Instructional Design Principles

Carl Guinn

Grand Canyon University: TEC 571

August 3, 2011

When teaching students using distant education my focus would be on group work, communication, and distribution of materials.

Students say their first choice is not to learn at a distance. When asked, they say they prefer meeting with the learning group and the instructor in the classroom, the lecture hall, the seminar room, or the laboratory. Students report that they value the presence of a learning group, and that the informal interactions that occur before and after, and sometimes during, a formal class are valuable components of the total learning experience (Bryan.nd).

I like the idea of being in a classroom. Distant Education used to scare me. However, by taking this program at Grand Canyon University I have learned how to work in an online atmosphere and still be able to share with my peers.

If I were to create an online lesson with students from around the country or world I would:A. Highlight the introductions and insist everyone respond to one

another using the discussion board, Skype, or telephone.B. Have each student change groups to insure everyone worked

together.C. Implement a break time from the lesson for the students to

chat.

Asynchronous tools for looking at previous work and sharing new ideas such as email, listservs, newsgroups, blogs, and threaded discussions all offer opportunities for sharing within a community. Synchronous tools such as chats and Skype, or more sophisticated communications systems such as Breeze with its video conferencingability, and Elluminate which supports voice and visual media are valuable tools for allowing geographically diverse communities to come together to share and discuss ideas in real time (Dixon. Nd).

Communication with the instructor as well as your peers is very important to maintain a Distant Education course or lesson. Exploring the resources available I have found Skype, online conferencing rooms, wiki’s, blogs, e-mail, and Face Book to all be useful. I have at one point called an instructor on the phone. Communication is the key and there are plenty of resources to stay in contact with the instructor or peers. If I were teaching a Distant Education course or lesson I would post these forms of communication and offer the student to add any other means of communication that they find.

Even within a traditional class, the instructor is concerned with getting materials to the students. Often papers and books are distributed at the beginning of the class period. But when teaching at a distance, this task is rarely an easy one. Often the majority of the class is at a distance, and distribution of materials becomes a logistical nightmare (Simonson. Nd).

Distribution of materials is vital to the success of the Distant Education course or lesson. The instructor needs to stay proactive and insure the students have the most up to date materials. When needed, the instructor could:A. Copy any needed information and share this material with the class, or post on a website.B. E-mail the information to the student.C. Call the student and inform them on where to go to get the

information.

ReferencesBryan, S.. Water cooler 2.0: Instructional designers' experiences with virtual team communication. Ph.D. dissertation, Capella University, United States -- Minnesota. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from Dissertations & Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection.(Publication No. AAT 3445228).

Dixon, J.. Connecting creativity, technology, and communities of practice: Exploring the efficacy of technological tools in support of creative innovation. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Toronto (Canada), Canada. Retrieved August 3, 2011, from Dissertations & Theses: The Humanities and Social Sciences Collection.(Publication No. AAT NR72130Simonson, Michael R. (Eds.) (2009) Teaching and learning at a distance: foundations of distance education Boston : Allyn & Bacon,