Given what you have read about instructional design (Bichelymeyer’s article on the ADDIE model), how important is it to what your future work goals are?
According to the article, instructional designers don’t have “a consensus definition, clear focus, distinct boundaries, established links between research and practice, or any obvious added value when compared to other fields.” The one thing IDT professionals do seem to have in common – the ADDIE model- “does not guarantee quality, does not work efficiently, is out of date, and doesn’t even reflect the real work of instructional design.”
In light of those issues, I’m having a hard time trying to come up with a statement about its relevance to my goals. I have two questions.
First: “How is IDT related to CECS?”
Bichelmeyer explains that Indiana University offers courses in Instructional Systems Technology, Library and Information Sciences, Telecommunications, Informatics, and Learning Sciences. I am in a program for Computer Education and Cognitive Systems. I must confess, looking at the names of these programs, it is hard for me to tell what each does, and how they are distinct from one another. And, is CECS a separate, distinct course of study? Is it the same as one of the above-mentioned? Is it a blending of several of them? Is it its own distinct field? Really, I just don’t know. So if the researchers had given me the survey and asked me to describe this field, I probably would have been just as vague and useless!
Second: What about ADDIE?
If ADDIE, whether considered as a model or framework, is indeed a foundational element, what does that really mean? The steps of Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate do seem remarkably similar to what people do in many fields. It seems a lot like the steps taught in math problem-solving, the steps of scientific method, the process one would go through in developing a new business or a campaign to market a political candidate. So is it actually just applying these processes to the field of learning, paying particular attention to delivery systems that involve computers? For now, I will use that as the basis of my definition.
If this is a reasonable working definition
applying educational theory and the ADDIE process to the development of computer- based learning resources
Then I think that instructional design is definitely related to my professional goals. As a teacher, I have two primary focuses when I consider the use of computers in education.
1. One focus is on what students need to be able to do. What computer skills will they need to prepare them to live and work effectively in the 21st century? Students learn a lot on their own, but I question whether they understand how to use the tools for learning. Being good at AIM is one thing, but using that ability to facilitate work or school communication is another thing. Fluency in using telecommunications will be essential. Students also need to develop critical thinking skills and apply them to the online information they find. I think it is up to teachers and professors at the secondary and college levels to help students come to a more sophisticated use of the tools available to them. Some of the concepts of ID relate to what I teach my students. ID, is more relevant, perhaps, to how I teach, which brings me to my second focus.
2. How can computers help us teach better? Instructional Design seems to be more focused on distance education and/or the creation of a training products through which students can learn independently. Still, I think many of the concepts can still be applied to my classroom. At least some of the learning tools I use are intended for my students to use independently. It might be using a wiki to create review materials, participating in a discussion board to discuss an ethical issue, or using a blog to organize and reflect on their learning. I look at it as blended learning. A teacher is present to facilitate and direct the class, but much of the work is computer-based. It may be independent, or it may encourage collaborative online communication and sharing of knowledge. In any case, when I develop and implement these learning tools/structures, I believe I should work to apply the principles of good instructional design.
