Internship Week Five

Week of June 9.

This week I spent working on the learning matrix. I have it to the point that it just needs a few additions of new technology by working with the content from the earlier course.

Reflection

There is a lot of work left to be done. But the process has a good start. I think that the matrix will serve well as a content guide to analyze the new Flash based course. A preliminary analysis suggests that there are gaps in the delivery of the content as well as a significant content gaps in the newer course.

A start has been made on learner characteristics and the instructional strategies that will be used. Assessment materials are already developed and are included in existing instructional materials. Some of these assessment materials may have to be adapted somewhat to accommodate a different delivery method and additional content.

The next steps to take it will be a comprehensive review of the instruction that has been presented in both the old and new courses and evaluation of how well these instructional materials meet the needs the department currently has. Also left to plan and storyboard is any additional/missing content and any new content which is not included in the new course will need to be developed to the point of the story board.

Mike

Internship Week Four

Week of June 2.

This week was spent completing the learning and teaching analysis. I also spent some time reviewing the principles of instruction that relate to computer-based instruction.

Workers have a gap in performance. New workers have a difficult time applying the formulas and mathematical learning to real world work situations. This is a brief description of the gap between current and desired performance. The goal for the learners is to demonstrate mastery of the concepts for both engineering and equipment operator jobs and to be able to demonstrate proficiency with those concepts and content by completing exercises and problems which simulate real-life job situations.

The constraints of the situation of the learners require that learning be easily deliverable across a wide geographic area with a minimum necessary interaction from an instructor to assist students as they progress through the course. Feedback is a critical component of this type of learning which is quite linear in its progression and requires sufficient understanding of each level before progressing to the next. Because of this it will be important to have embedded questions in the instruction which provide formative assessment for the learners as well as an opportunity to practice. It's important that the summative questions are realistic and are directly related to on-the-job experiences workers will have to promote greater transfer.

I also started working on the learning matrix for the material. The instructional content that exists in the original print material fits extremely well with the objectives of the department currently. It has formative assessment and summative

Reflection

As it was the case during the 520(IDT520) course I found that this process is a rather exhaustive. I hope that this is in relation to the amount of content. The workbook that is outdated from 10 years ago is well done and has the content well defined. It has served well as a guide for creating a learning matrix. There are a few new technologies that have to be included. GPS for example was not something that was a commonly used technology then, but is now.

Mike

Internship Week Three

Week of May 26.

 

This week I received feedback from my advisor regarding the process that was being followed for the internship. He recommended that in light of the fact that the instruction are already created that it would be easy to focus instead on starting with what was there instead of completing the entire ID process. This was excellent advice. I shifted my focus from looking at the gaps in the instruction to following the ID process.

Documentation of the ID problem was reviewed. Input from the SME was considered. The SME felt that it was important to build upon what was already created, pointing to both the older print material and the newer flash instruction as a good start at meeting the objectives. The existing print material and the newer flash instruction will be evaluated to see how well they meet the objectives. Once that part of the ID process is completed. His concerns for the instruction being applicable and transferable will become part of the objectives for the course.

The start point for this will be the same as it is for any other ID project. The first step is conducting a needs assessment. This was an interesting question for me because the original problem to assess current your materials and look at the gap between what existed and what was needed and assist in designing the new instruction. However the ID process is more comprehensive than that and requires starting with the difference between desired performance and current performance. This also requires performing a learner analysis.

Input from the SME was a critical part of understanding the learners. This SME has many years of experience working with the Department of Transportation as well as the goals of the educational component and how it works with changing roles and needs of the transportation workers.

Reflection

It was a nice change in perspective this week. I was reminded how easy it can be to lose focus on the process and was reminded of the importance of following the process. It's very tempting to assume that the need with which you are originally presented is the need that actually exists. It's an important part of ID to reprocess. This can reveal missing information or misinformation and ensure a more complete alignment between the needs and the end product. I feel determined to make sure that all the process as completely and accurately as I can and still get a product completed in the time frame allowed by the short semester.

Mike