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Written by Dr. Mercy Alu on ITD 602 on University of North Alabama Instructional Design Technology and Design Tools Final Thoughts
The Instructional Design Technology and Design Tools course offers an array of hands-on projects requiring creation of various multi-media elements and course materials ranging from timeline, to advanced powerpoints, live presentation video including captions and document text to accommodate various learners, blogs, website, etc. The course featured plenty of Open Educational Resources (OER) material, and informative discussions. It also required both a lot of research in the field, and the use or study of hands on Instructional Design tools, for instance: Canva, Articulate Storyline, Flipsnack, Screencast-O-Matic.
There was a requirement to utilize the Wikimedia commons to create an adaptation of licensed material with permissions, create the attributions and contribute an Open Educational Resource post in the OER Commons. There was also plenty of research on the history of instructional design, historical impact and future predictions, the role of instructional designers, design principles and theories of interaction in creating multi-media elements, as well as other important areas of technology and knowledge within the field.
Having noted some of the characteristics of the course, the areas for improvement I believe would include organization of course materials, assignment directives and calendars in ways that are more specific for learners who are unable to follow extensive reading material and a typical course calendar. If possible, audio prompts could be included, while the textual material could be narrowed down to be specific with clear instructions. The teams assignment should specify a few alternative technologies to present options in case of sign-in/other challenges and to accommodate all learners. It would also be helpful to suggest a centralized technology tool for individual document signatories post attended meeting/contributions, before designation of an individual participant to submit for the group. This will streamline the process.
Overall the course is a complete practical package, in preparation for enhanced productivity in designing and implementing Learning Management Systems, with the use of Instructional Technology-Design Tools. It is very immersive, requiring independent continuous hands-on projects with completed creation of learning materials, including rich multi-media elements. I certainly think that students would be prepared to immediately take up roles within the field, designing creative and/or interactive educational material for academic or corporate systems upon course completion.