My initial reaction, after learning that we were to blog
about our project’s representation, was that most “representation” decisions
would have to come from group discussion and consensus. And although that might
be true for some aspects of our project’s representation, it is very helpful to
begin thinking about how our intervention will be perceived by its audience at
this stage. Because we will not be given specific instruction regarding what our intervention should look like,
this thought-activity helps each group member visualize a rough idea of the
finished product.
Our group is continuing with the “comedy” instructional
package that was begun last semester in R521. To summarize, we created an
instructional module with the goal of giving elementary teachers (grade 1-4)
the skills to improve their student’s engagement through the integration of
comedy into the classroom. The content of the intervention will be designed
with this audience in mind. For example, as one aspect of our intervention, we
plan to recommend several activities with humorous elements teachers might
consider using during subject-specific lessons. These activities would be designed
for students in grades 1-4.
Also, because our project deals with adding comedy in the classroom,
I believe it is very important for our intervention to be viewed as “professional.”
Essentially, this is to off-set those who would think that we do not take
student learning seriously because of the topic’s light-hearted nature. Ironically,
we can reflect this professionalism by not adding superfluous jokes or funny
pictures in the online instruction. The instructional module previously created
did not have this kind of professional veneer and I believe it detracted the
credibility of our message to an extent. Of course, this kind of representation
will need to be discussed with all group members before any decisions are put
in place.
Hey Scott,
ReplyDeleteI’m glad to hear that you are continuing work on your comedy instructional module from last semester. This training appears to lend itself well to both face-to-face and online delivery. For what its worth, I think you might just be your own worst critic! I think your group struck a nice balance between the seriousness and levity of the topic.
It is interesting to consider how the delivery method changes the instructional designer’s concerns. For face-to-face delivery, the tone of the training is largely dictated by the manner in which the instructor chooses to approach it. There are a lot of variables at play in that case. With online delivery, it is really up to the instructional designer to combine the elements of form and function to fit their ultimate vision. For instance the colors, font, and layout will largely set the tone of the training. If using narration, the tone of the narrator’s voice will also impact how the training is perceived. I’m sure you will come across many more examples as you delve more deeply into the design and development process.
I look forward to learning more about the design decisions you are confronted by and the reasons for the selections you make. Perhaps I will even have the opportunity to offer an outside perspective via your blog from time to time.
Take care and enjoy your weekend, Scott.
-Kipp
I know I'm not your buddy anymore and I am supposed to comment on someone else's post. However, since the someone else did not post on representation, I asked Dr. G what to do and she advised me to comment on another student. That's why I'm here but I think it was the right decision to come here because Kipp made such useful comments on our project!!!
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, thank you very much Kipp, for your wonderful compliment on our project!!! Making things look professional is very important especially if we have intention to sell them!!! I actually agree with Kipp. I do think our project of last semester was not so bad regarding professionalism.
However, it is also true that there is always the place for improvement. As it was the first semester for us to deal with the topic and because we had only limited time, I do not say I'm satisfied with the products of the previous semester. I believe we can do better job because we are more familiar with the topic now and because we invited smart Peter.
As Kipp says, the decision of whether we are going to concentrate on face-to-face or online will affect largely on how we are going to design. Let us consider which mode we would choose as we proceed. Probably, we'd like to decide audience first, and think of appropriate mode.
I posted on the representation of our project using the framework of Dr. G's lecture. As I doubt no one would look at my post this week, if you have time, please take a look on my post. I posted on things we need to consider especially when we are going to make graphical representations.
http://keitomita.blogspot.com