Tracey Dalton - Reflection on Instructional Design Module and Group Project

Date: 23rd December 2013

Introduction
In this module we learned about instructional design and what aspects need to be considered
when designing a learning tool. We had four assignments to complete, two of which were to
be done as a group project. I was teamed with Claire McDonnell from the Department of
Optometry and Christine OConnor from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, both in
DIT Kevin St. I am lecturing in the Department of Art, Design and Printing in DIT Mountjoy
Square, with a background in Interior Architecture and Design. I was pleased with the group I
had been allocated to as we had built up a rapport during the Learning Theories module and I
had completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Graphic Reproduction Technology in DIT Bolton
St. with Christines brother, which meant she knew a lot about me prior to this course.

Project Inception and Allocation of Roles

We decided early on in the process that we would go with an idea Christine put forward
called the BRAT Pack. This is a learning tool for DIT undergraduate teachers, which stands
for Blended Resources for Academic Teaching. It is a tongue in cheek reference to how
lecturers of undergraduates can introduce different media to enhance the teaching and
learning with net generation students (2010), which makes us think back to our own
definition of the Brat Pack i.e. young actors from films in the 1980s and 90s, during our
own undergraduate years.

Having a design background, I took on the role of deciding what the site might look like and
how it would be structured. This involved taking on the storyboard also, early on in the
process. Christine and Claire, having a lot of experience using various teaching methods, took
on the role of supplying content for the site. Christine worked on a lot of content related to
educational methods and learning theory and Claire created quizzes, tutorials using
Articulate software, and did a lot of work on the evaluation of the learning tool.

My workload was very much at the start of the project. With my project management
experience in industry I knew that I had to create the learning tool template very quickly in
order to show my fellow group members how it would work. I had to gain their trust and go

through a period of time where they may not have been exactly sure where the design was
heading. I chose a blackboard theme for the learning tool as I felt it was a perfect setting for
lecturers who would like to use blended learning and want an unthreatening learning
environment. It gives a sense of nostalgia that reminds lecturers of how they learned in their
own school days.
Story Board Design and the ADDIE Model
I sketched a site map, for the storyboard, based on the ADDIE model of Instructional
Design. This stands for Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. I
used our lecture notes as a guide to help us decide what needed to go where in the sequence. I
then thought that this could easily become the names of the pages in the tool. Claire had
thought something similar, but maybe not so literally, so we decided to move forward with
this design. I found Gagne et al.s literature on instructional design and ADDIE in
particular, very useful in defining my role in the group as it defined the instructional designer
as having excellent analysis and design skills, but they may not have the writing or media
production skills. Although I certainly wouldnt have excellent web design skills, this
reinforced my role in the group. The storyboard lead on to a morphological matrix and the
individual pages for the learning tool and what needed to be considered for each of them.
Site Design and the ADDIE Model
With the storyboard in place and the site template created it was ready to use and be edited.
This involved placing written prompts to group members to allocate content in the correct
place, which would make sense as the user navigates the tool. During this process, Christine
and Claire contributed a lot of the content and throughout the process items were moved and
tested to see that they worked correctly. We needed to make sure the Home page would
draw in the user. I designed a sketch to explain how to navigate the site and Claire created a
quiz to catch the users attention, which has proved successful with colleagues of ours. Each
page explains very clearly what it is about. My role at this stage would be as editor. I revised
mistakes and made sure the layout was correct. I found the ADDIE page layout very easy to
work with and I think the user would too.

Group Communication
The group could not meet up outside of class hours, so we grabbed moments during class
time to discuss the project. Otherwise we communicated by e-mail and through Wordpress,

where the learning tool was created, especially in the last two weeks. It was difficult at the
start of the project because we had different visions of how the site would develop. I had a
clear vision of how the site should look, which is why I created it so quickly, along with the
storyboard. I am used to doing this in my own discipline. There were differences of opinion
and understanding in the middle of the process, when it came to deciding where content
should be placed and what sequence it should go in. I knew in my mind exactly what
everything would look like but I could only explain it verbally until I had time to instigate it.
Im sure this was frustrating for all of us, but I knew it would work out by the end of the
project.

Conclusion
I think the project was successful and the group used their individual strengths to produce the
best outcome for the learning tool.

References
Gagn,R.M., Wager,W., Golas,K. & Keller,J. (2005). Principles of Instructional Design.
Belmont,CA.: Wadsworth. pp.21-38.

Hardy, J. & Jefferies, A. (2010) How Learners Change. Critical Moments, Changing Minds.
Sharpe, R., Beetham, H. & De Freitas, S.(Eds.) Rethinking learning for a digital age. How
learners are shaping their own experiences.

Littlejohn,A. & Pegler,C. (2007). Preparing for blended e-learning. Oxon: Routledge
Falmer.

Jones,C., Ramanu,R., Cross,S. & Healing,G. (2010). Net generation or Digital natives: Is
there a distinct new generation entering university? Computers & Education 54, 2010,722-32.

Masterman, E. & Craft, B. (2013). Designing and evaluating representations to model

pedgagogy. Research in Learning Technology, 2013, 21:20205 pp.1-14.

Yang,D.F., Catterall,J. & Davis,J. (2013). Supporting new students from vocational education
and training: Finding a reusable solution to address recurring learning difficulties in elearning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 2013, 29(5). pp. 640-648.