{"id":461,"date":"2020-12-02T18:03:53","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T01:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/?p=461"},"modified":"2020-12-03T09:24:32","modified_gmt":"2020-12-03T16:24:32","slug":"unit-2-activity-1-taking-a-look-at-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/unit-2-activity-1-taking-a-look-at-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Unit 2, Activity 1 | Taking a Look at Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As I began creating my list of tools and superpowers (of which I have\u00a0<em>many<\/em>), I realized there were many that I don&#8217;t use\u2014or even think about\u2014on a regular basis. Brainstorming the tools was difficult at first, but I found it got easier once I set categories that I borrowed from Lachheb &amp; Boling (2018): Computer-based, Methodological, and Analog. To these I also added the categories of Superpowers and Roles to help define some other aspects of my practice. Sorry if it&#8217;s a bit long&#8230; or completely misguided.<\/p>\n<p>The complete diagram can be <a href=\"https:\/\/embed.kumu.io\/afd67335b1e47312e6787ffb7505b0b8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">found at Kumu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Computer-Based<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Google Slides.\u00a0<\/strong>I can&#8217;t stand powerpoint, so if I need slide decks this is my go-to.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Instant Messaging<\/strong> (mostly Teams). The only way I can stay connected with my co-workers. Without this there are no more meetings, quick questions for advice, bouncing ideas off each other, etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Office 365.<\/strong> Emails, Word docs, OneNote, etc. While I could do without emails, I do a LOT of course planning\/development with OneNote since COVID-19 popped up. It allows me to build basic course structures quickly and I can see my design work at a glance without having to scroll through endless document pages.<\/li>\n<li><strong>YouTube.<\/strong> Other people have created far better explainer videos than I ever will.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adobe CC.<\/strong> Every. Single. Day. I teach these tools, but I also use them to build learning resources for my students.<\/li>\n<li><strong>D2L | Brightspace.<\/strong> The required LMS. I have no choice, but building a course in it isn&#8217;t so bad once you get it figured out.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kahoot.\u00a0<\/strong>Building interactive opportunities to see where there are class-wide learning gaps and to help students quickly assess where they are at is incredibly helpful.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Adobe Education Exchange.<\/strong> As with YouTube, why create what others already have. Eventually I&#8217;d like to be a contributor&#8230; but I&#8217;m scared.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LinkedIn Learning.<\/strong> Not always useful, there are times when it can be a support and it&#8217;s important to have it in my repertoire.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Analog<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Books.\u00a0<\/strong>I use a mix of reference books to help offset my own learning gaps as well as a range of other books (recipe books, art books, flyers, pamphlets, brochures, etc.) to help build activities and assignments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sketching. <\/strong>Best way to start figure out an idea before you move forward.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Whiteboard.<\/strong> Back when I had one of these by my desk I&#8217;d use it to brainstorm ideas with co-workers or to quickly plot out a few design ideas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Notebook.<\/strong> Take notes, jot down ideas, or whatever else you need to do so thoughts don&#8217;t escape.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Markers &amp; Pencils.<\/strong> None of this stuff happens without them, right?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Post-it Notes.<\/strong> I use these to quickly chart out units, activities and assignments. Post-it Notes allow me to move them around, reorder, etc. without the distraction of a computer. They also provide a quick visual rather than jumping between computer software.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Methodological<\/h3>\n<p>I may be a bit off on these, but this is how I interpret this category.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Spouse.<\/strong> I know my spouse isn&#8217;t a tool, but she is provides great feedback when I&#8217;m fighting with whether a design idea will work or not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hallway\/Formal Meetings.<\/strong> Not as useful as they should be, these are often used for defining programs or course objectives. Actual course design rarely happens in a meeting.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Unknown Biases.<\/strong> These are always feeding into my design work, whether I know it or not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Student Feedback.<\/strong> Students are a huge asset in course design and revision. I often take notes based on their feedback in order to improve my courses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Past Experiences and Failures. <\/strong>These teach and guide the way I design every course.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quick Chats. <\/strong>Whether with other teachers, designers, or friends, I often use conversations to gather new ideas, bounce thoughts of others, or just to see if I&#8217;m crazy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Underlying Beliefs about Education.<\/strong> Possibly not methodological, but these feed into how I design courses and where I place my priorities. Whether they are correct or not is yet to be determined.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Backwards Design.<\/strong> This guides the majority of my design. Start with the objectives, build assessments to meet them, create activities that will teach what is required to do the assessments, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Superpowers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Being a Parent.<\/strong> Having small children shows me daily how the way you approach teaching can be so important. With one method they can&#8217;t be bothered, whereas another may keep them focused and interested. My children have made me a much better instructor and designer.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pragmatism.\u00a0<\/strong>We can&#8217;t win every fight, students won&#8217;t graduate with the abilities of someone who has been in industry for 5 years, and sometimes we fail. Let&#8217;s accept it and move on.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Design Agency Experience.\u00a0<\/strong>We&#8217;re all serving clients, whether they are a local store or they are a student. Understand what the clients need, and then trick them into thinking that what you&#8217;ve done meets those needs. Or something like that.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Web\/Graphic Design.<\/strong> Without it I wouldn&#8217;t have a job, but it also means I&#8217;m not reliant on anyone for most of my design needs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nit-picky.\u00a0<\/strong>Those of you who have been in a group with me know what I&#8217;m talking about. I love tiny details and that helps me see where there may be gaps in my design, but also makes my designs very detailed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Puzzle Brain.\u00a0<\/strong>As Moore (2016) said, &#8220;Instructional design projects are similar to puzzles&#8221; (p. 425) and man do I love puzzles. Sure, I haven&#8217;t made it past a 6-day streak on the NYTimes Crossword, but I&#8217;m working on it. A puzzle brain helps me to see how the different pieces in a design fit together, and where there may be gaps.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Coffee.\u00a0<\/strong>Ok, not a superpower&#8230; but it helps.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Organization. <\/strong>Keeps all those ducks in a row and helps you find those ducks three years later.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Roles<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mentor.<\/strong> There are always new instructors, designers, etc. that need help, and I need to remember that I may be perceived as a mentor whether I know it or not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Graphic\/Web Designer.\u00a0<\/strong>Sometimes it&#8217;s needed for the school, sometimes for ID work. Either way, it&#8217;s a role I can&#8217;t get rid of.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keeper of All Knowledge. <\/strong>I may not be an expert, but sometimes I&#8217;m seen as one. I need to remember this so I can make it clear that I&#8217;m both not an expert but also am one. I don&#8217;t know everything, but I can be a great asset to students who need help.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Instructor.<\/strong> It&#8217;s my job description. I better do it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Therapist.<\/strong> People need to talk sometimes. I can&#8217;t help with everything, but I can at least care.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Friend.\u00a0<\/strong>While I often like to keep my head down and focus on my work, I need to be a friend as well.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Informal D2L Support.\u00a0<\/strong>Sometimes I wish I didn&#8217;t know D2L as well as I do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>References<\/h4>\n<p>Lachheb, A., &amp; Boling, E. (2018). Design tools in practice: Instructional designers report which tools they use and why. <em>Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 30<\/em>(1), 34\u201354. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12528-017-9165-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12528-017-9165-x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Moore, R. L. (2016). Developing Distance Education Content Using the TAPPA Process. <em>TechTrends, 60<\/em>(5), 425\u2013432. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11528-016-0094-8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11528-016-0094-8<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I began creating my list of tools and superpowers (of which I have\u00a0many), I realized there were many that I don&#8217;t use\u2014or even think about\u2014on a regular basis. Brainstorming the tools was difficult at first, but I found it got easier once I set categories that I borrowed from Lachheb &amp; Boling (2018): Computer-based, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[26,27,25],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lrnt524","tag-data-visualization","tag-online-tools","tag-reflection","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":482,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions\/482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0153\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}