Candice Bowes

Fall 2013

 

EDIT 704 Instructional Technology Foundations and Theories of Learning

Course Description:  Reviews the practical and pedagogical issues related to design and development of technological instruction. Emphasizes investigating instructional design as a field and community of practice, and reviewing core learning theory constructs applicable to design of instructional technology.

 

Course Reflections:  This course helped me better understand the learning theories which serve as the foundation for education.  The spectrum of epistemologies ranging from Objectivism to Constructivism stimulated my interest in exploring how people learn.  This course gave the opportunity to write an Instructor Guide for a sight word recognition program I had previously developed and used with much success in my own classroom.  This Instructor Guide will allow me to share my program with other teachers.  This course also inspired me to reflect on many things including myself and my professional goals as an educator and Instructional Designer.

 

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EDIT 705 Instructional Design

Course Description:  Helps students analyze, apply, and evaluate principles of instructional design to develop education and training materials spanning a wide range of knowledge domains and instructional technologies. Focuses on a variety of instructional design models, with emphasis on recent contributions from cognitive science and related fields.

 

Course Reflections:  This course was where I first learned the ADDIE model of Instructional Design.  It was in this class that I became more aware of the broad range of career possibilities that would be open to me in this new field.  I learned quite a bit about teamwork and the importance of effective communication.  I began to see how my experience with writing curriculum units and designing daily lessons for a wide range of subject areas and learning styles had prepared me well to formalize the process through the implementation of the ADDIE model.  My team and I created a Design Document using the ADDIE model for a unit on brainstorming that could be used to help K-12 students come up with ideas about which to write.

 

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Spring 2014

 

EDIT 730 Advanced Instructional Design

Course Description:  Capstone course of three-course sequence on theory and practice of instructional design. Helped students apply ideas developed in prior courses to complete major instructional design project. Covers leading-edge ideas in evolution of instructional design. The course provides students with the knowledge and skills for designing highly contextualized and engaging problem-solving learning environments (PSLE) based on the principles of constructivism, situated cognition, and distributed learning. Readings expose students to a range of epistemological and theoretical perspectives as evidenced by instructional design literature and applications. The focus was on grounded or theory-based design, which differs from the systematic process of instructional design as discussed in EDIT 705 (e.g., ADDIE). However, the principles of systematic instructional design are fundamental to understanding and implementing this design approach. The course also emphasizes the design of online and technology supported learning environments using a variety of constructivist-based pedagogical models.

 

Course Reflections:  In this course, I had the opportunity to study Constructivism in depth which opened my eyes to the power of self-directed learning, learner engagement, and technology supported learning.  It was in this class that I designed the Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext (CFH) on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) intended for use by parents of students diagnosed with this condition.  I chose this topic because of my experience as a classroom teacher working with parents to manage the behavioral challenges their children often faced at home and at school. 

 

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EDIT 771 Overview of Digital Media

Course Description:  Provides overview of media and technology tools used in teaching, learning and training. Focuses on developing skills necessary to implement digital media approaches using a systematic design process. 

 

Course Reflections:  This course provided an alternative to the ADDIE model called Design Thinking.  In this class, my team and I had the opportunity to design a prototype for an app that would benefit senior citizens by making access to community services fast and easy so as to facilitate independent living as long as possible.

 

 

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Summer 2014

 

EDIT 573 Project Management

Course Description:  Explores project management principles and applications used to manage, plan, and track large-scale, complex instructional design projects.

 

Course Reflections:  As a teacher, I had successfully managed many projects including plays, musicals, and field trips in addition to ensuring my students' mastery of curriculum content.  This course helped me see how that process is formalized and used to accomplish large-scale instructional design projects.  It was in this course that I helped my team write the Project Management Plan for the implementation of iPads on a 1:1 ratio in the elementary schools of a large school district. 

 

 

 

EDIT 526  Web Accessibility

Course Description:  Develops understanding of principles of universal web design. Students apply this understanding by designing and developing accessible web site using web authoring tools.

 

Course Reflections:  This course was very enlightening for me.  It raised my awareness of web accessibility issues faced by so many people in so many different ways.  The Principles of Universal Design (UDL) I learned here will help me ensure that future web-based learning platforms I design will be free of accessibility issues, because I believe that accessibility should be an integral part of design and not a compliance-driven afterthought.  In this course, I had the opportunity to create a Power Point presentation intended for use with university faculty on the principles of UDL.  It was selected for real-world use at a summer training seminar at a local university.

 

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EDIT 575  Captivate

Course Description: Provides basic knowledge of available applications for creating, delivering, managing and tracking e-learning experiences. Students learn to create instructional products using the latest e-learning design applications.

 

Course Reflections:  I had the opportunity in this class to begin applying the principles of Instructional Design using the authoring tool, Captivate.  This tool allows the user to create engaging on-line tutorials, quizzes, software demonstrations, and other presentations with ease.  Captivate projects can be linked to any SCORM compliant Learning Management System and student scores on tests and quizzes can be tracked and reported.  The tutorial I designed using Captivate was one intended for use by beginning elementary teachers and explained a plan for managing reading group rotations in the classroom.  It was chosen for use in real-world teacher training as this facet of classroom management can be quite daunting for new teachers. 

 

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EDIT 571  Photoshop

Course Description:  Provides basic knowledge of the range of capabilities of available graphic and visual design applications.  Students learn to cultivate effective visual design practices for creating instructional products.

 

Course Reflections:  This course helped me learn how to use Photoshop to enhance digital images.  Photoshop is a wonderful and powerful tool for image design, but it can also be used to create storyboards and wireframes.  I created a wireframe for the home page of a website I hope to create called TeacherSelf.com.  This would be a resource for beginning teachers and would include tutorials on a variety of topics with which new teachers often need help.  The finished webpage design is a composition of text, background, and images modified and compiled using Photoshop to create the welcoming tone I desired my webpage to have. 

 

 

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Fall 2014

 

EDIT 732  Analysis and Design of Technology-Based Learning Environments

Course Description: Enables design, implementation, and evaluation of technology-based education and training materials using advanced computer-based authoring tools.  This course provides students with opportunities to experience the instructional design and user experience design process as applied to the conceptual prototype of a technology-based learning system or interface design. Students may have the opportunity to interact with clients, subject matter experts, target audience members and draft a comprehensive user experience design approach as well as prototype their ideas using selected technology software tools. The course will be focused on facilitating connections between interdisciplinary approaches of user experience prototyping, design and development of teaching and learning systems/interfaces from multiple disciplines including instructional design, computer science, human computer interface and related fields.

 

Course Reflections:  My team and I worked with INOVA Fairfax Hospital's Advanced Surgical Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) to create a Resource Management System (RMS) for use with their surgical residents and faculty.  Our prototype will facilitate the instruction, assessment, and accessibility to current curriculum resources to support the success of the surgical residents in the program.  This is a new level of instructional design for me and I enjoyed working with the Subject Matter Experts and diving deep into the ADDIE model.  Doing so made it come alive for me, especially when I saw the relationship between the ADDIE model and the project management principles I had learned.

 

 

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EDIT 590  Educational Research in Technology

Course Description: Focuses on developing skills, insights, and understanding basics to performing research with emphasis on interpretation, application, critique, and use of findings in educational settings. Students develop expertise in action research methodology, design, and implementation.

 

Course Reflections:  In this class, I learned the intricacies of the research process.  I also learned about the characteristics of both quantitative and qualitative data and the importance of validity and reliability in instruments used to collect and analyze data.  I wrote a research proposal on the effect electronic devices have on time management, productivity, and planning skills in high school-aged students.  The course helped me to consider the sources, sponsorship, and authenticity of research studies before trusting the results they claim to have obtained. 

 

 

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EDIT 601  Instructional Design Portfolio

Course Description: Enables students to create and publish electronic portfolio that demonstrates effective and meaningful integration and syntheses of instructional design and development concepts, principles, and competencies learned across program courses at mid-degree program point.

 

Course Reflections:  This website is the culmination of my work in this course.  I learned how to create a web-based portfolio that reflects the principles of effective User Experience (UX) and to showcase my projects for others to review. This was the first time I had ever tried to create a website and I was very excited to learn how to do it.  I am also using this knowledge in association with my business as an educational consultant.  

 

Spring 2015

 

EDIT 752  Design and Implementation of Technology-based Learning Environments

Course Description:  Students design and produce multimedia/hypermedia applications based on current theory and research in instructional design and cognitive science. Examines user needs, information models, structure, and media selection and uses to inform design and production of final project.

 

Course Reflections:  This class is a continuation of my work in EDIT 732.  The Resource Management System (RMS) app our team has been working on is nearly complete as revisions are made based on feedback from users during the testing phases.  I have learned much about teamwork and making data-driven decisions while preventing scope creep and managing client expectations.  I've also come to understand and appreciate the importance of User Experience testing.

 

 

 

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EDIT 701 Advanced Instructional Design and Development (IDD) Portfolio

Course Description:  To be taken in the last semester of course work. Enables students to create and publish electronic portfolio that demonstrates effective and meaningful integration and syntheses of instructional design and development concepts, principles, and competencies learned across program courses at end degree program point.
 

Course Reflections:  This course gave me the opportunity to further flesh out this website as the portfolio for my Instructional Design work.  Going through the Competencies charts helped me to see how much I've learned and how I can take my past work as a classroom teacher and integrate my skills from each arena into a career dedicated to helping people of all ages learn new things.