Course Description

This course introduces participants to the systems approach to instructional design. The major components of instructional development models will be presented. This course provides introductory information and application of skills and techniques necessary in the analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instruction (often referred to as the ADDIE framework). This course will consider these issues at both the curriculum (macro) and lesson (micro) level. These skills are particularly useful for efficient and cost-effective development of solutions to novel instructional problems. The emphasis in this course is on the development of materials-centered instruction (as opposed to teacher-mediated), that is, materials and resources that are developed to be the primary means by which instruction is delivered. When done appropriately, the result is effective, stand-alone instruction which can be replicated and distributed. The current emphasis on online learning is well suited to this point of view. Course content will be based on a strong foundation of instructional and learning theory. Contrasting views and perspectives of instructional design will be considered, such as those based on very different learning philosophies (such as objectivism and constructivism). The philosophical foundation of this course is not that there is one procedure for design, but rather an approach that works best for a particular context, audience, and content. It should be noted that this course does not teach development techniques for specific media, even though some media development may be required.

This is an online class. A variety of synchronous (in real time) and asynchronous technologies (not in real time; e.g. email) will be used to teach this class. Of these, two deserve special notice: 1) Horizon Wimba - a virtual classroom which permits synchronous sessions and interactions between the instructor and students with 2-way Internet audio; and 2) Pre-recorded presentations of course content. (Click here for more information about the Horizon Wimba classroom; more information about the pre-recorded presentations is below.)

All academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty." Students are responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. The link to more detailed information about academic honesty can be found at: http://www.uga.edu/honesty/

Please note that this course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

This course follows the regulations outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Call UGA Disability Services at (706) 542-8719 (voice) or (706) 542-8778 (TDD only) for information about architectural access and to arrange for sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, large print, audio, or Braille. Students requiring special accommodation should talk to the instructor(s) before or after the class period, or by scheduling an appointment.

Dick, W., Carey, L., & Carey, J. O. (2009). The systematic design of instruction (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Course objectives

At the end of the course, each participant will be able to:

1. Generate an instructional design project by conducting all appropriate procedures for macro- and micro-instructional design;
2. Generate instructional goals by conducting a needs analysis of learner, task, and situational characteristics;
3. Generate course-level and unit-level instructional curriculum maps by writing the terminal objective/s and enabling objectives for the course and units in a visual form;
4. Generate a lesson design by constructing an instructional strategy planning sheet that meets the objectives of one or more lessons and integrates media effectively into each lesson;
5. Generate an appropriate evaluation of the instructional design project by identifying and following formative evaluation procedures;
6. Choose to follow instructional design procedures;
7. Function independently and cooperatively in team development activities;
8. Compare and contrast various instructional design perspectives and philosophies.

Course Procedures

There are both synchronous and asynchronous aspects to this course. The primary course content is delivered asynchronously in two ways - textbook readings and pre-recorded presentations. One of the most important tools to access these resources is a special web site that has been created for you containing a Learning Plan for the course. This learning plan lists all course activities, along with due dates, in the general order in which they should be completed. A user account has been created for you. Your username is your UGA MyID, and your password is the last 4 digits of your 9-digit UGA ID number. (Note: Your UGA ID is no longer your social security number. Your new UGA ID is located on your UGA Card. Of the 16 numbers, your UGA ID begins with the 7th digit. So, use numbers 12-15 as your password.) Think of your learning plan as your "headquarters" for completing the course.

We will meet at our assigned time online in a "virtual" live classroom (described more below). Prior to each live class each participant needs to:

1. Read the assigned chapter/s in the Dick, Carey, & Carey textbook, and then...
2. View a pre-recorded presentation of the assigned chapter/s.

These pre-recorded presentations are designed and narrated by the instructor. The average length of the pre-recorded presentations is about 45 minutes. (These presentations have been produced with a commercial tool called "Articulate." However, you will also see these referred to as "Impatica" presentations, which was the name of another tool we used in previous sections of this course.) These presentations will work on both Windows and Macintosh computers. All of these chapter presentations can be found on the course learning plan. These required "readings and viewings" need to be completed with care prior to the respective scheduled class - again, they are your main means for acquiring the course content.

For each class meeting, all participants will then meet online in the Horizon Wimba Virtual Classroom at our assigned time. Reading the assigned chapters and viewing the pre-recorded presentations are crucial to having a successful experience in each scheduled synchronous class meeting. The instructor will prepare a special interactive session based on the assumption that all participants are fully prepared. If you do not "read and view" the material ahead of time, you will likely be confused and disoriented.

Each class is scheduled from 5:00-7:15 pm. We will begin promptly at 5:00 pm, so please log onto the UGA Horizon Wimba server about 15 minutes prior to this time to ensure you are all ready to go. Each class will begin with brief class updates and time for questions and answers. The instructor will then conduct an interactive session on the topic scheduled for that day. The purpose of the interactive session is to explore general themes and difficult concepts of the weekly topic. Again, it is VERY important that all participants come to class having read the respective book chapter/s thoroughly (and any other assigned readings) AND having viewed the pre-recorded Impatica presentation/s.

An advantage of using the pre-recorded presentations is that a significant part of the scheduled class time will be yours to organize and use as you wish. During the first half of the course, this remaining class time is an excellent time to work on Instructional Design Activities (IDAs), provide feedback to your "design buddy's" IDA, or meet with your team to discuss or work on the team project. During the second half of the course, this time should be used to work on the required instructional design team project. Special time has deliberately been scheduled into the second half of the course exclusively for work on this project. Because Horizon Wimba offers teams the chance to work synchronously with live Internet audio, teams should plan on using Horizon Wimba as a convenient way of holding team meetings. Similarly, the special groupware tools of WebCT will be available for team use as well. Of course, teams are free to meet anywhere they like. Past experience suggests that teams should seriously consider trying to meet face-to-face at some time during the course.

I recommend you discipline yourself to work at least until 7:15 pm each day, even though the formal part of the class will almost always end much earlier.

Student Support for Horizon Wimba

UGA provides special support to students enrolled in classes that use the Horizon Wimba classroom. Students may get assistance by e-mailing hlive@uga.edu or calling Student Technology Support (STS) at 706-542-3333. The STS help desk is open from 9am-10pm Monday through Thursday, 9am-5pm Friday, and 1-7pm Saturday and Sunday.

Course requirements/evaluation

An evaluation rubric is provided for your reference, so you will know how you will be evaluated in this course.

Grading Scale

Attendance/Participation (individual): Everyone is expected to attend each online class and be punctual (I will keep a record of attendance). A variety of in-class activities are planned. Many of these activities are group-based, so come prepared to interact. We will use many different online technologies to accomplish this, including the group discussion tools in WebCT and Horizon Wimba. In many settings, instructional design is a team effort. This requires an understanding of group dynamics and interpersonal communication. Friction between team members often develops based on incompatibilities between abilities, personalities and personal needs (e.g. need for power, need for affiliation, need for achievement, etc.). My goal is for you to gain a better understanding of these concepts through experience. Finally, realize that if you are absent, even for valid reasons, you are still responsible for the material and assignments discussed in each and every class (the plan is to record each live class).

Informal Activity - Learning from Media Activity (individual): Purpose: To experience first-hand what it feels like to learn exclusively from educational media on a topic of the participant's choice; To reflect on the role and value of media-based resources for learning.

As the name suggests, this is meant as an informal, fun assignment to gain some experience of what it feels like to learn from instructional media without assistance or benefit from a teacher or trainer. Your task is to identify a subject or topic on which you have genuine interest in learning, find and go through instructional materials designed to teach the topic, then write a brief written reflection (about 200 words) about the experience. You are free as well to choose the scope of the learning experience and the type of instructional materials. However, you are encouraged to experience a range of media, such as "self-help" or "how to" books, videos, and the Internet. (The public library is a great place to look for resources.) Though not required, you are also invited to give a brief 5 minute oral report about your experience during class.

Instructional Design Knowledge Test (individual): Purpose: To assess each participant's acquisition and understanding of core instructional design facts and concepts.

All participants must master a core set of instructional design knowledge gained predominately through reading the required textbook chapters, but also through viewing required pre-recorded presentations. Mastery is defined as attaining a score of 100% correct on a test of 50 multiple-choice questions (subdivided into three sections). No partial credit will be given. However, you may take each section of the test as often as you wish up to July 2. The best way to prepare for this test is by reading the textbook chapters well.

(Every question must be answered correctly during any one attempt on any of the three sections. If one or more questions are answered incorrectly on an attempt, that entire attempt for that section is discounted.)

Instructional Design Activities (individual). Purpose: To give each participant the opportunity to individually practice the particular instructional design skill being introduced and discussed at that time; each IDA is focused on helping everyone understand equally the particular skill and process highlighted in the IDA.

IDAs are designed to enhance, extend, and support course content. These are completed individually and are meant to give you some initial practice in each of the major themes of the course. Feedback will be provided first by Design Buddies (selected no later than the second session of the class), then the instructor. You can revise these based on your buddy's feedback, at which time the instructor will evaluate them. You can even invent data or hypothetical situations, reports, events, etc. because the purpose of each IDA is to give you some quick, initial practice applying the respective design skill. If you do not complete a specific IDA appropriately, you will have one opportunity to resubmit based on the instructor feedback.

Though you are under no obligation to do so, it is perfectly acceptable to refine any or all of the IDAs to make them part of the Instructional Design Project. Your team is therefore wise to identify your project topic early on in order for you to use the IDAs as the first step in your project.

A special IDA online workspace has been created exclusively for this class and can be accessed from the course learning plan. When you have finished your first draft of an IDA, your buddy will be notified via email and an automated notice appearing on his/her course learning plan that you are ready for feedback. Everyone is expected to review their buddy's IDA and provide feedback by the due dates listed on the course learning plan. You then have the option of revising your IDA based on your buddy's feedback. The instructor will then review every IDA (and the respective buddy feedback) and provide feedback. All IDA work and feedback will be generated, stored, and viewed online. All IDAs will be shared with the entire class (though names will be removed).

Instructional Design Project (team): Purpose: To practice all of the instructional design skills and techniques in an authentic project; to gain initial experience in working in a team.

You will work in teams of 2-4 people to complete this project. All teams must be identified by June 10. You can form a team sooner, and you are encouraged to do so, however once you declare membership on a team, you cannot change your mind. Of course, if you wait too long, all teams may form, thus not giving you the opportunity to work on a team of your choice. (All individuals who have not identified a team membership by the due date will be assigned to a team by the instructor, however, doing so is considered a "last resort" action and is to be avoided.) All individual members of teams will be asked to complete a confidential team evaluation at the end of course. Part of this evaluation will be the opportunity to critique the work/contribution of your teammates. This critique will be used by the instructor, in part, to determine a team member's grade on the final project.

Each team will design a course consisting of two or more units. Each team will create various documents that are traditionally found in real-world design reports. Each unit will consist of two or more lessons with at least one unique lesson design by each member on the team. Think of the course you design as the solution to a clearly defined instructional problem. The purpose of the project is for participants to demonstrate skills in planning and carrying out: a) needs assessments; b) instructional analyses; c) design plans (for courses, units, and lessons); d) media selection analyses; e) instructional development; and f) formative evaluations. Each team must identify and work with a client in order to complete this project (a K-12 teacher or administrator can be a client, even if the person is a team member). Class time will be set aside for teams to present progress reports of their projects to the class. The independent project will be evaluated based on a project report that documents all of the phases carried out in the design of your entire course. The problem and goal that you and your team members choose to work on may be related to the problem/goal defined by an individual member (and partially "solved" in the IDAs) or it may be a new problem/goal defined by the team. Your team will be required to submit 3 progress reports online. In one of these progress reports your team will provide a first draft of your needs assessment, course design, and unit design. The work for the Instructional Design Portfolio will be completed via e-mail, chat sessions, face-to-face interactions, etc. -- in other words, whatever form(s) of communication work best for you and your team mates. We will make full use of the group discussion tools available with WebCT and Horizon Wimba.

You should consult and carefully follow the section of the evaluation rubric related to the instructional design project throughout the course.

e-Poster Session (team): Purpose: To share your team's work via a PowerPoint presentation with other classmates, future EDIT 6170 students, and visitors to the course web site; special time will be dedicated on the last class for each group to briefly present their project and be available to answer questions in an informal setting (similar to a "design fair").

You will participate in an e-Poster session at the end of the term. The poster session will provide our community with an opportunity to showcase and archive group design projects and to share success stories with each other. Your e-Poster should be created using an appropriate presentation application (e.g., MS PowerPoint, Web page). The e-Poster should be as self-explanatory as possible so that your main job is to answer questions from those attending the session. The e-Poster presentation format provides a mechanism for in-depth discussion of your project, but this is possible only if the display includes enough information so that others can scan and quickly get a basic idea of what you were doing for your project. Figures and tables should be kept as simple as possible, so that the viewer can readily take away the main message. A brief, large type heading of no more than one or two lines should be provided above each illustration, with more detailed information added in smaller type beneath the illustration (as needed). In addition to the display, you may also consider putting links to artifacts from your project, including images, instructional materials, specific Design Portfolio documents, etc.

Your team has the option of making your presentation in one of two ways: 1) attend and present synchronously during the ePoster session on July 9; or 2) create and deliver a pre-recorded presentation (e.g. PPT + mp3 audio file). Those who choose option 2 will not be obligated to attend the ePoster session. Presentations presented live on July 9 will be recorded in Horizon Wimba. NOTE: Everyone is expected to take the time to view/listen to each team's presentation.

Course Schedule
This schedule is subject to change throughout the semester - the web page containing your individual learning plan will reflect any changes or updates.

Closing comments and cautions

This course, due to its strong application orientation, is highly activity-based. In completing the instructional design project, it is important that individuals or teams identify their problem area early and pace their work appropriately. The instructional design project consists of many phases which build one upon the other. Individuals or teams who wait until late in the course to begin may experience "log jams" and may find it difficult to complete the project with high quality, thus risking a lower grade and, more importantly, less professional gain. This is particularly true when working with a client. Often, you will have to arrange activities based on schedules and problems other than your own, perhaps waiting several days or weeks for the opportunity to complete some aspect of your project. Often, participants enter a course thinking that they can always take an "incomplete" if they decide they will not complete the course requirements on time. Keep in mind that I follow the university guidelines regarding an incomplete grade which reserve this for unforeseen circumstances or emergencies, not merely a failure to complete the work on time. I am confident that those who heed this warning will be able to complete the course with sufficient time to produce a high quality product while gaining personal and professional satisfaction.

Also, as noted in the course description, this course does not teach techniques for developing specific media even though some media development will be required. This apparent contradiction will be resolved by considering the instructional product that each participant produces as a "prototype" of their intended design. For example, even though one might decide that computer-assisted instruction is the ideal instructional medium, a print-based prototype might be developed and evaluated instead.