499-01: Internship Project

In May of 2006 I enrolled as a student at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies of the University of Mary Washington. I was given the opportunity to participate in an internship project that would involve collaborating with an instructor at Old Dominion University and the redesign of a 300 level course. Previously taught through Teletechnet, this course was delivered in a hybrid format using video streaming, DVD capture and in-class lectures and discussions. The challenge was to move the course completely online, implement new technologies and provide learning opportunities in both synchronous and asynchronous formats to support the learning environment. Though I have been working in a similar capacity, this was my first opportunity to put the skills I had learned to the test as a complete project, start to finish.

...hmmm......I'm feeling a little small.

I meet with my advisor and my project mentor and discussed the logistics of the project.

I meet with the instructor to determine the needs and expectations.

I meet with staff from the Center of Learning Technologies at Old Dominion University.

Through the partnership at ODU, I was invited to attend a 3-day Summer Institute for faculty training sponsored by the Distance Learning Department. Exposure to the possibilities helped me to capture the ideas floating around in my head.

Though I was very familiar with using the ADDIE model for designing training programs, this project required learning more about the theory of instructional design as it applies to higher education. It required an understanding of pedagogy, which had not been a previous focus of my work. It challenged me to blend concepts together and "think outside the box".

Having just returned from the Sloan-C Workshop on Blended Learning for Higher Education, I had a good starting point for resources. I explored their website of resources and publications.

Resources:

Web
Sloan-C
Sloan-C View
JALN - Journal of Asynchronous Learning

Books
Faculty Guide for Moving Teaching and Learning to the Web, Second Edition by Judith V. Boettcher and Rita-Marie Conrad
Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe
Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook by Jay McTighe

What is ADDIE?
ADDIE is an instructional design model composed of five stages of development; Analyze, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. It essentially provides a road map to work through a development project beginning with defining the learning objectives and goals.

What is my learning objective?

I needed to define my learning objective for this project. What did I accomplish with this task?

At the completion of this project I will have succeeded in developing a design process and implementation plan for course conversion, blending new technologies and distance learning delivery formats in a sound pedagogical manner.

The ADDIE instructional design model begins with the Analysis phase. This step challenged me to focus on identifying a learning objective and setting goals. I examined a multitude of factors and asked myself a lot of questions.

What is the current learning environment(structure, content, delivery method)? What is the perceived need for instruction? What are the characteristics of stakeholders (instructor, students)? What media opportunities are available? (podcasts, net meetings, videocasts)?

Concept Map - my beginning

The discovery process seemed unending. I think I began overthinking...or did I?...well maybe...or maybe not...hmmmm....

Concept Map - this is where I ended up!

Next step: Design

Now that I had a pretty clear picture of the overall learning approach, I was ready to move on to the next phase: Design. This step involved planning, review and revision; planning, review and revision and more planning, review and revision. This became my juggling act.

I began by deconstructing the course and reoganizing the content into manageable chunks of information. The goal was to move the students through the course sequentially without confining them to weekly activities. I decided to create Learning Units, a one-stop shop for all their topic needs.

Once completed, I needed to step back and take a look at the design as a whole not just as individual pieces. Was there a flow? Did it make sense? This of course, led to more rearranging...

Concept Map

Next step: Development

Next up: The Development phase. This step in the process was the most familiar to me, I just needed to find the right balance. Having spent years as a technology generalist, I am familiar with many multimedia tools and delivery formats (though acquiring a broad range of knowledge equates to limited time to master). This internship project gave me the opportunity to explore and apply new media and emerging technologies.

The challenge was to rethink learning activities. Could a learning objective be better met with a different delivery mode? Working with audio and video, I focused on creating RLOs - reusable learning objects . I also considered how to meet different learning styles by offering the same content in different formats.

I also knew I needed to focus on building a learning community by fostering student-2-student and student-2-instructor relationships. To accomplish this, I needed to set a welcoming tone with collaborative learning activities and open forums appropriately paced throughout the course.

Concept Map

Next step: Implementation

Showtime! The Implementation stage of this process is when the course goes live. A quick checklist: Has it met the instructors expectations? Do the links work? Is there logical movement through the course? One last opportunity to revise and the course is launched.
Time to take my hands off and let it go. (THAT wasn't easy!)

Concept Map

Next step: Evaluation

Evaluation is the last step is in the design process. It measures the effectiveness and quality of the final product. It ultimately cycles you back to the Analysis process to review the learning objectives and goals. Did I meet them?

At this stage I needed to gather my evidence. I did this by observation and feedback from the students and instructor. Did the course design support the learning objectives? Did it meet the goals? Were there technical difficulties? I also spent a day hanging out in the Virtual Cafe at a pivotal point of the course for live assistance. The results of the assessments and evaluations will assist in recycling the project for the next semester.

...the Analysis process begins again... What worked? What didn’t? Why and why not?

Concept Map

Learning Objective