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.
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.
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteAfter 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.