Applying Contextual Design to Educational Software Development

Contextual Design is a methodology for developing information systems from a rich understanding of customer work practice. This chapter considers how Contextual Design can be applied to educational software development and how Contextual Design might interact with Instructional Systems Design (ISD). Following a brief overview of ISD, I describe Contextual Design and provide a detailed case study of its application to educational software development — to the design of an online tool for music listening and analysis in undergraduate and graduate music education. I conclude with some reflections on the relevance of Contextual Design to instructional designers.

Integrating ICT in Universities

Universities adopt the most progressive, technologically speaking, methods of research and education. Nevertheless, the adoption of ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) appears to be necessarily accompanied by a deep shift in the organization of work, and this adoption must to be included in a wider teaching and learning strategy. We present some of the problems arising when ICT systems are integrated in universities and some suggestions to deal with these problems.

Application of an Instructional Design Model for Industry Training

This chapter examines reflections, considerations, and the problems encountered when attempting to apply an instructional design model in the design and development of two online courses for industry training. Recommendations are included for instructional designers to avoid and handle many of the issues that arise in the real world. Specific issues addressed include: tight budgets, limited cooperation from SMEs, high expectations of clients, major changes to ‘finalized designs,’ and the importance of dealing with such matters promptly and effectively. The significance of both formative and summative evaluation and the role of project management are also discussed.

Integrated Training Requires Integrated Design and Business Models

There are many instructional design models that are based on educational and learning theory. There are also many process-based performance and quality improvement analytic models. When training development is viewed as a design and production process with the training “product” as the outcome, then both traditional ISD models and process improvement models become highly relevant to the goal of developing high-quality, user-focused training. This chapter examines the integration of performance and quality improvement model elements into traditional ISD models with an emphasis on a front-end analysis that uses the Quality Function Deployment Model to insure user-focused and outcome-based results.

What You See is All That You Get! A Practical Guide to Incorporating Cognitive Strategies into the Design of Electronic Instruction

Incorporating good instructional strategies based on learning theory is vital for electronic instruction. After all, the instruction must stand on its own without any fallback to a “live” and experienced instructor. What you see is not only what you get, but it is all you get! As with most forms of instruction, planning and preparation are key to instructional delivery and ultimately to stimulating the user’s learning processes. An instructor, trainer, or teacher brings many important skills and talents to the learning environment. Many of these skills and talents can be incorporated into the electronic learning environment. This chapter describes how cognitive strategies can be incorporated into each step of the ADDIE process. The chapter also contains many examples of design plans and templates that have worked in the real world of designing instruction for businesses and training organizations.

Combining Technology, Theory and Practice

Offering a valid educational experience at remote locations having few academic resources has always been a problem, financially and logistically. Yet, previous models and attempts at distance learning came up short in a number of areas. Now the Internet has opened up new possibilities. The authors were given the task of teaching an undergraduate course in Strategic Management in a remote Finnish location without many needed library resources. Their experiences led serendipitously to an approach combining a few strategic models, the Internet, and student presentations to allay fears the authors had about academic soundness in previous models. This chapter gives details of how the design of the course, which could not have been taught adequately without the Internet, has led to a fascinating approach for using the Internet in a traditional classroom as well as in remote areas.

Designing and Reusing Learning Objects to Streamline WBI Development

Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) and reusable information objects (RIOs) are tools that facilitate quick, systematic, and effective design and development of Web-based instruction. Learning objects form the basis of an online professional development program targeted toward teachers who must learn and implement new strategies and approaches for teaching in a convenient and flexible environment. Using learning objects, following the Cisco model, to develop instructional components for repurposing provides designers with the flexibility to meet different goals and instructional needs of a variety of education and training settings.

Standards for Online Courses

This chapter provides a real-world example of how instructional design theory can be used in academe, industry, and business to aid in the design and evaluation of online courses. It also describes how theoretical, philosophical and pragmatic aspects of instructional design were combined to develop standards and a model for an online instructional design system. We begin by establishing a need for standards in the field, followed by an outline and description of our standards. The chapter then describes how we used these standards to build an actual course. Examples are also provided of how the standards can be used to effectively evaluate online courses.

Guerilla Evaluation

This chapter provides proven strategy and tactics for the corporate evaluator. Topics include: adopting a performance-based operating model (the V-model) to shift focus from training for activity to training for results; using the V-model to plan and structure communication; leveraging modern measurement and statistics to save time and money (e.g., Item Response Theory, sampling procedures, regression); leveraging available data to calculate training ROI (return on investment); determining when to hire or contract skills and knowledge; using technology to save time and money; and making the most of your available applications.

Cultural Wisdom and Hindsight

This chapter describes a real situation in Asia where an instructional designer encounters numerous unexpected challenges and cultural experiences. The experiences are described, along with advice for anyone intending to take a similar path. It is expected that many of the experiences could make interesting case studies for students studying instructional design.