For this critical reflection, I will apply the questions from Unit 3 Activity 2 to the “What – So What – Now What” model.

What?

What was the most surprising thing that you learned by participating in the design thinking process and designing and developing your digital learning resource?

The most surprising thing that I learned through participating in the design thinking process was how hard it is to balance organizational needs with user needs as someone who designs learning. I think the biggest tension is how to utilize limited organizational resources, especially time and money, to accommodate fully for learner needs developing the digital learning resource. I learned that instructional design also encompasses a strategic element overall and the strategy should involve a sustainable solution for the organization or client while accommodating as many learner needs as possible.

What suggestions and improvements did you receive? Did you get any feedback that you did not expect? What feedback needs further investigation?

 

I received suggestions to incorporate the learning goals that I identified in the summary paper into my resource itself and to provide learning goals at the top of each lesson within my digital learning resource. I also got a comment to improve the resource by placing the sources, credit and permission for the material closer to the content it referred to, rather than only in a central location. Feedback that I didn’t expect was that the person reviewing it could actually “hear my voice” coming through in some encouraging communication I had incorporated into a check-in question. This made me smile. It was great to know that a part of me was woven into the design of this resource and it made me realize how much of a personal passion project it became for me. Feedback that needs further investigation is to look into how to optimize video content for mobile data plans, so that learners could watch the videos in the resource without lags or loading issues.

 

So What?

What are the next steps you would like to take to build upon your digital learning resource?

The next steps I will take in building the digital learning resource are to complete user testing to get further feedback to build upon. Once testing completes and content has been finalized, I plan to contact all sources to get permission to utilize and modify their content within the resource. I will then add each source and permission to each piece of content. I will also consider adding a Creative Commons license and will need to discuss it further with the BCBN organization that the resource is created for.

 

Now What?

Also, consider how you might utilize the design thinking process for the design and creation of digital learning resources in the future, or for other tasks that you may encounter within your instructional context.

 

I will definitely utilize the needs assessment part of the design thinking process and in particular, the methods for assessing user needs. I will also use the process for redesign projects to ensure that the redesign assesses the problem and determines the user needs before repackaging the content and how the learning is designed.

 

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