http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Education/Instructional-Design/Online A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Education and Instructional Design and Online in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Education/Instructional-Design/Online http://tc.eserver.org/34009.html http://tc.eserver.org/34009.html Teachers are a very pragmatic lot and love to borrow good stuff. Give’em a good one in Moodle and they will come! If a science teacher has a great solution using Moodle for a problem or idea her class and say, an English teacher sees it and ‘gets it’ - you can bet the English teacher will at least try or ask how to go about it. And coming from a colleague and a fellow ’struggler’ is a much more powerful thing than coming from the school’s main Moodle peddler like me. http://tc.eserver.org/30698.html http://tc.eserver.org/30698.html As college instructors endeavor to integrate technology into their classrooms, the crucial question is, 'How does this integration affect learning?' This article reports an assessment of a series of online modules the author designed and piloted for a business communication course that she presented in a hybrid format (a combination of computer classroom sessions and independent online work). The modules allowed the author to use classroom time for observation of and individualized attention to the composing process. Although anecdotal evidence suggested that this system was highly effective, other assessment tools provided varying results. An anonymous survey of the students who took this course confirmed that the modules were effective in teaching important concepts; however, a blind review of student work produced mixed results. http://tc.eserver.org/27960.html http://tc.eserver.org/27960.html Layout decisions like the course structure, navigation, media, etc., affect the experience of the product. For a learner, the ease and intuitive way of getting in, moving around and exiting are the experience factors. How do we bridge this gap between layout and experience? http://tc.eserver.org/27869.html http://tc.eserver.org/27869.html This paper draws inspiration from diverse media to understand what constitutes experience. In doing so, it seeks directions for building experience into design of elearning products. http://tc.eserver.org/24640.html http://tc.eserver.org/24640.html A comprehensive overview of computer-based training for technical communicators new to the subject. http://tc.eserver.org/22193.html http://tc.eserver.org/22193.html Discusses eight conditions for technological change that can support innovation in educational settings. These conditions, which were first directed toward library contexts and then studied in a variety of education-related contexts, encapsulate the majority of sustainability issues associated with distance education. These eight conditions are not exhaustive, but programs that achieve many of them will probably experience a high degree of sustained success. http://tc.eserver.org/21888.html http://tc.eserver.org/21888.html Students with disabilities are increasingly placed in inclusive classrooms where they learn alongside their peers. This poses a challenge to teachers and students because instructional materials may not be available in a form that is accessible to the disabled student. Inaccessible materials stigmatize students with disabilities by preventing them from using the same materials as their peers and can limit their educational opportunities. As technology becomes more prevalent in classrooms, students with disabilities face even more challenges in keeping pace with their classmates. http://tc.eserver.org/21544.html http://tc.eserver.org/21544.html Internet-based distance learning programs make it possible for technical communicators located anywhere in the world to participate in graduate courses in their field. But are these graduate programs as rigorous as those offered through traditional educational venues? Do they provide opportunities for participants to learn from professors and their fellow students that are as rewarding as those provided in traditional graduate seminars? This paper reports the responses of students in two such classes to a series of questions probing these issues, and offers conclusions and recommendations that may help others who plan such courses to structure them more effectively. http://tc.eserver.org/20970.html http://tc.eserver.org/20970.html One of the challenges of starting an e-learning are the constraints. If you don’t uncover them before you begin a project and choose software, the issues can come back to haunt you. Following are questions you can ask to determine the constraints you'll need to address when implementing e-learning in your organization. You might need to ask additional questions, but these should give you a good start. http://tc.eserver.org/20719.html http://tc.eserver.org/20719.html Teaching through the Web requires instructors to reconsider their previous assumptions about the nature of teaching, lecture, testing, and student/teacher interaction. In online classrooms, instructors often serve many design and maintenance roles. Managing the time required for these roles is an inescapable part of online instruction. The simpler the overall course design, the less often the instructor has to shift from role to role. Online instructors must use textual, visual and interactive metaphors consistently to help guide students toward productive forms of interaction. Finally an equal mix of textual, visual and interactive rhetorics is vital for effective online course design. http://tc.eserver.org/20292.html http://tc.eserver.org/20292.html You can either do it over and over again; or, you can design it once and use it again and again. The decision to create reusable learning modules need not be an expensive one. It just requires modular design. http://tc.eserver.org/20121.html http://tc.eserver.org/20121.html Asynchronous desktop conferencing, or computer-mediated interaction, is one of the new technologies in education. A videocourse with an interactive conferencing component was used successfully in a distance course for graduate students in technical communication. The technology allowed students to collaborate, peer review, and conference at their own pace without coming to campus. Computermediated conferencing has promise as a teaching tool for technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/20079.html http://tc.eserver.org/20079.html Many of the limitations inherent in technical-writing instruction on the World Wide Web can be overcome by intelligently designed web sites. Web-based instruction here refers to courses, in either the corporate or academic setting, where most ofthe instructional materials are supplied over the WorId Wide Web and where students and instructors communicate and exchange writing projects through e-mail. Acknowledging that few instructors have the expertise or technical support to create such web facilities, this paper makes available annotated Per1 source code for instructors ’ use or customization. http://tc.eserver.org/19962.html http://tc.eserver.org/19962.html Because online technical communication classes, as well as classes with several online components, are no longer a novelty, teachers must plan coursework and technology use to better meet students’ needs. To improve my online teaching methods and plan future courses, I follow these guidelines: 1. Prepare students to use e-mail efficiently; 2. Prepare students to use the class chat room for meetings, office hours, and required discussions; 3. Maintain a flexible assignment schedule while enforcing the final deadline; 4. Help students gain access to computers; 5. Develop pleasant working relationships with technical support personnel; and 6. Develop course information for students with different learning styles. http://tc.eserver.org/19964.html http://tc.eserver.org/19964.html These days, the buzzwords of our industry revolve around E-commerce and E-business. At the same time, we have also seen major shifts in the required focus of our training offerings – from Tool/Task-Based to Business Process/Role-Based. Finally, we can no longer demand that the students come to us for what they need. They are demanding that we take it to them. But how do you turn your training organization on a dime to respond to the changing needs? This paper discusses how you can transition from standup/ manual-based instruction to a WBT/online documentation method of training. http://tc.eserver.org/19721.html http://tc.eserver.org/19721.html The purpose of computer-based training (CBT) is to motivate students to reach clearly defined objectives, so CBT design elements should help learners reach those goals. The interface design results from a complex interrelationship among these primary factors. http://tc.eserver.org/19498.html http://tc.eserver.org/19498.html This case study is based on the process that one team of technical communicators used to create an online science course—for a company that had not previously offered online courses. The team developed, created, and implemented the course, Language and the Brain, in just two and a half months. http://tc.eserver.org/19377.html http://tc.eserver.org/19377.html Distance education (DE) is a growing national trend, with courses and enrollments nearly doubling between 1994-5 and 1997-8. Technical communication practitioners and departments should take advantage of the benefits DE offers, including geographical and chronological access, integration of learning space and working space, and less time spent in lecture and more time responding to work or more time studying. Currently, technical communication education departments offer classes, certificates, and degrees via distance, varying from one undergraduate introductory class to 36-credit Master’s degrees. Future directions might include more programs to accommodate students, concentrations such as cross-cultural communication, and shorter courses to accommodate specific needs. http://tc.eserver.org/19227.html http://tc.eserver.org/19227.html Creation of Web based courseware has become easier and quicker, particularly, for non-Web experts with the advent of authoring software which allows authors to put together resources without requiring to learn HTML. However, there are problems regarding the accessibility of resources produced by such software, and this article discusses the nature of these problems and how they can be overcome. http://tc.eserver.org/19235.html http://tc.eserver.org/19235.html Using electronic media for learning and teaching is widespread. E-Learning offers opportunities for staff to convey material in a variety of ways and ultimately on 'anytime, anyplace' basis. E-learning materials can range from the simple act of putting lecture notes on line to simulations of real life. This means that distance learning (both off and on campus) is a realistic possibility, with students able to take part in class discussions via email and online discussion forums, and at the same time being able to remotely access materials and information. These materials do not need to be static web pages, as technologies such as broadband improve audio and video may be made available on a faculty Intranet allowing students to review material already covered, or prepare for lectures and tutorials. For example, medical students may review a video of clinical procedures 'streamed' over the intranet and then discuss them in a tutorial, the flexibility of streaming would allow the students to view the video at the their own pace and at times which suit them. http://tc.eserver.org/19250.html http://tc.eserver.org/19250.html Several researchers have discussed the important role of interactivity in promoting student learning and socialization, especially in online courses. Facilitating interactivity in an asynchronous, web-based course, however, presents a number of challenges. Such a course, in technical communication, was developed at Florida State University incorporating three interactive components: threaded class discussions, peer editing groups, and collaboration on a group project. Lessons learned from the development and implementation of this course may assist other instructors in developing and teaching online technical communication courses. http://tc.eserver.org/18905.html http://tc.eserver.org/18905.html The high dropout rate for many online college courses is due in part to a failure to adapt teaching materials and methods to the medium and to user needs. The author joined an intensive instructional design project and developed an online college course using WebCT with courseware development software. Constructivist pedagogy and today’s instructional technology are a good match, giving online instructors the conceptual and practical tools they need to construct a rich learning environment. The emphasis on user analysis and meeting users at the point of need inherent in technical communication is also vital to the success of online learning. http://tc.eserver.org/18478.html http://tc.eserver.org/18478.html Web-based instruction is often valued because of the way hypertext and dynamic visual media may enhance course content. The advantages of virtual space are framed in terms of 'access' - access to broader dimensions of ideas, access to academic and non-academic databases and information, access to diverse learning communities. http://tc.eserver.org/18469.html http://tc.eserver.org/18469.html With the continued development of the Internet, distance learning initiatives and Web-based mechanisms designed to support traditional classroom pedagogies are here to stay, and traditional notions of teaching are forever changed. Online colleges and universities like the University of Phoenix already boast burgeoning enrollments, as students flock to a curriculum that will gladly meet them on their own terms and in their own homes and offices. On the Web, teaching moves from brick and mortar classrooms with thirty students entering and leaving every hour, on the hour, to a compendium of synchronous and asynchronous experiences characterized by bulletin board posts, downloads, real-time chats, file transfers, and video and audio files. Web-based approaches to teaching writing and rhetoric are, generally speaking, multivalent, offering new and important capacities that surpass some of the dimensional and practical constraints of the traditional written page. Moreover, many of the practices common in Web-based pedagogy are well supported by theories of dialogism and negotiated learning, and those in the computers and composition community have long trumpeted these benefits. http://tc.eserver.org/14984.html http://tc.eserver.org/14984.html Many instructor-led courses are being considered for conversion to electronic or distance delivery. A recent HRD survey by the American Society for Training and Development predicts that by the year 2000 only an estimated 54.8% of training will be instructor-led, compared to 80% in 1996. By contrast, the market for training delivered via new technologies is expected to go from 10% in 1996 to over 35% by the year 2000. Web-Based Training (WBT) is expected to account for a sizable portion of these electronic course developments and conversions. http://tc.eserver.org/14989.html http://tc.eserver.org/14989.html Hybrid courses are courses in which significant portions of the learning activities have been moved online, a combination of traditional classroom and Internet instruction. Time traditionally spent in the classroom is reduced but not eliminated. The goal of hybrid courses is to join the best features of in-class teaching with the best features of online learning to promote active independent learning and reduce class seat time. Using computer-based technologies, instructors use the hybrid model to redesign some lecture or lab content into new online learning activities, such as case studies, tutorials, self-testing exercises, simulations, and online group collaborations. http://tc.eserver.org/14706.html http://tc.eserver.org/14706.html Clark assesses the effects of virtual classrooms on teachers of distance-learning courses. http://tc.eserver.org/14406.html http://tc.eserver.org/14406.html For primarily practical reasons, professional writing courses are increasingly being taught totally or partly online. These practical reasons concern me because I do not believe that a pedagogical practice whose benefits are being actively debated by scholars, such as online education, should be utilized only or primarily because it is seen as a way of saving or making money. However, online education is one pedagogical practice that, I believe, has great potential to improve writing. A year-and-a-half ago, I taught several partly online sections of my professional writing course, and I discovered that a strategy valuable in my traditional sections became invaluable in my online sections: electronic peer response. http://tc.eserver.org/13927.html http://tc.eserver.org/13927.html Educational institutions are employing a variety of processes to support Web-based courses.  In our efforts to help faculty mount such courses, we found it helpful to divide course material into knowledge-based versus skill-based elements, and to develop activities that capitalize on the unique environment of the Web.  In this article, we discuss our successes and failures, and cover some legal issues we discovered that affect how we use both preexisting and student-produced materials. http://tc.eserver.org/13917.html http://tc.eserver.org/13917.html The number and variety of distance education courses have increased dramatically in recent years with the advent of new delivery technologies. Third-generation distance delivery methods such as interactive, Web-based instruction also have led to new levels of access for students. This article presents demographic information about students taking online courses at two institutions. In addition, it discusses some of the changes in learning environments that may accompany the move to the virtual classroom. Finally, it points out some potential problems in delivering courses with new technologies. http://tc.eserver.org/13913.html http://tc.eserver.org/13913.html Initially, online courses were created by pioneers--self-taught Web site writers comfortable with uncertainty. As Internet-based instruction has become increasingly popular, others are less inclined to struggle with writing their own Web pages but are nonetheless interested in having an instructional Web site. A growing number of course-construction programs are becoming available which could make Internet-based instruction more accessible. Only by addressing both pedagogical and technical issues can evaluation of such course creation products provide information useful for thoughtful and appropriate use of that technology to support and extend traditional pedagogies. This article concludes that creating online instructional sites by hand with the help of an HTML editor is generally preferable to using course-in-a-box software because instructors can select the components needed to support their pedagogy and construct successful learning experiences for their students. On the other hand, the dilemma of faculty intimidated by the technical expertise needed to produce even a basic Web site can be ameliorated by the use of course-in-a-box software. However, that software should be seen only as a stepping stone. Instructional sites created by course-in-a-box software certainly are worthwhile, but the course or site produced by this software remains constrained by its box, even if that box is often commodious. http://tc.eserver.org/13897.html http://tc.eserver.org/13897.html This study evaluates the effectiveness of presenting Web-based assignments within the technical communication service course. Current research on using the World Wide Web (Web) and Internet as a teaching resource investigates online writing courses, Distance Education (DE), and hypertext authoring. The literature indicates good reasons for moving instruction to the Web, but there is little description of why this migration is needed in terms of the kinds of learning achieved through Web-based writing, nor is there much specific discussion of what type of useful instructional space can be built with the Web. This study is intended to provide support for centering more instruction within the environment of the Web. This article describes a study using a Web site designed for technical communication instruction. It defines the types of learning students experienced when using the site and presents samples of student work representing a wide range of skill development, both traditional and digital, that support moving instruction to the Web in immediately useful ways. http://tc.eserver.org/13901.html http://tc.eserver.org/13901.html This paper discusses Industrial and Digital Age educational paradigms, needs, and expectations of adult and traditional learners for Internet-based education; knowledge management and its impact on technical communication; the Universal Campus Network and the nature of Web-based education in the near future; elements for success for Web-based distance education in technical communication; and future directions in electronic communication. http://tc.eserver.org/13833.html http://tc.eserver.org/13833.html Communication plays a vital role in learning, not only with respect to expository and discussion methods of instruction, but at a more consequential level in the development of higher mental processes through acquiring and learning to manipulate symbols. This has been so at least since the early days of Greek society where education of the citizen primarily was concerned with the ability to express oneself in a thoughtful manner in order to develop a better society. Isocrates, one of the first Western educators, stressed the relevance of speech in sharpening thought and judgment; his emphasis on the relationship between education and speaking well became the standard throughout the ancient Western world. http://tc.eserver.org/13753.html http://tc.eserver.org/13753.html Web-based training has been both acclaimed as a self-paced, consistent, stand-alone alternative to traditional instructor-led training and disparaged for its high development costs and dearth of qualified trainers. Critics especially question its effectiveness. This case study tests the effectiveness of a stand-alone web-based training program and compares the results to that of an identical instructor-led course. The course provides highly task-oriented instruction for a computer software package and was developed using a proven instructional design methodology. The data from this study show that web-based training is as effective as instructor-led training for stand-alone software application training in a corporation. http://tc.eserver.org/10757.html http://tc.eserver.org/10757.html A brief overview of evolutionary theory and its application to knowledge and learning in the theory of memetics is presented. The knowledge and learning structures that exist within a modern company are examined and significant failures within them are identified. It is concluded that harnessing and exploiting evolutionary learning can resolve many of these failures. Evolutionary learning is a natural precursor for the transition from training to performance support. For this transition to happen successfully it is necessary that the right corporate culture and knowledge infrastructure are present. http://tc.eserver.org/10135.html http://tc.eserver.org/10135.html Mary B. Shoffner, Marshall Jones, and Stephen W. Harmon survey a broad range of educational technologies, including those mechanical and those philosophical, and conclude that it is the underlying pedagogical philosophy, and not the delivery mechanism, that most affects what students learn. http://tc.eserver.org/10047.html http://tc.eserver.org/10047.html This site describes what online learning is and identifies its major uses; identifies the four major types of online learning; provides an overview of the technology needed to make online learning happen; lists the project issues--that is, management and learning issues--that need to be addressed when developing materials for online learning.