Instructional Systems and Technology

• Instructional System and Instructional Technology are key elements in modern education.

Instructional System

• Systems are designed as synthetic setups that are comprised of interrelated and interacting components, so they can function in a coordinated way to achieve a specific goal.
• The instructional system uses deliberately designed materials meant to function together in achieving certain learning outcomes.
• Instructional materials are the content and result derived from the instructional design process.
• Key features of an educational system:
  • Instrumentation is included.
  • System-provided feedback is given and factored in.
  • The system is exportable.
  • Summative evaluations check system consistency.
  • Instruction includes systematic review.

Instructional Technology

• It's a technology field focused on creating tools and resources for learning, supporting the process of education.
• Defined as "the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning." (Seels and Richie)
• Technology tools include software like blogs, wikis, and authoring tools that develop or support online course content.

Instruction and Instructional Design

• Instruction organizes learning as a plan of teaching and learning activities.
• Instruction involves a systematic method where teachers, students, materials, and the learning environment are crucial for successful learning.
• Instruction focuses on teaching and learning activities that facilitate the move of knowledge from short-term to long-term memory.

Effective Instruction Principles

• Effective instruction allows students to gain certain skills, knowledge, and attitudes, motivating the students via well-defined factors.
• Important principles of instruction:
  • Begin planning by defining general goals and the specific objectives for students.
  • Plan activities that help students achieve these objectives.
  • Develop instruments that measure if the objectives are being met.
  • Revise instruction depending on performance and attitudes toward the activities.

Instructional Design

• Instructional design (according to Gustafson, 1996) includes:
  • Analyzing what needs to be taught and learned
  • Consider student readiness.
• Determining the mode of teaching and learning:
  • Select the most appropriate teaching methods based on student needs and objectives.
• Conducting tryouts and revisions.
  • Select the most fitting media and available resources which is needed for successful learning.
  • Revise based on the program tryout results.
• Assessing whether learners are learning:
  • Determine how the objectives will be assessed.

Strategies

• Strategies for integrating web-based and mobile tech:
  • ADDIE Model: A systematic instructional design model with 5 phases, which has been used for instructional design and training, including analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.
  • ASSURE Model: An instructional design model that aims to improve instruction through effective teaching and learning; ASSURE is an acronym that denotes the steps.
  • SAMR Model: A way to see how computer technology can affect teaching and learning.

ADDIE Model

• A systematic exploration of the way things are and the way things should be the difference is the performance gap during analysis

• If the analysis identifies a performance gap, the design phase will outline the performance objectives

• Using the information gathered in the analysis and design phase, the performance solution is created when in development.

• this stage includes delivery of the performance solution when implementing.

• Measurement of how well the performance solution achieved the objectives in evaluation.

ADDIE Model - the five steps

• Analyze your learners and gather data about them.
• Analyze broad goals for the lesson/unit to define desired outcomes.
• Design by identifying learning objectives.
  • Define what skills/knowledge will be obtained.
• Design by identifying student outcomes.
  • How learning will be assessed relative to learning objectives.
• Develop instructional strategies to facilitate learning the objectives to achieve the outcomes.
• Develop the logistics for student grouping, classroom arrangement, and available tools/materials.
• Implement: Execute the lesson or unit plan w/ students.
• Evaluate: Determine if the lesson was successful, students learned, and were engaged, and determine whether changes are necessary.

ASSURE model

• A - Analyze learners:

  • Considers prerequisite skills/knowledge, including what courses students have taken before and what knowledge is validated.
  • Evaluates student learning styles, teaching for different learning styles
  • Addresses motivation for taking the course. The general learner attributes regarding age, academic abilities, gender, interests, and prior competencies:
  • Learning styles such as auditory, visual, and tactile.

• S - State standards & objectives.

  • Establish the intended outcomes/expectations.
  • Statements should describe what the learner is to do post-instruction.
  • While writing the objectives, consider:
    • Focus on the learner, not the teacher
    • Use behaviors and scenarios that reflect real world concerns.
    • Use the ABCD format which contains: Audience, Behavior, Condition, Degree

Writing Performance Objectives

• Well-written performance objectives are statements detailing what knowledge students will gain(2009; Mager 1997).
• Key elements:
  • Task (student performance)
  • Conditions
  • Criterion (accuracy).

Key Elements of Performance Objectives

• Task (what): The main part of an objective describing a task/behavior.
  • What do you want the student to do?
• Condition (how): Circumstances or situations of performing the task.
• Criteria (how well): Standards/levels indicating the quality of performance.
• Factors in judging student performance:
  • Task performance over time
  • Skill accuracy
  • A number of successful attempts
  • Cooperative work
  • Written test scores.

Performance Objectives

• Classified by 3 learning domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.
  • Cognitive Learning Domain Objectives focus on recalling/reproducing learned material, and problem-solving for intellective tasks.
  • Cognitive objectives can range from simple recall to combining/synthesizing new ideas.
• Affective Learning Domain Objectives focus on feelings, tones, emotions, or acceptance levels.
  • Affective objectives can vary from general attention to a complex character and conscience.
  • Affective objectives covers the feeling a student should have regarding something, along with the ability to listen, enjoy music, and have the ability to appreciate literature
• Psychomotor Learning Domain Objectives emphasize muscular or motor skills, manipulating materials/objects, or acts involving neuromuscular coordination.
  • Psychomotor objectives relate on how a student controls/moves his/her body.

Affective Learning Domain

• Characterizing:
  • Acting consistently with the new value.
  • Does the student practice in accordance to their beliefs?
• Organizing:
  • Integrating a new value into one's general set of values, giving it some ranking among one's general priorities.
  • Does the student state beliefs and reasons?
• Valuing:
  • Showing some definite involvement or commitment.
  • Does the student express opinions?
• Responding:
  • Showing some new behaviors as a result of experience.
  • Does the student participate actively?
• Receiving:
  • Being aware of or attending to something in the environment.
  • Does the student identify ideas or concepts from an experience?

Objectives, competencies, outcomes

• Learning objectives indicate what a person should know at the end of a learning situation, where competencies indicate what a person should know at the end of a program or module.
• Learning outcomes are observable/measurable terms defining what a student can do after a learning experience.

ASSURE Model

• S (Select Strategies, Technology, Media, and Materials).
• Select the instructional techniques, tech, and media that will give results.
• Determine on the delivery method.
  • The proportion of instructor-centered instruction and student-centered instruction.

Media Selection Criteria, based on student need.

• It must be appropriate for the teaching format and consistent with student abilities/learning styles.
  • There cannot be a single medium to encompass the solution.
• Requirements of Media:
  • Match the curriculum
  • Contain clear language
  • Motivate interest
  • Encourage participation
  • High technical quality
  • Evidence of effectiveness
  • Absence of bias/advertising.
  • Inclusion of user guide/documentation.

ASSURE Model - U (Utilize Technology, Media, and Materials)

• Develop a plan to utilize the tech/media/materials, following the "5 Ps Process":
  • Preview:
    • Overview of the Tech/Media/Materials.
    • Plan ahead.
    • Conduct dry runs of lessons.
    • Make sure that the lesson goes seamlessly.
  • Prepare:
    • Gather all the materials needed to teach the lesson.
• Environment:
  • Has enough desks
  • Minimize distractions.
• Learners:
  • Inform about objectives/assessments.
  • Explain material benefits.
  • Provide the Learning Experience
• This is where everything takes effect.

The ASSURE Model; R (Require Learner Participation)

• Actively engage your students in the material by having them prepare questions at home, which needs to be figured out both at the class level and the individual level.
• Encourage note-taking is also helpful.

The ASSURE Model; E (Evaluate and Revise)

• Evaluate teaching impact on student learning and materials.
• Helpful questions:
  • Did the lesson meet planned learning objectives?
  • Can the lesson be improved?
  • Were the media good choices?
  • Could other media do better?

SAMR Model

• SAMR Model offers a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning.
• Redefinition: Technology allows the creation of new tasks that were previously impossible.
• Modification: The technology will allow for significance task redesign.
• Augmentation: Technology acts as a direct substitute tool, which has functional improvement
• Substitution: Technology acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change

The SAMR model

• Serves as a common language connecting disciplines so that teachers help students view complex ideas
• This is a framework developed by Ruben Puentedura which has four steps, and is often used in academia.

The SAMR Model - Four Steps Explained

• (Substitution) technology acts as a direct tool substitute without functional change.
  • Regarded as the lowest level of technology integration
  • Technology replaces a practice previously done with analog version
  • An example can include typing a student written story rather than hand writing it
  • When teachers are curating the information through an LMS (Learning Management System).
• (Augmentation) technology has enhanced the learning experience by adding functionality.
  • The technology has greatly substituted a traditional one but has been enhanced in the student experiences.
  • Does the technology improves a student's potential and/or productivity in anyway?
• (Modification) the technology itself has redesigned the task which moved enhancement into the transformation.
  • Does the Technology significantly alter the task?
  • Examples include the use of word cloud and Google forms for surveys
• (Redefinition) New tasks are employed via technology:
  • Student voices and choices.
  • Stories include images, slides, and audience engagement.
  • Virtual Mentors and curations are all present

Merrill’s Principles of Instruction

• Emphasizes a problem-based theory needed for the success of a student.
• These elements include activation, demonstration, application and integration where learners solve real-world problems.
  • When existing knowledge is activated, activate new knowledge.
  • New knowledge must be demonstrated.
  • Apply new knowledge.
  • Integrated new knowledge into the student's world.

Merill's first principle

• Problem Centered Learning:
  • Provide a worked example to the task.
  • Ensure learners are engaged between the problem and task actions.
  • Begin with a simple problem, expanding into more complex knowledge.

Merill's second principle

• Activation:
  • Tap into existing experiences by sharing existing knowledge and experiences
  • Make the task interesting.
  • Begin with a basic problem, expanding into more complex scaffolding techniques.

Merill's third principle

• Demonstration consistency and media.
  • Provide content with demonstrations and examples.
  • Provide multiple ideas and perspectives.
  • Support effective media learning.

Merill's fourth principle

• Learning Promoted by new knowledge
  • Align practice with activities.
  • Reduce coaching to build independence
  • Provide opportunities to learn different context.

Merill's fifth principle

• Learning Promoted by new knowledge
• Include reflection activities
• Encourage the transfer of knowledge.