Sunday, September 29, 2013

Section 5: Trends & Issues




Chapters in Section V identify trends and issues in IDT in various contexts: business & industry;
military; health care education; P-12 education; and post-secondary education. Select at least 3
of these 5 contexts and compare/contrast the IDT trends and issues. Then explain how they are
similar or different from the IDT trends and issues in the context in which you work.

Then explain how they are similar or different from the IDT trends and issues in the context in which you work. 



            Many of the issues faced by instructional designers are similar within business and industry, P-12 education, and post-secondary education.  The goal of instructional designers is to create lessons that will enable the learner to gain the knowledge needed for the job.  The presentation of the lessons and the circumstances may be different but the goals are similar. 
            Business and industry are rapidly expanding globally causing the need for employee training to increase which increases the demand of instructional designers.  However, time and resource constraints along with the need for things to be better, faster, and cheaper have caused many companies to no longer employ instructional designers in-house but rather through external consultants which require more relationship building skills.  The global expansion of companies has also caused the instructional designer to be more aware of differing cultures and societal differences.  When presenting information, the instructional designer must consider word choices and illustrations that may convey different meanings in different cultures.  To meet the needs of expanding companies with employees across multiple time zones, video conferencing and conference calling has become more popular.  This saves both time and money for the companies.  The growing popularity and ease of global communication is changing the way companies function today.
            One major influence in the changing roles of instructional designers in P-12 education today is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which “mandates active engagement by schools and districts,” concerning the integration of technology, professional developments, and determining where technology is effective (p. 211).  Within P-12 education, the goal of instructional designers is still to enable learners to gain knowledge, however the goal also involves the integration of technology as a primary means of conveying the information.  Instructional designers understand that good teaching must come first and through good teaching, technology can be integrated in the curriculum.  One challenge for P-12 instructional designers is that the students do not have a specific job they are currently training for in the business world.  A student’s job is to learn how to problem solve so he can transfer his skills to the real world.  The goal is to create technology competent students who can solve problems using technology, not just computer literate students who can use a computer to input information. 
            Post-secondary education is different from P-12 education in that the “faculty members are trained in content, no pedagogy,” (p. 221).  This creates a unique role for the instructional designer.  The professor has the role of expert in subject matter while the instructional designer’s goal is to create a student centered learning environment.  Reaching this goal can sometimes require changing the way some professors think about teaching.  The skills required for an instructional designer in post-secondary education include negotiation skills, presentation skills, how to deal with difficult participants, and how to integrate technology into the curriculum.  He must be able to interact with the faculty, build relationships, and understand their needs.  The need for distance learning has also increased the role of the instructional designer.  The designer not only helps with teaching techniques within a classroom setting, but also assists with the creation of online classes. 
            One major similarity of instructional designers in different industries is that they take on many roles.  They are not only instructional designers but also, managers, developers, evaluators, trainers, teachers, and researchers.  In every setting, the instructional designer not only designs instruction but also “analyzes human performance, identifies the root of those problems, considers a variety of solutions to address the root causes, and determines and implements the appropriate solutions,” (p. 178). 
            The role of instructional designer is also similar to my role as a teacher in many ways.  One could consider a veteran teacher an instructional designer.  The teacher may not have as much training but she does have experience designing student centered lessons with the goal of teaching her students how to problem solve.  Just as an instructional designer takes on many roles, a teacher shares those roles within her classroom.  I found it interesting that the text pointed out that it takes ten years of practice to become a world-class expert and achieve mastery in any profession.  After teaching for seven years I finally feel like I have a good understanding of the many expectations and requirements to be a well-rounded teacher that is able to create lessons with integrated technology to build problem solving skills.  I also feel that it is extremely important for teachers to collaborate with each other.  There is no reason to reinvent the wheel every time one creates a lesson.  Expanding on current lessons is the way knew ideas are formed.  Both the expert and novice instructional designer “learn about theories and trends through interaction and brainstorming with others,” (p. 182).  This can be accomplished both formally through meetings and informally at lunch or in the parking lot.   


1 comment:

  1. Hi Sara,

    After reading your post, I felt every point to be true and valid. I especially like your comment: "The goal is to create technology competent students who can solve problems using technology, not just computer literate students who can use a computer to input information." Computers are only as smart as they're users. Granted, there are some artificial intelligence programs out there they are beginning to self teach themselves, but for the most part, we build it and program it. Students we currently teach are highly skilled in many technologies, and catch on to technology applications very quickly. They need to use their knowledge base they have to begin to use technology to solve global issues and problems.
    I also thought it was interesting that the book pointed out the term of 10 years to be a "master" teacher in your field. I have been teaching for 6 years, and feel as well that I have a handle on my job. With that being said, growth is inevitable in the teaching field, and as teachers, we should convey to our students to constantly seek out the knowledge. Great Post.

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