Friday, October 20, 2006

All about learning ...

Suprise, suprise - instructional design is primarily concerned with learning. This evasive quantity that can be observed and measured.  Personally, I am interested and devoted to online learning. Using portable and mobile technology to deliver content and facilitate a wide range of interactions. Wait! This is the same in the classroom, isn't it?

For the past 15 years I have listened to this argument between face-to-face educators and those that elected to broaden their teaching style and incorporate instructional technologies and an online delivery system. So, here we are in 2006 and we have come around full-circle.

ALL educators want to be the best they can be!
If you teach, it certainly isn't for the pay. There has to be something intrinsically rewarding about helping people learn. This being said, then instructional designers should capitalize on the desire of educators to improve their art.

ALL educators NEED more time!
The number one reason most educators don't try something new is that the time needed to learn the innovation is usually not equal to the results produced. Therefore, it is necessary that understanding existing skill sets and introducing technologies that can be exploited to produce banks of time is essential.

ALL educators want their students to perform better!
Have you ever heard an educator complain about their students being too smart or scoring too high. In higher education, faculty distribute a syllabus at the start of each academic term. This syllabus is a contract that stipulates the behavioral expectations for optimal performance.  Logic dictates that this agreement implies that optimal performance is reasonable and obtainable by everyone in the course.

The truth is ... many educators are discouraged and fatigued, but continue because they have made a commitment. Additionally, time is a resource that many educators will squander because they lack any true method for creating more. Add to the mix the pressure put on educators by administration to keep optimal performance within the limits of a bell shaped curve.

Something has to give. Instructional designers are capable of addressing these by identifying appropriate and individualized solutions for their customers (faculty). Stay tuned to this blog and I will show you how.

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