There are myriad blogs and resources available on the subject of instructional design and technology. As I am fairly new to the field and studying for a certificate in the aforementioned field, I have found several sites I already find purposeful, informative, relevant, and useful. So I share with my readers three useful sites as well as their links.

Huff English

As and English educator, I am always looking for ways to increase student interest and ability in English literature and writing. This is never an easy job. Because technology is being used more and more in the classroom, it seems as though there is less emphasis and the act of reading hard copy/print materials. This isn’t true all cases. I am looking for ways to both motivate my students to read and to develop their critical thinking/writing skills. The electronic format of blogs or posting online responses has been successful for me in the past. Students still have to write, revise, and edit their work, but now they have a new medium in which to share, dialogue, and engage other students. I was pleasantly surprised to find an English blog website with a focus on technology and instruction by Dana Huff at http://www.huffenglish.com. The author of this site shares insights on teaching English, using technology in the English classroom, critiques of articles and journals, as well as the personal journey through higher education.

What I like most is the fact that the author is a current practicing educator in the class. Relevance is so key when it comes to learning new strategies, theories, and philosophies in education or any new field. Because I am and English educator, I share similar questions, concerns, and ideas about helping students navigate literature and writing. Ms. Huff offers a variety of links to practical applications such as handouts, articles on best practices in English, and information on reading and writing. This site reaches especially too the constructivist strategy because many of the links and posts are geared toward engaging students in the process of learning rather than just sheer memorization.

As Newby and Ertmer suggest, when we learn it “is a function of how the individual creates meaning from his or her own experiences” (1993). In the English classroom, this holds true. My students will always bring their own experiences to the classroom. I have to help them figure out how to bridge what they know to what they are going to learn. Ms. Huff’s site provides an opportunity for educators and trainers to find meaningful ways to reach students.

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50–71.

The Encyclopedia of Informal Education

I love learning. I find the process very fascinating. In looking for blogs about instructional design, I looked at the Encyclopedia of Informal Education website. It has many wonderful resources on education, the process of learning, and detailed information on terminology found in education. If you want to know why educators do what they do or the theory/philosophy behind their practices, then this site is excellent. It explains theories and philosophies in plain English. The reading is not difficult nor is the site fussy. What I find particularly interesting and very relevant to the state of education in the 21st century is the idea that learning is a more like an organic, living and breathing process whereby individuals invest themselves in what interests them most in ways that keep them interested (Smith, 1999).

We use diverse types of learning depending on the situation. As an Instructional Designer in further training, this site is a great resource. It provides a brief history and overview of several learning theories as well as a variety of detailed overviews of journals, books, and articles on learning. The site is also relevant to instructional designers because it address the needs of adult learners too. Many times when I have come across curriculum and design materials, they were for primary and secondary education. Since many adult students are returning to the classroom, there is a need for information and strategies to address their learning needs and styles. Adult learners have different interests and abilities than children and young adult school students. So it’s good to see those needs being addressed. As I am also interested in moving into other areas of education and training, this site is a good way for me to prepare to meet the educational needs of different kinds of students and with different types of formats—be it online delivery or face-to-face delivery.

Smith, M. K. (1999) ‘Learning theory’, the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/b-learn.htm, Last update: September 03, 2009.

IDEAS:Instructional Design for Elearning ApprocheS

Instructional Designers, both experienced and starting out, will gain useful information from various blogs and website online. One resource I find very helpful comes from an instructional technology and design practioner and writer at IDEAS: Instruction Design for Elearning ApproacheS. If you are like me and are new to instructional technology and design, this blog is a great resource because it seems to be grounded in reality. Ferdinand Krauss shares his learning, readings, and critiques of various articles and texts on e-learning and instruction. What I found most appealing and helpful is that the author is currently doing the work of instructional design. From this vantage point the author shares the ups, downs, and realities of implementing instructional technologies in higher education and other environments. What I didn’t realize about instructional technology was the time, money, man-power, and other resources needed to make online learning happen.

As an instructional designer, it is imperative to know not only the technological and implementation process for meeting the delivery needs of individuals, corporations, and institutions of higher learning, but one must also keep in mind the costs, licenses, access issues, benefits, format, and actual use (Krauss, 2010).

Simply understanding costs and benefits isn’t enough for an instructional designer to know. He or she must also be aware of how best to aid those who are going to be using or learning how to implement instructional technology. If this is not done, then the technology proves useless, and no learning can or will occur; therefore it is crucial for instructional designers to communicate realistic approaches for students to learn. Without this step, implementation may fail (Krauss, 2010). In addition to bridging the gap between having technology and using it to enhance learning comes the idea of training others to use it. If there is no effective and relevant training provided to those who will utilize online learning formats, “the tendency [maybe] for them to map their existing practice onto the web-based medium” (Krauss, 2010). This does not engage the student in the learning process and makes for ineffective use of the online format. Reading Krauss’ comments have encouraged me in my journey. I have to be able to see how students view their educational process. I have to be able to understand what instructors and professors desire their students to learn, and somehow put the two together. Reading Krauss’ blog makes the process seem far less daunting and more tangible.

Krauss, Ferdinand. (2010, March 7). IDEAS: Instructional Design for Elearning ApproacheS. Messages posted to http: //ideas.blog.com.

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