As Dr. Monson reviewed one of our main assignments of the semester- keeping a journal/ blog of our assigned readings with the ultimate purpose of defining Instructional Design and Educational Technology- I chuckled to myself at the irony.
For the past 6 months I have consistently encountered the challenge of explaining what exactly IDET is. I have talked with friends and family about my decision to pursue this master’s degree and engaged in casual conversation with acquaintances in regards to what I would be doing in the fall, and with each conversation I was confronted with this surprisingly daunting task.
My most oft used reply was “Yea, I will be studying Instructional design and Educational technology” received with a somewhat blank expression I would follow it up with “It’s kind of a fancy way of saying teaching incorporating technology.” Now I knew that that quick response wasn’t what the program involves or proclaims- yet I was at a loss to describe w/o losing the listener even more than I already had by just telling the name of the program.
Needless to say, I have 6 months of discomfited conversations of motivation to complete this assignment.
Whilst reading this week’s assignment, I have been more grateful for some of my undergraduate psychology & educational classes than I have in a long time. Paragraphs delineating teaching techniques, formats, systems, and learning styles actually had a familiar ring. This somewhat familiarity with the subject base has made encountering new ideas and vocabulary more stimulating than frustrating. For example-I enjoyed finding the new vocab word (new to me)- entry behaviors – which describes in a way just what I was explaining the sentence before. I also liked the definition of Design as a type of problem solving, requiring a high level of precision and creativity (Smith & Ragan (1999) Instructional Design, p.4).
The following idea caught my attention:
“Indeed experienced instructional designers intensify the degree of precision care, and expertise expended on a design project relative to the impact of the potential consequences of ineffective, inefficient, or unmotivated learning that can result from less carefully designed instruction”
(Smith & Ragan (1999) Instructional Design, p.6)
There really can be great consequences- even long-term effects- of ineffectively/ inefficiently designed instruction. I enjoyed how Smith & Ragan illustrated the positive side of this thought with the great example of the properly trained & motivated TV repair men, who were able to perform the repairs (relevant to the instruction), had a good attitude about it, and w/ time acquired a reputation of being excellent repair people. Great long-term effect!
My definition at the end of these readings is-
Instructional design: analyzing, developing, and evaluating the best way to teach a specific objective
