Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology:

Distributed Learning- 5 Examples

The U.S. Army Distributed Learning System: (Skill Based) 

https://www.dls.army.mil/dls_about.html

Distributed Learning System (DLS) is a modernized information technology infrastructure that provides access to individual and collective training, Army Modernization Training (AMT), and self-development courses to Soldiers and units, anywhere, anytime using multiple means and technologies. The Program provides access to training for the Active Army, the U.S. Army Reserves, the Army National Guard, and Department of Army Civilians at no cost to the individual or unit. DLS supports the Army goals of improved individual and unit readiness, less disruption of Army families, standardization of training and training management across the Army, and cost savings/cost avoidance for training events, while maintaining the quality of the training experience.

 University of North Texas: (Academic Distributed Learning)

The Distributed Learning Librarianship program is designed for graduates planning on working in a library or information center that supports distributed learning. The goals of this program are to provide a grounding in information and telecommunication technologies that underpin distributed learning, an understanding of copyright and intellectual property issues, and a knowledge of the issues facing those providing library services to students in a distributed learning environment.

K12: (Virtual Classes)

http://www.k12.com/educators/home

K¹² is the leader in online learning for grades K through 12 for two fundamental reasons: we develop our own curriculum, widely regarded as the highest quality available online, and we are devoted to fulfilling the promise of education for every child.  In that spirit, we invite you to discover who we are and how we inspire learning.

Texas A&M Distance Education: (For-Profit Distributed Learning)

http://distance.tamu.edu/

Do you have an undergraduate (bachelors) degree, but find yourself needing more? Would your career get a boost by your having a graduate degree from a respected, accredited university? Is quitting your job and returning to campus for two years simply not an option?

Texas A&M University may have the answer for you. We offer graduate-level degree and certificate programs in formats accessible beyond the traditional campus. Texas A&M currently offers several graduate degrees via either online, videoconference, or remote classrooms.  We offer only a few undergraduate agricultural courses.  They can be found here.  Approved Distance Education degrees and certificates at Texas A&M University comply with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Principles of Good Practice for Academic Degree Certificate Programs and Credit Courses Offered Electronically (PDF).

Joyce Meyer Ministries: (Free Distributed Learning)

http://www.joycemeyer.org/AboutUs/Default.aspx

Who We Are- Joyce Meyer Ministries is a Christian-based non-profit organization that's financially supported by contributions from friends and partners of the ministry.

What We Do- Through the teachings and calling God has given to Joyce, Joyce Meyer Ministries is dedicated to sharing God's love and the life-changing message of the Bible with the world through TV, radio, various media productions, live conferences and this website.

Reusability and Redesign

There are many online courses that I have taken and it feels as though I have always had to teach myself. I realize that at a certain point in education that the learner is responsible for exploring to learn the information but then exactly what is the teacher there for if I continue to read a syllabus, complete assignments, turn them in and get a grade. Many times there is no feedback and guidance when I take online courses. Professor Wickersham at Texas A&m Commerce conducts her online classes with live videos to explain concepts, walk through powerpoints, and provide feedback for assignments. I find that I really learn and get engaged with the course when there is live interaction from the professor. So, to improve reusability in the majority of the online courses that I have taken, I would encourage professors to make the course more interactive for both the student and the teacher.

Rich Media

Nanotechnology

http://www.howstuffworks.com/nanotechnology.htm

Nanotechnology can be used to enhance productivity and instruction time for educators, paraprofessionals, and administrators. Students can have id badges with mini micro-chips that will allow them to swipe for attendance, going to the nurse, office referrals, etc. Having the microchips store information on students will eliminate the use of so much paper and could possibly in the end save a school district a large amount of money.

Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at It

Job Positions

Instructional Designer-Online Course Development- I would be interested in this job, I do have some of the skills required because I have worked in the business industry and taguht math in education. The mixture of skills are needed for this position.

JHU's Whiting School of Engineering, part-time Master's program -Engineering for Professionals is seeking two instructional designers to join the Instructional Technology/Distance Education (ITDE) team to assist in the development of online and technology-facilitated courses. The candidate will work individually and as part of an interdisciplinary team to plan, design, develop and revise online courses.

Required Qualifications 

• B.A. /B.S. degree in education, instructional design, educational technology or other related discipline.
• Minimum of 3 years professional experience in an academic environment, designing and developing distance or online instruction.
• Knowledge of instructional design theories and methodologies.
• Knowledge of pedagogical principles for designing distance and online instruction for adult learners.
• Knowledge of current and emerging instructional technologies and best practices for integrating with online instruction.
• Knowledge of streaming audio and video, compression methods, file types and formats.
• Ability to apply sound instructional design principles in designing and developing online instruction.
• Proven ability to continually adapt and learn new procedures, systems and software applications.
• Ability to communicate and collaborate in any type of environment
• Strong writing and verbal communication skills.
• Strong critical thinking and analytical skills.
• Ability to work independently; demonstrates strong project management skills and attends to detail in assigned work.
• Proficient in using web-based course management tools (WebCT, Moodle, Blackboard and Sakai) and online conferencing software (Adobe Connect, Wimba, Blackboard Collaborate).
• Proficient in using Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe projects, HTML editing software, and project management software.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment to carry out duties and responsibilities.

Education Technology and Instructional Design Coordinator- I have the minimum requirements for this position and by the time I finish my master's I would have all of the qualifications desired for this position. I am familiar with curriculum and design because of my current position in education.

Under the administrative supervision of the Career Pathways Education Technology Director, the Education Technology and Instructional Design Coordinator works with faculty and staff from partnering community colleges to plan, develop, and incorporate online and hybrid curriculum into green career training and education programs. The Coordinator will assist with planning, development, and implementation of a variety of learning content in a web-based course delivery environment through the US Department of Energy National Training and Education Resource (NTER) course management system. NTER operates as an open source cloud computing application.  

Required Qualifications:

1. Bachelor's Degree
2. Knowledge of instructional design and presentation strategies
3. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
4. Good problem solving skills
5. Ability to work independently  

Desired Qualifications:

1. Master's Degree
2. Knowledge of curriculum and instruction
3. Experience using technology to improve teaching and learning
4. Excellent knowledge of computer applications and open platforms  

Kaplan Higher Education Campuses

Information Technology/Computer Instructor- This is an interesting job opening that I would be willing to apply for because I will be able to use my education and technology educational knowledge.

Job Description: Adjunct General Education Instructors
(Information Technology/Computer)
Kaplan Higher Education Campuses

Present enthusiastic, well prepared, organized, and clear lectures and classroom activities consistent with the course syllabus.
• Continually promote the development and effective use of skills in areas such as critical and analytical thinking, evaluation, communication, computation, problem solving and decision-making.
• Provide the student with timely information and feedback on his/her academic progress relative to quizzes, tests, homework and projects.Qualifications:General Requirements:
• 4 years field experience and a minimum of Associates Degree in IT or 15 credits of IT related courses.
• Teaching and educational theory training
• Excellent communication skills
• Ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment
• Display a student centered approach

Self-Assessment

http://www.careerinfonet.org/skills/skills_final_report.aspx

From the self-assessment I learned that I am higher than average in many areas but I am lower than average in equipment selection and management of personnel resources. I believe that I can manage if needed however, I have not had the opportunity, training, or experience to do. I have a leadership personality but there were not questions asked about leadership. When given the results of the job match, 63% of my skills matched with jobs in the field of hospitality. I agree with that because I plan to one day have an event planning business.

Professional Organizations & Publications

• Professional organizations: http://www.aect.org/newsite/
• Mission The Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is a professional association of thousands of educators and others whose activities are directed toward improving instruction through technology.  AECT members may be found in colleges and universities; in the Armed Forces and industry; in museums, libraries, and hospitals; in the many places where educational change is underway.  AECT members carry out a wide range of responsibilities in the study, planning, application, and production of communications media for instruction.
• Cost of membership https://aectorg.yourwebhosting.com/store/display.asp?page=297&noframe=yes
• Publications
  AECT Journals:
  ETR&D (Educational Technology Research and Development)
  TechTrends
  
  
  New Online AECT Journals:
  The International Journal of Designs for Learning
  Journal of Applied Instructional Design
• Conferences and meetings http://aect.site-ym.com/?events_landing

o    Professional organizations: http://www.saide.org.za/

§  Mission

SAIDE is committed to the process of transformation of education and training. It is guided by its mission: to increasing equitable and meaningful access to knowledge, skills and learning through the adoption of open learning principles and distance education methods.

§  Cost of membership: Saide is a non-profit organization that is registered as an educational trust (Registration Number: 1355/92). It is also registered as a Non Profit Organisation (041-137 NPO)

§  Publications- Distance Education in South Africa

Distance Education in South Africa. Presentation by Jennifer Glennie to Palama, 2011.

Overview of Distance Education in South Africa

Review of Distance Education Policy in South Africa Since 1948

Section One - Designing and Delivering Distance Education: Quality Criteria and Case Studies from South Africa.

Section Two -  Designing and Delivering Distance Education: Quality Criteria and Case Studies from South Africa.

§  Opportunities for professional development- SAIDE PROJECTS  

OERAfrica - An Initiative of Saide

Household Food Security Programme

Partnership in Higher Education in Africa - Educational Technology Initiative (PHEA-ETI)

Agshare Planning and Pilot Project

Health OER Inter-Institutional Project

Teacher Education Space on OER Africa

                        IADP - International Association for Digital Publications

• Professional publications:
• Focus/Goals of the journal

• Submission guidelines
• Is this a peer reviewed journal?
• Is the journal online? 

• Professional publications:
• Focus/Goals of the journal
• Submission guidelines
• Is this a peer reviewed journal?
• Is the journal online? 

Section 5: Trends and Issues in Various Settings

Rapid Prototyping
The definition given in the book Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology says that rapid prototyping is thought to decrease design cycle time for the following reasons: First, the methodologies reduce production time because it eliminates time consuming revisions and second, if not a quality product then satisfied customers.

Rapid prototyping can be used in education for lesson plan designing. In our school district we currently, used a software program called Forethought that allows us to input lesson plans and share our lesson plans with other teachers. Forethought provides a template for designing lessons; the system provides a shell that teachers are to follow for effective lesson planning. Our administrators check our lesson plans for quality at the beginning on Monday of every week and offer suggestions and ask clarifying questions. This is a form of rapid prototyping because of the shell that is provide and the plans that are created remain in the system year after year. So, as a teacher it makes the job a little easier because every year you have something to build on and make changes to based on previous feedback. Other teachers throughout the school and the district have the opportunity to view other's teachers plans through a certain setting on the software.

When thinking about how rapid prototyping related to education I purely thought that I should be looking at a tangible model that has been created. However, lesson plans are models that are continually needed throughout the field of education by all teachers. It is nice to have an outline or plan of possible activities that can be altered than to have to create everything from scratch. One model that has been created and used in the education field that can be an example of rapid prototyping is Bloom's Taxonomy.

http://www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm


The Bloom's Taxonomy model serves as a model for teachers to be able to plan lessons that will reach students at different levels. The model provides a ladder to start students then allow them to excel higher. Teachers all around the world use the model to ensure that they are designing lessons that will effectively teach students to use critical thinking skills.

Instructional Design in the Military
I would design staff development for the military in three different forms using the full spectrum diagram. Soliders in the military travel all over and their training happens on the job. The soliders are at various levels and have to be trained in ability groups. Soliders that are of higher rank and higher skill level can train soldiers of lower level and lower rank.

Training must be adaptable depending on the environment that the soliders are in and avaliable when needed. The following staff development plan will allow the military to ensure that training is readily avaliable in all areas.

Classroom
In the classroom there will be training and development avaliable for soliders in the form of books and technology. The training will be conducted by soliders of the highest rank and highest skill level. There will be stationed desktops or laptops in the training classroom that are WIFI capable to allow for research and various types of computer simulations. Computer simulations will be conducted with each trainee and trainees will be grouped according to their career path with the military, ranking, and skill level. Computer simulations allow the soliders to engage with the use of technology needed for the enhancement of their profession. The classroom setting provides more direct instruction and question/answer sessions that allow lower ranked and lower skilled soliders to really learn the foundation of their profession.

Garrison/Base
On base there will be replicas of various situations that will be setup that will be used for practice for trainees. This would be the next step after formal classroom training has taken place and now trainees can begin to put into practice what they have learned from books. Applying principals learned from the more experienced soliders and physically preparing for real situations that they will be faced with when deployed. There would be a mix of mid to high level ranked and mid to high level skilled soliders to operate the training because this training would be based on experience.

Deployed
When soliders are deployed technology is needed but can possibly be limited depending on where they are. So trainining during this phase would take place strictly on the job. There would be access to computers and hand held devices that have internet connections that will allow soliders to conduct live chats with soilders of higher ranks.

Step-Up-To-Excellence and GSTE
I will start by showing clips of the school of rock: The school of rock shows how one person transformed a classroom of students that were accustomed to strict structure to using their intellect in other ways that included fun and freedom.

I will begin a discussion with the staff asking them how this video relates to our school and school district?

I will provide a copy of the book Trends and Issues In Instructional Design And Technology and introduce chapter 21. We will read about highlighted points that I would have chosen prior to the staff development. Following the discussion we will watch the following video that discusses the paradigm of education.

Afterward we will discuss how Step-Up-To-Excellence and GSTE relates to the message from the video.

Faculty Development Offices
Texas A&M Commerce

• What are the different names used for faculty development? Faculty Development Committee
• What division is it under? Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs
• What services does it offer? How often are programs given and what specifically are they? The role of the Faculty Development Committee is to plan and execute a variety of activities to aid faculty members in the continuing development of teaching and research skills. The range of activities extends from informal social functions and topical luncheons to book discussion groups, retreats, teleconferences, teaching workshops, visiting lectures, new faculty orientation and international student experiences. Its most important function is to encourage interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary discussions as well as approaches to instruction. The committee includes representatives from a cross-section of the University faculty, with representation from all three colleges.

Univeristy of North Texas

• What are the different names used for faculty development? Faculty Staff Training/Development
• What division is it under? Human Resources
• What services does it offer? The Training and Development staff focuses on working with department leaders to predict and develop strategies/approaches that continue to build a workforce capable of accomplishing UNT’s strategic goals.
• How often are programs given and what specifically are they? http://www.hr.unt.edu/main/ViewPage.php?cid=69#TrainingCatalog

Witchita State University

• What are the different names used for faculty development? Offices for faculty development and student success
• What division is it under? Offices for faculty development and student success
• What services does it offer? The Office of Faculty Development and Student Success has a dual mission. We support students -- especially those new to Wichita State University -- by helping them adjust to life on campus, and we offer tools to aid faculty in the classroom
• How often are programs given and what specifically are they? http://www.hr.unt.edu/main/ViewPage.php?cid=69#TrainingCatalog