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.

2nd guest speaker great addition to course

Dr. Marty Tessmer was the 2nd guess speaker for the course. He spent close to two hours answering questions about creating online tutorials. During the previous 1-1/2 weeks, the students had read his book on the topic. The original plan was that they would provide Marty with formative evaluation data about the book before he published it. So, the students completed a "Final Post" discussion about the book, then each posted three questions for Marty in a discussion forum. He responded to all of their posted questions. Then, the experience culminated in the live (via Adobe Connect) session. Marty was able to collect some useful information regarding the direction of his book (e.g., needs to add two chapters and a section at the end of each chapter on formative evaluation). And, the students got to spend time with a well-known ID professional and author, discussing a topic of great interest (and related to the final Culminating Project). Plus, it was a change of pace at a typically low-energy point in the semester -- I think it served to reenergize folks for the final push. [Note: It was also helpful to have Marty so involved with them during a week that I was away at a conference.]

Even though the two guest speakers have been so successful, I decided to cancel the final guest speaker in order to give the students more time and space to focus on their final Culminating Project. Instead, I have offered to host Q&A sessions for the project if the students want and need them.

First guest speaker

The first guest speaker will be tonight from 7-8pm. We are using Adobe Connect. I hope this one (and the other two I have planned) reenergize things. This is the time in the semester where there is often a dip in energy as folks sort of gear up for the final push. So, my hope is that some new voices and views will be the right mix to keep folks engaged and processing the course material as they prepare and complete the final project.

No required discussion...working?

One of the things I've been concerned about with my design for the course is my decision to not requiring weekly discussions, as previously mentioned in this blog. For the first two weeks I did have an organized discussion set-up in which participation was listed on the Weekly Agendas as a to-do. My thinking with these early discussions was to make sure people were connecting to the course, each other, and me. In addition, I was hoping to sort of get people into the habit of sharing, comparing, advising, chit-chating about the activities and readings...so that when we transitioned to no-required discussion weeks that people would still want to connect and discuss in the Self-select Study Groups forums.

I really haven't given it enough time at this point. I am, as I anticipated, disappointed that people aren't clammering to discuss the readings (this week, Dr. John Medina's Brain Rules). I know that everyone has other demands on their time...and even if they wanted to participate, time just doesn't allow.

Just in case, though, I did post an announcement today as a reminder and invitation to join the discussion, if desirable. I also listed the questions I had posted in the forum so folks reading the announcement would know what was going on in the forum. There has been a little more activity since then...we'll see.

If the discussions are not relevant, then I don't want people to feel they have to participate. Then it is just busy-work...

Culminating Projects and assessment

There are three Culminating Projects for the course. One is focused on print, one on stand-alone presentation, and one on multi-modal presentation. I am pleased with the projects, and think that they will lead to quality products that are relevant to the students' workplace or community, and relevant as professional portfolio examples.

But, here's my problem. I don't like creating assessment tools for projects. I'm not good at it. It is really time-consuming to do it well. And, I have to do it because people need to know how they are being assessed. So, my next task is to get those finalized. I have drafts for all three projects, but once I post them to the course they are real...and we all have to live with them.

I'm not sure why I struggle so much with this part of teaching. I always have. I just want to provide the directions and assume that everyone will simply follow the directions and do their best. Grade = A. But, that isn't very realistic. And, again, adult learners are simply too busy -- have too many demands on their time -- to live in that much ambiguity about assessment. A little ambiguity is fine. In fact, it is the way of the world, of living in the world. But, too much ambiguity in this context leads to frustration and disconnection. So, I will get it done.

I find that searching the Internet for examples of how others have assessed this, that, or the other thing, to be very helpful. That is what I did this time too. It makes a difference because it gives me ideas, shows me alternative approaches and structures, pushes me to be better.

Lining up guest speakers

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to include 2-3 guest speakers during the semester. I am well-experienced with the ebbs and flows of a course, and around November we will need some new ways of connecting and some new folks to connect with. I feel really good about lining up three folks...they will really add new life and energy to a typically low point in the semester.

I am glad that we have access to a good tool for these synchronous live sessions with guest speakers. We will use Adobe Connect, and we will record the sessions for those folks in class who cannot make the live sessions. I also hope that the guest speakers will participate in a discussion forum for a few days following the live session...all are in agreement, so it should work out well.

The first reading = Tufte

I selected Edward Tufte's essay on The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint for the group's first reading. I did this on purpose because this essay can either (a) resonate with people's feelings and experiences about conventional presentations and the limitations of PowerPoint (e.g., low resolution), or (b) rile folks up because they disagree with Tufte's hard-line or his message style. Regardless, it can be a somewhat emotional reading for folks, and I wanted everyone to get emotional about our work as instructional message designers. I wanted folks to be thinking about how they could prove Tufte wrong, how they could show alternatives to PowerPoint for the presentation of instructional messages, how they could defend/rationalize (using the literature on theory and research) the use of tools like PowerPoint for presentation, and so on.

I think the essay worked as a first reading. Now we will move into readings (i.e., Medina and Mayer) and videos (i.e., the Discovering Psychology videos) that are grounded in research. This will empower the group, and give them the information they need to reevaluate Tufte's message and decide whether or not he is correct...and, if so, what to do about it as instructional message designers.

Soundtrack of Your Life activity

During the first week, folks completed the Soundtrack of Your Life activity. This went over very well. It worked as an alternative to bios, and -- hopefully -- it also achieved two important instructional message design objectives too:

* To remind everyone of the potential of audio -- including music -- as a layer in an instructional message...a layer that enhances the message, makes it richer, more memorable, more engaging.

* That as the designers of instructional messages we need to think beyond convention. We need to think about things differently, allow ourselves to be creative and unique.

I hope that the activity was successful in conveying those messages...I really want this course to not only provide the necessary foundation to be great instructional message designers, but to also free everyone to explore and try new things.