presents a real challenge. I read information in their personal cumulative folders, or I speak with parents about their children, but I sometimes forget some of the information. In the classroom, I can remember student names fairly well because they have assigned seating, but once they are out of context – say in the hallway or at the grocery store – their names sometimes escape me. Also, it is difficult to remember their special learning styles in order to differentiate the instruction. If I could get my hands on a piece of nanotechnology, I could store the names of my students and any pertinent information about them into a chip. Then I could “insert” it into my head or arm and have all the information I need at my disposal.

I could also use nanotechnology to prepare lessons. I could store my lesson plans on the chip and it would enable me to remember everything I want to say or do during the lesson.:)

Instructional design: the straight/narrow or the broad/inclusive
As I read about these two points of view, I was undecided on which view I agree. I feel strongly about research methods and experimental designs as the narrow view supports, but I also see the need for community learning that the broad view represents.

To some degree, I am concerned that the broad view will lead to a greater potential for erroneous information in instructional content; especially with web-style self-publishing and sharing, conference-style forums, communities of practice, and consensus of workers. However, the versatility that this view allows is very appealing. I also appreciate the “full range of reasoned inquiry” stated in the broad view and the flexibility this view maintains. In reality, the broad view is more conducive to today’s world with its increasing diversity. I also see that the broad view reflects constructivism which is becoming a widely accepted instructional method for teaching today’s 21st century learner.

With all of the Web 2.0 technologies available and the cutting edge technologies that are emerging almost daily, the wide view of instructional design seems to be the most appropriate in today’s world. So, do I “agree” with the wide view?? I can only state that I see strengths in both views but I think modern day educators must embrace the wide view because it most suitably reflects the learning styles of today’s learners. I do wonder if learning styles are driving technology or if technology is driving the learning styles.