New Directions in IDT

I do not currently work at the moment but when I do start working, I am planning on obtaining a position in Course Design in Distance Learning and in a few years I want to be a Training and Development Manager. I chose to reflect on how I might be able to apply eLearning Environments, Web 2.0 Technologies and Rich Media in my future IDT field.  I will provide a brief definition as to what these particular technologies are and then I will describe or provide examples as to how I plan to use them in my future career. Lastly, I will provide you with learning goals and/or objectives within the text, Prezi, or YouTube video. 

eLearning Environments: learning that is enabled and maintained though the use of information and communications technology. Being that I am planning on Designing Course for Distance Learning, it has to be said that eLearning environments are a must-have because without eLearning environments then there would not be a need for distance learning. There are many students that prefer distance learning (not taking classes face-to-face) because of reasons such as work schedule, commuting needs, learning disabilities, or because they just feel more comfortable being in their own setting and working at their own pace. I plan on using technology to support a wide range of educational activity. Some ways that I plan on using eLearning to engage my students to use the web is a platform for discussion, a resource to find and properly use other people's educational materials, produce interactive web pages, include mulitmedia elements into my teaching materials, and online assessment. 

Web 2.0 Technologies: advanced internet technology and applications that consist of blogs, wikis, Facebook and Twitter. As for Web 2.0 Technologies and how I plan to use those in either of my future positions, I created a Prezi a while back and would like for you to click on the link and you will have a better understanding of how I plan to use them. 

Joddi's Prezi Link

Virtual Worlds: 2-D or 3-D environments that stimulate real-world objects and allows the users to interact with other users at the same time from all over the world. I would use this to create a learning environment that my students can place themselves in, that way they would be an actual part of the lesson that I plan on teaching. This type of learning will surely engage the learners and have them wanting to obtain more knowledge. Check out this YouTube video about Virtual Worlds and the many things you can do with them to engage your learners. 

Could the technology facilitate attainment of that learning goal better than traditional instruction? Why or why not? I believe that the technology that I selected will facilitate attainment of the learning goals I have selected better than traditional instruction. Students need to be stimulated, engaged, and free from boredom in the classroom and/or in the online classroom. By keeping your students engaged in learning it gives them the ability to actually do better and not get bored with their assignments. Students may also want to work ahead just to see what the next lesson holds for them.  

Ethical issues using the technology, Does the technology enhance accessibility and accommodate diverse learning needs? How much guidance would instruction with that technology require? What kinds of guidance would be necessary? As with any technology there will always be some kind of issue that can usually be solved. As a teacher or trainer, I need to make sure that I have set the learning objectives while using eLearning Environments, Web 2.0 Technologies and Virtual Worlds. I will have to make sure that my selection and use of particular games, lessons and training modules adhere to the learning needs of my students and/or trainees. I must make sure that I am aware of the various cultures that I will be teaching or training and be sensitive to their culture and backgrounds by making sure that I do not offend anyone with the games or lessons being presented. I would make sure that the proper amount of guidance (if required) is given to my students or trainees but in order to do that I must first experiment with the technology to see what kind of guidance that they might require. 

Getting an IDT Position and Succeeding at it

I am currently seeking a career in the educational field, but I have not worked in over 3 years for many reasons. The factors that made me decide to stop working and focus more on my education include a divorce after 12 years of marriage, a new marriage, a custody battle with my ex-husband over my 3 children, becoming homeless with my 3 children and new husband, 10 surgeries, and numerous health problems. But since everything is looking up and is so much better, I have decided that since I am nearing the end of my college education, I thought it would be best if I started applying for positions at the college I want to work for. 

I have my Bachelors of Science in Instructional Training and Design and I am pursuing my Masters of Science in Global eLearning. With those two degrees combined I hope to get the position that I applied for at my local community college which is Advisor Retention Specialist. Starting in January 2015, I am guaranteed a position as Course Designer. This is where I will gain the experience that I need to land that ultimate career that I WILL get. I want to work for the college for about 2-3 years for that background experience before I apply for the Training and Development Manager for a major corporation. 

What is a Training and Development Manager? Training and development managers plan, direct, and coordinate programs to enhance the knowledge and skills of an organization’s employees. They also oversee a staff of training and development specialists. Training and development managers work in nearly every industry. They typically work in offices and spend much of their time working with people. Most work full time during regular business hours. Candidates need a combination of education and related work experience. Although training and development managers need a bachelor’s degree for many positions, some jobs require a master’s degree. Training and development managers oversee training programs, staff, and budgets. They are responsible for organizing training programs, including creating or selecting course content and materials. Often, training takes place in a classroom, computer laboratory, or training facility. Some training is in the form of a video, Web-based program, or self-guided instructional manual. Training may also be collaborative, which allows employees to informally connect with experts, mentors, and colleagues, often through social media or other online mediums. Regardless of how it is conducted, managers must ensure that training content, software, systems, and equipment are appropriate and meaningful. This is the career that I WILL get...when the time is right. I am currently lacking the actual working experience but after that is completed then I will have that career that I have always dreamed of and wanted.

Trends and Issues in Various Settings

1. 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.
Business & Industry: Trends and issues include "the growth and expansion of corporations beyond individual country boundaries" (pg. 182). This means going global and an example would be Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is not just secluded to the USA but in several other countries as well. Reducing the demands of design cycle time while increasing effectiveness and efficiency in training. Instructional designers must also be able to address issues like how to work with other cultures, make sure that training design and development are created in less time, and also make sure that training is delivered quickly with results that have a positive impact on money and also profit the corporation itself. 

Military: Trends and issues include international responsibilities of a multinational military; new technologies; funding; technological range; delivery environment; design constraints; people and alternative training solutions. "Although working as an instructional designer in a military environment is challenging, it provides an exceptionally rich opportunity for growth as a professional" (pg. 194).

Health Care Education: Trends and issues include knowledge and research; costs and managed care; regulations, standards, and licensure and convergence. "General societal forces affect each context, and those working in a given setting have their own priorities, values, and culture" (pg. 197). Those factors affect the education and training agenda and the way that technology is used and how instruction is created. 

It appears that learning and teaching are similar goals that they share. Even though I am not employed and I have not taught in an educational environment yet, I can relate as a student to the goals of learning and that is gaining knowledge. Knowledge is a requirement to succeed no matter what field you work in. 

2. Chapters in Section VI discuss global trends and issues in IDT. As the world’s population grows exponentially, we face unprecedented challenges that have implications for learning. How and can we prepare our youth to address the problems of living in a world with 9 billion people when the earth’s resources cannot sustain that many? Does our current education system, curriculum, and instructional practices help learners foster the complex problem-solving skills necessary to tackle these issues? Are there methods and practices used in European and Asian countries that we should use here in the US? Why or why not? 
We can teach our children today what we have learned and most of us practice and that is recycling and conserving. We can teach them to conserve our natural resources by not over-using and we can teach them to use things that we already have. Some teachers in the readings uses items that they already have in their local environment by turning them into tolls for learning. Some students also used beer cans to make a tube to emit sound waves. 

I believe that there are some educational environments that do help learners foster the complex problem-solving skills that are necessary. I also firmly believe that there are also educational environments that are lacking pretty badly with delivering the problem-solving skills to learners. The ones that are lacking are generally those that are lacking in funds or do not have the resources needed to teach the learners what they need to know. 

Something that I read in one of the chapters really made me think hard about methods and/or practices that we should use here in the US. "The learning landscape extends far beyond formal settings into what can be described as an excitingly beautiful wilderness of informal learning" (pg. 236). What this means to me, is that we don't have to have over-sized classrooms that are fancy or equipped with the latest technology to teach our students. We can take our students outside and teach them what we already know and/or have their fellow peers also teach each other. 

Works Cited

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2012). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Human Performance Technology

1. Identify a performance problem in your area of work 

I haven't worked in over 3 years now but I do remember when I worked at several different places and how there were performance problems that would arise. At one point in my life I worked for a retail store chain. While I was employed there I was a Guest Service Manager. I had specific duties that I had to do and certain tasks that I had to make sure to complete and tasks that I had to make sure that other employees completed as well. On Halloween one year, several employees decided to call off work and I couldn't get anyone else to come in and fill the shifts in certain departments. There were only 4 of us working that night and I was beside myself as how to make sure that every department had proper coverage. When certain employees are trained for specific departments and you try to have them work in another department that they are not familiar with, there will naturally be issues and/or performance problems. Being that I was the only manager on duty I had to stay at the front and run the register while the other employees worked on the floor in other departments. I had no choice but to put one employee to cover books and the cafe, one in music and lifestyles, and another in video. I honestly felt so sorry for the employee that was working in the cafe and books because she didn't have much training in the cafe and had only been working there for about a week. Orders got messed up, that area was a mess, and customers were complaining. 

a. Identify non-instructional solutions that may help solve the problem

One solution is that I should have made sure that the employee had proper training before I put them over there or I should have put another employee over there that had adequate training. Another solution that I should have used was to have made sure that the previous MOD had found replacements for those employees that were calling off of their shift that way my shift wouldn't have been so short staffed. Another solution is that when the recipe book was lost I should have made sure to have wrote down how to make the most ordered drinks so the employee would have the recipe right at their fingertips, instead of having them call me every time they had an order that they didn't know how to make. 

2. Define performance support systems 

This would be some type of "thing" that helps the "performer" or employee get the task done effectively and efficiently. This can be something on the lines of note cards, a training manual, video clips, another person, or anything that the performer/employee can use to help get their task completed.  

a. Explain how a performance support system might (or might not) help solve the problem you identified above.

I mentioned earlier that I should have provided the employee with written recipes and directions on how to make the drinks so the customers could have gotten their drinks in a timely order and fashion without any errors. This would have greatly helped the employee because it would have been a time saver because she would have had the recipes right their in front of her without having to call me on the speakerphone or having me stop helping customers to make the drinks for them. With the employee taking time away from her customers to call me and ask how to make the drinks, valuable time was lost with the customers and the customers were also upset yet they were understanding at the same time. But all of this could have been avoided if I had provided the employee with a performance support system.  

3. What knowledge would help solve the problem you identified above? 

I think that a combination of undiscovered and common knowledge would have been the best bet to have helped solve the problem that was in the cafe. Common knowledge is the knowledge that all the employees needs to actually know and undiscovered knowledge is knowledge that basically get over-looked because there is something in the way that is preventing knowledge being learned.

a. How would that knowledge need to be collected and managed to help facilitate problem solving?

Making sure that the employee and every employee is trained in all areas of the store so that problems of not being trained properly do not arise again in case there was another mass "calling off of the employees". Had I checked that the cafe shift was covered and a recipe book in place then this was a problem that could have been avoided. But when you are in a management position where I was and get literally get hundreds of emails a week, you rarely have time to check and read every single one and being that I hardly had to worry about the cafe, I rarely read any emails regarding the cafe.   

4. What informal learning experiences have you participated in at your organization? Could those informal learning experiences be shared with others? Could the knowledge gained in those settings be codified and managed? And should it be managed or should the informal experiences be replicated or broadened for others?

I have seen things I wished I wouldn't have and I have been in situations that were unimaginable however, I have also had the best times of my life in any of my working experiences. Mandatory employee meetings was something that happened once a month and they always lasted for about 2 hours each time. Sometimes there were some employees that never showed up and if they didn't show up for the meeting, they got wrote up. No matter where I work, if I was learning something new or if there was a meeting to attend, I would always take notes. Those notes would generally help me get through any jam I might be in or if I ran into any problems whatsoever. One time we were trying to come up with some "different and exciting" ways to get more customers into the cafe, so we experienced with different drinks and came up with quite a few that were actually really good and were able to sell wonderfully. These drinks didn't have your typical names like White Chocolate Mocha or  Vanilla Caramel Latte. These drinks were named after movies or stars in the most popular movies at the time. Some of the drinks we came up with were Alien VS. Predator, Shark Tale, Friday Night Lights, and The Grudge. I will admit that these drinks had strange names and didn't look appetizing but they actually tasted great and the customers really enjoyed them. These recipes were something that we wrote down and was shared with several other stores in the district and they too made many sales off of these drinks. I am not sure that these drinks are still made or not but it was a great learning experience for all those involved. So needless to say...YES this learning experience was shared with others and that knowledge was able to be codified and managed. I feel that this particular experience was something that was just a fluke and I also think that the cafe workers now are more than qualified to "creating" their own signature drinks for special releases or midnight parties. All the employees have to do is think outside the box and get a little creative. 

Evaluating, Implementing, and Managing Instructional Programs and Projects

Other Models Used for Evaluation

Even though the book discusses the CIPP and Kirkpatrick models for evaluation, it also states in the footnotes on page 97 "For a partial listing of important models not presented in this chapter, see Chen (1990), Patton (2008), and Stufflebeam, Madaus, & Kellaghan (2000)". Then the book also states "if space allowed, the next two models we would include are Chen's 'theory driven evaluation' and Patton's 'utilization focused evaluation'". Considering that there wasn't enough space to include these 2 models, I figured I would discuss them in my BLOG.

Chen's Theory Driven Evaluation

This particular model is a holistic assessment of a program based on the conceptual framework of program theory. It's purpose is to provide information on the performance of a program but also how and why the program achieves such a result. This this is a set of implicit and explicit assumptions of how and why the program should be organized and why the program is expected to work. Theory driven evaluation is useful when stakeholders want an evaluation to serve both accountability and program improvement needs. Here is a chart of Chen's model that was on the CDC's website. 

Patton's Utilization Focused Evaluation

The Utilization-Focused Evaluation was developed by Michael Patton and this is an approach based on the principle that an evaluation should be judged on its usefulness to its intended users. Which means that evaluations should be planned and conducted in ways that enhance the likely utilization of both the findings and of the process itself to inform decisions and improve performance. This model contains 2 elements that are essential. The first element is that the  users of the evaluation must be clearly identified and personally engaged at the beginning of the evaluation process. This is to ensure that their primary intended uses can be identified.  The second element is that the evaluators must ensure that these intended uses of the evaluation by the intended users guide all other decisions that are made about the evaluation process. This evaluation focuses on real and specific users and uses instead of focusing on general and abstract users and uses. See charts below...

How I Would Use Them to Evaluate My Instruction 

I would use these evaluations to assess and enhance my readiness and competence. I would also check to make sure that the fundamental areas for evaluation are being addressed adequately. Such as implementation, outcomes, and attribution questions. I would hope that these evaluations would help bring a number of issues to surface and then I could explore areas that need strengthening or even changes that need to be made. I would also use a checklist to perform a readiness assessment. The check list can be found in the link provided below...

http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/archive_checklists/ufe.pdf

Other Questions Should the Models Address 

As any educator wants to always know, are the students actually learning and retaining the presented information? If not, how can I as the educator ensure that my students are retaining the information that I am teaching them? If my students are not ready to move onto the next lesson plan and all tasks have been exhausted, then how can I help them in the learning and retaining process even further? 

What else would be useful to know? 

I would like to know if either of these models have been used to evaluate the learning needs of students with learning disabilities? Have these models been developed to teach students with learning disabilities of all sorts?

Managing Scarce Resources for a Project Using Situational Leadership

 I would try make the best with what I already had.  However, If I couldn't then I would to try to come up with some other ideas. If I were needing technological devices, and that is where my institution was lacking then, I would check with other schools and institutions to see if they had any technological devices that they are no longer using that they could donate to the institution that I am teaching at. If I were needing other supplies such as something on the lines of a handout that I wanted to distribute, then I would use PowerPoint, Prezi, or even MERLOT to give a presentation. I could use my personal laptop and if a screen wasn't available then I could project my presentation on a white wall. Something that also has to be considered is that not everyone may be able to attend my presentation and how I would be able to have them view my presentation. I would make sure that everyone would be able to have their very own version of my presentation by sending out an email that would include a link to my presentation. This way they would be able to view my presentation at their convenience. 

Resources

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4811a1.htm
http://p2i.eval.org/index.php/michael-quinn-patton/

Theories & Models of Learning & Instruction

1. Epistemology and How it Differs From Instructional Methods or Theories 

Epistemology is a philosophical subdivision of the theory of knowledge that focuses on methods, rationality and possibility. Epistemology is also the study of what differentiates acceptable belief from opinion. Whereas instructional methods or theories is more on the lines of a psychological standpoint that focuses on how to improve learning and development. 

What are the differences between theories, methods, or models of learning and epistemologies or underlying beliefs about ways of knowing?
Theories of learning is how someone learns and is also something that is studied in cognitive psychology. There are many different types of learning theories that measure how someone learns something new or learns in general. Sensory stimulation is when the sense are stimulated. Most adults learn by seeing and hearing.  Reinforcement was developed by Skinner and he believed that behavior was the key to learning. Positive reinforcement (rewards) was something that was done when something was learned whereas negative reinforcement was a punishment of some sort that would redirect the behavior until the lesson was learned and passed.  Holistic focuses on the personality, such as emotions or desires to learn. Facilitation focuses on the environment in which the learner is in. Experiential is the focus on experience and experiments. Andragogy (adult learning) is where adults bring in their experience into the learning environment, know what they want and how to be educated and also expect feedback on their progress. Methods of learning is where an educator use any interference's that are intentionally started to help the process of learning. Learning models help us make sense of things, how to take something so difficult to understand and break it down to where we can understand it. Learning models effect everything in the learning environment such as the teachers, the students, whether the classroom is organized or not, an even the learning material.  

2. Reflect on whether your stance is primarily positivist, relativist, or contextualist. 
I would have to say that I am more on the lines of a positivist stance. I feel that  knowledge is objective as it can go either way. I am the type of person, whether I am a student or an educator, that believes wholeheartedly that if you must be able to use ANY of your senses to learn anything. Whether it's seeing, hearing. touching, smelling,or tasting. This is how we start out learning (as babies) and we continue to learn using those same senses but for different things. I like to argue with my children at times because they do not understand the value of the dollar. For instance, Kris who is 9, always asks for money to buy things he really doesn't need. I tell Kris that money doesn't grow on trees and nothing in life is free. He likes to say that the air we breathe is free and in return I try to tell him that it is not free.  

An Instance When My Perspective as a Learner Conflicted with My Instructor. 
I remember one instance with an instructor that caused a debate in the classroom. It was my last semester at the community college where I began my college career. There were about 30 students sitting in our Philosophy class and the topic that day was religion. The instructor asked "if seeing is believing then how do we know that God exists?" He then said "I've never seen him, so how can I be convinced he exists?" Some of my classmates were in agreement while others were not. I was convinced that the whole class was going to hell. One student then said, "you can't see air with the naked eye but it's there". This discussion/debate went on for approximately 4 class meetings. The instructor was still convinced that if something can't be seen then it just doesn't exist. I, on the other hand, really on my other senses to tell if something exists or not. Someone who was born blind has never seen the sky, but that does not mean the sky doesn't exist. 

3. Differences in Problem-Solving From Behaviorist and Constructivist Perspectives. How They Differ in the Nature of the Problem to be Solved and in Facilitating the Problem Solving Process?  What Effect Might These Differences Have on Learner Motivation?
From a behaviorist perspective, if you are faced with a problem and apply your behavior then the problem can be solved. The study of behavior is objective and can be observed and problem solving occurs through trial and error processes. This is where I provide an example of something that I remember from a few of my psychology courses. Thorndike did an experiment with cats (I believe). He placed that cats in a box with something to hold the door closed and the door would only open if the cats performed a series of actions. The cats had to learn which string was the correct one to pull in order to get out of the box. A constructivist perspective, if you are faced with a problem are you to develop different ideas on how to actually solve the problem. This type of problem-solving reminds me of one of my favorite television shows "House M.D.". Dr. House works (and I use that loosely) with his interns and tries to solve medical problems. They will have a patient that collapses somewhere for no apparent reason and run tests but will come up with nothing. They then go to a room where they sit there and go over all the symptoms, what they know about the patient, what they don't know about the patient, and using PRIOR KNOWLEDGE...they figure out what is wrong with the patient and treat them. The key here is prior knowledge and using what you already know to solve the problem.  As for learner motivation, feedback is used for the behaviorist and allowing your students to figure things out on their own (like Dr. House) is used for the constructivist perspective. 

Defining the IDT Field

1. How do the definitions in the first chapter compare to your own definition of instructional or educational technology?  

Although there are many variations of definitions of instructional/educational technology they are all similar as to what my own definition of what instructional/educational technology means to me. My definition of instructional/educational technology refers to incorporating media of various forms and technology and using those elements to learn better in an educational setting or workplace. 

a. What experiences or other influences have shaped your definition? 

My experiences are those that consist of what I have encountered as a college student in the past 5 years. Within just the last 2 years, I have had the privilege of taking all of my courses online. This is something that I had to learn to do as I was so accustomed to taking everything face-to-face. My last semester as an undergrad student, I changed my major to Instructional Training and Design. And that is when I decided that I wanted to go even further to expand my horizons and enter into the Global eLearning program. I have learned about so many different levels of teaching/learning to diverse students from here all the way across the globe. I have learned things that I only wish I had learned several years ago when I was in High School or as an undergrad student. So, needless to say, what I have experienced in the last 2 years has definitely shaped my definition of instructional/educational technology. 

b. How has your definition changed from examining the definitions in the first chapter of this book?

I can honestly say that after reading the first chapter that my definition remains the same. There are many different variations as to what the definition is but that is depending on how one looks at it and what it means to them. My definition to one thing can differ from your definition to the same thing. It is like this because even though we all see the same thing, it doesn't necessarily mean that it MEANS the same to each person. Something that I like to refer back to when comparing definitions or what a word means to each individual person is the word L-O-V-E. Everyone has experienced love at some point in their life, but not the exact same type of love. So therefore, everyone has their own definition as to what love means to THEM. 

2. Next, think of a lesson or unit of instruction that you have developed. Or if you haven’t ever taught or developed instruction, think of one that you have received. How does that lesson adhere or fail to adhere to the six characteristics of instructional design? 

Even though I have not had the privilege of actually teaching a class, I have had the opportunity of designing, developing, and evaluating curricula. This course was Designing & Evaluating Curriculum. In this course, I was also able to formulate course goals and objectives by using a variety of measurement instruments. The course that I took after that was Utilizing Effective Instructional Technologies and in this course I got to turn the curriculum that I created into an online course. That experience was something that I will never forget. I was hard...but it was worth every drop of blood,sweat, and tear I put into it.

1. Student Centered - I made a point to make sure that I was available to my students whenever they needed me. Emails, calls, and or texts where answered promptly and thoroughly. I also made sure that I truly and fully listened to my students whenever they had questions or concerns about any assignment, the rubric's, or student centered learning goals. I made communication with my students top priority. 
2. Goal Orientated - I designed this course with weekly goals that students could view in advance to ask questions if anything happen to arise. My expectations of the students where clearly stated and that students learning goals were set at an achievable level. 
3. Focused on Meaningful Performance -  This particular course was designed to where I would place the students into groups and then they would work on a project together. I asked my students to collaborate with one another to create their project to their ability, all the while making sure to apply their knowledge and skills with technology. 
4. Measurable Outcomes - Assessment methods measured that the students were able to demonstrate their learning and knowledge by having the ability to give judgment about what was presented. Students also had gained further understanding about the presentation though their knowledge about different works of arts that they have encountered in previous courses. Another assessment method I used was a written exam over the different presentations that each group gave.  By using this assessment method, the exam included information that was presented over the course and measured the students’ knowledge of obtained information. 
5. Empirical, Iterative, and Self-Correcting - Each assigned group was required to give their presentation for peer review and instructor review. Reviewing students were able to give judgement, suggestions for improvement if needed, and online discussions were allowed and required. 
6. Team Effort - This particular course was designed to be an online course which required students to collaborate and assess. 


a. How would you redesign it to better adhere to the six characteristics.

I don't think that I would make any changes or redesign this course due to the fact that I feel that it already adheres to the six characteristics completely. 

3. In the 3^rd chapter, Reiser distinguishes instructional media from instructional design, excluding teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks from the definition of instructional media. Why? I think that Reiser's reasoning for the exclusion of teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks was because of the fact the teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks were the very first things in the classroom and that is how the classroom got its start. Looking back into my childhood, watching Little House on the Prairie that is how the children of Walnut Grove got their education. Ms. Beetle reading out of the textbooks and then writing important information on the chalkboard for the students to study and learn. 

a. Would you consider teachers, chalkboards, and textbooks instructional media? Yes I would. 

b. Is the purpose of instructional design to incorporate media into instruction? This is a question that many will have their own opinions about until the end of time. My thoughts on this is that we as educators want our students to learn to the best of their ability and by any means as possible. If that means that we need to turn a textbook into an eBook, getting rid of paper tests and putting them on the computer, or even taking out chalkboards to use PowerPoint projections, then so be it. However, what it all boils down to is that there still needs to be a teacher/educator to facilitate the learning process whether it incorporates media into instruction or not.