Dr. Min Liu

This course provides an overview of the theoretical frameworks, current trends, and common concerns associated with the design and development of effective instructional materials. It aims at providing you with theoretical, experiential (hands-on), and critical perspectives on instructional design as it is applied in a variety of educational contexts (i.e. K-12, high education, and corporate training). You will read and discuss behavioral, cognitive, and constructivist theories and their implications for design, study several instructional design (ID) models in-depth, explore various strategies, and develop an instructional module on a specified topic. As a group, we will also compare, and contrast instructional design models to understand when to use what model/approach given the circumstance. You will also have an opportunity to talk to ID practitioners about their experience. The contexts for this learning will be primarily interactive, collaborative, and student-centered.

This course is about human-computer interaction (HCI). The emphasis of the course is on examining and understanding the designs and strategies for new media. New media in this case is defined as interactive multimedia and Web-based technologies. We are particularly interested in looking at the use of new media from the perspectives of information design, interaction design, and interface design. We will also investigate how different characteristics of learner groups might impact the designs. Developing such an understanding and acquiring such knowledge will make one better informed in creating effective educational applications. Through activities such as researching, evaluating, designing, and developing, students are expected to develop an understanding of how design principles can be applied to create effective educational products. The contexts for this course will be primarily interactive, collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and student-centered. Flash and other related softwarewill be used for site analysis and creating the final end-of-semester product.

PREREQUISITES

There is no prerequisites for the course. It accompanies other hands-on courses such as EDC 385G Interactive Multimedia Design & Production and EDC 385G Multimedia Authoring.

The goal of this course is to introduce basic digital skills that are needed to be productive citizens in the 21st century workforce. Students are expected to develop the skills they need to effectively integrate technology into their respective professional practices. This course is heavily hands-on. The digital skills students will acquire in this course are basic and practical. The tools students will learn and use include productivity tools, multimedia and website development tools, and Web 2.0 tools. We will also discuss related issues with regard to digital technology use in education as well as explore emerging technologies. An important goal of this course is to integrate technology into your specific content area, and therefore you will learn and apply various technology skills in a context suitable to your major. There is no pre-requisite requirement for taking the course.

This course is designed for 1) doctoral students enrolled in the Instructional Technology (IT) Program, and 2) any students who have an interest in educational technology related research. For IT doctoral students, it is recommended this course be taken prior to the IT doctoral seminar. The primary goal is for students to get familiar with research in the IT field, to make sense and use technology research in preparation for conducting one’s own research (e.g. master report or dissertation). Through readings we will examine historical and current literature on technology use in teaching and learning. We will evaluate and critique studies using various research methodologies, and thoroughly investigate and synthesize several selected research topics. The contexts for this course will be interactive, collaborative, and student-centered. By getting acquainted with the existing research and what is going currently in the field, we are to deepen our understanding of the role technology plays in enhancing teaching and learning.