EDT6203 : WEEK 15 (FINAL EXAMINATION)

I wrapped up my 14 weeks Semester 1 2013/2014 at IIUM for EDT6203 (Instructional Design and Technology Development) class with great experience and time, great new friends and of course a well-versed lecturer in her field. Till we meet again. Keep in touch everyone!

[L-R]: Syaza, Asma, Amerlia, Solih, Salam

[L-R]: Farhana, Dr. Rose

EDT6203 : WEEK 14 (FINAL EXAM DISCUSSION)

Dr. Rose started the class by asking us on how the last week's Field Test went on. We had told her and the class about our glitches. This time around Dr. Rose made a strong point of our courseware direction. Is it for student (self-access) use or the teacher use (in classroom). We actually served for both use as one can have a flexibility to do a web-based activities on internet connectivity and paper-based activities, if the internet is not available. Everyone should be able to benefit a thing or two out of our courseware. 

Another thing we discussed was on the emphasis of Content-Based Learning (CBL) vs. Outcome-based Learning (OBL) in most of our education system. I think why we'd place a great interest in highlighting the contents are because: (i) we want to let the students to see the immediate purpose of their learning or doing of something. Some students failed to see the importance of the skills, that they started to get worried about their exams and everything must have direct relations to what will be tested at the end of the course. (ii) CBL amplify the learning and testing what they already know and to ensure they are on the right track. (iii) CBL may not offer the students with new knowledge but some like the idea to attempt to different types or variety of questions.

From the discussion, we moved on to the software development. 

First and foremost,  instructors must define the skills that our trainers should master. When we develop a software from there, the process will be more efficient and we can strategize better.

Dr. Rose asked how countries from Singapore (Salam), Acheh (Asma) and Maldives (Solih) different from us in Malaysia. They answered that their countries also have a very similar system where the education system mostly based on content-driven.

We were introduced to a term "studio school" in the UK and USA. The Studio School is a new concept in education, which seeks to address the growing gap between the skills and knowledge that young people require to succeed, and those that the current education system provides. Studio Schools pioneer a bold new approach to learning which includes teaching through enterprise projects and real work. This approach ensures students' learning in is rooted in the real world and helps them to develop the skills they need to flourish in life. Studio Schools are designed for 14-19 year olds of all abilities. They are small schools for 300 students; and with year-round opening and a 9-5 working day, they feel more like a workplace than a school. Working closely with local employers, Studio Schools will offer a range of academic and vocational qualifications as well as paid work placements linked directly to employment opportunities in the local area. Students will gain a broad range of employability and life skills through the CREATE skills framework, and will have the option to go on to university, further training, and into employment.

This is a totally awesome idea. It reminds me the kids playcenter in Damansara "KidZania" . Anything that resembles the real world setting is very helpful to their experience and paper description eventually comes to life.

Finally, we have the insight to our Final Examination questions. So basically our 14-weeks relied heavily on the Instructional Design System: ADDIE Model and it is as expected that we will be tested on it. There will be 4 questions that carry 25 marks each.

The details of examination are as follows:

Date: Thursday, 26/12/13

Time: 9.30-12.30 noon

Venue: Lab 4   

EDT6203 : WEEK 13 (FIELD TEST)

Report on Group Project

Name: Amerlia & Asma

Courseware: (Website) E-Lessons for Our Buzzy Bees

Courseware Link: English House

Topic: Simple Past Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs

Target group: 11-15 years old students

Introduction

We started the session by introducing ourselves. We said that both of us are students from Instructional Technology. We have developed  a web based course. It is called Buzzy Bees. This website focuses on English subject and we would test their Simple Past Tense (Regular and Irregular Verbs). Then, we asked the children to run and explore further on the website. If  there were any difficulties, they could call us for assistance.

Field Test Observation

Some of them started browsing effortlessly by clicking each page/link provided from the top to the bottom while others went directly to the page which interests them the most and try it enthusiastically.

These were the pages that were provided in the website :

·        Welcome page

In this page they could see the picture and also the information about us as teachers-in-charge for the website administration.

·        Sing Along La-La-La

This page contained five videos where students can practise their grammar skill (regular and irregular verbs). There was one fill-in-the-blanks activity for each video. Students clicked the link while we prepared for a blank paper to be given to them. Then, students attempted at least half of the questions and went through the video until the parts they were answering to check for their answers. They repeated the same steps for other video(s) to make sure the link workable.

·        Online Practices

In this page, students were asked to do the online-based exercise. The exercises were given in two types: the fill-in-the-blanks and MCQ. We generated both tests using application from testmoz.com. Students were required to write their name in the column for the administration record. They could check their marks instantly at the end of their submission.  

·        Reflection

There were no students attempted this page as it required them to record their voice which at the time, there was no microphone be provided. Thus, the children could not test the recording function. We did however explain to them the kind of reflections that they can record for submission and other features available once the recording’s done which is via facebook/email/save as mp3 or wav format. This feature encourages the students to enjoy other means of learning. They can always email the web administrators for the feedback of the reflection recording or perhaps get their English teacher at school to help.

·        Notes for Revision

We understood that Simple Past Tense is not a new topic for our target group. It can be seen that some interventions took place because in our initial planning we have seen the potential that this website can be used for classroom, group, pair as well as for individual participation. Basically, we were doing a quick checking to recall their knowledge in Simple Past Tense .This was what we thought as a proper step when we began the class (by giving some verbal examples) in the Set Induction stage.

For individual participation, the contents were prepared in the power point slides for the summary. The page was also complemented with three exercises for revision. Students were to complete these exercises in a blank paper and check for the answers in the links given.

·        Storytelling Time

The students were given two comic strips and they need to complete the stories in the Simple Past Tense. They could check the answers from the link given or once they submitted for their web-based story.

·        Answer

This page contained the answers which were not web-based i.e. those from the paper-based exercises.

·        Games

Almost all the students were attracted to this page. We could see that this was where the website’s heart lies. Those interactive games were all related and amplifying the knowledge of the regular and irregular verbs they have learnt. They played the games eagerly and they found their motivation when they finished the challenges.

Evaluation

The evaluators were representing the range of our age group target (11-15 years old) and it was done in 2 parts. Initially, Dr. Rose has given the students an 'Evaluation Form' during their short briefing.

We also conducted a short interview with them to gain their verbal feedback which we truly found very beneficial on the running of the courseware.

From their limited time experience these were the points we have recorded :

The Strengths

1.     Cater all types of settings – classroom, individual, pair, groupwork

Principally, this is our aim.

A courseware that functions with complemented features for all types of settings.

2.     Cater all types of facilities – with/without internet access, mic, speaker

We also aim at using the courseware to fit the kind of available and unavailable facilities.

Our courseware can be maximized at both fortunate or unfortunate settings. There should be no complaint since our courseware always offers exercises to be done.

3.     Variety in approaches – oral recording, web-based, paper-based, listening and video viewing

Our courseware is at our best to amplify all the important skills in students. We offer the multi-skills such as reading, writing, speaking, listening and viewing.

4.     Meeting their basic expectations like clear instructions, clear learning objectives and relevant exercises/ games about the topic.

We were glad that the contents managed to support their learning at school and able to test their understanding of the topic. We could see that although they were in their school break mood, they did take this courseware evaluation seriously and scored most of the games. They have quite good command in English and able to locate themselves around the website pretty easily and the topic (Simple Past Tense) was already at the fingertips! 

5.     All agreed that there was no spelling or grammatical errors found in the courseware. 

We have been making sure that all instructions consist of correct grammar used and spellings. This is to add credibility to the courseware itself.

6.     Recommending the courseware to be tried by others.

We received a very positive feedback that overall everyone felt happy with their exploration and satisfied to suggest our website to others. 

The Weaknesses

1.     Songs and videos were not really appealing or outstanding as they should have been. 

This issue was not really surprised us. We were taking into consideration of all aspects why the audio-video backfired us.  Some of the PCs we were using were not equipped with speaker or headphones and caused trouble when the evaluators were going through the exercises at the same time. Therefore, we have asked them to browse other exercises while waiting for their turn to use the speaker or they might as well share it with the person next to them. When they played the sound loud, the rest could not really enjoy on the videos to check for their answers as the room setting was inconvenience with noise from others as well. We did inform them however that all those activities in the courseware are for self-learning or self-discovery where they can learn without the presence of the teacher. For all the answers to their exercises, they can check with the link provided.

2.     The paper-based was quite tedious and hassle

We understood that the evaluators were expecting for everything to go online or easy access with their keyboard. They didn’t like the ideas to have pen and blank paper next to them for them to write their notes or answers. (We received straight and upset smiley face for this feature!)

But our justification goes beyond this. Thinking of a less-equipped classroom or language lab in an institution, a teacher may only have a laptop and a projector, not individual computers for everybody. That was the solid reason why there’s a mix of practices - web as well as paper-based practices.

3.     Not much step-by-step self access instructions

We admitted that we unforeseen the specific instructions for weak students. Those who have limited exploration skills (only do things when they were being told) took sometimes to maneuver around the courseware. So this kind of self-access instructions should be dictated/written clearly perhaps in our welcome page to strike their attention.

Reward

As our heartfelt thanks to our evaluators who have been browsing our website efficiently, playing and scoring the games smartly and expressing their honest, constructive comments for our immediate attention, we were very happy to reward them with a bag of gift. This warm token of appreciation was included with a gift card with our special note reminding them to share about our website with their friends and to visit us again in the future for more updates on the exercises and perhaps to learn new other topics as well. 

Thank you once again from both of us and Thank you to Dr. Rose too, for the 'Field Test' platform and all related arrangements before we publish this website to  the bigger set of learners.  

Pictures of the day

EDT6203 : WEEK 12 (GROUP PROJECT DEMONSTRATION)

Our session began with page 367: Courseware Evaluation Form and the Dr. Rose gave the Evaluation Form which she used with the undergraduate students. The simplified version is to cater the simplest form of expression (smiley/straight/sad face) by the kids who will be the testers in our Field Test next week. We went through and open to add anything to list for the benefits of our own project.

Dr. Rose keeps on giving us motivation to pursue ID in the future as it is a well-paid job in the industry and we need more people to arrange our education process to be more systematic and efficient.

  

We also presented out courseware and received feedback from colleagues and Dr.Rose herself before the tryout by the real users.

EDT6203 : WEEK 11 (CLASS CANCELLED)

Class is cancelled but we worked on our courseware (website) resources and materials. Asma and I communicated a lot on Facebook and SMS. 

EDT 6203 : WEEK 10 (DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION ARTICLES FROM EDT2203)

Today, we were asked to refer to the two articles from EDT2203 subject particularly on the DEVELOPMENT and IMPLEMENTATION phase.

Previously, in the DESIGN phase, we learnt the importance of  storyboard. It will ensure the success flow of our lesson. It also will give depth to our contents. 

In the DEVELOPMENT phase, I learnt that in:
(i) Tools - we are afraid of the technical issues that will rise which is beyond our knowledge, so get learnt or just keep to your means. 

(ii) Test - it is good if we do early check in case troubles and while it is easy to be fixed. This is a stage where we will learn a lot on during the pilot test to discover anything overlooked in the design phase. We also want to ensure that we meet the objectives in the ANALYSIS phase.

(iii) Editing - We should make sure our courseware is free from distractors and always check the links are functioned.

(iv) Intutition Factor - We should arrange the layout of our screen to the norm of how most users browse their page. The home/exit/next/previous button should be placed accordingly.

In the IMPLEMENTATION phase, I learnt that:
we can only carry out the implementation of the courseware once all the editing, improvisations, improvements and necessary corrections have been done. The developer should be there at the time to assist as he/she is bind to the contract. There will be critical feedback session for the better product.
Next, we will determine the audience and if we want to run on different version 1.0 or 2.0 where users can experience a higher upgrade or improvements in features.
We also should consider if our courseware will suit the new hardware or operating system.

We also went through the features at page 367 on Courseware Evaluation Form. We were asked to choose 1 website (E-Learning) and to check and evaluate whether the website fulfilled the checklist.

We also reviewed page 375 on Editorial Review Form and page 378 on Instructional Review Form. We chose "ENGLISH TOWN" and the website scored mostly "Strongly Agree / Great" from the checklist. Basically it is a good example of an e-learning website that we can refer to.

EDT6203 : WEEK 9 (ICTEM CONFERENCE)

I would like to express my heartiest thanks to Dr. Rose for including me in the ICTEM 2013 committee team. That was my first ever experience working for as well as attending to an International Conference. The opportunity that Dr. Rose has given me allowed me to prepare for a real-time experience and see how a conference ran. I learnt a lot during the 3 days we were at Hotel Royale Bintang Damansara. Most presenters amazed me with their researches that I never thought of. While there were some others, with their thick accent made me difficult to internalize the language and the contents they wanted to highlight. They went very dragging, dry and even exceeded the allocated time. Overall, I look forward to work voluntary for more INSTED programs in the future and make new friends from the Kulliyyah and extending networks with educators around the globe.