CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow I have always believed that there is structure within all things. Songs are founded in the structure of written music, art is structured in the medium in which it is created, and sport is structured within the rules of the gameI have found that my areas of scholarly and professional interest are also developed within structure. We follow the process of Instructional Systems Design using the ADDIE Model, we use the Systematic Approach to Training and the TPaCK Model in Curriculum Development and Design, and we have spent this semester learning Technology by Design using McClouds Six Steps: Idea/Purpose, Form, Idiom/Genre, Structure, Craft, and Surface. We have added to this, User Testing, which helps to strengthen this process. But what does it all mean? We can simply take these principles, put them on poster boards, hang them on our walls, and check the boxes as complete once we have worked through that step. However, does checking off the box make for a better end result? If we miss a box is the project doom to fail? No, if we were to begin a project and worked diligently to create an exceptional product without any of these ideologies we may find success and the world probably would not end. So, why follow them? Its simple, because they work and they help us to develop in a more structured and organized manner. You do not work to check the boxes off under each heading. Instead you strive to understand the ideas behind each step and how one intuitively builds upon the next. How by combining each of these principles together, you strengthen your own natural abilities. The goal should not be to check off the boxesinstead the goal should be to use each of these principles and their steps unconsciously in each of your projects so they simply become

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow an organic part of the process. Once we achieve that state, we have truly gotten somewhere. Throughout this semester, as we have worked through the six steps and utilized each to design and develop our Big Kahuna project, I have learned that in my professional life I have followed many of these principles. Just as with ADDIE or TPaCK, you find that you were using the steps in one form or another all along; however, it is not until you understand the scope of each formal process you begin to see the whole picture. While I may have used these steps in the past, through learning the full and formal process I now understand how to utilize them in a far more productive manner. We each had our own process for ISD, and most of us followed some rough form of ADDIE; it was not until we fully understood the structure of the ADDIE Model that we were able to utilize all of its principles. The same is with McClouds Six Steps; we each have used some or all of these steps in one form or another in our design processes. However, in this course I have found these steps to create a structure for me that make the design process more linear, simpler, and organized. As I formally learn, and work, with each of these principlesI strive to become better in my profession, Curriculum Development and Instructional Design. I believe McClouds Six Steps will help in my growth. As with all projects, you must first have a purpose or an idea. When we began this course, I had several ideas for my Big Kahuna project. Many stemmed around projects I currently have at work, but one idea kept jumping back in my headit is a project that I have had stored in the back of my mind for several years now. During my time in public 2

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow education I was constantly amazed and disheartened by the lack of geographical knowledge and understanding our students posses today, both in World Geography and US Geography. In a growing global economy where the world is shrinking via technology and the job market conversely expands globally due to the very same technology, it is imperative that our students have a strong foundation in the geographical make-up of our country and the world from a historical perspective, as well as a current social/political/economic one. During my student teaching tenure, I taught 8th Grade Social Studies. It was in this setting that I first began to think of an on-line course in US Geography that would parallel the traditional classroom instruction of Early US History. Geography is an often forgotten part of our curriculum and is a state requirement. Through this project I felt that we could develop a curriculum that the students would enjoy, as well as benefit from, without increasing the work load significantly throughout the year. The Big Kahuna project seemed like a perfect opportunity to begin my journey of developing this curriculum. With the idea and purpose decided upon, it was time to move to the next step in our processform. I have always held to the saying: form follows function. You can create the greatest, most beautiful, whatchamathingy in the worldbut if it doesnt do what it was intended to, it is wasted. You must first design to accomplish your idea or purpose. Then you can begin to make it beautiful, fun, exciting, and unique. For this, I needed to create my Big Kahuna to function in a manner to achieve my end goals. I began by choosing the appropriate site to host my project. I then structured it in a manner that

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow allowed me to convey the knowledge I wanted to transfer using the technology based tools I felt would best enhance the lessons. I worked to organize the site in a manner that was easy to both maintain on my part and to navigate for the students. Once the structure began to develop and the site was progressing, I then began to see ways to design my site to be more aesthetically pleasing or exciting. I found ways to polish my design that not only made it look better, but function better as well. This was accomplished by using different Web 2.0 tools in the courses presentations or by leaning the navigation bar process. Each change in the form of my site occurred for a purpose, but always followed the function. Just as my site was designed with form following function, so were my course modules and lessons. Each lesson must first have an idea and a purpose. Once that is defined, you must develop them to function. As they are built and function to achieve the end goals, you begin to look at the form. You work to increase their effectiveness, while also striving to make them engaging and enjoyable for the student. I do believe that education and the learning process should be fun and enjoyable. I am an educator at heart, and even I get bored learning things through a process that is dull and unimaginative. Therefore, I try and design my curriculum and instructional methods to be both fun and educational. McClouds Six Steps help us in both areasthe development of the physical course structure whether it is online or in the classroom, as well as in the development of the curriculum and instructional methods.

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow Genre for me meant two completely separate things when we began that portion of the course. First, there was the genre of media that I could use in the design of my course site. With technology and web 2.0 tools becoming so prevalent and user friendly, the possibilities are limitless. I am not an artist in any form; graphic, music, painting, photography, etc. I have many talents; art has just never truly been one. However, with the increase of technology and web tools, that has changed with some effort on my part. I can now take pictures or videos and enhance or edit them on my laptop. I can combine photos and music to build powerful and moving presentations online. I can create lessons using many different genres of media to increase both the functionality and enjoyment of each one. The second genre for me was that of how the students interact within the course and create their projects. I am a firm believer in alternative assessments and project based assessment to gauge the full depth of understanding a student has gained from a lesson. The difficulty lies within the question, how do I tackle the genres of presentation possibilities in order to allow my students the freedom to express themselves, while still being able to affectively critique and grade their work? We can then peel the layers of the onion back to discuss the various genres of teaching, the subjects we teach, the instructional methodologies we use, and the learning modalities of students. Each layer of the onion in education delivers us a new defining parameter of genre. For me, I tried to stay focused on the site design and the instructional design in regards to this project. 5

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow Structure was the fourth of McClouds Six Steps and the one I was most comfortable in. I am a very structured individual, almost too structured. I need everything to be nice, neat, organized, visual, and linear. I believe everything should be founded in structure. If the structure is not right, I have a hard time moving forward. This is something that I have worked my adult and professional life to improve. Structure is a vital part of any and all projects. Structure gives everything a base to be built upon and provides the foundation for it to last. However, too much structure can be a detriment to anything. With too much structure, one cannot expand their wings and their minds to explore new ways and new ideas. They cannot stretch the boundaries to find new ways. Not enough structure and you are doomed to fail. Too much structure and you cannot grow and will fail. The key to structure is finding that balance; the balance that provides a strong foundation, yet promotes growth and evolution. In this course, I worked to create a course site structure that supported both my ideas for instructional design and knowledge transfer but also supported my students use and growth in the course. In my curriculum development, I worked to structure the courses so that they are user friendly and fun but can also be updated or changed to fit future needs. In my instructional design, I worked to create lessons that were value added and exciting but also supportive of the knowledge transfer for each of students across all modalities of learning. As with anything, if you get the structure and the foundation right, the rest can be built, rebuilt, and redesigned many times without too much work.

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow This leads me to Craft, McClouds Fifth Step. As I just stated, if you get the structure right then rebuilding or redesigning any part of the course becomes much easier. As your students change, as the internet changes, and as the technology tools in our toolbox changeso must our course. We must constantly review, rethink, and redesign to keep things fresh. I do not believe in change for the sake of change. That is wasteful and unnecessary. However, we as educators must remain diligent in the pursuit of our Content Knowledge and Pedagogy. As the scope of education and technology evolves, so must we. As the interests and needs of our students change, so must our curriculum and instructional practices. This is where McCloud was speaking. We must remain diligent and ensure that we are always current in our practices. You must craft your design to remain with the times. I think back to when I was in school, I think to the teachers I enjoyed and the classes I was engaged in. As I remember those days one simple truth becomes clearI enjoyed the teachers who were innovators and I enjoyed the classes that I could relate too, both in the manner it was taught and in the instructional environment it was taught in. We must craft our teaching to speak to and engage our audience. Often times we seek to engage our audience, not by the quality of the lesson held within, but by the bright shiny wrapper that we place around it. You can create the greatest lesson in the world, filled with the depths and wonderment of knowledgebut if the presentation is dull and boring, most will tune you out and the quality of the lesson is lost. In the transverse, I have sat in professional development sessions where the

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow videos and visual effects were amazing, everyone walking out saying it was the best lesson they had ever seen, knowing that not one person in the audience had learned a thingthey couldnt have, the presentation never transferred knowledge. However, they were entertained, therefore it was amazing! In the center of these two examples lie both the success of design and the idea of Surface discussed by McCloud. In order to achieve greatness in design, you must polish the surface of the lesson while filling it with quality. In this course, I have learned quite a lot. But, this lesson was one that I will take with me forever. As I stated earlier in this paper, I believe form must always follow function. However, without good form and a polished surface; often times no one will stop to look at the functional parts of your design. As professionals we always strive to develop the very best curriculum possible and to present using instructional methodologies that both support the lesson and the students needsthe quality. We must also work to ensure that it is created in a manner that is engaging to the learner and creates an atmosphere conducive to the learning processnot an environment where one wants to take a nap. Once you have worked through all the long nights and the stressful afternoons agonizing over whether you should present this as a Think-Pair-Share or perhaps run it as a Socratic discussion, and the days of creating and re-creating the videos to truly knock their socks offyou need to do one more thing, get someone elses opinion. You can come to the end of a project and achieve exactly what you were aiming for. But you may have been a little off in your original aim without ever realizing it. It is always a

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow good idea to have a few trusted individuals look it over and provide some constructive feedback. Dont take it personal, this is where we need to put on our cloak of professional thick skin. You have lived with this project day and night for weeks or even months. You are too close to the canvas to see the big picture. You need some time away, and you need a fresh pair of eyes to look it over. User testing is the process of test driving the project before you put it out on the open road, and this piece is critical. I have many times received ideas during this process that have made me see something differently, or just plain made something better. Always have colleagues that you trust and respect look the project over and provide you with respectful and honest feedback. It will only make your end product better. In my professional career I have taught secondary education and adult education, I have designed curriculum, written lessons, and in my current job I develop training curriculum, design instructional materials, and create assessments for a large corporation. Each of these roles has given me opportunities to learn and to grow as an educator. I have always been diligent in my design process and thought. I believed that I always took design seriously, and I still believe that at the end of this course. However, I never fully understood the full spectrum of design as it has been presented throughout this semester. I am not sure if I would have ever thought to use McClouds Six Steps in the setting of educational design and this is why we as educators are lifelong learners. This course has taught me a great dealboth about the elements of design and how I will now approach future projects. Designing for adult learners in a corporate setting can

CEP 817 Learning Technology by Design FINAL PAPER

Gary J Brumbelow be tricky. You can develop an entire training module in which your audience can run the spectrum of trainees with GEDs and high school diplomas to a meeting room filled with Directors and Vice Presidents holding Masters Degrees and Doctorates. The training must convey the same message, but the presentation will differ greatly depending on the audience. The trick is to design the training for all audiences without having to create the same course over and over. In this course, we have discussed ideas and principles that will aid in that design process. I have had the opportunity to see, discuss, and learn new ways of doing things and different ways of doing things I do now. I am sure this is not the first time this has been said at the end of the coursebut I am a better designer for having taken CEP817. We are all lifelong learners and this is why I chose to begin my Masters program, to grow and to become better at what I do. But it is also to meet new people, gain exposure to new ideas, and to have an opportunity to share my ideas. The design and structure of this course has afforded me that opportunity on many different levels. From the introduction of this course at the beginning of the semester, to the idea and purpose of the class shared up frontthrough the form, the genre, and struc ture to the craft of the class and the surface of the designand through the user testingI ha ve learned a lot and I am thankful for that. This class has provided both quality in the knowledge transferred and enjoyment in the method upon which it was designed and presentedI will take these lessons with me and strive to use them well.

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