Stories
12/04/12
Stories can be used as instructional strategy in that you can present information in an engaging manner by storytelling. You can use stories as a way to deliver a lesson or even a presentation just by telling a story of an experience in a foreign country that relates to the lesson or it can just be a simple story about what happened at the coffee shop. I think stories can be used to add more life and realism to a presentation. I think stories can enhance a presentation and lesson whether it is through a slide show presentation or using the notebook. I would use stories for my notebook presentation on Jamaica. I would tell stories based on my experience there in the country that would help to enhance my notebook presentation.
Digital storytelling would fit into this strategy in that you can use computer graphics, audio, pictures and video to help tell a story. For example, I could use digital storytelling to help me tell one of my stories about Jamaica for example a famous place in the country like Dunn's River Falls. I could use digital storytelling to show some of my pictures and videos from my experience on the falls while I tell the class my story. I think digital storytelling is a great way to add visual and audio aspects to a story.
Writing/Rewriting
12/04/12
Writing and Rewriting as an instructional strategy allows for the instructor to continuously improve upon a lesson or subject that is being taught. The writing process allows for the topic to be written and structured in the manner in which it will be presented to the students. The writing process also allows for improvements and rewriting of the content. Once a lesson is tested, there is room for improvement and writing if the content and structure of the lesson is not accurate or structured correctly. The process will be the rewriting process. The rewriting process can even happen after a lesson is taught and the instructor receives feedback on the lesson. Based on the feedback, the instructor can rewrite the lesson to incorporate the suggestions and feedback that were made. The writing and rewriting process as an instructional design is a continuous process which allows for continuous improvement to learn delivery.
I think this instructional strategy is the most used strategy in my working environment because we do most of the writing for our courses and online information to our employees. Every day we receive information regarding new products, new tips and new improvements to existing software which we try to incorporate within our lessons and online information. We do the writing and rewriting strategy a lot when we are presenting new topics for a lesson and for online information. For example, we just created a video conference lesson on Windows 7. We wrote the lesson and content we wanted to deliver to our employees. We tested the information in the lesson to make sure it was accurate and rewrote any area that needed better explanation and improvement. We submitted it for review and even in the review we received suggestions and feedbacks. These suggestions and feedbacks we were incorporated into the lesson which again resulted in another rewrite process for us before delivering the lesson to employees.
Games
12/04/12
Games allow for interactivity and for learning to occur in a fun and exciting manner. Using games as an instructional strategy allows the instructor to present information and learning a different manner for the students. Games allow for learning through critical thinking or through review while participating in the game activity. Games allow for team work and for problem solving while reinforcing the lesson that is being taught.
Games can range from simple question and answers, logic games or a simple word seek. In my environment, we use games online as was to reinforce a lesson that was taught to our employees or to provide helpful tip of a specific topic. I think games are a fun way to provide learning rather than using the conventional methods.
Learner Control
11/06/12
The learner control instructional strategy allows the learner to control the lesson that is being presented. The instructor may or may not be present for this type of strategy. Lessons that are planned using this strategy do require an in-depth analysis to ensure that the learning needs of the student will be met. Lessons created in this strategy will also have additional information included in the lesson that the learner can use after the lesson is complete. Most lessons created in this strategy are based in technology and has a technological aspect for delivery. The technology used in this strategy can be one of the following PowerPoint, Keynote, Podcast, Video, Screencasts and Smart Notebook.
In my working environment, we implement the learner control strategy by creating online courses and tutorials for our employees to take. This allows for them to take the course at a time that is convenient for them and they can control how the lesson progresses. In my working environment we utilize technological software that will enhance the learner control strategy. Some of the software we utilize are Captivate, Articulate and Camtasia.
Progressive Reveal
10/23/12
As an instructional strategy, progressive reveal allows for instructors and presenters to deliver information in a slow and controlled manner. The information is delivered in sections allowing for learners to building upon what they just learned. Think of progressive reveal as the building blocks of the topic being taught. The learner not only learns the information as they progress through the lesson, they can retain what they just learned and visually see the progression as the lesson continues.
Progressive reveal is a great strategy for active learning in that it keeps the learners engaged in the information that is being presented and they can see the movement of information. This strategy is useful when presenting to learner with visual and kinesthetic learning styles. It allows for learning to be stimulating to learners and peak the learners’ interest in the topic.
A great example of progressive reveal being used is to teach about the structure of the court system. This instructional strategy is useful in explaining the relationship between the different types of courts, supreme, appellate, superior and probate courts. In using this strategy you can explain which one of the courts all cases may start from and show how they progress to other courts with an explanation for the progression.
Interactivity
10/16/12
Interactivity is the ability to have active learning occur during a presentation or packaged material on a topic. Interactivity is also the ability to learn and exchange information with others with the use of technology. There are many ways in which interactivity can occur during the learning process. Within this course I have been introduced to a few interactive technologies such as Moodle, Yola, Screen-o-matic, Google Documents, YouTube and the SmartBoard and its interactive tools and features. However the SmartBoard and YouTube are not new interactivity technology for me because I utilize them within my work environment.
Interactivity can be used as an instructional strategy in that it allows you to design learning for hands-on or active learning. Within this course, we see interactivity occurring during each session. Each class is recorded and posted to Moodle which can be used for future reference or a student can view the video if he or she missed a class. Each class session we utilize the use of the SmartBoard to write or draw out an example of what is being discussed. Another way in which interactivity is used within this course is by our in class participation in creating our Moodle accounts and Yola websites. These two tools allows for interactivity to happen within class and outside of class. Moodle is use for obtain course information, homework, posting homework responses, forum discussions and online chat room discussion among team mates. Yola is used for posting our work which other students can view, comment on, participate in a posted activity or learn from an item posted on our websites.
In my work environment, we utilize interactivity for our adult learners in the form of online learning courses and hands-on instructor-led courses. Our online learning courses are developed with interactivity in mind to allow the learners to participate as they progress throughout the course. The interactivity can be either in the form of a question or a “let me try” hands-on demo of a specific topic within the course. Our instructor-led courses incorporate interactivity by having learners complete an activity on the computer based on what they just learned or an activity that is created specifically for the course.
Case Study
10/09/12
A case study is a story about a person, event, organization or a project that has happened. A case study provides you with an insight as to what is going on in the story during a certain point in time. A case study is a great tool for teacher to utilize within their classroom to enhance the educational experience for their students. Case studies can be used for a secondary level instructional design in that it allows teachers to present information in a different format and students can learn using this format. A case study allows students to utilize some of the skills and guidelines they have learned in class which they can apply while reading a case study. A case study allows for critical thinking, problem solving and feedback among the students. Within the classroom, the teacher and students will be able to learn from each other because of the interaction and responses about the case study they read.
