Regrouping on creative-side-of instructional-design agenda

I have purposely put IT 5130 aside for a couple of months, to allow for the necessary space and time for new ideas to bubble up and take shape. Although I think that the course worked for many people, it didn't work for all of the students. And, although I was able to attend to my creative-side-of-instructional-design agenda a bit, I was/am dissatisfied. I just don't think I did enough to promote the creative disposition learning objective. So, all of my thinking about changing the course has been around this learning objective (and trying to reduce the workload, and any sense of an activity being "busy work"). To this end, here are a few ideas I am playing with.

Course Title:

I would like to change the title of the course to something like "Creative Designs for Self-paced Instructional Materials" or "Aesthetics of Self-paced Instructional Materials Design" (could get rid of the "self-paced" part, although that really is part of the context)... I want the title to be a better description of the course, and to get people interested in the course content. And, to be clear about how this course is different from other courses (e.g., the eLearning certificate courses are focused on the design and delivery of instructor-facilitated eLearning opportunities).


Books:

I still like Duarte's slide:ology text, and want to continue to use it next time. But, I will not use Mayer's book again. I believe I can provide a handout that distills the principles shared in his Multimedia Learning book, and mix them with Medina's brain rules and Tufte's lessons. Instead, I want to use books that help us think about the product of our design process -- and the design process itself -- in a different way. For example --

• Scott McCloud's Making Comics. It is really a great book about storytelling, presented as a comic book. I really like the sections on writing with pictures and the power of words.
• Carol Vernallis' Experiencing Music Video. Not sure this is the one to go with, but the detailed analysis of three well-known videos really helps illustrate some "universal" design guidelines that translate to eLearning and instructional message design.
• Matthew Frederick's 101 Things I Learned in Architecture School. I really like this little book. (Related, I also like Hall Box's Think Like an Architect)
• Babak Ebrahimian's Sculpting Space in the Theater. This may be too far off track, but it has to do with how to make "real" what is written/storyboarded...using space, lighting, costumes, etc. I like the idea of working with all of these elements to create a unique and powerful whole.

I wouldn't require all of them...costs too much for students, and I want to be realistic about how much they can read and process. It may be fine for students to pick and choose -- everyone buys Duarte's text, and two others from the list based on their interests (I could make the first chapter of each text available to help them make the decision).


Activities/Projects:

I am thinking about scraping the existing projects and going with a set of "what if" assignments such as:

• What if instruction was like a music video
• What if instruction was like a movie poster
• What if instruction was like a comic book
• What if instruction was like a documentary
• What if instruction was like a radio show
  
• And so on (but not too many more...I'll group them and let students pick one from each list...but, no more than three).
  

I want to spend the first 5 weeks critiquing existing instructional messages (those I bring forward and those the students bring forward), and getting exposed to these other design perspectives. To this end, I am going to:

• Invite guest speakers from the film industry, architecture, game design, music industry, etc. We will use Adobe Connect to spend an hour with each guest. (Note: This means I will need to require participation in synchronous sessions...which is different than what I do in online courses. My thinking is to require 2 hours one evening a week for the first half of the semester. These synchronous sessions will be time for us to work together on critiques and work with guest speakers. Then, for the second half of the semester, I will have synchronous "office hours" where participation is voluntary, on a as-needed basis.)
  
  
• Conduct video interviews with a handful of creative professionals. I want to collect several stories (3-5 minutes in length, at the most), using the following questions (note: these are rough draft questions, and they may not speak to each person interviewed):
  
  • Where do you get your inspiration (insights) for your work?
    
  • When you decide to embark on a new project, what process do you go through from start to finish?
    
  • How do you know when a project is done?
    
  • What is the most important step in your design (creation) process, and why?
    
  • What one piece of advice would you give designers (regardless of domain) about the creative/design process?
    
  • How do you describe the difference between your creative/design process and the product of that process?
    
  • Are there guiding ideas that you’ve learned through experience – that you apply to new projects? If so, can you tell me about one – where it came from and how you find it useful?
    
  • There’s a visioning or imagining part of the creative process that’s really critical. What techniques do you have to stimulate your ability to see problems and solutions better? How do you open yourself up to possibilities?
    
  • Can you think of a case or example that illustrates a particularly satisfying breakthrough or solution to a creative/design problem?
  
  I then want students to deconstruct what they learn from these creative professionals, and determine how it applies to their work as instructional designers, eLearning specialists, and K-12 teachers.

Another thing I am thinking about is resurrecting a classic message design assignment: the ear. I have a couple of old ear illustrations used to help students learn the parts of the ear. One is a simple line drawing, the other is a complex line drawing. As a transition assignment between critiquing existing instructional messages and creating their own (one visual presentation, one audio presentation, one print piece...at least that is what I am thinking at the moment), my thought is to have them select a design perspective (e.g., instruction as comic book), and design a piece that students could use to learn the parts of the ear. (So, if a student decided to create a print-based comic book, then she or he would count this assignment for the print requirement and only have to create two more self-paced instructional pieces: a visual presentation and an audio presentation.)


Misc.:

A concern I still have is the value of this course for K-12 educators (not in the eLearning MA program). I can clearly see the relevance of a course like this for instructional designers and eLearning specialists, regardless of educational setting. But, if someone is a K-12 classroom teacher and intends to continue in that role, then this course may not be appropriate. Still thinking about this, especially in light of the fact that we (ILT program faculty) are thinking about making it required for all ILT students.