We managed to squeak in another episode before December 31, 2024! This one is all about a subject near and dear to my heart… and my LinkedIn profile!… namely, the somewhat nebulous art of instructional design!

The non-flora and non-fauna abounds! #ednontech

The very last audio we’re prepared to commit to in 2024! #ednontech

We’re just about there! We’re more than a week out from the winter solstice! According to science, from hereon out the days are getting longer until June!

I nearly named this episode Map of the City as a nod to that fantastic song off the inimitable Royal Trux record… maybe their best, for my money… Thank You!

Instructional design… or what I now recognize as instructional design… saved me during my first six months of teaching English in South Korea! Applying a somewhat constructivist approach through the design and delivery of educational media for use in face-to-face, small seminar style delivery… all of which I lacked the terminology to describe as such at the time… circa 2006-07… gave me the sense of self-efficacy that I needed to better carry out other functions of my role. Having those activities physically started in the form of worksheets and the like was a serious step into intentional, mindful approaches that I have since tried to develop and hone in that setting and in others ever since! These efforts culminated in an ID-focussed M.Ed 2008-10… and have, for better or worse, informed my overall approach as an educator in the various roles and contracts and other initiatives I’ve been involved in since the early/mid ’10’s!

As the beginning of the new semester gets closer with each day, I’m looking at ID as my first line of planning! When I say there were lessons learned about engagement, evaluation, project management, and classroom delivery… you know I mean a lot of all of those!

And so, I’m finding a paid subscription to a personal instance of Microsoft 365, with particular use for Word, One Drive, and Outlook… ESPECIALLY Outlook… is helpful! I’m bricking in my classes and office time and prep time… but, more importantly, I’m bricking in my wellness time with specific activities associated with each block… for example, Cinema Saturdays!

As I move further into my two-year contract as an English instructor here in Fort Mac, I’m hopeful these investments in personal education infrastructure (PEI) will help me best contribute to this role to the full extent of my abilities within a bounded time-set! That is, Outlook to the rescue! It’s a matter of wanting to keep this job as long as I can to be sure, but it’s also about making the wisest use of what remaining time I have! Forty-six is still laughably early in middle age! But malaise can be real! Genetics and circumstances can work against you in an eye-blink!

Wellness is my watchword going into 2025. Without it, what does any one of us have? And how can we be of any good to anyone else whatsoever, never mind ourselves!

2024 going out like it came in! Nose down, eyes forward… both with this here #ednontech and in other areas! Here’s hoping what’s ahead is rad for you and yours!

Despite these indications of vitality and growth, an undertone of criticism depicts instructional systems design as:

Anglin, G. J. (1995). Instructional technology. Past, present, and future, 15.
Chicago

… highlights two practices that have, over the years, formed the core of the field. These two practices are 

(a) the use of media for instructional purposes and 

(b) the use of systematic instructional design procedures (often simply called instructional design)

Reiser, R. A. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part II: A history of instructional design. Educational technology research and development, 49(2), 57-67. Chicago

At the master’s level, the emphasis should shift from training students to be users of instructional technology to preparing them to manage, supervise, and inspire those who use instructional technology…” 

A doctoral student in instructional design should be able to identify, modify, and develop an instructional design theory. 

Irlbeck, S. A. (2011). Essay: Educating for an instructional design and technology future. The Journal of Applied Instructional Design, 1(2), 19-24.

… students might graduate with a degree in the field when they have actually learned and done very little concerning the actual practice of instructional design—or evaluation, or research. 

West, R. E., Thomas, R. A., Bodily, R., Wright, C., & Borup, J. (2017). An analysis of instructional design and technology departments. Educational Technology Research and Development, 65, 869-888.

… one of the themes running through the history of the field is that new technologies tend to crop up in the wake of new scientific advancements. For example, 

Molenda, M. H. (2022). History and development of instructional design and technology. In Handbook of open, distance and digital education (pp. 1-18). Singapore: Springer Singapore.

ID

How can instructional design get past the nebulous soft boundaries that are too often imposed on ID practitioners?

I recognize that, I do not recognize that, this will help to address gaps in my knowledge.

There’s a riot in my house
Chaos is blossoming
Run and hide, little mouse
Go on and get yourself together #ednontech