Reflection for Fourth Week

The fourth week is looking at the implementation phase of instruction design. In this stage it is important to look at the instruction that has been designed and created and make sure that it can be presented properly. In this case that would mean that all the links work, that everything is complete and easy to follow on the website and that no problems exist for the student to obtain the instruction. I know that many times in class when I'm getting ready to present a lesson I suddenly realize I'm missing something for the lesson or that something isn't working. This can be frustrating. The point of the implementation phase is so that you don't suddenly realize that something is missing or not working. The goal of the instructional design process is not having to worry at the last moment if everything was done correctly in the earlier phases. Implementation also looks at room set-up, supplies needed for the presenter and students, that the equipment, including the internet, is working

The readings from the book and in class this week looked at the evaluation phase of the process. Really evaluation is a constant through out the process. It is essential in creating instruction that you evaluate not only the delivery, but how well students achieve the desired outcomes and if the results are consistent over time. In my own class I'm often evaluating not only how the students are doing, but how my teaching is going. It becomes fairly obvious when something is not working. Sometimes I adjust on the spot and other times I have to adjust later. Either way the evaluation helps me see what needs to change. In the book it discusses three types of evaluation: formative, summative, and confirmative. Formative is a useful tool in the ID process before the program is finalized. It is the opportunity to see if the instruction is meeting the objectives and adjust. Summative evaluations are a concluding assessment to see how well the objectives were met. It allows the designer to see if the students achieved. Confirmative evaluations look at the longer term effects of the instruction, are the students still able to meet the objectives. In order for instruction to be successful it needs to pass all evaluations, along with the students passing all. It is also important to make sure that the tests are valid and reliable. In the past in my own classroom I've used tests created by someone else. I didn't really check the tests before administering them. What I noticed is that the test didn't actually meet the objectives I thought it did. Thus the test was not a valid test for my instruction and is some ways was a waste of time. That is why it is important to create an assessment that aligns with the instructional objectives and checking to make sure that your instruction aligns with those objectives. A test is considered reliable when it produces consistent results. When choosing/creating assessments there are a variety of options that need to be weighed. Objective tests are easy to grade and short-answer tests allow the learner to show a higher level of thinking. Both are important and I think that trying to use a mix is useful. Although this can be more complicated is shows a better level of student understanding. The important thing to remember is that evaluations can help the instructor develop a better program and it can help the learner see how they are doing.

In class I also realized that variety of questions to ask on exams and realized the need to go back and reexamine tests to see if they have well written questions that are clear and concise. It is not easy to write questions, but having a well written evaluation is definitely going to help the evaluation. I also never considered looking at wrong answers students marked in order to find out where the student is getting confused. Multiple choice questions really have a benefit in the amount of data provided. An important part of evaluation is feedback to students. One thing I've struggled with, in the classroom, is giving feedback for a multiple choice test. We use a machine to score so all they know is that "b" was not the correct choice for question 2. I realized that I need to take that day and go over the test and what students got wrong. So that students have that opportunity to continue to learn.

I enjoyed the information about WebQuests from Wednesday's class. I've done WebQuests before, but its been a long time. I find that WebQuests are interesting and I think that my students would enjoy them. They are also good for students being able to learn about something in a safe environment and doing somehting different than they are used to in class. I got a couple of ideas to use them in my classroom for Social Studies. I also liked the PowerPoint museum idea. I'd never considered doing such a thing, but it gave me some good ideas.

Reflection For Third Week

I realized in writing this that, in the past, when I've put together a lesson for my students that all these phases are there in my process. Of course, the steps are not clearly defined and they mix together and overlap a little bit. I also might skip a few things, but the outline is there. Granted I never specified this is the analysis stage and this is the design phase, but the idea was there. So it's interesting to start to see the formal process and really consider the steps I should take.

This week we started the looking at the development phase. This can be a really fun phase and I can see why it is easy to want to skip to this point. This phase puts all the information gathered previously together to create the instruction. Following the plan created in the design phase the instruction is developed. It is important to remember to not overwhelm the learner when creating the instruction. The instruction needs to be presented clearly and simply, but in a manner that draws in the learner. Another important consideration is whether or not the instruction is meeting the intended goals. Then the instruction is tested to check its effectiveness and look for any kinks.

In class this week we learned Photo Story. I enjoyed learning how to use the program, but I found it limiting in some ways. I've used iMovie on the Mac and Windows Movie Maker on the PC. I like these because those programs tend to give a little more freedom. For example, putting in the music. In iMovie and Movie Maker it really gives you freedom in placing the music where you want and cutting where you want. In my group's digital story we wanted pieces of a song. We managed to bring in what we wanted so it worked out, but it did make it a little more complicated. What is nice about Photo Story is that it is more simple and easier to use than other programs. I think even my fourth graders could use this program. Photo Story would be great to show and use with my students because it does have that simpler, easy to follow format. It just takes you right through the steps. Unfortunately, at my school we only have Macs. I could use iMovie with my students, but it feels a little daunting trying to do that.

Our group has worked on finishing the analysis and design phases. We have also started on the development phase. We created our digital story and have nearly finished it.

Reflection for Second Week

The second week looked at the design phase of instructional design. The design phase comes after the analysis phase so that you know the problem you are addressing, the needs of the learner, and the task you want them to accomplish. The design phase first looks at what you want the learner to accomplish. With a strong objective in place you can make sure that your instruction is aligned with your activities and assessment. When developing the instructional objectives it's important to remember the domains (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) and the objective is to help the learner know what they will be able accomplish at the end of instruction. In my own classroom I know that remembering to tell my students the objective in lessons would help them better understand where they are at and whether or not they are accomplishing what I intended for them to accomplish. Many of my students this past year were constantly asking me, "Am I done?" "Is this good enough?" "Am I doing this right?" It would be nice to say, "Well, you look at the objective and you tell me." That way they are taking more responsiblity for their learning and self-assessing.

The next step in the design phase is sequencing. This is important because it helps you make sure that you are addressing content in a logical way for the benefit of the learner. In class we talked about the topical sequencing and the spiral sequencing. There was also the elaboration theory. Thinking back I would say that topical sequencing makes the most sense to me, but I'm sure I've used the spiral occaisionally and the elaboration theory at least in previous jobs. In my classroom, it will be interesting to look at lessons/units and see how they've been sequenced and determine if that is the best method.

The last steps of the design phase look at designing the instructional strategies and the message. What I thought was interesting in this part was the role of the text and visuals you use to convey the information. I never really thought how essential the look of what you're presenting is. I've noticed when someone gives me something that is impossible to read because of the fonts used, the colors, the pictures, or arrangement. All of these things can be maximized to allow the learner to learn from the information instead of getting distracted by something in the design.

In class this week we looked more at our web page and blog. I've enjoyed learning more about these. I started using a web page for my class room just a few months ago. What I like about what I'm learning in class is that I can have more freedom in my arrangement of my web page. Right now it seems that I will be rearranging the site as often as I rearrange my classroom, which is fairly regularly. I hope to find the correct layout quickly. I am concerned that I need to change the web address for my site to something that would be easier for my students and seem related to my classroom. I will say that I'm leaning towards using a web page for my class instead of a blog. I like blogs and have my own personal one, but I'm still not sure how I would incorporate it into my classroom. Although, having both so that I work to the strengths of each type would be nice. I'm still concerned of how to incorporate the use with my students. I teach fourth graders and connecting at school is problematic and not everyone has internet at home or access to the internet. So it seems that it will have to remain an optional thing. I am excited to try and find ways to use it, though.

Our team started working on our Task Analysis and the diagram for it. We completed a rough draft of the Task Analysis diagram and are working on the analysis phase of our project.

Reflection for First Week

I left class on Monday feeling confused and overwhelmed. I've learned this week what is involved in the instructional design process. I see how each step of the process is important. I never thought how essential it is to analyze a problem thoroughly in order to come up with a sensible solution. When I encounter problems in the classroom I need to step back and analyze the situation before trying to fix the situation.

Our team is working out well. We've started the introduction page and we've also come up with the topic for our project.