Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology

Five examples of distributed learning are:

The Kelley School of Business at Indiana University offers a MS in Finance, Global Supply Chain Management and Strategic Management; as well as, an MBA degree online. Kelley has also partnered with organizations such as General Motors, Ingersoll Rand, John Deere and LOGTECH to create custom MBA programs.

eLearners.com offers 4,201 online college degrees and degree programs in areas such as arts and religion, business and MBA, computers and I.T., education and teaching, health and medicine, science and engineering, social sciences, and trades and careers through more than 240 schools and universities.

ed2go.com offers online courses and career training programs through more than 2,000 colleges, universities, community based organizations, and other training markets. ed2go has over 100 online education programs in fields  such as Allied Health, Computer-Internet, Business, Technical and Construction.

Online learning is available at Nova Southeastern University where students can access classes online via WebCT. Online courses are available in the human services and education programs, school of business and entrepreneurship, and the graduate school of computer information sciences.

Collin College in Collin County Texas offers students the opportunity to earn a degree and take courses via distance learning in hybrid, blended or web formatted classes.

My college courses were taken so long ago that I am sure they all have been redesigned several times. I would, instead, like to take this opportunity to “redesign” a course I use to teach. The Gregg Reference Manual is a well-recognized manual for business writing, but has in the past only been available in printed form. For many, myself included, to stop the composing/editing process of a document to look up proper formatting or other information is annoying; therefore, I was excited to see that the eleventh edition of the Gregg Reference Manual will be available in an ebook format. If given the opportunity to teach this course again, I would definitely use the online version in my classroom. As far as teaching the course itself, the content of the course would remain the same, I would just incorporate the use of the online GRM blended in with the use of the printed manual to enhance the students’ understanding of how to use the Gregg Reference Manual. In the future, I would really like to see the online version of the Gregg Reference Manual become a part of word processing software packages; whereas, when one purchases a word processing package, the GRM subscription is included.

This video was created to walk students/trainees through the steps of setting up the address on a business envelope

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While this is not something that I do on a daily basis, I think the use of nanotechnology to create a hand-held/portable x-ray machine would be of great benefit to EMT/first responders in helping individuals who are severely injured. To be able to “view” internal injuries would help these first responders to be able to assess the severity of injury and provide the proper needed care sooner. Such a device could also be of benefit to veterinarians who work with large animals. When injured, large animals can almost be impossible to transport and the veterinarian must go to the animal. Such a device would help them to assess the animal’s condition as well.

I agree with the author that the broad and inclusive road is the best practice for instructional technology. While always keeping the goals of what is being taught at the forefront, to be able to think outside the box lends itself to creative thought which in turn can lead to new ideas that will support and/or improve instruction. Afterall, who would have thought 20 years ago that a cell phone would be capable of not only making a telephone call, but also be able to remind us of appointments, provide us with directions to our destination, and numberous other things had it not been for someone thinking broad and inclusively. Such thought took a small handy device and turned it into a tool that makes running a business from your hand a possibility, what could such thinking do in the world of instruction design.

Section 6: Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

The Chicago Police Department in Chicago, Illinois, has an opening for a Director of Police Education and Training. The Director is responsible for formulating policies and strategies to ensure that recruit training programs, as well as in-service training programs, are run efficiently and effectively. The Director will be responsible for implementing new initiatives and measuring the success of all existing and new training programs. The minimum qualifications for this position are a master’s degree in education, organizational development or a related field from an accredited college or university. Extensive experience in training members of the law enforcement community is preferred.

I have the master’s degree in education, but lack the extensive experience in training members of the law enforcement community.

Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, has an opening for an Instructional Designer. The Designer would develop blended online courses in collaboration with our faculty and other members of the instructional design team. The Designer would collaborate with subject matter experts and other members of the instructional design team to design, develop, evaluate, and refine blended online courses.  The Designer would participate in required training and meetings in order to follow and refine established instructional design procedures and frameworks for course development as appropriate to project goals, timeline, and budget. The Designer would ensure the application of appropriate guidelines to blended online courses in areas such as assistive technologies, accessibility issues, and copyright laws. The required qualifications for this position are:

• Masters degree in instructional design, instructional technology, curriculum and instruction, or other relevant discipline areas
• Experience with the development of online courses in higher education settings
• Application level understanding of instructional design theories and models, online pedagogy, and adult learning theories
• Demonstrated proficiency with Web conferencing systems (e.g., Skype, WebEx) and Web/multimedia development tools (e.g., Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, Captivate)
• Experience with and working knowledge of learning management systems, such as Moodle, Sakai, Blackboard, and Desire2Learn.
• Demonstrated ability to regularly collaborate with others in a team environment, and work independently on assigned duties with minimal supervision
• Excellent organization and project management skills and the ability to meet project deadlines
• Outstanding verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills

I have six years of experience developing online courses at the collegiate level. I also have 2 years of experience working with the learning management system, Blackboard. I have much experience at working with others in a team environment; as well as, independently. I have excellent organizational skills and meet deadlines. While I hold a master’s degree, it is in business education.

Kohl’s Corporate Offices in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin is looking for an individual to be responsible for designing instructionally effective education/training environments using creative and compelling blended training solutions appropriate for the audience. This includes communicating and soliciting process improvements to/from other project team members and the organization, project management, building internal customer relationships, identifying and communicating potential delays, secondary lead role on project deliverables (on-time, within budget, given resources). The preferred qualifications for this individual are:

• Retail experience preferred
• Formal education and multiple years experience in adult education, curriculum development, instructor led and online (web-based, computer-based) training design and development
• using industry standards and instructional design principles.
• Experience in creating content for synchronous learning activities is a plus.
• Facilitation experience a plus.

I do have experience working retail; as well as, 20 years experience in adult education and curriculum development in both instructor led and online classes.

After completing the O*NET Ability Profiler, I feel like I have become a bit rusty in some basic skills. While my arithmetic reasoning and computation scores were good, my verbal ability and clerical perception scores were not as good as I would have hoped. The Profiler linked me to many mathematical fields such as accounting and computer related fields such as programming which are courses I enjoy teaching, but the Profiler did not link me a teaching profession, interesting. 

The mission of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is “…to provide leadership in developing an educated, prepared, adaptable and competitive workforce.” A professional membership is available for $80, students may join for free. ACTE publishes the magazine, Techniques, and the newsletter, Career Tech Update. ACTE hosts an annual Convention and Career Tech Expo. Regional and state associations also host their own events.  ACTE offers professional development through online classes (www.educatorcredits.com) and career skills development (delmarlearning.com/acte/)

The professional magazine Techniques, provides its members with “…news about legislation affecting career and technical education, in-depth features on issues and programs, profiles of educators and other newsmakers, notices of new products, ACTE events and more.” Submissions for Techniques can be submitted electronically, preferably in Word format and written from a journalistic approach. Graphics and photos should be at least 300 dpi. Techniques is a peer reviewed journal and issues are available online at http://www.acteonline.org/techniques.aspx.

As a student working on my technology applications certification in hopes of one day working in the career and technology field, I believe this organization and its publication will be very helpful to me in keeping up with the trends in CATE.

The mission of the National Business Education Association (NBEA) is to serve “…individuals and groups engaged in instruction, administration, research, and dissemination of information for and about business.” Memberships are available for $80, with students able to join at a reduced rate of $40. NBEA publishes a journal entitled, Business Education Forum, and a newsletter, Keying In. The NBEA holds annual conferences; as well as, international, regional, state and territory meetings. Professional development opportunities are available at the national convention. 

The professional journal, Business Education Forum, “…keeps business educators abreast of the issues impacting their rapidly changing field.” Submissions for the Business Education Forum should be submitted in the form of two paper copies with a disk or CD. The writer should use an academic writing style and limited their manuscript to between 1,500 and 2,000 words. Photos and Graphics must be TIFF files. Only select editions are available online.

I am a former member of the NBEA and am aware of the Business Education Forum. Many articales in the Forum helped me to shape my curriculum.

The domains for a Performance Technologist that I would choose would be Development, Management and Performance. Competencies from the 2004 ISPI/ASTD that I like and would include would be:

1.      Look at situations systemically, taking into consideration the larger context including competing pressures, resource constraints and anticipated change.

2.      Add value in how you do the work and through the work itself.

3.      Use partnerships and collaborate with clients and other experts as required.

And from the 1988 ibstpi associated tasks:

4.      Establish, support and demonstrate results of performance that effect organizational outcomes.

I feel these are the core of performance technology.

Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

Having students create a tri-fold travel brochure as a cumulative desktop publishing assignment could be completed using rapid prototyping. With a tri-fold brochure, there would be 6 “pages” of information to include, with one of the pages being the front cover. The remaining 5 pages could be left up to the students.  As students create the information that they want to include on the individual pages, they can add it to their “template brochure” or “workable model”.  The template would be edited as needed until the students were pleased with the product. Thereby, building the brochure page by page with information on site-seeing, maps, pictures, and more the students would create a finished brochure from their working model.

 

Courtesy of jegsworks.com

Creating applications that are tailored to train each member of the military on his or her job requirements could possibly help our military personnel in the field. This training would need to be broken down into components accessible both individually and as a whole; so that the soldier could review/train on a specific item or the whole concept. Using multimedia instruction in the form of interactive courseware, computer-aided instruction and simulations would be a definite plus for the deployed soldier. According to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, there are several pilot programs underway that plan to integrate training through smartphones. These programs will allow applications to digitize training and simulations and improve overall training effectiveness.  All of this training would be available on a tool the size of a cell phone, easily transportable by military personnel. Thus, the "anytime, anywhere" instruction that is so vital for today’s military would be accessible when and where needed.

To introduce GSTE and SUTE in a staff development activity to colleagues, I would first discuss the two methodologies’ phases and steps. Then I would divide the group into two teams, one team representing GSTE and the other team representing SUTE and let them create a quick design plan using the methodology of the group they represent.

Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, uses the name Faculty Development and is housed under the Institute for Teaching and Learning Excellence division. It offers services in certificate programs, instructional design and assessment, tech training, online resources, and events. Some of the specific programs offered are:

Preparing Online Instructors, a 6 week program offered during the summer.

Career Development, a set of 14, two-hour workshops offered every other year.

Course Observation, a student focus group, meets approximately 30 minutes at a time depending on availability.

Instructional Design, a designer works with faculty one on one with reviews at mid-term and end-of-semester.

The Open Tech Lab is available to faculty to work on projects at their convenience.

Special Events such as ADVANCE Series and Difficult Dialogue Series are also made available to faculty from time to time.

The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, uses the name Employee Development Program and is housed under Human Resources. It offers campus training services and offers a resource library. Some of the specific programs offers are:

New Employee Orientation, a two partial day information and resource workshop offered on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Individual Couseling Services, by appointment

Other workshops offered included Stress Management for the Holidays and Sustainability at Home—Save Energy, Save Money!

The University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska, uses the name Faculty Development and is housed in the Information Technology Services department. It offers workshops, just in time tutorials, as well as, one-on-one instructional design consultation and media services.

Some specific programs offers are:

Getting Started with eLive, a 1 and ½ class offered twice a semester.

 Tweaking Blackboard II, a 1 and ½ hour class offered via eLive, twice a semester.