Goal 1

IT 486: Web Design for Instruction Class Project

Overview:

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) and Northwest Normal University (NWNU) collaborated to allow NWNU faculty members to gain experiences in American-style pedagogy through class observations at SIUE during the fall 2012 semester and continuing each fall. Since that first cohort, SIUE has hosted 2 additional cohorts with an increasing number of participants in each cohort. During their semester at SIUE, the visiting scholars observe SIUE classes in an effort to learn about the teaching methods practiced by university professors in the U.S.  This program is known as the International Training Program in Pedagogy (ITPP).

My Web Design for Instruction (IT486) course project was the creation of a website designed to help visiting foreign scholars at SIUE.  Specifically, the website prepared the scholars for their semester in the US at SIUE.  

Life Cycle:

This project was developed using the EDPE process.  The phases in the EDPE process are Envision, Design, Produce and Evaluate.  I will lead you through this project using those phases.

Envision

This was my first IT class and my first exposure to any design related material. Initially, I thought this would be a course about designing a website and more of the mechanics of doing so. I failed to consider the WHY behind the HOW of those mechanics.  I did not realize envisioning, producing and evaluating were just as important as the design.  

I served on the ITPP leadership team at SIUE. The leadership team is comprised of faculty and staff who coordinate the logistics of hosting the visiting scholars. We gained a great deal of knowledge from the first cohort, and I wanted to use that knowledge to create a website that the visiting scholars could view in their home country before they arrived in the US. The goal was to introduce them to basic information about SIUE and US culture in advance of their semester at SIUE. After the first semester of the project, we all agreed the visiting scholars were a bit overwhelmed. The hope was an earlier introduction might help with their overall transition.

As I envisioned my project, I wanted to create an online tutorial that could be viewed anywhere. I found my initial view of an online tutorial was very limited, though. In my mind, the only type of online tutorial I knew of was a pdf of a PowerPoint presentation. I wanted something more than a static assortment of PowerPoint slides. In our IT486 initial class readings, I learned that the learner engagement is a critical piece of a successful online tutorial, especially the learner-learner component. Because the learners (visiting scholars) may experience situations they might be reluctant to bring to our attention or have questions that we might not be able fully answer, we wanted the learners to be able to interact with one another.  This challenged my views of an online tutorial but addressed my desire for creating something more appealing.  My envisioning shifted from seeing the website as content delivery and more toward seeing it as an interactive experience between the SIUE leadership and learners (visiting scholars) and, more importantly, an interactive experience between the learners.

For these scholars, the experience at SIUE was their first time in the US. Everything would be new to them, from their living quarters in college housing to the university structure at a public American institution. I wanted this project to prepare them as much as possible for this experience. As such, I needed to include some information on where SIUE is located in the US, college life on campus and information about SIUE university structure, including the key people they would interact with during their stay. 

When we brought the first visiting scholars to campus, we realized afterwards that we basically left them stranded the first few days.  They were provided with a bag of food to get them through 24 hours, shown how to take the bus to Walmart, the dining hall on campus and were supplied some basic cooking utensils.   But, imagine how you might feel if you were dropped in a new country with no transportation, no knowledge of the local area and no way to get food other than the very basic necessities left in the apartment.  We discovered we needed to provide them with information on places in town that deliver food and an earlier stop at a market that might have food more familiar to them.  

I envisioned this project based on our past experiences where a lack of thoroughness in orienting the first cohort served as an opportunity to better understand the instruction that future scholars might need. 

Design

My first two design steps were writing goals and creating storyboards.  These tasks became an interactive experience such that I’m not sure which really came first.

The process of writing goals was a new experience for me, and I fumbled through it. I’m a little embarrassed at the objectives I wrote for this project. I had no experience in writing academic objectives. With the help of Dr. Neal and classmates, I developed the goals and objectives for my project.  You can see these in the IT486_project documentation. 

While I was very early into my IT experience at this point, these goals did help guide the design of my project. I cringe when I now read the goals and objectives I wrote for this project, especially after spending so much time on this process in IT510. I used Mager style objectives extensively in future projects. These appear to be more Gronlund style, but I certainly did not articulate that at the time.

For example, my first goal was written as “The learner (visiting Chinese faculty members) will develop an understanding of an American style university.”  Aligned to that goal was the objective “The visiting Chinese Scholars will identify academic hierarchy at SIUE and name the individuals holding important positions.”  It’s embarrassing to see how crudely those were written.  Let me show you how I would re-write them based on more experience in the IT program.

I would rewrite the goal as “The visiting Chinese scholar will understand the differences between Chinese and American higher education institutions.”  This revision more clearly articulates what we want the learners to learn, in this case we want them to know the differences between the higher education institutions in China and America. 

Following up on that revised goal, I would rewrite the objective to include an action statement (which is sorely missing in its current form).  Without really knowing it, I had written the goal in more of a Gronlund style only because it was less focused on behavior.  But, I did not include the performance mastery so it fell short.  Keeping this objective in a Gronlund style, I might rewrite it as “The visiting Chinese Scholars will identify academic hierarchy that names key positions found on an organizational chart, provides the names of individuals who hold those positions at SIUE and aligns with comparable positions held in a Chinese university.”  If this were to be rewritten as a Mager style objective, it might read “Given an organizational chart of SIUE, the visiting scholars will identify the positions and names of individuals holding those roles at SIUE with 90% accuracy.” 

After I had developed the goals and objectives, as crude as they were, I used storyboards as a tool to see the large picture and not get lost in the weeds. You can see the storyboard I used to guide my project here (IT486_storyboard). The storyboard helped me categorize topics in ways that made sense in the overall scheme of the project. For example, I wanted to include specific topics but I wasn’t sure how they should be arranged or prioritized. The Storyboard helped me determine that my ideas fell into three categories; SIUE University Structure, Etiquette in the US and Getting started at SIUE.

From there, I could add sub categories to my storyboard as appropriate. For instance, one sub-category that I added was a section on behaviors considered rude in the US. The storyboard also helped me structure the overall website design in terms of what information should go in the header and in a side menu bar.

As I mentioned earlier, I had envisioned a learner-learner component.  I had to take into account this learner engagement in my design. The visiting scholars would be spending an entire semester together. Although they come from the same institution in China, it is unlikely they have met until they leave China for their semester at SIUE.

My thinking about learner interaction was being challenged greatly during the time I was working on this project. This was my first experience being involved with an online course. I hadn’t originally considered the peer-to-peer interactions and how crucial they were to the learning process. Having experienced that interaction in IT 486 class and realizing the value at the same time I was designing this project, I wanted to include an element in this project that stimulated and encouraged a similar interaction with the visiting scholars. I decided to add a discussion board to my website design to facilitate that process.   

While my project was never implemented, I designed the discussion boards as a way for visiting scholars and SIUE faculty and staff to interact before the scholars’ arrival at SIUE, such as topics for general information, introductions, discussion before their arrival at SIUE and their goals for their visit.  While I included some basic boards, the idea was that the SIUE team would monitor and participate in the discussions.  Because of the time difference, I thought this would provide a valuable asynchronous interaction.  The discussion board was designed to be organic and change as the needs, questions and issues changed. 

I also included a PowerPoint with voiceover.  While the visiting scholars were proficient in written English, we found their spoken English to be at a lower level than we desired.  I included the PowerPoint with an English speaker to reinforce the importance of spoken English.  This would also provide our scholars an opportunity to practice some English words they would use a great deal during their time in our program (words such as Edwardsville, St. Louis, and the SIUE team members’ names.) 

Produce

Actually developing the project was the most challenging part of this project! It involved some technical skills in areas in which I was weak. To create my IT486 project, I used KompoZer, GIMP, Proboards, and PowerPoint with audio.  Below, I discuss a few of these.  

It was a struggle to decide what web design software to use.  I describe my frustration in IT486_Final Reflection Paper.  I ended up using GIMP.  This seemed to be the best choice because of cost (free) and online reviews indicate it was user friendly.

I thought the decision on what software to use was stressful…then I moved on to how to produce graphics for the website! That about sent me to drop the class and abandon the notion of going any further in this program. I looked at Photoshop but was intimidated by the price and complexity. Several classmates mentioned GIMP so I gave that a try. I initially thought it was a pretty easy program…until I tried to actually create an idea I held in my mind. Playing with GIMP and producing an image similar to what I had imagined were two very different things. Creating what was a very simple image took HOURS and loads of frustration. I wrote about the process in this journal (Journal #8). I wanted to create a button that would serve as an icon on the website that users could click to go a different part of the website. Here is an example:

Simple, right? No!!! First, notice the rounded edges. I liked that as it seemed a bit less jarring than just a squared off box. But, I had to LEARN how to make the rounded edges, I couldn’t just WILL them to occur. Once I figured out the rounded edges, I had to work on shading. Shading?!? Yes, see how the middle of the box with rounded edges isn’t as dark as the outer edges? It was unbelievably complex for a newbie to get that shading just right. And, then, the text in the middle had to be centered both vertically and horizontally. All that went into creating that simple button to use on a website. Then, it had to be saved just right or it would end up as a big white box surrounding the nicely designed button. A big white box screams TACKY DESIGN and indicates a novice designer was let loose on the project.  

Fortunately, I discovered the amazing world of YouTube instructional videos that walked me through the above process. I could pause, rewind, erase my attempts in GIMP and start all over again….as many times as I needed to in the privacy of my own home to create the finished product that you see above.

I turned a PowerPoint into a video with a voice recording. That was another new skill for me and took more trial and error than I care to admit to produce a ridiculously amateur end result. But I learned the basics of how to do it! If you are brave (or a glutton for punishment), you can view the PowerPoint here (IT486_MY MOVIE). This was the first time I’d ever recorded my voice and that was frustrating. Admittedly, I was not using the highest quality microphone. I used a gaming headphone from my teenage son. Seriously, how hard could it be to record your voice? Very hard from my experience. Getting the headphones positioned on my head with the microphone positioned in the proper distance from my mouth was a challenge. If the microphone was too close, the sound was muddled. If the microphone was too far away, the sound was too soft. There was a “sweet spot” in that distance that I struggled to find. I never got it quite right and, in my mind, it sounds very amateurish to me.   

The accomplishment I’m most proud of in this project is the development of a video using a Flip camera mounted on a bike, with accompanying music and added text, put together with Windows Live Movie Maker. It sounds so simplistic but I’d never done anything like this before. I managed to mount a Flip camera to my handlebars using a flexible tripod.  While the tripod held the camera in place, it didn’t do much to reduce the shake.  I was, however, able to take that video and manipulate it using Windows Live Movie Maker, add sound and text.  Now in the world of GoPro cameras, I can imagine this would be much easier to accomplish!  But I’m proud of this simplistic video because I envisioned the idea in my mind and was able to use tools that I learned in this program to accomplish that vision.  You can view the video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osRqKMo48bY&feature=youtu.be).

Evaluate

I used a variety of approaches to plan and execute the evaluation of my website. I used WAVE (wave.webaim.org) to evaluate my website. WAVE provided me with feedback on my website that included utilizing alternative text more effectively, not using underlined text and not having empty headers. It was a great tool to evaluate a website! The WAVE evaluation also pointed out the importance of utilizing the text feature when using graphics or pictures. In the event that an automated reader is reading the website for a visually impaired user, that text will help the user visualize those design elements. I also learned using underlined text on a website is not recommended as viewers and automated readers will confuse it for a hyperlink. You can read about my evaluation using WAVE in this journal (IT486_Journal #13).    

I employed a Think Aloud concept to my project. This was my first time using this method, and my attempt was very rudimentary! I had a user sit down and read through what they saw as they navigated the website. This helped me to identify some visual elements that didn’t flow in the way I thought they would. For instance, I thought users would navigate using the sidebar menu but the user who performed my think aloud kept looking for a “BACK” button. I also discovered that a few links were not opening properly. I wanted links to open in a new window and a few were not set up correctly. The Think Aloud provided me the opportunity to correct those links and add a BACK button to my pages.

My project involved a plan to survey participants before their arrival at SIUE and at the conclusion of the semester to assess how useful the website was in their initial transition. While I did not develop the assessment tool as a part of this class assignment, my plan was to send the participants a link to the website a month before their arrival. I would then follow up with an online evaluation survey before they left China to see what elements, if any, they found helpful and what other information they felt would be useful. At the end of the semester, I would follow up with another similar survey to ascertain if what else should have been included in the website. This follow up survey will help me determine elements to add each time. Simply relying on the initial survey would not give a complete picture as these scholars “don’t know what they don’t know” before they arrive on campus.

IT 430: Computer Based Publishing and Instruction project

Overview:

My Computer Based Publishing and Instruction (IT430) project involved the revision of a flier announcing an upcoming Karate seminar using the process of rapid prototyping.  The goal of this assignment was to reduce the cognitive overload.  Dr. Knowlton provided source material (IT430_Kanazawa FLYER) for the project. It was a flier announcing an upcoming karate seminar, featuring an instructor from Japan. The source material was jam packed with details and included a background image that competed with much of the text.

Life Cycle:

The rapid prototyping model involves a repetition process of prototyping and evaluation. This process creates a feedback loop where the evaluation is almost immediately used to create the next prototype.  This feedback loop provided me with an opportunity to “test” my design elements with a group of trustworthy colleagues and to consider their feedback in making improvements.

Prototype #1

You can see my first prototype here: (LINK TO ARTIFACT - IT430_Design Project 3)  

In an attempt to reduce the cognitive overload of the source material, I removed the following information in my first design:

• Background image of St. Louis since this appeared to be locally marketed.
• All the asterisked information. The original 3 asterisked notes.
• The full schedule of events as I felt a user would be more likely to go to a website or registration form to find that level of detail.
• The complicated pricing structure.

I reviewed the host organization’s website and decided to use one graphic of a tiger instead of two different versions of a similar graphic used on the original flier. I decided to use the graphic with English lettering as I thought users would more easily identify with that graphic and associate it with the local organization.

I decided to use the graphic of the “kicking guy” as found on the source material.  I felt it would draw in readers who might not take the time to read all of the text.

I highlighted some of the “extra” features of the seminar as they were lost in the source material. These included the option of dinner with the visiting instructor, the ability to take Kyu and Dan exams, the fact that all ranks were welcome and that special sessions were being held for black/brown belts.

Evaluation #1

Feedback from my classmates included the following:

• Jen suggested shading in a text box to help better organize the material. She indicated the shading might help the text appear more prominently in the overall design.
• Rhonda suggested a better placement for my “kicking guy” graphic. When readers read the text in this version, they were staring right at the groin area of the “kicking guy.” Not an ideal placement.
• Rhonda, Dave and Micah questioned the lack of pricing on my flier. 

Prototype #2 

You can see my second prototype here: (LINK TO ARTIFACT - IT430_Design Project 3_2)

I improved this version of my prototype with the following revisions:

While others were reviewing my first prototype, I was reviewing their prototypes.  Some of my revisions were based on what I learned while serving as a reviewer of classmates’ prototypes.  For instance, I decided to play with the graphic I’d used at the top of the design and create more of a transparent watermark effect. This was the graphic that had appeared on the original prototype and on the organization’s website. Using the graphic as a watermark allowed me to overlay the graphic and text in the same location on the page. This conserved space but still provided the graphic recognition for the user.

I agreed with Jen’s feedback and responded by adding a very light yellow background to the text box containing much of the basic facts. The organization’s main graphic was yellow and red. Using yellow was an attempt to pull a color from one of the graphics that represented the karate studio to maintain a cohesive feel to the design.  I also used red text inside the box and used a red line as a border. My goal was to keep my colors within the same palate as the main graphic. This was also an attempt to “chunk” the material to make it easier for the reader to digest. Bozarth (2010) talks about chunking data into meaningful amounts of data that can be processed by the brain. She encourages designers to “employ simple visual design basics” such as font and white space (p. 3).  Because there was a great deal of traditional white space in my prototype, I created another form of “white space” by shading the area containing the “chunked” data. This was my attempt to help the reader process the material and reduce cognitive overload.

I agreed with Rhonda’s suggestion on the placement of the “kicking guy” graphic. I resized and moved the graphic of the karate guy to the lower bottom corner, where the graphic formed a bit of a frame on one side of the text. This eliminated the reader looking directly at his groin area while reading the text.    Rhonda’s feedback that I described above motived some of the changes in this prototype because she helped me see that I had become so engrossed in the details but failed to consider how design elements worked cumulatively in the overall prototype.

I included a range of prices to respond to Rhonda, Dave and Micah’s feedback. The pricing schedule on the original was complicated, and I felt a range would at least give the end user an idea of cost without being overly complicated.  When I first read the comments regarding the lack of pricing information, I felt stretched outside of my own perspective, but as I worked on the prototype, I came to see that pricing would be important element. Engaging in rapid prototyping not only helped me refine my design but also provided me with a perspective outside of my own

Evaluation #2

Feedback from my classmates included the following:

• Rhonda indicated she wasn’t able to see the top graphic on her computer and suggested trying to incorporate the schedule of events into the overall design    
• Rhonda also indicated the revised placement of the “kicking guy” was more appropriate and less distracting.

Prototype #3

You can see my third prototype here: (LINK TO ARTIFACT - IT430_Design Project 3_4)

I further revised my prototype by making the following improvements:

I responded to Rhonda’s suggestion and played around with the schedule. I found a way to include the schedule information in a way that worked well with the design but didn’t seem to provide as much cognitive overload as the original prototype as the original. I was able to reduce the font size and organize the text in a chart to include date, time and a brief session description. I was also able to put the text into a chart showing the pricing information for the various options and the price difference after a specific date.

Evaluation #3

Feedback from my classmates included the following:

• Micah pointed out an error on my pricing information. A discussion ensued on the board about how critical it was to carefully proof our work before it becomes public.

Prototype #4 – final production

You can see my fourth prototype here: (LINK TO ARTIFACT - IT430_Design Project 3_5)

I improved this version of my design with the following actions:

I corrected the pricing error. Other than that error, this design was essentially the same as the previous version.

Please refer to ARTIFACT - IT430_mini project 3_my design for the complete thread of the discussion board of the above project.  

IT 510: Instructional Systems Design project

Overview:

My Instructional Systems Design (IT 510) project followed the steps of the Morrison, Ross, Kalman and Kemp model (hereafter referred to as Morrison); and, through this process, I completed a full instructional packet, test packet and documentation on how to properly close a pool for winter (IT510_PROJECT DOCUMENTATION_FRICKE, IT510_test packet and IT510_INSTRUCTION_FRICKE). Throughout the discussion of the life cycle of this project, I will be referring to these three documents. This project was to be a self-paced individual workbook and was designed in a way that instruction could occur without the need for an instructor present.  Throughout the IT510 course, we worked through the Morrison model to align our project to the various phases in the model. I have outlined those steps below.

Life Cycle:

Instructional problem

My IT 510 project was an instruction on how to properly close an above ground pool for the winter. The identified problem is that my family has a pool and only one person knows how to close it for the winter.  Failure to properly close a pool for the winter months in the Midwest region of the country could cause permanent damage to the pool and shorten the lifespan of the pool.

To address this problem, I selected a Subject Matter Expert (SME) who would provide technical knowledge and assistance in this project. My husband served as the SME on this project.

With my SME, we set goals of what learners need to accomplish to complete this task. I originally thought that would be easy….they need to learn how to close a pool. In working with my SME, I discovered that not only did they need to know the mechanics and process of closing a pool, but learners would also need to know what items to purchase ahead of time, how to prepare the pool water, what order the steps must be taken and, finally, how to cover the water of the pool for winter. You can see the goals for this project in Goal Analysis section, page 3, in IT510_PROJECT DOCUMENTATION_FRICKE.

Once I determined the goals with my SME, I needed to refine our goals and include specifics. For example, my goal stating “At the end of this instruction, individuals will know what steps are necessary to prepare to close a pool” was further refined as follows:

1.  At the end of this instruction, individuals will know what steps are necessary to prepare to close a pool:

a.      Clear pool deck

b.      Inspect toys to determine if any are broken or need repair

c.       Store toys and pool furniture

d.      Remove ladder and slide

Adding in the specifics to the goals lead me to realize that my original goals were in an incorrect order. I refined my goals so that the following goals were ordered before my original goal 1:

1. Learners will understand how to clear the pool deck to prepare for closing of the pool for the winter.
2. Learners will know what products and chemicals to purchase prior to starting the pool closing process.
3. Learners will understand how to check the water’s chemical balance, adjust accordingly and prepare water for winter closing.

My original first goal listed above later became my fourth goal in this process of goal analysis. Stay with me because this is important in the next phase of the model.

Learner Characteristics

Now that I had a SME and had identified on the goals of the project, I needed to define the target audience for this instruction. Morrison stresses that designers must know the learner to know the problem to ultimately know the task on which the instruction is based. I tended to be very general when thinking about my learners (they had access to a pool); but the more involved I became with my project, the more I realized the need to be much more specific in order to design effective instruction.

Ultimately, I defined my learners as 15 years old or older, male or female with the physical capability to lift 40 pounds (the average weight of a pool ladder). I also determined my learners needed to read at an 8^th grade level or higher, had to have a basic pool familiarity, and have the ability to obtain the specific supplies that would be necessary to close a pool. And, most importantly, my learners needed to have an understanding of the critical nature of keeping electricity away from water. Because this project involves water and could involve using tools that require electricity, this learner characteristic is crucial to the safety of my learners.

One learner characteristic that I removed was that the learner had to have access to the pool. Through the course of discussions in class, I realized that a learner didn’t need to have access to a pool for the actual instruction. Obviously, if they wanted to close a pool, they would need a pool to close. But, if they were using this instruction as a starting point and were, perhaps, a teenager looking to expand their skills and work opportunities, they would not need an actual pool to complete this instruction.

Task Analysis

The task analysis in Morrison’s model is intense in the amount of detail required! I thought Dr. Knowlton was being picky with his extremely detailed examples of making a PB&J sandwich. I kept thinking, “really?!? Who doesn’t know how to do THAT?” But when it comes to writing the objectives and instructions later on, I found that detail CRUCIAL to the overall project.

As an example of the level of detail required, one of my initial task analysis simply read “determine pool capacity if not known. This will determine how much of the supplies need to be purchased.” Well, duh! That was not nearly specific enough. I didn’t even know how to determine the pool capacity. It needed WAY more detail and I realized that when I started working on objectives to support this goal. My final version included the formula for calculating the average depth of the pool and the formulas for calculating pool capacity in all pool shapes. Please see the Task Analysis section, page 6, in IT510_PROJECT DOCUMENTATION_FRICKE.

There is no way I could have developed an objective for my first version of the above task. As a designer going forward, I pledge to never ever mock the “PB&J” process again! 

Instructional Objectives

It was at the stage of writing objectives that the systematic nature of this model began to click for me.  The need for detail became painfully obvious as I entered this phase of the design work.  Truthfully, I modified the goals, task analysis and objectives constantly as I started this phase. The goals drove the task analysis which laid out the specific tasks within each goal. The objectives would provide a structure for the instruction based on the goals and task analysis and would drive the initial presentation of the material, the generative strategy to help the learner absorb the material and the test items to ensure the material has been mastered. The detail had to flow smoothly throughout these elements.

As I started this phase, I kept the overarching main goals in mind and broke out each one into objectives. As I wrote out the objectives, I would go back to the task analysis to see what needed to occur to meet this goal. For example, my first goal was:

Goal 1: Learners will know the pool capacity and the names and purpose of the chemicals, equipment and tools used for closing a pool for winter.

I had three items in my task analysis that aligned with this goal. As I had refined the task analysis, those items contained lots of detail. Using that detail helped me write the three objectives to support that one goal. Those objectives may be seen in the Goals and Objectives section, page 12, in IT510_PROJECT DOCUMENTATION_FRICKE. 

I used the Mager format of objectives that Morrison uses in his model to write my objectives. Mager objectives are more suited towards behavior or performance tasks whereas Gronlund objectives are more suited towards cognitive tasks. The tasks in my project were all performance so Mager was the better fit.  A proper Mager objective includes the conditions of environment, a behavior/action verb and a criteria for success. For example, my first objective under the first goal was “presented with the formula for calculating pool capacity [CONDITIONS OF ENVIRONMENT], learner will accurately calculate pool capacity in gallons [BEHAVIOR/ACTION VERB] with 100% accuracy [CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS].”  

These objectives were challenging to write and remained in a state of revision as my project progressed. For example, when I first started my project, I wrote my objectives as if the learner would be AT a pool and applying the knowledge as they learned it.  In other words, I used what Morrison would call “application” objectives (given access to a pool, a learner will identify the pool equipment with 70% accuracy). I later realized that might not be the best approach. Learners might be reading this BEFORE closing a pool. They might be reading this to determine IF they could close a pool and would later need to recall the knowledge they learned in this instruction. So, I had to re-write several objectives away from Morrison’s application and toward his view of “recall” objectives (given pictures of 10 pool components, the learner will identify 8 of the 10 components). Tweaking my objectives has helped me shape the design of my project.

Instructional Strategies

The objectives I wrote in the previous phase provided me with the framework but I still had to construct the actual instruction. To do so, I had to rely on initial presentations and generative strategies that aligned with the objectives. That’s what made the objectives so crucial in their accuracy and clarity. And the objectives were tied back to the goals and task analysis.

I had to identify what type of strategy best matched the objective and categorize the objective as fact/recall, concept application, principles/rules, psychomotor or a cognitive procedure. Based on the classification, the initial presentation and generative strategy varied. For example, if the objective was based on a fact (fire trucks are red), the material should initially be presented as a factual statement and show the learner the object described in the statement. The generative strategy then helps the learner construct meaningful relationships with the new material. The type of content being taught impacts both the initial presentation and the generative strategy.

Frankly, this process was the most frustratingly helpful. Frustrating in that my initial categorization often was incorrect, and I found myself having to re-write the strategy for the correct categorization. Helpful in that once I got the classification properly aligned, the instruction flowed smoothly.  At times it seemed like a big old house of cards. You discover a flaw in one and your whole project could appear to start collapsing! There were moments of panic when those flaws were discovered and even at this phase in the process, the goals, task analysis and objectives remained in a state of revision.

For example, I struggled to decide whether the process of checking the pH balance of a pool was a concept or a principle.  The label impacts the initial presentation and generative strategy that I could use. I kept it as a concept and, sure enough, Dr. Knowlton also questioned if it should be a principle.

Changing that objective from a concept to a principle caused me to change the corresponding initial presentation. As a concept, the instruction would initially present the learners with an explained example. Changing the objective to a principle changed the initial presentation to stating a rule and then showing an example. That may seem like a very slight difference, but Morrison would suggest that it’s important. The generative strategy also would be different depending on whether the objective was labeled as a concept or a principle.  As I originally wrote the objective, the learners would have a self-paced checklist. With the revised objective, the learners would be given several examples and asked to identify the principle (pH balance too high, too low) and the proper intervention. Again, these may seem like slight differences, but I believe the revisions were appropriate to better develop my learner’s knowledge.  You can find my final label and strategies for this objective by seeing objective 3.1 on page 15 of my documentation.

Test Items

Morrison says that “a direct relationship between instructional objectives and test items must exist” (p. 302). Not surprisingly, there are different ways to test knowledge based on the type of knowledge you are presenting to your learner. Not having a teacher education background, I tend to think of test questions as being true/false, multiple choice and essay and that those can all be used interchangeably, Not so. This was yet another time I was pushed out of my comfort zone and had to embrace new knowledge on my part before I could proceed with my instruction.

Testing knowledge is different than testing skills, behavior or attitudes. My project needed test questions for knowledge as my learners would not actually be demonstrating the skills or behavior to close a pool. The text provided excellent guidance for aligning the type of test questions to the objective. For example, if the objective contains the action verb “to identify or recognize” then an appropriate form of test item would be an objective-type test such as multiple choice, true/false or matching item. This provided a solid foundation as I wrote my test strategies.

I did often get lost in the weeds, however, with all of the alignment between the objectives and test strategy. For example, my first test strategy for objective 4.1 was a checklist. The objective contained the phrase “will identify.” I used a checklist for my testing strategy with this objective. I received feedback from Emily that questioned the use of the checklist for that objective. I had made the mistake of applying a behavior/skills testing strategy to a cognitive objective. I ultimately changed my test question to a multiple choice strategy. Please see IT510_checkpoint 3_fricke for the discussion about that test question.

Developing the Instruction 

This is the phase where I thought most of the work for this project would occur…and a lot did occur in this phase, but it was driven by all the preparation I had done up to this point. This was the phase where the rubber meets the road and you actually…finally…start writing the instruction that the learner sees.  Dare I say I actually enjoyed this phase the most? Because I had the foundation built, I could add to it in ways that I found creative and enjoyable. I did this mostly through the use of text and graphics but I can envision a more experienced designer adding flair to projects in more substantial ways. 

All the work I’d done to this point helped immensely in this phase of the project. I had done all the legwork to write and refine the objectives, initial presentation, generative strategy and test items. Each of these elements had to be translated into a format that the learner could use and relate to in order to learn the material. 

With that foundational information, I was ready to actually write my instruction. As frustrating as the process to this point had been, having that foundation made this phase MUCH easier. I had already worked out the kinks of what presentation would best provide “the learner with the information they needed to achieve the objective” (p. 210). I had already flushed out the generative strategy that would best help learners make the connections between their existing knowledge and new knowledge and create “an active learning opportunity” (p 210). I had determined how best to assess that new knowledge after the instruction. What a solid foundation that existed at this point! I had a sense my instruction now had a purpose and would make sense. I wasn’t just “winging” it and hoping it would turn out for the best. At this point, I think I finally understand the importance of instructional design theory. It truly was an AHA moment. 

As I started writing the instruction, I chose to use font, pictures, charts and headers to break up the content into meaningful chunks, as defined by the objectives. It was trial and error at first finding a format that seemed visually pleasing to a learner. I wanted the font large enough to be easily read, but I didn’t want it so large that the entire instructional packet appeared too large when printed. I chose to make my headers a bit larger to separate the sections and added some color to the headers. This signaled to the learners that they had ended one section and were moving the next. Where I could find pictures that supported the learning, I included those. I was also able to use the graphic skills learned in IT486 to add in arrows and circles to highlight certain portions of the pictures. For example, when presenting the material on draining the filter, I included a picture of a pool filter and added in a red arrow to highlight where the drain plug would be located.  For instance, if you look on page 23 in IT510_INSTRUCTION_FRICKE you will see an example of one of those arrows.

Once I wrote the initial presentation or introduction of material, I separated the generative strategy, or opportunity to apply the new knowledge, with a header that contained slightly lighter shading. This signaled to the learner that they were going to test their knowledge within the instruction packet. Because this instruction was designed to be a self-paced instruction packet, learners needed to have a way to check their knowledge along the way without an actual instructor. To solve the issue, I provided “check your answer” sections throughout the instruction.  The purpose of this section was to give the learner feedback on generative strategies.

You can see how the steps presented up to this stage impacted my actual instruction by viewing page 5 in IT510_INSTRUCTION_FRICKE.

Evaluation Instruments

Because the requirement for this course was to plan the instruction, I did not administer this evaluation. I did have a detailed plan for both a connoisseur-based study and a decision-oriented study.  I evaluated this project using a Connoisseur-Based Study which was conducted using my own SME and another pool owner. According to the Morrison text, a Connoisseur based study “employs SMEs….to examine the instruction and give opinions regarding accuracy and effectiveness” (p. 350). The completed instructional packet will be provided to them. They are asked to return the instructional packet, marked up with their notes, within a week. The questions included on this study were:

1.      Did the instructions follow the steps you take to close a pool?

a.      If not, how did they vary

b.      Suggestions for improvements

Additionally, a Decision-Oriented Study was included in the plan to be conducted at the conclusion of the instruction. This was referred to in our class materials as Developmental Testing. One to two learners would be recruited. If two learners are located for this testing, one will be “above average” and the other will be “below average” to determine items that might be confusing to different types of learners. For each learner in this study, they will be asked to follow the instructions. They will be asked if instructions are clear, if anything was confusing and how the content made them feel. They would be asked for suggestions they have for improvement. While they go through the instructional content, their ability to understand the initial presentation and complete the generative strategy in the way envisioned in the design documentation will be evaluated. Their learner characteristics would also be compared to those in the documentation to determine if they meet the specific characteristics identified. The questions include on this study may be found in the Formative Evaluation section, page 21, in IT510_PROJECT DOCUMENTATION_FRICKE.

IT 590: Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation Project

Overview:

My Needs Assessment and Program Evaluation (IT590) course project was a needs assessment proposal. This project was different from the others I’ve discussed in that the project was geared more towards collecting and analyzing the data.  My project was to revise a work based project. Our office conducts a licensure training session for teacher education undergraduate students during their student teaching semester. This training is to help the students navigate the logistical process of becoming a teacher in the State of Illinois. Students complete their program of study and are often overwhelmed by the prospect of navigating the complex licensure system and landing their first teaching job. This project examined literature on teacher education preparation, induction and job opportunities and offers a plan for further research to determine the most effective and appropriate training to provide in the final teacher licensure meeting while at SIUE.

Life Cycle:

In the phases of the life cycle, I will focus on the needs assessment process. This entire project could be considered a front end analysis proposal. The headings I’ve selected for the life cycle follow the steps we used in developing the needs assessment research proposal. This project was different from the IT510 and IT486 projects in that we did not identify goals and objectives, but rather I identified a needs gap which drove the problem statement.  In this class, we used a different approach for identifying the problem than we did in IT510.  In IT510, we used a goal analysis.  In this course, we used a needs assessment. 

Identifying the need

Our office has an outdated presentation to instruct students how to transition from college student to licensed teacher. The training gives specifics on the SIUE graduation process, application for an Illinois teaching license and maintaining that license. I identified the need to overhaul this training due to the changes in the electronic system Illinois uses to license teachers and drastic changes in processes and terminology.

The next step in the needs assessment was to identify the desired state of affairs. The desired state of affairs for this project was the successful implementation of a new presentation that would instruct students in the process of obtaining their Illinois teaching license, using the current procedures and updated terminology.

The last step was to compare the current state of affairs with the desired state of affairs and identify the needs gap. The needs gap for this project was that we no longer had an accurate presentation. From the needs gap, I was able to formulate my statement of the problem.  You can find the full statement on page 6 in Final Evaluation Proposal_Fricke.

Research Questions

The process I described above of identifying the needs gap and turning that into the statement of problem helped identify the research questions I would use in this project. My research questions were identified as:

1.   What percentage of recent program completers obtained their Illinois professional teaching license within one year?

2.    What caused students delay the processing in obtaining their teaching licensure?

3.    What information in the current licensure training was most/least helpful?

4.  What problems did students encounter when they attempted the licensure process?

5.      What information should be included for future teacher candidates?

My goal in using these research questions was to understand what students felt was working for them in the current presentation and what wasn’t working. Since we were faced with having to make changes, I wanted to ensure we were making changes that made sense from our users’ viewpoint. The results would help be further refine the need.

Data Collection Methods

Once we had identified the needs gap and developed research questions to help us get at the root cause of the problem, we had to determine our data collection methods. While I learned about many data collection methods in this course, I selected surveys and anecdotal staff notes due to budget constraints and staff time. I felt these methods would return necessary data while not utilizing a great deal of staff time to administer and collect the data.

Using the knowledge I learned from the textbook readings, I developed a survey that addressed all of my research questions. I should note that my research questions changed during this period as I received feedback and suggestions from classmates. I combined two research questions that were essentially trying to get at the same information. I settled on the following:

1.    What percentage of recent program completers obtained their Illinois professional teaching license within one year?

2.    What information in the current licensure training was most/least helpful?

3. What problems did students encounter when they attempted the licensure process?

4.    What information should be included for future teacher candidates?

You can see in THIS paper (essay2_Gretchen_Fricke) how this research phase developed in my project.

Chapter 11 in our textbook provided good information on surveys, which was one of the methods I selected. I selected this method because my subjects were widely disbursed, I had no budget available, and I needed a relatively quick turnaround. I used the guidance in this chapter heavily as I wrote my questions. For example, I needed to make sure none of my questions were negative questions or overloaded. I tend to pack too much into one question but I had to adhere to the “keep it simple” motto. One question simply states “what did you find most helpful in the presentation.” The text indicates that “although most people won’t use them, you should include a space at the end of the surveys for people to provide comments about it.” (p. 341) I included space for comments at the end of the survey.

In addition to the online survey, I planned to use anecdotal staff notes during future presentations. This would enable our staff to capture new information each time we give the presentation and allow us to adjust as needed if a need is identified. Staff would track what questions were asked by students, what areas seemed to cause confusion, and what suggestions they saw for improving the presentation. We often hear ourselves rehashing a presentation after the fact and talking about changes, but those comments are often forgotten before the next presentation comes along. Using this method of staff anecdotal notes will formalize that “rehashing” that we employed in the past and allow us to compare it to the data collected from the students and identify trends or new needs gaps.

Literature Review

While developing the above portions of the project, I conducted a corresponding literature review to support my project. This was a new process in the IT program and one that has not been replicated in other courses so I feel it is worthwhile to mention in this jury. Our final proposal had to incorporate the literature review and the final procedure and data analysis plan for our project. You can see in the final evaluation proposal (Final Evaluation Proposal_Fricke) how this research phase developed in my project.

I engaged in the literature review process by using the resources recommended by the librarian at SIUE’s Lovejoy Library. I logged into the ERIC online database. I found it challenging to find articles that supported my research topic as it was so narrowly defined. Ultimately, I found 15 articles that I could either download or request through inter-library loan. I then could read through those articles to see how they might support my project. The criteria set forth by Dr. Liu stated that articles used for the literature review had to be in a peer-reviewed journal. A lot of the resources I found were publications by organizations (teacher unions, for example) and were not peer reviewed. From those articles I found six that provided great background information and connections to my project. Overall, this research indicated some of the challenges that SIUE teacher candidates will face in their new and emerging careers in education. Revamping the final licensure meeting with some of these reminders, along with some possible follow-up, should better tailor the presentation to their upcoming needs as they transition from SIUE student to licensed teacher. You can read my literature review in that section of the Final Evaluation Proposal_Fricke.

Survey and results

This project was a proposal for the survey and the data analysis did not actually occur in this class.  I later did administer the survey and used the results to refine the training as my IT 597 studio project.  At this point, the results we received have been limited but have shown us we need to consider a different timing for the training (learners need to request a transcript but we were holding the training in the evening after the Registrar’s Office has closed) and that we need to include more screen shots of what learners will encounter when they proceed through the ISBE system.

Summary

This project was very different from other IT projects in that it was more research based than any other project I completed. For this project, I developed skills in finding, obtaining and reviewing research literature to support my ideas. In this class, I also learned various ways to collect and analyze data. This project has also become the basis for my IT 597 project. I will use the survey plan and materials developed in this project to drive my IT 597 project.

Bozarth, Jane (Aug 3, 2010) Nuts and Bolts: Brain Bandwidth - Cognitive Load Theory and Instructional Design. Learning Solutions Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/498/nuts-and-bolts-brain-bandwidth---cognitive-load-theory-and-instructional-design

Goodman, E., Kuniavsky, M., & Moed, A. (2012). Observing the user experience: A practitioner’s guide to user research (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Elsevier.

Morrison, G., Ross, S., Kalman, H., Kemp, J. (2011) Designing Effective Instruction (6^th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.