Education Commons^™

Taking University Business Courses Online: An Instructional Designer's Perspective, Zachary P. Benton-Slocum

Graduate Research Papers

This report details an instructional design project for the College of Business (COB) at the University of Northern Iowa, an average-sized Midwest university. During the project as an instructional designer, I converted an existing traditional face-to-face business readiness program (Business 1000, 2000, 3000, & 4000) to online/flipped/blended courses using the Blackboard Learning Management System. The process involved working with faculty, program heads, students, and the staff of the COB with the intention of lowering the technology bar of intimidation enough to integrate it with the pedagogy needs of the courses.

Make It So: Employing A Multi-Player Starship Bridge Simulator In A Military-Based Leadership Course, Robert Green

Graduate Research Papers

The Make It So Leadership Training Program employs the multiplayer PC-based Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator game as the capstone exercise in a thirty-hour leadership program. I sought to replicate the leadership training I received as a seagoing military officer, in order to provide students with a valuable and memorable leadership experience in a novel setting. Guided by the Understanding by Design® (UbD) (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) framework, I designed this course to develop students’ transfer and understanding capacities in leadership principles. I received feedback and guidance from alpha and beta testers throughout the design and development phase. As a work …

Books, Blogging, And Boredom : The Impact Of One-To-One Computing On Student Engagement And Literacy, Amanda M. Hudson

Graduate Research Papers

As one-to-one computing infiltrates education across the United States, stakeholders question the impact this technology will have on all involved. Teachers are realizing the effect that one-to-one computing has on the school, classroom, and curriculum as districts jump on the bandwagon and purchase laptops for every student. Research shows that classrooms, including language arts classrooms, incur many positive changes. One such change is the inclusion of new literacies into the curriculum. These new literacies will change how students read and write. Course management systems have also become common in many classrooms; and teachers, students, and parents are learning to negotiate …

Lecture Capture Technology : Does It Make A Difference On College Student Achievement?, Debra S. Bruxvoort

Graduate Research Papers

Lecture capture technology allows professors to record live lectures for students to view after class. That same technology can be used to pre-record lectures for student viewing before class so that the class session can be used for other learning activities. This is referred to as the flipped classroom model. Most previous studies on the effect of lecture capture technology have focused on student perceptions and self-reported data and took place at large universities. This quantitative study collected multiple measures in an experimental design to compare the academic performance of 54 undergraduate students in three sections of the same course …

Digital Storytelling : Building 21st Century Literacy Skills In The Secondary Classroom, William P. Lammers

Graduate Research Papers

Digital storytelling has been a popular activity in technologically well-equipped classrooms, and is gaining popularity due to its ability to help build important 21st century skills for learners and engaging lessons for instructors. This paper reviewed twenty peer-evaluated investigations from 2001 to 2010, citing five original qualitative case studies, twelve research-based papers regarding digital narratives and the skills needed for the 21st century learner. Included in this review is a definition of digital storytelling via a detailed model, an explanation of the 21st century literacies, obstacles to integrating digital narratives, and discussion of related communication skills. Recommendations were made based …

Cyber-Communication : Can Virtual Server Technologies Serve As Effective Media Delivery Tools For Human Performance Enhancement?, James E. Dorris

Graduate Research Papers

This project involved exploring whether or not virtual server technologies are viable and effective tools for human performance enhancement. The goal of this project was to conduct a comparative analysis of three specific virtual servers (i.e., YouTube, TeacherTube, and iTunesU) to determine whether or not either of these would serve as effective assets for improving the media development and delivery capabilities of the staff and faculty members at Hawkeye Community College. Four collaborative multimedia development projects were produced, monitored and evaluated to determine the levels of consistency, reliability, and user-friendliness in departmental media delivery processes. The research team of Hawkeye's …

Interaction And Social Learning : Keys In Distance Education, Delmar Hafermann

Graduate Research Papers

While distance learning is now becoming a norm, instructional designers and distance educators alike need to relook at how instruction is occurring in the online environment to ensure interaction is present. This literature review shows how distance learning has evolved through the use of an ever-changing facilitator, namely technology. The review explores interaction and the role it plays in the learning process. Social learning stresses that learners need to interact in order to build their knowledge and since technology-enhanced worlds hinder face-to-face interaction, distance educators and designers can address these shortcomings by designing interactive and collaborative environments. In conclusion, taking …

Meeting The Needs Of The Adult Learner In The Instructional Design Environment, Takeisha Henfield

Graduate Research Papers

There are an increasing number of adults who are seeking further education and training for various purposes, ranging from English as a Second Language to doctoral degrees. These adults possess different characteristics and require different conditions than traditional younger learners. In an effort to design effective instruction for adults as learners, the basic instructional design process should be understood. Through that understanding, a taxonomy of instructional design models as well as specific models can be discussed. The knowledge of adults' learning needs, plus an understanding of instructional design and its models, can help instructional designers produce more effective instruction for …

Designing Online Courses : Reflections From The Cyber Trenches, Cherie Post Dargan

Graduate Research Papers

This paper reviews research on the use of instructional design in developing course websites; it then describes the writer's experience creating a supplemental website using Blackboard, contrasting the project with the previous experience of creating an online course using WebCT. The writer analyzes problems with early online courses, reflects on the challenges of becoming an online teacher, documents her methodology, shares the results of the project, and makes recommendations for the design of effective web-based courses. Online teachers incorporate instructional design in many ways: they rethink their courses, analyze learners and content, design on paper first, structure the physical layout …

Using The Instructional Computing Design Process To Introduce And Incorporate The Boys Town Social Skills, Marcus R. Kurtz

Graduate Research Papers

The following paper takes an inside look on how to use the Instructional Computing Design process to create instructional software that focuses on the Boys Town Social Skills. Within the planning, designing, and development of this multimedia project, the paper will also concentrate on the projects standards, management of the project, and an ongoing evaluation of the project. A great amount of discussion in the paper focuses on how to develop software that is used to instruct and guide learners using the Boys Town Social Skills. Each step of the ICD process will be described to reveal how the Boys …

The Production Of A School District Video For Promotional Purposes, Rodney R. Zehr

Graduate Research Papers

Video production for educational purposes is becoming more popular in American schools today because of the advancement of technology. With the development of digital cameras, digital video, and various forms of digital-editing software for the computer, American schools can now tap into a new and growing form of media that will continue to grow in popularity as technology continues to advance in the future. 1 The video project for the Mason City Community School District in Mason City, Iowa was initiated as a graduate project through the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This project was started because …

Creating A Purposeful, Powerful Web Site For The Cedar Falls Historical Society, Douglas B. Moore

Graduate Research Papers

With communication becoming more instantaneous then ever, one fear is losing the message in the medium. Creating the web site for the Cedar Falls Historical Society was much more than giving the Historical Society a presence on the World Wide Web. It was extremely important that the Cedar Falls Historical Society web site promote the true intentions of the Historical Society with integrity and dignity. Many times, when web sites are developed, the technology overshadows the content. The Board of Directors of the Historical Society insisted their site be built with both professionalism and historical accuracy.

The Society members took …

A Phenomenological Analysis Of An Instructional Systems Design Creative Project, Daniel M. Benson

Graduate Research Papers

This research paper is a phenomenological analysis of a creative project involving University of Northern Iowa undergraduate art students in the planning and creation of visual illustrations, graphic design concepts, .html documents, and imagery for a world wide web intranet/lnternet virtual space.

This analysis looks at instructional design as a creative process and the phenomenology of the UNI Art/Cat (Art Resources Technology/Computer Assisted Training) computer laboratory. The mission, goals, and objectives of the creative project, experiential and experimental philosophies of education, and the phenomenologies of the instructional design process are the main considerations. The methodology of this thesis is primarily …

John Deere Foundry, Waterloo, Melt Operations Department : Induction Furnace Safety Operational Procedures, Edwina J. Boston

Graduate Research Papers

The use of multimedia technologies as training tools. allows businesses to reduce training time, decrease costs, increase accessibility, provide active learning experiences, and increase safety. The Induction Furnace Operational Procedures Unit is a set of eight (8) instructional modules developed for the John Deere Waterloo Works Foundry, Melt Operations Department. These modules were developed for use in the training of employees on the safety and operational procedures for using an induction furnace.

The unit was developed in the format of eight (8) Web-based modules located on the John Deere Waterloo Works intranet, Melt Operations site. Each module is designed as …

Promotion Of Student Learning By Small, Rural School Districts As They Design And Integrate Technology Plans, Randall A. Bohman

Graduate Research Papers

How will small, rural school districts promote student learning by the design and integration of technology plans? In addition, other elements that affect the successful implementation of technology include time, money, and attitude. Realistic goals should be established based on these elements. Research included in this paper focuses on concepts and applications that could be implemented in a school with limited financial resources.

If technology is to have an impact on student learning, it must be used in ways that reflect a new understanding of learning. Technology not only may assist traditional instruction, but it may also aid in the …

Multimedia Effectiveness In The Learning Environment : A Review Of Literature, Bruce G. Mckee

Graduate Research Papers

Multimedia Effectiveness in the Learning Environment: A Review of Literature examines some of the research and academic literature related to the use of computer-assisted instruction, hypertext, hypermedia and multimedia in the learning environment. Contemporary views of media psychology and learning styles are also discussed, as well as the impact of multimedia on teachers, students and learning. The author concludes by suggesting that the progressive teacher knows the importance of quality instructional design and will look for every opportunity to integrate appropriate multimedia into the learning environment.

Problems Encountered With The Readability Of Social Studies Books, Peggy Drinovsky

Graduate Research Papers

Readability of social studies texts has been and continues to be a concern of teachers when choosing a new series to use in the school. Teachers using readability formulas have come away feeling dissatisfied, as there are always students who should be able to read the book but cannot, or ones who should not be able to read the book but can, according to the formulas used. Obtaining the readability of a given text is quick and easy but it diagnoses the text rather than the student, as it gives the grade level of the text not the reading level …