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Thoughts of Instructional Design LTEC 5210

What do you think about instructional design so far? 

To be honest, I initially was attracted to instructional design because I am pretty good with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and I have some programming abilities.  I am still new to the Learning Technologies master’s program.  When forced to pick a track, I chose instructional design as my track.

I am glad that I have taken this class because now I know a lot more about the subject. The readings have shown me how systematic the whole process is.  There are precise questions about what you should ask your client.  Everything has to be documented. It makes a lot of sense. Businesses and institutions need to maximize the effectiveness that their employees spend in training.  As a teacher, I take a lot of this for granted.  I am fortunate to work in a district with curriculum writers who spend weeks over the summer trying to adjust the curriculum where much of the same is going on.

I have also been struck by the differences between training and education.  “Training” in general is what instructional design focuses on.  “Curriculum,” while very similar, is what the academia and schools use. As theRomiszowski article mentions, training is focused, and it is trying to hit an objective (1981). Education, on the other hand, encourages people to teach themselves and to explore (1981).  As with many things, most learning experiences are somewhere on the spectrum between the two.&n

My project, logging on to the school network, is an excellent example of this. It takes place at an academic institution but has straightforward goals. It isn’t something that requires much exploration. I have recently explored the possibility of taking computer coding classes for enrichment. While coding could be seen as a concrete skill, often much exploration is used when teaching coding.
I also find it ironic that while this is a class about training, that it is very open-ended and educational.  In many ways more so than some of the more academic courses I have done for this major.  The fact that I have a project from the “real world” that the professor doesn’t know much about has led me to explore a lot. The act of brainstorming different projects has introduced me to the wide diversity of places training is used in.  It seems to be everywhere, and in this very technical world, it will continue to be more and more critical.

This class has been very valuable because it has made me reevaluate the pathway I want to do.  I probably do not have the temperament for instructional design as a career.  I think I could be ok at it.  But I don’t have a very organized mind and I am also not a super detail-oriented person.  I probably will be looking at another one of the tracks for this major.

References


Romiszowski, Alexander 1. ( 1981 ). Designing Instructional Systems. New York: Nichols. Chapters 1, 2 and 9.

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