Monday, December 3, 2018

EDU 658 Reflective Blog Post


EDU 658 Instructional Design Application 
Pamela L. McGimpsey 



Coming from a family whose craft is teaching I grew up hearing about the development of lesson plans all day every day.  It was not uncommon for my mother to spend her summer and holiday breaks creating learning outlines that included bulletin boards, art projects, and live presentations of student reports.  This was of course before the virtual world of learning came onto the scene.  While I appreciated her efforts and outcomes as much as her students, I never fully valued the amount of time she spent on creating one course.  But EDU 658 Instructional Design Application forever changed my respect level for those training professionals who are also instructional designers.

Like an architect I took the first step in designing a course of learning.  With fingers to my laptop keyboard I tapped out a planning document.  At the conclusion of the second draft I believed my intended course plan was pure perfection.  There was nothing I was going to change.  With positive momentum I pushed forward to design the course Splash page.  The visualization for this page was simple, exciting, and full of color.  Unfortunately, I failed to include in my course development plan the absolute need to become familiar, comfortable, and confident with the Canvas learning management system (LMS).  After hours of stumbling around what was a virtual LMS learning pit I put together a creation that opened to a thud on my monitor.  A welcomed peer review provided the most beneficial feedback that resulted in converting my original Splash page into a vibrant and easy to understand course cover page.  Thus, my perfect cover page was changed and for the better.

The inclusion of Powtoon, Padlet, and Google Sheets proved perfect supplements to my course learning designed as an entry level supervisory training for those in the manufacturing industry.  For someone who does not warmly embrace technology I became brave enough to first try and then include these new to me applications in my Canvas based course.  Excitement coursed through my veins as I created visually impactful and engaging learning elements. 

During the 16-week course of EDU 658 Instructional Design Application I learned that by pairing online learning with face-to-face class time a course can become a richer learning experience for the student and the instructor.  For each step of the design process I was the student stretching my artistic boundaries to craft a course that will inspire the learners it touches to engage in every element this learning program offers.  I am very proud of the final product of this course as it is the first in what will be a long line of exceptionally designed learning programs. 

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