New Directions for Instructional Design and Technology

1. Distributed Learning

• Distributed learning www.library.cornell.edu/DL/tutorial/tut_2.htm
• Hybrid classes www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/hybrids/what.php
• Skills-based learning www.thegrid.org.uk/learning/1419/skills/#2
• Virtual classroom http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/onlinelearning/virtual-classroom.html
• Knowledge-based learning www.ehow.com/about_5403738_knowledge-based-learning.html

2. Reusability...or the lack thereof...

In trying to think back on a class that I have taken that didn't have good reusability, I hit a road block. That doesn't mean that all of my educational experiences have been awesome and useable on a regular basis, but I just can't think of an obvious example right at this moment (On December 18th I will probably shout, "Aha! My _____ class would have been a great example of a course with poor reusabililty" but that doesn't help me much now☺). What does come to mind is a training I recently had for our church auction where I and others had to learn how to enter the information for all things purchased at the auction and country store into a spreadsheet and how to successfully complete a credit card transaction online. The woman who facilitated this training course didn't allow us to have any practice working in the spreadsheet with her supervision. She spent her time showing us what to do by doing the tasks herself and then turning her laptop computer around so that we could see what she had done. I left the training feeling somewhat prepared but not totally confident in my skills/abilities. On the night of the auction I ran into a few snags while trying to enter information into the spreadsheet (I was the only person actually using the computer)--some of the formulas were incorrect and weren't totaling the purchases correctly. Having very limited experience with spreadsheets up until now, I didn't have much in the way of troubleshooting skills. I had to track down someone else who was also at the training so we could work together to figure out a solution to the problems we found. The same problem was found with the credit card transactions. The training we had only consisted of screen shots of the various steps in the credit card process that had been printed out on paper and stapled together. When the time came to actually run a credit card purchase, all went rather smoothly except when I tried printing out a receipt. All in all the evening went well, but I feel that training could have been much more beneficial had we been given the chance to work on a computer during the training so that we could practice entering information, creating formulas, etc.

3. This is a video I found on YouTube that shows different examples of rich media found on the MSN home page.

4. As a wife and mother, I know laundry. What I hadn't realized is that I have been laundering examples of nanotechnology. What I discovered while researching this topic for this assignment is that stain-resistant clothing is a form of nanotechnology. I am always looking for clothing that is stain-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, etc. to help make my life a bit easier in the laundry room. My husband and child both react strongly to mosquito bites--the bite sites swell up into horribly itchy whelps. While shopping one day, I came across a 3-button golf shirt that boasted a built in mosquito repellent that would last even after multiple washes. I bought that shirt for my husband, and he wears it despite the fact that it is purple--he looks quite handsome, I might add☺. Now I don't know if the shirt really repels mosquitoes like it claims to do, but this seems to me to definitely be a form of nanotechnology at work.

5. I prefer the broad and inclusive road that is discussed in the text. I appreciate the fact that it follows the straight and narrow road to a point, but it also encompasses much more to make it more versatile. As a teacher it is my job to reach and teach all of my students, all of whom have very different learning styles and abilities. With the broad and inclusive approach it seems that the potential to accommodate a greater number of my students is better represented.