The Lint Trap.

 As I look back through my notes and highlights from this week’s readings, the theme is pretty simple—a process is helpful for instructional designers but must not be held so high to lose the purposes behind the process. The variables associated with student learning are infinite and thus there is no perfect step by step process that can accommodate for all those variables. There are a few big picture variables that caught my attention. Instruction vs learning. In Chapter 1 of Designing effective instruction, Morrison describes some of the benefits of instructional design to P-12 education, “there are numerous occasions in which the need for teacher-developed materials—drill-and-practice exercises, remedial lessons, problem-based lessons, or even full-fledged instructional units—arises” (p 4). I have previously referenced my experiences as an outdoor/experiential education facilitator and other atypical roles in education. I was also a classroom teacher for a couple years f...

So far I have just taken a couple of classes within IST. I started in a program that was more a UX design focus and realized I cared more about the instructional piece and made the switch. I have struggled to understand just what Instructional Systems Technology means and how to explain it to those inquiring about what I am studying. After reading this week, I’m more convinced trying to define and explain it to anyone so they will understand what I am doing is not likely to happen! The field is far larger and more inclusive than I expected. Reiser’s historical account of the field, “What field did you say you were in?” is helpful in understanding where we have been and how we arrived where we are now. A few things caught my attention from this reading and relate to my prior experiences. I am personally stuck on the very early definitions of the field. “Early definitions of the field of instructional technology focused on instructional media—the physical means via which instruction is p...

Hello! My name is Suzy Leonard. I'm currently working as an administrative assistant in the Computer Science Department at IUPUI. It's been pretty weird on campus this week with very few students milling around! I live just a few miles south of campus.  My working life has all been in the field of education, mostly in nontraditional roles. I have been an outdoor education facilitator, environmental education instructor, challenge course facilitator, classroom teacher, gymnastics coach, paraprofessional, and administrative assistant. It's been a few years, but still one of my favorite places to be is up in the trees sending people down a zip line.  I'm enrolled as a Graduate Certificate student for IST. I'm taking it slow--only one class a semester. Once I take the GRE, I'll be able to switch over to the Masters program. I started this particular program because a B.S. in Education and an A.A.S in Visual Communication are not quite the right backgrounds to be an ...