ETEC501 Session 5 Instructional Design for e-Learning

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The situation behind this week's blog:

Hypothetically, you have been assigned to teach an online course at your place of employment next term.  Where do you start? What design process do you follow?

• You may choose an instructional design process model (Dick, Dick & Carey model, Morrison, Ross & Kemp model, Rapid Prototyping model, ADDIE model).
•  Describe specific tasks you would perform in each of the steps in the model you chose.

Well, it important to remember first and foremost, that "when instruction is designed within a system, learning occurs" (Text, p. 126). Of course this "learning system" (Dick et. al., 2004) consists of essential components that must be also be considered, and these are: "The learners, the content, the methods and materials, and the environment which included technology" (Text, p. 127). Moreover, it is the "interaction of these components that creates the type of learning experience necessary for student learning" (Text, p. 127).What is more, these components must interact both "efficiently and effectively to produce quality learning experiences.. along with evaluation" (Text, p. 127).  Oh and don't forget the other critical requirement, which is for the whole course designed to be "reusable" (Text, p. 127) with future students.

All this said, it makes is apparent that "where to start?" begins with understanding the subject matter content, who the students are and their capabilities, social skill ability level,  the environment, the available technologies, so that I can best choose which instructional design process model best suits the needs and wants of the course, not to mention the intended purpose/goals for learning expectation.  Also, not to neglect how important it is for the instructional designer (in this case me) to have workable "preplanned contingencies" (text, p. 135) in the event any technology breaks down in the middle of the process. But most important of all, it is also important to remember that because the learning environment and process can be influenced by so many factors out of the designer's control,  "reflective teaching practices play a vital role in developing effective teaching practices" (Text, p. 139) which means that no matter what I design, it must be constantly reviewed, both by the learner and instructor, so that changes can be made to improve and update the experience while at the same time preserving the "repeatability" of the experience.

With such big ideas to fill, I set out to select the model to base this assignment and after I read that "the ADDIE model is the generic process traditionally used by instructional designers and training developers" (Wikipedia.org/wiki/ADDIE_Model.html. Accessed on 5/05/10 at 2:23PM) and that in fact, the other current instructional models are "spin-offs" or "variations of the ADDIE model (these include Dick & Carey model and the Kemp ISD models)" (Wikipedia.org), I decided that since this is a "theoretical" assignment, I will use the ADDIE instructional design method.

Now the next part of this assignment is to "describe specific tasks that I would perform in each of the steps in the model I have chosen" (Session 5 Activities instruction, p. 2).  Well, the ADDIE model consists of "five phases" (ADDIE Model-Wikipedia.org, p. 1): Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation.

1. Analysis Phase-  During this stage, the instructional or design problem is clarified, the goals and objectives are defined and established,the learning environment is described and the learner's existing knowledge and skills are identified.  Examples of some of the questions addressed during this first phase include: Who is the audience of learners for this course and what are their learning characteristics ? What new behavior or experience is intended? What learning challenges are possible? What are the delivery options available for this course?The answers to these questions will enable the designer to review performance objectives and revise performance objectives in order to make sure the course is being designed effectively.  Of course this is the stage where resources are reviewed with others, instructional analysis is conducted, goals are defined and made measurable, and where learners and contexts are analyzed with the ultimate goal being to write the performance objectives.
2. Design Phase- This second phase considers the learning objectives, assessment tools, exercises/activities, content, subject matter, lesson plans and selecting the appropriate media available and appropriate for the course. Some important things to consider in the second phase is how to make sure that the design is "systematic and specific" (ADDIE, wikipedia, p. 2) so as to ensure that the design is "logical, with an orderly way of identifying, developing, and evaluating a set of planned strategies targeted for attaining the project's goals" (ADDIE, p. 2); specific simply means that "each element of the instructional design plan needs to be executed with attention to detail" (p. 2).  Examples of steps involved in this phase include: "Documenting the projects instructional, visual, and technical design strategy; Applying instructional strategies according to the intended behavioral outcomes by domain (cognitive, affective, and psycho-motor); Design the user interface and user experience; Create prototype; Apply visual design (graphic design)" (ADDIE/ wikipedia.org, p. 2)  This is where instructional strategies are planned, where delivery methods are chosen, and where the designer will write instructional design documents as well as where they will review all design documents and make any necessary revisions to the documents.
3. Development Phase- This third phase is where both the creative developers and the instructional designer come together to create and put together content items that were "blueprinted" (page 2 of wikipedia definition of ADDIE) during the design phase #2.  Step in this developmental phase would include the use of visuals like storyboards and specific graphics unique to the course.  If learning is being developed, this phase is where the programmers develop and integrate technology into the equation.  Also this phase is where testers would do debugging procedures and also when the project would be reviewed and revised based on feedback received from tester.  Again, this is the stage where a prototype is developed so it is also where the prototype is reviewed, and where training materials are produced, as well as when the conduct is reviewed and revised accordingly resulting in "piloting the course to get feedback from client or users" (Intulogy, flowchart).
4. Implementation Phase- During this 4th phase of the model, the training materials for both the learner and facilitator is developed. The training for the facilitator should cover the course curriculum, the learning objectives, outcomes, method of delivery of material, as well as testing procedures. The implementation phase for the training of the learner would include, training on how to use the tools within the course, any training on new software and technologies would be handled during this phase.  Not to mention, this would be where the project manager assigned would make sure to order any books, equipment, tools, and also handle student registration (according to wikipedia and other sources I reviewed).  Basically in this step the course would actually be launched!  During this phase the course is tested so that issues can be identified, and dealt with so that the bugs are worked out.
5. Evaluation Phase-This is the final phase and it involves two parts: formative and summative.  The formative evaluation is present at every step of the ADDIE process.  While the summative evaluation would include tests designed for specific criterion-based referenced items, as well as providing for feedback from users.  Steps in this stage could include: gathering feedback from learners, revising course and conduct training as needed; measuring improvement and gaps in model; measuring results to determine level of effectiveness.

I found a very informative web site from Intulogy Ltd.  They are a company that offers ADDIE training for educators and corporations.  There is a very useful flowchart that further illustrates each step for each of the five phases of the ADDIE model.  Below is the link.  Check it out.  I will also try and provide a link to the flowchart on blackboard through file exchange.

http://www.intulogy.com/addie

Take Care
Celeste