EDTEC 544 - Instructional Design

EDTEC 544 is an intermediate course in instructional design. EDTEC 544 is project-oriented: development efforts culminate in a proposal for an instructional product and a report on prototype development and testing efforts. Our course was to develop an e-Med Journal for use by people of debilitating diseases. The initial target users are people suffering with the AIDS and the HIV virsus. It is applicable to other cases as well.A preview of this project was presented in a powerpoint. Click here to view it.

The course takes an engineering approach to instructional development. Topics include needs assessment, analysis of subject-matter content, development of goals and objectives, classification and sequencing of objectives, design of instructional strategies, selection and integration of media-based delivery systems, design of print- and/or multimedia-based instruction, and formative evaluation of product prototypes.

Course Competencies:
1. Conduct an initial analysis of instructional problems and opportunities.
2. Write user goals and instructional goals suitable for product development and operationalize instructional goals as measurable objectives.
3. Use concept maps and conventional outlines to analyze goals and and organize "subject matter" knowledge.
4. Write functional system specifications for an instructional product including a profile of the anticipated population of learners and the media system or learning environment that will deliver or support the product.
5. Construct coherent instructional strategies appropriate to given objectives and use instructional psychology and contemporary design theory to justify features of a proposed instructional product.
6. Use rapid prototyping to create and test prototype instructional products, focusing particularly on instructional strategies and tactics.
7. Monitor progress towards completion of an instructional design project and maintain a record of project-related efforts.
8. Use a variety of communications formats including memos, written reports, and oral briefings to communicate information and ideas related to instructional design.
9. Maintain a design notebook that informally records the evolution and evaluation of design concepts.
10. Work effectively as a member of a product design team.