Section 7: New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology

The last section of your textbook discusses the concepts of distributed learning, reusability, rich media and the future of instructional design. Focus on the following for your post:

• From Chapter 28 locate 5 examples of distributed learning. You may pick and choose from the following list.
• Academic distributed learning--Five examples of academic distributed learning would be 1) ecollege that is used in this class in lieu of the traditional classroom structured class; 2) the seminar sessions that I have attended at the Mesquite campus for my history class on Saturdays; 3) the content-related DVDs/videos that I have used myself in my classes to teach students; 4) the text books I use in my classes; 5) the weblogs used in this class (I have learned so much from them!).
• Chapter 29 discusses the concept of reusability. Think back over the courses you've had over your educational career and identify one with poor reusability characteristics. Explain how the course could be redesigned to improve reusability without changing the underlying content.
• The only course I can think of having poor reusability characteristics would be the anthropology class I took for my undergraduate degree, mainly because I don't use anthropology in any way (at least not the material covered in the class) in my job, in my life, nor is it in the books I read.  I didn't exactly enjoy the class, so one way I would redesign it would be to apply the concepts of anthropology (climate, culture, way of life) to contemporary studies or examples in tv shows, movies, etc.  Seeing contemporary or new examples would make anthropology more reusable than learning about the use of peyote by Native American tribes of the southwest United States.

• Chapter 30 takes a look at using rich media. Find or create a visual for instruction describing its surface and functional features.

This is a short video that I use when I introduce my unit on fiscal policy and government spending.  The animation, music, and sound used in the video really grabs the attention of students, which is helpful when introducing a new concept.

• Chapter 31 discusses the future of instructional technologies in the near future from metadata to nanotechnology. Describe how nanotechnology could be used to improve a specific job or task you are familiar with.

With a computer implant such as Kevin Warwick had, a teacher would no longer be tied to an overhead projector or a computer, leaving him/her available to work one on one with students.

• And finally! Chapter 32 provides two points of view on the direction of the field - the straight and narrow road and the broad and inclusive road. Which point of view do you agree with and why?

I would tend to agree more with the broad and inclusive road, because I feel the broader the perspective, with more points of view, the richer the result.