Reflections and Submission

"Submission" in more ways than one.

I've let the whole project ferment in a dark basement for a week. I'm happy with the lesson, pretty much, but I've done and redone the L.O. until I'm blue in the face. I'm heartily tired of it, and I'm afraid it shows...I got a little silly with what I'm going to upload in a few minutes.

I started out serious, talking/walking through changing fonts, changing alignment, and so forth, and it all sounded so stilted and dry. So, the leprechauns got to me and I have created something to catch the viewers attention at the beginning of the lesson; supposedly the interchange between a teacher and a student.

It's not very good, but I'm just beyond being able to do any more with it. I'm still not entirely certain I've done the assignment correctly, but will just have to deal with it if I've missed the boat.

Thus, "submission." I'm submitting to my own tiredness as well as submitting my Journal and my Learning Object. Saint Isidore? Any help you can offer will be appreciated.

Squawk!

It's official...this project is driving me nuts! I went to bed an hour and a half ago, desperate for sleep, but couldn't get my brain to turn off. I tossed and turned, kept the poor dog awake, and finally got up and am back in front of my computer desperately searching for inspiration. Saint Isidore, HELP!

I'm following the steps, searching through Dick, Carey and Carey for ideas, hoping for some glimmer to hang my hat on. I feel like I'm just going through the motions, that I don't really understand the whole DCC model at all, and that my Learning Object is going to more closely resemble the Titanic than anything else.

I keep questioning my original proposition (ok, so it's the 3rd or 4th or 10th proposition). Is it too big? Is it too small? Is it even a valid instructional goal? My little boat is lost out in the great big sea of Instructional Design, and there's no anchor in sight. Land? Yeah, right. Island? Not even. At this point I'd be grateful to see an albatross in the sky...at least it would mean I'm not alone.

Perhaps it would help if we had some method of communicating with each other. The discussion board in the Digital Graphics and Animation class has been a real help, allowing us to share ideas and frustrations, and not feel as if we were flying solo. I know I can call the professor for this class, but what is it going to help for her to listen to my angst? I'm not secure enough in what I've done so far to think that she can help me sort it out and find the salvageable bits. I don't know if I'm the only one not getting it, if I'm being too anal about the whole thing, if my work so far has some validity, or if I need to just trash the blankety-blank thing and start over from scratch.

But I can't do that. The date for the journal is today. Or is it? In the notes for the current lesson, there is a deadline of December 2 (Happy Bday to me) but in the notes for the Wrap Up and Final Project it says it was due on December 6th but the date has been moved to the 8th and that her grades are due by 9:00 a.m. on the 10th. Then it says I have to have my course notebook submitted by May 10th. (?!?) Then we're back to the Learning Object and Journal being due on or before December 6. And it ends with saying that the notebooks must be mailed no later than December 10th so they can be graded on Wednesday and Thursday (that would be the 12th and 13th, no?).

I've been such a pest about problems I've had with the objective quizzes that I hate to question the dates...again. (I've already asked about them once.) So. There it is. I have to get this thing done. I have to trust that I'm doing it well enough that it won't totally sink in the mud. And I have to trust that I'm understanding more than I think I am. Sigh. No sleep in sight for a while yet.

Trial Runs

I'm two days behind from my original schedule, but still within acceptable parameters (I hope). I have managed to confuse myself beyond all belief: should I be submitting the entire lesson, is it okay to submit the learning object for one portion of the lesson, am I anywhere close to doing this correctly, ad infinitum.

At least I was able to give the lesson two trial runs today, one with a teacher who is new to the district and needs to finish the module so she can get credit for our upcoming Comp. day. The other was with what could easily be my most discriminating audience, my 8th grade Advanced Tech Apps class.

The teacher came to my classroom during her conference to work through the module, concerned that she was going to need help since she describes herself as a "Technophobe." Fortunately she came during one of my smaller 7th grade classes. The kids are working on Excel right now, and need a lot of attention to help them stay on track, so I was only able to check in with her occasionally. Things went very smoothly right up to the section on setting the body text in a serif font. The unformatted document has (had!) the headings inline with the body text, and she kept trying to select an entire paragraph and change the font. Of course that undid the work she'd done setting the headings in sans serifed font. Other than that glitch, she was able to complete the work on her own, and seemed very pleased with her own work. She even asked to print it out!

I adjusted the unformatted document so that the headings are on separate lines from the body text they relate to, and then I entered the Den of Lions and asked my half-dozen Adv. kids to work through it. I told them it was for a course, and that I needed constructive feedback...but to feel free to try to break it. Bless their hearts, they did try! Some kept asking "What's a title?" while others chose fonts that were totally unreadable. They had fun changing the font size and pointing out that I was only showing one method for centering text, and not a favorite method at that. (They are firmly convinced that keyboard shortcuts are better than menus any day of the week.) They liked the L.O., but suggested that it be recorded with a higher volume. I will need to do this before turning it out to wide world.

So, there it is.

Am I done? I have no idea. Have I completed the assignment the way the professor intended? Again, no idea. I'm going to let it rest for a few days, see if some of my fellow students post something that will help guide me in this dilemma, and then take it from there. Sigh.

The Joys of Camtasia

I have created the Learning Object for centering the title, and am delighted to find out that the newer version of Camtasia allows one to create Flash quizzes!

When I rework this unit of instruction over the Winter holidays, I fully intend to use this nifty aspect of the software. To be honest, I'm feeling way too nervous to experiment with it for this project. I'm back to feeling alone in the wilderness with no idea how I'm supposed to be proceeding with the whole thing. From what I've been reading about Learning Objects, they should be stand-alone, reusable items that support learning. Perhaps I'm misinterpreting, but I'm not certain the Learning Object should encompass the entire lesson; rather that it should be for one portion of the lesson. Even when I look at the L.O.s I just discovered in the CSCOPE curriculum, they are not entire lessons, but modules that can be plugged into any number of lessons.

Saint Isidore?? Help!

One of those "Duh!" moments

I'm updating the wiki I'm using this semester as a repository for my notes and so forth for grad. school. As I was wandering around some of my del.icio.us links trying to make sure everything that needed to be tagged was tagged appropriately so I can add the widget to the wiki, out of the blue it dawned on me...The CSCOPE curriculum tool that our district is using consists of Learning Objects! By the criteria I'm comfortable with, they fit: digital, reusable, promote learning! Just imagine, we're using them and don't have a name for them :) At least I didn't have a name for them, before now. Happy days!

Instructional Strategy

Keeping ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) in mind, I'm ready to take all the information I have gathered so far and use it to create a sequence of instruction. This lesson should take approximately 45 minutes, in a lab setting, or alone using a personal computer at home or at school. Since it is so narrowly focused on basic Word principles, there is not a great deal of extraneous material to deal with, which is good. I'm just about done in on this project, and I know I've done it to myself.

For Pre-instructional activities, samples of poorly formatted documents can be used. It would be best if this was done using a computer and projector, so the document could be changed in real-time and allow the learners to see why using the spacebar is not the best way to indent and align text. It would also allow the instructor to change the fonts to demonstrate the differences between serif and san serif as well as legible and illegible. For the online version, a Camtasia file will be created, demonstrating the same principles. This will also serve as the time to bring home the major points of the lesson from the overarching goal:

Plan, create, and edit documents created with a word processor uuing readable fonts, alignment, page setup, tabs and ruler settings.

Using the unformatted document "Writing," the learner will move through each of the steps in order:

1. Start the word processing software
2. Open the unformatted file
3. Save the document with an appropriate name
4. Change the margins
5. Set the title and sub headings in a san-serif font
6. Set the body text in a serif font
7. Center align the title
8. Indent all body paragraphs
9. Save the document
10. Exit the program

The assessment checklist will be provided to the learners so they can verify having completed all the steps, and further activities in the Word Processing unit will allow them to continue to use the skills learned in this first, basic lesson.

I have confirmed with the Curriculum Coordinator that she is comfortable with this being offered in a workshop setting and as a Do-It-Yourself activity with the files available on the school intranet as well as the Internet.

Now it's time for the Learning Object. I hope I'm not totally wrong here. I have created the unformatted document, the attendant handout, and I'm only creating the Learning Object for one particular aspect...centering the title.

I'm going to use some of my students and a couple of faculty members, as well as my family for the formative evaluation. They will be given all the materials, including the L.O.

Performance Obejctives

It was a nice thought...that I could join all the items in one huge performance objective. But it's not realistic, nor is it true to the spirit of this project. So...back to the drawing board again. I'm heading back over to Gliffy and going to make drastic changes (in a second file). This elephant must be broken down into smaller bites, or I'm going to choke trying to eat it.

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So the new chart is growing by leaps and bounds. Thank goodness this is an organic entry, so the updated chart will always be reflected below:

(This is part 2 of the chart)

And each of the major steps presents itself very nicely as a performance objective. I think I'm ready to move on to developing my Instructional Strategy.

How the heck do I assess this?

Oh Good Glory! This is a hands-on, intellectual/psycho-motor skill. The only logical way to assess it is by seeing the finished product, isn't it? That's why I need to have the file posted someplace where I can open it in Word, to make certain it hasn't been cobbled together with tabs and spacebar and such. The overall goal per the Curriculum Director is to have people comfortable using the tools in Word. And my particular goal in this is part is to have the document formatted using the tools built in to Word.

I guess I could write an objective test, but to tell the truth that would sort of defeat the purpose I think. Bleah. I've got to find a way to write this up correctly.

Time to clean house, I think! I do some of my best thinking while messing about with simple chores - let's hope it doesn't fail me this time.

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Well, the house is much cleaner, and I resisted the temptation to wash the windows while I was in the mood. There's "thinking time" and then there's just flat out "evasion time" and I don't dare start evading this project.

I was lamenting that it would be natural to assess this is by viewing the finished project, and that's exactly the right way to do it. I'm going to create a checklist which can be used by the learner for self-assessment as well as by the instructor for assessment. Since I've broken each item down into steps, the checklist will incorporate the results of the steps. To actually view the document for the assessment, it would be easiest to view the document on the computer, with the Invisibles turned on. Hmm. Does that mean I should drop "Print" from the final step? Perhaps.

Day 9

My own curiosity is driving me to the brink. I've been searching for learning objects to post to the class discussion (another part of the requirements for this particular module) and I keep getting side-tracked researching for things that will be useful to me!

In the "Pro" column, I've finally joined MERLOT. I wonder if I'll have the nerve to publish my final project there? Several Webheads from Tapped In have posted learning objects there, so I can use my online professional development community colleagues as a sounding board...perhaps I'll actually formally publish something I've created at long last.

But that's not the point I need to be making here - I'm supposed to be focusing on my application of DCC to my own creation of a learning object.

I don't know if I'm straining at a gnat, although I have a very strong suspicion that I am...and I'm choking on the darned camel. Too many steps=too broad goal. I need to narrow it down and focus so I don't end up writing a three-volume tome for one project! My new mantra? This is supposed to be Dick, Carey & Carey, not IPISD! Back to the (digital) drawing board.

So now I need to write my Performance Objectives. So far I have narrowed the scope of this project down to this:

Given access to a computer with Microsoft Word 2003 and an unformatted document, the learner will use the formatting tools to center align the title 100% of the time.

That is the Terminal Objective for step 7 in my Analysis. It contains the action and concept, the conditions and the criteria, so I think I'm doing okay so far. I'm choosing to write one Performance Objective for this step, rather than several because they are all so closely linked. This will also allow me to use one Learning Object for this particular piece of instruction.

Deep breath.

Given access to a computer with Microsoft Word 2003 and an unformatted document the learner will use the formatting tools to correctly center the title by doing the following: locate the title paragraph and select it, locate and open the Format menu, locate and open the Paragraph submenu, locate and select the Alignment dropdown menu, select Centered as the Alignment option, and click OK to close the dialog box.

Is that too much? Should that be broken down? Sigh. I have no earthly idea. But it's what I'm going to go with, so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

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Update: As I try to diagram this lesson, I'm diagramming the whole thing. It just doesn't make sense not to do the whole thing, even if I am just going to concentrate on one small part of it for my Learning Object.

I've broken down each of the steps into smaller steps, and the first half of my diagram now looks like this:

I have identified Entry Behaviors as very basic, based on my target audience. Now to keep working on it and hopefully get my Assessment instruments in order as well. I feel like I am woefully behind, but I suspect that's because I just am not comfortable with using this model yet.

Snagged a Learner!

With all the family out here for the big feast, I couldn't resist drawing our less-than-computer-literate daughter into my project.

Contrary to the timeline laid out by DCC, in which I wouldn't even think of working on my learning object until I have all the analysis done, I've had an idea brewing in the back of my mind and decided to try it out. I really like the ease with which I can create mini-tutorials using Camtasia and I went ahead and recorded a few slices as possible candidates for the LO. (I've made an executive decision and I'm only going to focus on the part of the Word Module that deals with Center Aligning the title.) Since the Baker of Birdie Cake was willing to be a guinea pig, I asked her to take a look at what I've created and she liked it.

She liked it! She didn't turn up her nose, she didn't say, "What??" She liked it. Now she's a tough audience, and a middle-school teacher to boot, so she fit my Identified Learner model to a T. First assessment done, even though it's WAY out of sequence. Yea!

A Thanksgiving of Analysis

It may be a day of festivity and fun, but this project must also get its fair share of time.

The next step in the Dick, Carey and Carey model is to analyze the learners and contexts. Most of my understanding in this area is coming from prior experience and observation, which I hope is valid in this context.

Learner Analysis
For the most part, these are students new to word processing as a tool. They have little experience with computers, and are eager to learn ways in which to simplify their lives. Because the lesson will be available in various formats (in class, via handout, or online) learners have the opportunity to select the method best suited to their own learning styles.

Performance Context
Although this instruction can be carried out in a computer lab, it isn't necessary. The tools available in word processing are available on any computer, so the instruction must reflect this openness.

Learning Context
Since the district standard (for now) is Office 2003, the instruction will be based on this software. True, the principles are valid for any software, but I don't want to confuse my learners so I'm going with the common denominator. There will be step-by-step instructions available in handout form as well as on the (sorely neglected) Tech Wiki and an unformatted document for the learners to modify as part of the instruction.

Which leads me back into the black hole of my Learning Object. I need to focus on one aspect of the whole learning module and use that for the LO. I wonder if the whole DCC analysis needs to cover the entire module, or if I can begin to tame this blasted tiger by doing what the text book does and just have the shadow of the other steps. Here I go again, wishing I had access to the opinions of my classmates. Sigh. I wish at least one of them had responded to my initial invitation to IM or Twitter or whatever.

Analysis of a Pet Peeve

I've selected my Instructional Goal and now I need to start diagramming the whole thing, step-by-step. I'm using Gliffy for this:

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But in the meantime, I'm having to take care of housekeeping details. I really want my wiki to stay ad free, so I've taken out a subscription for that, and Gliffy is just too useful to not be able to upload and use, so I'm also subscribing to that for two years.

It sometimes amazes me how much I've moved to online life. When I look at all the notebooks on my bookshelves, I wonder immediately if there is enough of value for me to take the time to transcribe them to some kind of digital if not online format. I even take notes in meetings using the laptop now. And yet people say that our students don't really need to have computer skills, "The real world isn't changing that much, just because you're part geek." They say it with a smile, and I smile right back, fully aware that they are missing the mark. What worries me about it is that our kids are getting short-changed. There is no way on earth that my 12 and 13 year old students are NOT going to be using computers, even if they are working in McD's or for UPS!

I have one teacher who is trying to finish the Word module - a module that I hand to my students and expect them to complete with only minor help from one another or from me. She is really struggling with it and needs to be guided and reassured every step of the way. That's my job, and I'm happy to help, but I also worry. She admits to being an "email and attendance" person. What are her students missing out on because she is afraid of the computer? I teach the same kids, but they don't have the opportunity to transfer the learning to other classes. I really don't like teaching Tech Literacy in isolation; perhaps teaching it in context would help the kids learn to transfer learning from other courses? How many times does a Math teacher ask them to write something only to hear, "What? This isn't English class!"

But enough digression. My subscriptions are now updated and I need to get back to eating this elephant one bite at a time.

Assessing Needs

What is the problem? What do they need to be able to do? These questions keep looming and I'm having trouble narrowing the goal. I stare at the TEKS for Technology Applications and keep dithering between an Internet-focused learning object and a Word Processing learning object. I really, really! want to do one on using Delicious, but that's not formally addressed in the TEKS. Do I want to hang my entire project on something I think is a real asset to learning, or do I go with something I can easily justify with the TEKS?

When I look at my potential audiences (teachers and/or students) I can see that for formal, classroom-based learning the Word Processing is more essential. A recent announcement from the choir director for upcoming concerts is an easy example of what not to do. Since the Curriculum Director has asked me to revise the Word training module, it only makes sense to kill two birds with one stone. Guess I just answered my own question. Word Processing it is.

Now for the DCC analysis. According to my chart I've got nine steps to go through and only eleven days in which to accomplish them. Day by day, one bite at a time, I've got to work my way through their system and make my project conform. For this first step, I need to:

1. Analyze performance problems
2. Clearly define instructional needs
3. Clearly define instructional goals
4. Generally describe learners, performance context and the tools available.

1. Looking at various word processing products from the target audience (middle school teachers and students), several TEKS deserve to be addressed:

• 126.12.C.2.C - use digital keyboarding standards for data input such as one space after punctuation, the use of em/en dashes, and smart quotation marks;
• 126.12.C.7.A - plan, create and edit documents create with a word processor using readable fonts, alignment, page setup, tabs, and ruler settings;
• 126.12.C.7.E - create a document using DTP techniques including, but not limited to, the creation of multi-column or multi-section documents with a variety of text-wrapped frame formats;
• 126.12.C.10.D - demonstrate appropriate use of fonts, styles, and sizes, as well as effective use of graphics and page design to effectively communicate;

Whew! Big bite! If those standards are the "desired status" and the documents I have from various teachers and students are the "actual status" then there is definitely a "need." At least I've got that much to go on.

I need to walk away from this for a bit, and come back with Dick, Carey and Carey in hand to finish my Day 11 work.

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(Updated 11:18 pm) I'm still thinking too broadly. I need to narrow the focus considerably. I keep going back to the essentials of a Learning Object: digital, reusable in a variety of contexts, supports learning, etc. For the "reusable" bit to be met, it will need to be something very basic, not constrained to Microsoft Word but reusable in multiple applications.

Look again at my learners: entry level tech skills, at best. True, there are many who have some knowledge of Word or of PowerPoint, but I don't want to target them. I want to go with the lowest common denominator, I think. First day on the computers for kids, teachers who know how to check email and take attendance, and that's it. I've been pushing for higher level training, but for this I need to go back to basics.

Oh, how I wish we had a discussion board going for this module! This is the point of this course where I would really benefit from bouncing ideas off colleagues and listening to their thinking.

Okay, back to the TEKS...126.12.C.1.F! That's the one! ...perform basic software application functions including, but not limited to, opening an application program and creating, modifying, printing, and saving documents. 126.12.C.7.A plan, create, and edit documents created with a word processor using readable fonts, alignment, page setup, tabs and ruler settings. Clear, basic, something that needs to be known. According to David A. Wiley's paper, this is something for which a Learning Object would be ideal. Time to re-read the paper and start applying DCC to my identified learning need. With any luck, I'll have my Instructional Goal and Overview of Learners written before I fall asleep.

Counting the Days

Oh Bother! I'm looking at the calendar and the model journal Dr. Ray gave us, and I'm seriously considering hitting the panic button. The journal, with a schedule using the Dick and Carey and Carey model for developing a "learning object," is due by December 2. Wow! That's only 12 days away!

Okay, unpanic. I've done the readings, I'm exploring learning objects and feel like I may be getting a handle on them. Now it's time to start with DCC:

1. Assess needs to identify the instructional goal - I really need to settle on this tonight. Do I want to do something for my students, or for teachers? I'll use the TEKS, either way, but the language might be a bit different. No, not for a learning object, would it? By definition, the L.O. is supposed to be reusable in different contexts. I need to include the needs, goals and generally describe the learners, performance context and tools available. Hmm.
   
2. Instructional goal analysis - this will be very time-consuming I suspect, based on my tendency to go overboard on minute details. This is something I will have to watch closely. I should end up with a diagram (Gliffy?) of the main steps as well as the KSA (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes) required to perform each of the main steps. Oh! And don't forget to designate the entry behaviors.

It's eleven o'clock at night, and this is the time I choose to get wired? No. I still have one more day of school to get through. I'll mull this over as I drift off to sleep and try to have a coherent starting point for my goal in the morning.

Instructional Development Journal Fun

Just opened the lesson for the next two weeks in the ISD course, and discovered that we are supposed to create an "Instructional Development Journal" to document our progress as we create a learning object for the course. I wonder if this blog will qualify? :)

If I'm going to use Isidore to do this, I need to be certain to fulfill the requirements, which include: writing on a daily basis (uh oh), reflect on the process of using the DCC model as I create the learning object, and document the steps required for the model. This might work, or then again maybe I need to use my wiki to document what I am doing.

"Learning Objects." Hmm. New term, but it seems to represent an idea I'm familiar with and just didn't have a name for. According to the University of Wisconsin's (Milwaukee Campus ) Center for International Education, one of the definitions includes these characteristics:

• smaller units of learning (2-15 min)
• self-contained (can be taken independently)
• reusable (in multiple contexts for multiple purposes)
• can be aggregated (can be grouped into larger collections of content)
• tagged with metadata (for ease in searching)

I need to take a close look at the Internet Study Module I'll be teaching this afternoon and see if anything in there would be appropriate as a foundation for creating a learning object. Sounds like this is going to be fun!

Not so delicious right now!

Don't get me wrong, I love del.icio.us. I've been an avid user for quite a while now, and that just so happens to be part of my problem. I'm a digital pack rat!

Girding my loins for the last few weeks of my first semester in grad school, I decided it would be a good idea to edit my delicious book marks by adding a module number tag, in addition to the course tag and theorist, etc. tags the entries already have.

Oh dear. Of my 2295 (!) items, I have 11 pages worth of delicious bookmarks just for my ISD course. And each one belongs to at least one module. And yet, it will be so much easier for me to look up items if I'm reviewing a particular module of work.

Then again, I have my wiki, which is broken down by module. And I have a wonderful del.icio.us widget embedded in each section of each theorist for each module.

On second thought I really don't need to add more tags. I just need to keep researching and reading and tagging and reading and tagging and ... You get the idea.

Dream-ing, Excel-ing and Flash-ing

I've spent the last month working with Dreamweaver, Word, Excel, Flash, and a multitude of websites, and my brains are feeling a bit scrambled.

How am I going to implement these in my classroom? I realize they are just tools, that the learning that goes on will not be totally dependent on the tools, but what are the odds that I'm going to create a site in Dreamweaver for my students? We don't have this powerful application available on our budget, and aren't likely to have it anytime soon. I don't have a personal host where I can upload my creations. Flash is nice, but again...will I use it? Even in the "real" world, by the time I finish this degree these software applications will be outmoded.

So what's the point? I struggling to discover why we needed to purchase specific software: yes, Adobe and Microsoft are industry standards but how is my ability to teach/design/guide going to be augmented by three chapters on Dreamweaver?

Is it the process of learning how to manipulate the tools that is important? The "learning to learn?" Perhaps that's it. I know that in my undergrad days, we were told that companies liked Liberal Arts majors because our ability to learn had been proven in acquiring the degree. The employer would be able to train us, knowing that we already knew how to learn.

Short moment of doubt. It will all be made clear as I move on through the semester, I'm sure.

Missing the Boat?

I just wonder if I'm wandering around in my own little boat, missing the big picture of the grad school experience.

I sent out an email to the 7 people who are taking the same two classes I'm taking a couple of weeks after school started. I suggested we might want to exchange contact information, in case we wanted to discuss things pertinent to one class or the other. I included my IM info, as well as email and Twitter. I guess I honestly thought we would create some kind of network since we are all distance students.

Of the seven, two replied. One said, "Great idea!" but didn't give any contact info. The other provided contact information, and we've exchanged a couple of emails. I'm so accustomed to engaging with others through the 'Net that I'm surprised at the lack of response. Maybe it's just that the others don't want to add anything else to their undoubtedly already full plates. Maybe they don't live online like I do. Maybe I'm just sailing around all by myself.

When I see the interaction going on in other distance ed classes, though, I'm envious. I would really like to have some kind of interaction with my classmates, even if it's just an informal introduction and the occasional session of commiseration. I would love to be able to chat with them (and the professors?) someplace like TappedIn, to be able to get a sense of where we are and where we are going with the instruction. I just feel a bit isolated right now: wading through the pages of the text, completing the prescribed exercises, me and my laptop ("Fred"), alone in the big world of Education.

One of the courses is listing "discussions" as an element of the assignments for upcoming lessons. Hopefully I'll feel a bit less lonely, less like the "new kid" in a school where everyone knows everyone else except for me.

Oh well, back to sorting out ISD models and Flash tutorials. Come on, Fred, we've got work to do.
(Photo from leighblackall's Flickr photostream, accessed via Creative Commons)

re-ASSURE-ing

This is fascinating! I've been out of the loop so long from education classes that I had no idea there were various "models" for designing your teaching. My biggest question at this point is, "How do I feel about all this, and how can I start to utilize it?"

While I'm still a bit intimidated by Dick & Carey, I feel like there might be a gestalt out there that I might be able to glimpse. Teaching Technology has caused me to move away from formal, structured planning because so much of what my students need is "just in time" learning. Especially in the Fall, when I have the slower readers, trying to anticipate their needs well ahead of time is difficult for me. Each year I write myself notes on my lesson plans: Slow down here, Use this app here, and so forth. And each year I not only need to incorporate the previous year's suggestion, but have tons more for myself. Would it help me be a better teacher if I tried to use one of the models to organize my teaching? Perhaps.

So how do I learn more? The Internet has many sites that demonstrate application of this week's models (Heinich, Molenda, Russell and Smaldino's ASSURE model, and Gerlach and Ely's model), and we're supposed to start thinking of lessons we can create using each of the models. I want this to be an authentic experience for me, so I'm going to dig a bit more and try to see ways in which I can actually use these models!
______
And then there's the new Office 2007 work. Wow! At first I thought it was all just bells and whistles, but this week's assignment included formatting papers for APA and MLA, and Word 2007 rocks. How I wish this tool had been available when I was writing English papers!

Of course this call into question what we need to be focusing on in the classroom. It's just like the debate over teaching DOS - do the kids really need to know about the fundamental structures when the software takes care of doing all the labor for them? I think the answer is a resounding, "Yes!" How many times have I been able to sort out why some Windows app wasn't working properly because I knew "how the computer was thinking"? The same goes for teaching MLA in the classroom: just because the software will take care of the formatting for you, you still need to know if it's doing things the right way. How many professors are going to deduct points from a paper because the computer didn't handle the formatting correctly? And how will the student respond to the deduction? I can hear it now..."The computer made me do it!"

Memories of Instructional Design

What a surprise and shock it was to discover that the text we are using for ISD is a later edition of the same text my husband used 15 years ago when he was taking a course in Instructional Design! Guess it just goes to show that the model is a valid one and likely to be around for a while.

I'm new to all this, and more than a little befuddled by it all right now. Do I plan my instruction? Yes. Have I heard of "ADDIE" before? Nope. And yet the ADDIE model seems to fit so neatly with a writing model I learned in a Technical Writing course several years ago. Dr. Michael Gos taught a very simple model for writing: PRIO. Determine your Purpose, identify your Readers, gather your Information and then Organize your writing. Clear, direct, and an invaluable model for my style of writing.

PRIO fits well with ADDIE - Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. I can almost grok that. Then I look at the Dick and Carey model, and I get nervous. I remember the long hours Husband spent, trying to align his instruction with the model. We labored together on his final project, in the days before rubrics were common, trying to make certain he had addressed each aspect of the model. I don't remember his grade, but I do know he passed the class.

Deep breath. I've recreated the graphic of the DCC model here, and I've printed it out and posted it above my desk. Just keep plugging, and this too shall make sense. (I hope!)

Darren's "Mind Control"

Darren Kuropatwa got my attention with this video and I'm not sure what I think about it. Neurosky is only one company developing this type of human/machine interface - gracious me oh my!




CyberLearning Technology is already marketing systems for home use, targeting among others, those who have trouble focusing. Will this "game controller" help my students learn to concentrate in a world that is so full of 30-second sound bytes?

Just as we train our bodies by focus and repetition, doesn't it make sense that we can train our minds by focus and repetition? Will this "mind control" lead to solutions for students who have great difficulty keeping their minds on the task at hand? Just because the kids might be using the device to play a game doesn't mean they aren't learning to stay on track.

As always, in the Art of Teaching we must help our students transfer the skills they have learned in one area to another. How many times has the Math teacher heard, in response to a request to read a particular article, "But this isn't Reading class!" And when the Reading teacher suggests that students calculate their current grade averages by themselves, the cry rises up, "What do you mean? This isn't Math class!" Perhaps we are moving from an era of using sports analogies to inspire our students to an era of using gaming analogies? I can hear them now... "Miss! You're too old to be a gamer!"

I don't know what impact this technology is going to have in the next five years, but this is what our students will be living. How do I prepare them for a world I have trouble imagining? I'll have to think about it while I maneuver my dwarven mage to his next level in Last-Outpost!

Champing at the bit

The official start date for classes is Monday, the 27th, but one class has some lessons posted and I'm already at work. Well, my computer is at work...it took over an hour to install Adobe's CS3 Web Standard, and now I'm playing around while hoping my textbook arrives soon so I can really get started.

While I've got a minute to reflect, before the deluge of teaching and learning and living all hits on Monday, I'm trying not to feel frustration that two out of two courses are application specific. I guess I've gotten so accustomed to using 2.whatever and FOSS applications that I'm startled by professors insisting on grad students purchasing expensive mass-market software. At least I don't have to purchase MS Office 2007 (but that's only because the text has a limited trial version included).

The degree I am seeking is in Instructional Design with an emphasis in Education. Is it realistic, in today's tightly-budgeted schools, for teachers to expect to teach web design using high-end software when NVU would serve the same purpose? Is it essential that my students know the specific application, or should they learn the principles which underlie the application?

I'm not advocating a return to DOS, don't get me wrong. I'm just wondering ... am I as a student being asked to learn what my teachers are familiar with? Do I make that same mistake decision with my own students as a teacher? Am I teaching from my world rather than to their world?

Then, too, I was startled that both courses will require me to keep a physical notebook and mail it to the professors at the end of the semester. My first reaction was, "What?!?!?! In this era of instant communication, twittering, blogs, wikis, podcasts, you want me to keep a notebook?"

I'm still trying to puzzle my way through this notebook requirement, as I create a wiki for my students to use as their major class resource. They will work collaboratively, true, but they will also have responsibilities to discuss what they are working on, I can track who has contributed what, and we will have an organic work which we can share with others. They will have a resource which they can access again and again as they move on in their education, and continue to contribute to it for the benefit of other students who will follow them. I guess the oddest part for me is that I will spend time creating a resource for myself which I will then send off, perhaps never to be seen again. It just feels odd, that's all.

Have I been a teacher too long, and forgotten how to be a student?

Let's Get Going!

The tension is killing me! Well, of course not literally, but I've done all the registration, looked at the books (not all are listed yet...it's a bit early) and I'm ready to start!

Problem is, the semester won't start until 27 Aug. Come on, come on! This is online learning, no? Can't we go ahead and get started on our own time/pace? Duh! University courses have specific timelines. How would I feel if my 7th grade students were bugging me right now for their projects/assignments for the coming semester?

Patience, fool, patience. Soon enough you'll have your hands full and be counting the days to the end of the semester.

So instead, I'll occupy my time with updating blogs, working on Learning Modules for my district, and taking a course on "Blogging Across the Curriculum" through Knowplace. That should give me enough to keep me from dealing with the never-ending housework that awaits me .

Words of Wisdom

Periodically, take stock of what you have learned....how far you have come. When you look behind you, you should be surprised how far back you started and how steep this path may have been. In that sense, the trail in front of you, looks only half as steep and not near so far. -Elderbob in a Webheads post

Such a timely bit of advice. I'm feeling so nervous about going back to school. Just dealing with getting registered was enough to add to my already gray hair. Then there's the price of text books...they were expensive back when my dinosaur and I were working on a B.A., but goodness gracious!

I need to keep Elderbob's words in mind as I move through this whole process. Perhaps I'll print them out and post them on my desk at home.

Thanks, Bob!

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[Jott from Heather Burleson]

Jott From Heather Burleson

Testing logging by phone through jott.com it will be interesting to see if this works.

Set reminders, assign, and manage this jott on Jott.com Brought to you by Jott Networks, Inc.

Test of Jott

Trying out a new toy - using Jott to post to Isidore's blog via email. Next experiment will be via phone.

A New Beginning

I just received my letter of admission to start work on a Master's in Instructional Technology, and I'm wondering if I've lost my mind. This should be an interesting journey, going back to school completely online, teaching full time, and trying to have some semblance of a life!

Why a new blog? I'm not that good at keeping up with my other blogs, but I want to be able to experiment and try new gizmos and widgets, so I'll ask St. Isidore to keep an eye on me as I explore with this blog. With a patron for computers, the internet and students on my side, maybe I'll survive!