Instructional Design

Distance Education Instructional Design

Instructional Design
Much of the time, teaching with distance education technologies is a matter of adapting the teaching styles and instructional methods you've been using for years in the "traditional" classroom. Instructional design is the systematic and continuous application of learning principles and educational technology to develop the most effective and efficient learning experience for students. Instructional design comes into play in any educational arena -- not just distance education -- when instructors try to identify which areas need to be taught to bring about the desired learning outcome in students. In distance education instructional design, you must keep the following four aspects in mind:

Making it personal. Creating an atmosphere that focuses on the importance of the individual and overcomes distance by generating group rapport.
Encouraging interaction. Getting beyond the technology by providing opportunities for the interaction among participants.
Ensuring that the message is understandable. Presenting the message in such a way that it will be received, understood, and remembered.
Providing methods for feedback. Getting information about the message, which helps the instructor and participants complete the communication loop.

Common to all instructional design models -- whether for a traditionally taught class or a distance education course -- are the following questions that must be answered:

What is the need for the educational program?
What are the goals and objectives?
Who will be the learners?
What will be the subject content (message)?
What teaching methods and media (technology) will be used?
How will learners be assessed?
How will the course or lesson be evaluated with a view to improvement?

Needs assessment
The needs assessment should take place before the rest of the design process is undertaken. The needs assessment, in essence, determines why the instruction is required. It defines the "need," based on such information as existing data (survey results, focus groups, case studies), a teacher's experiences, or societal needs.

Most courses -- traditional and distance-delivered -- are based on learning needs that were identified in previous semesters, especially if the course has been taught many times. A traditionally taught course that is being modified for distance delivery may not need a formal needs assessment conducted. However, it is advised that the instructor take into account the need to revise, and possibly to exclude, certain information that may be more campus-based and may not be relevant to students at a distance. Instructors teaching a distance education course also should weigh the instructional needs of their audience, which may not share the same demographic characteristics as the on-campus population. A more detailed look at distance learners is provided later in this section.

Determine how one of the classes you teach could be best adapted for delivery via distance education technologies by completing the "Recipe for Success" information in this section:

Conduct a mini-needs assessment. What is the "need" for the course?
_____________________________________________________________________

Goals and objectives
Goals and objectives structure your plan of action. Goals and objectives are as important in the distance education arena as they are in your traditional classroom set-up. Following is a brief definition of each and an example.

Goal -- A general statement of what you hope the course will achieve, perhaps expressed in terms of what you, the teacher, will be presenting to the learner.
Objective -- A statement of what learners should be able to do (or do better) as a result of having worked through the course.
Example:
Goal statement: To introduce the learner to healthy eating habits.
Objective statements: a) List the principal components of a balanced diet and describe the function of each in the body. b) Name six diseases caused by an inadequate or unbalanced diet.

Write one goal statement and two to three objective statements that you would want your audience to learn.

Goal: _________________________________________________________________
Objective 1: _____________________________________________________________
Objective 2: _____________________________________________________________
Objective 3: _____________________________________________________________

Next, learn about another aspect of instructional design: the distance learners...

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