E-tivity 1.2

Instructing, teaching or training are all variations of meeting the same goal - to help someone to learn something. In my mind, training includes doing the work along side someone, (practical). Instructing is like giving a lecture, just providing the information, (theory). I think teaching involves both - the theory and the practical. This is just my simplistic view. Instructional design, is therefore providing material to help with the understanding of what is being learnt. As it has evolved from learning aids to whole learning systems with the use of computers, it has almost become a fully independent teaching system. When the instruction design includes devices which allow interaction with teachers/trainers or fellow students then it does become a full teaching process. I believe in interaction (preferably human) for really successful learning to occur.

Whether instructional design is a product or a process depends on whether the term is being used as a noun or a verb! Clearly I find the learning materials which have been created are the product; the creation of which is a process.The process needs to involve a subject expert who has knowledge of how people can learn, and therefore what would be needed in whatever media is being used to create the learning material. The instructional design could be more than just learning material. Designing the instruction could be akin to making a lesson plan - working out all that would be need for a learning outcome to take place. This may include classroom discussions, readings and anything else that may help someone learn.

Branch and Merrill (2012) describe instructional media as anything other than the teacher, chalkboard and textbook. This suggests that instructional design is not about designing a whole course or lesson, but material which would supplement the basic and traditional teaching methods.This is why I consider instructional design to be a type of creation of learning materials. I really like their description of learning design as a "pebble in the pond" - a method of instructional design which builds on problems or tasks (Branch and Merrill, 2012, p.12). Unless the problems are presented and resolved independently of teacher/instructor I see the instructional design as a supplementary product. If it involves the whole teaching/learning environment then it becomes a process.

I have enjoyed reading the history of involving various media in learning. It occurred to me as I was reading that training films, video and audio were all good media to provide alternative methods of learning. However, they didn't have room for feedback or discussion. In this way they could only be supplementary for really effective learning to take place. Hopefully now with Internet and all the technologies associated, there can be more interactivity and feedback, so people can have access to learning well and truly beyond the classroom.

Reference:
Branch, R. & Merrill, M.D. (2012) Characteristics of Instructional Design Models. Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. 3rd ed. Pearson, Boston.