Multimedia for Learning - A lessi, Trollip |
I found that the first chapter of the book was really interesting. I have never read the “history” of internet technology. I remember hearing lectures about a bit and a byte and binary numbers but I never remember getting the history of how it all started. I really enjoyed the first couple of pages on the history of educational computing. In the second chapter, Learning Principles and Approaches I was a little more familiar with the content. It was interesting to see it presented with a different focus. Being a teacher understanding behaviorism and constructivism is obvious. I feel like I spent two years in undergrad talking about different learning theories, but this chapter put an instructional design spin on the theories which I enjoyed. Not only because the subject was somewhat familiar but that it was presented in a way that I have not heard before. I especially enjoyed the comparison between cooperative and collaborative education. I use both methods of instruction in my classroom and believe that they could easily be used in instructional design. There was a quote on page 37 that I thought really related to how I feel about my project “The outcomes of education and training must include more than just learner achievement. They must include learner satisfaction, self-worth, creativity, and social values.” I am creating a section for a virtual property manager, educational simulation based software. I believe that simulations create a better environment for learning. This software will be as close to real property management that a student will get, and the decision making skills that they will learn from the simulation will increase their confidence on the job, which is an important goal for this game. I don’t think I necessarily had any questions after reading the three chapters. I do really like the book and its content and I am looking forward to reading more, so no questions but a desire to keep reading and learning what this book has to say about instructional design and how I can apply it to my project and other projects that I will be working on. As I read through the steps or model of design and development I found that I am on quite a few different steps which has made me think I am a little scattered with my project. I have made some standards with my client but they seem to keep changing. I must think I am super woman with the challenge that I have taken on. The standards or scope of the project have not been concretely defined yet, but they are getting more and more focused each time we meet. Neither I nor my client knows exactly what I will be doing, but we both are on the same page, seemingly to be going in the same direction. I think I am mostly in the drafting part of the empirical approach; I have drafted a few ideas but have not revised them yet. For some reason I feel like I am on my own and I can’t ask for others advise, input and ideas, I almost feel as if it would be “cheating” but I realize that I can use others ideas. I am also not doing a very good job at managing my own project. I am taking it step by step but as far as setting deadlines, I have not exactly done that yet. The fourth feature is so complex knowing that everything from memory to motivation must be considered when designing instruction. There are so many things to think about that it is inevitable something will be overlooked. The fifth feature is absolutely where I am now, drafting my ideas on paper. Nothing has hit the computer yet, I think this is going to be my role in the seventh feature team-oriented approach. I seem to be better and have more skills at the drafting and coming up with ideas part of instructional design rather than the actually implementation. Although I sometimes wish it were the opposite. Lastly the emphasis on creativity, I feel that I am just about as creative as my glass of tomato juice. I have my moments when great ideas come up but most of the time, I am just logical and practical. This is another area that I will be hoping for some guidance with my project. In chapter 13, I found that this chapter gave me many ideas for better project management. The charts used to really define the learner and constraints of the project were helpful. But what I thought was the most interesting and easily applied to my project was the style manual section. I think creating a document of expectations so that the design of many designers will be alike would be very helpful. Plus it seems like it would save time in the end. When planning an instructional development for a client a style manual is helpful in the same way that a photo is helpful for a hair stylist. When I go to the salon for a hair cut I always bring an example of what I want. I have had dismal results when I have tried to explain to a hair stylist the hair cut I was going for, similar to the results that may occur if describing a scene or page to a client about their development. A style manual is defines colors, writing style, and technical issues that are necessary for the development of a project that the client approves of. If the client is not involved in the development of what styles are used in the project the results could be dismal and costly. Resources must be collected from the subject matter expert, those relevant to the development and teaching process and deliver system. As one could imagine it would be a disaster if many hours had been spent on the development of a project and the client was unhappy with the style used in the development. Another facet of planning is initial brainstorming. Brainstorming is believed to be the central element of successful multimedia development. This is where the creativity juices flow, and the potential differences in landing a client and losing a client. Having a creative way of presenting instruction is an essential part of instructional technology. This is personally something that I struggle with especially with my project. I feel that I am very logical and organized in my instructional development with little creative energy. I feel that what I have to offer is good but I need team members with the creative juices to "spice up" the look and feel of my project. Rapid prototyping is obviously extremely important the one question that I had while reading this section was, software. I am not sure what software is used for rapid prototyping. I am a Microsoft guru and would use Word, I guess to do rapid prototyping. In the book they show examples of prototypes but it is not obvious what program they used. I have heard of some groups using PowerPoint and for some reason I think that it would not be an efficient way to prototype. When I traveled to San Antonio, Texas last year for a job shadowing opportunity at Karta Technology in instructional design I had no preconceived idea of simulation based learning. I spent a few hours with different people in the different departments but my most valued hours were spend with a man who was recently hired due to his experience with simulation based instruction. He showed me some of what this book called procedural simulations. He had built air plane training and nurse training for new hospital beds. What he was doing seemed very important to me, it seemed revolutionary. I wanted to do what he was doing. I wanted to make learning fun and game like. I think it is possible on many levels but most of the time very difficult and time consuming to create. The book talks about four types of simulations: physical, iterative, procedural, and situational. I am designing a situational simulation. I have a very small part of the simulation right now so it may see more procedural but in the end the entire program would essentially be situational based learning, dealing with attitudes and behaviors. I found the advantages of simulations interesting and really helped me understand the nature of my fascination with simulation based learning. Simulations provide an environment that is safe, not available in reality, not time sensitive, and most of all saves MONEY! These are the advantages that I realized before I even read this book. This is what makes simulation based learning the instruction of tomorrow. I have been designing a Virtual Property Manager (VPM) that is simulation learning. It will provide a complex learning situation with out the cost. The VPM motivates learners to learn, and has a better transfer of learning that the lecture do. It is very exciting to work with this kind of instruction. It is more difficult but in the end it is worth it.
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