Reflection of my Experience in Second Life

This is my second experience teleporting into Second Life (SL). In this experience, we were asked to partner with a classmate and to relate our experience in SL to the principles of instructional design.

We first teleported to the Edtech area. Upon arrival, there was an avatar named Amelia that greeted us, but we couldn’t figure out what we were to do next as she only responded with giving us someone’s name. In addition, she would not respond through the chat or by clicking on her. When we looked around and decided that the information kiosk might be a good location to see if more directions were available, nothing we did prompted us or provided information about what we needed to accomplish next; however, we did find a sign that led us down a path to our building. One of the main questions we were seeking to answer was, “What is the purpose of this area?” “What resources are available for us?” When you are designing a training or lesson, the purpose of the assignment should be communicated so participants have a clear understanding of what they are learning and what is important to focus on during the instruction. Otherwise, students may spend time on activities that are not related to the instructional objectives. This area lacked clear instructions and goals and objectives. In addition, we quickly became frustrated when some of the hints or activities that we found looked like math problems or a programming language in which we were unfamiliar with; therefore, we couldn’t complete the tasks or engage in the activities in the virtual world. The activities did not appear to be intended for our audience.   

Once we entered the Edtech building, we found that by touching some objects text would appear and give hints or directions. However, the quality of the text was not readable, and we spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what the text was asking us to do. So, we decided to try another area and headed over to the Monopoly board. We found maneuvering around a familiar object such as the Monopoly board and interacting with familiar objects such as the dice was intuitive and was much more engaging. For example, we knew that we needed to roll the dice, so we naturally knew to reach out and touch them, and we were able to roll the dice quite easily.  

We then teleported into the second location. We found that this area provided affordances that made interacting with the environment much more natural. For example, when you touched a light, it turned on and off. Once you figured this out, then you knew to go to the other lights, and this action worked for all of them including the fireplace. So, there was consistency throughout the design of the building. With consistency, performing the activities were more instinctive and less frustrating to perform.

I can see how using a virtual environment such as SL could be used as a form of e-learning. However, when developing the activities, the instructional design framework still needs to be applied to this e-learning environment to make it an engaging and a productive learning experience. The 3-D experience contributes to learning because it provides a simulation in which an avatar can interact with, and this is how our mind naturally makes learning connections.

Reflection on My First Instructional Design Project

I have completed Project A in my Instructional Design course and am fairly pleased with the overall design and participant results. My client, Jessica Batchko, was very easy to work with and offered some great suggestions during the experience of working through the ADDIE framework for instructional design. The ADDIE method was quite extensive, and the design document was dynamic in nature and improved during each step of the design process.

The format of the activities in the intervention worked very well. The previous training was delivered in a face-to-face format and was not taught at the depth in which the concepts needed to be covered. The instructor wasted valuable face-to-face time with low level activities in which participants could read and review outside of trainings; therefore, the online or “flipped” format allowed the face-to-face time to be utilized on more difficult tasks in which participants might need assistance.

Creating the materials for the online module took more time than I anticipated. But, I do think that the time spent on developing the materials will pay off in the long run because new staff to the district will be able to use the online resources over and over again. Although it took quite some time to develop the materials, using the websites and technology applications were engaging and enjoyable to experiment with. I always like investigating new Web 2.0 applications and creating activities with them that are both engaging and have an educational value. Like students, adults can become consumed in their own learning when they use technology to learn.  

What needed improvement in my design? For the most part, everything seemed to go smoothly upon implementation of the intervention activities. There were only two places in which participants indicated that if they would have had a little more detail or perhaps an online video demonstration that they could have completed a task quicker. I assumed that the participants would know the skills in which they struggled with. However, the module included a section for participants to post questions if they were struggling with an activity. None of them took advantage of this feature in the module.

How will this process effect my next instructional design project? First, I will want to work closely with my peer and client to ensure that the scope of the design document doesn’t cover too much material for the project. In addition, the activities in which the participants complete can have more weight in the intervention activities.

I am working with a peer during Project B and am finding that it will be beneficial, but it will not necessarily mean that the work will be easier. We have already discovered that there will be more planning time that we will have to coordinate with our busy schedules.

Visit the new teacher training module at: http://www.castleberryisd.net/departments/technology_services/new_teacher_module/

Method of Loci/Memory Palace

Method of Loci/Memory Palace and Implementation of the Instructional Design

Our assignment was to picture a familiar room and take a mental image of it. Then, we were asked to try to associate something that we were learning with the mental images as we walked through the familiar room. I had tried this once before when I was in a professional development session and to my amazement, it really helps you memorize items such as numbers, faces, and concepts. The concepts that we were asked to associate with the view of Situated Instructional Design was somewhat hard to picture perhaps because I really didn’t comprehend  the four components that were trying to memorize.

How could I use the method of loci to improve the acquisition of knowledge in my designs? So, you could use this approach when you introduce the goals and objectives for each activity in the instructional design. For example, if your goal was to teach responsible use of electronic systems, then you could ask students to create mental images of appropriate use and then inappropriate use of the electronic resources as you read the district policies and procedures to them. The students could associate them with items as they are walking through their room. Afterward, you could ask them to recall as many items as they could from each category.

Implementation of the Instructional Design

Reflect on the implementation and evaluation: What changes will you make before implementation? Why? First, upon reading the job aid, my client had some great suggestions for improving the design document before implementation. First, we created a google spreadsheet that earmarked important checkpoints in which Jessica could use to monitor each participant’s progress. Since, some of the training module is self-paced; I thought that this was a great idea. It will be important for Jessica to ensure that the new teachers don’t fall behind in the beginning because it will be very difficult to be successful in the face-to-face session that follows this module.

What did you ignore in the client's feedback? Why?  In addition, Jessica had some other suggestions, but because they wouldn’t significantly affect the success of the participants, I didn’t add them. The major reason was simply a time factor. I spent quite a bit of time on this module. The scope became bigger than I first anticipated, but the adjustment in scope was needed in order to accomplish the outlined goals and objectives as this module will be utilized in the district with all new teachers.

What did you ignore in your peer's feedback? Why? In my peer’s feedback, I included all of the suggestions. I think that you are really never finished making revisions. Every time someone reviews the instructional design, there seems to always be a new idea that can be added or improved upon. However, at some point, you must call it the final draft and then implement the instruction. After the implementation, it can be modified based on the feedback provided in the evaluation.