September 16-September 23

Shawn Atwood
Foundationas of Instructional Design
EDPS 6430

“September 16 – September 23”

Well, I feel as if I am one step closer to figuring out what it means to be an instructional designer and what technology is. I feel as if I have learned so much over the last few weeks and at the same time I feel like I have a long ways to go as far as learning and figuring things out. I kind of feel like my newborn baby: late nights and early mornings, being passed around from person to person, and trying to make sense of what is going on. It has been quite a ride this last little while.
Well, in attempting to define instructional design with an even deeper meaning, I have learned that instruction has less to do with the instructor, and more to do with the learner. If one considers what it is that they want the learner to walk away with, then they are better able to align their instruction to fit the student’s needs. An instructional designer is one who teaches the learner, not the content. Or in other words, asking themselves the question: “is specific content being taught, or is the target population being taught” (Dick and Carey 2005 p. 77).
In addition to this, it is therefore important for an instructional designer to evaluate the analysis of the learning tasks before they are ready to proceed to the next type of design activities because if they move on when the learner is not ready, there might be a learning gap where the learner is unable to connect the dots. An instructional designer is therefore someone that analyzes the needs of the learner and then designs and presents the material to the learner in a way that will best fit the learner’s needs. As I think about what technology is, I am now convinced that technology is any thing used in the instruction process. Good luck everyone in your upcoming week.