Great article this week, as some of the other classmates have stated in their blogs, Khan's model helps break the process into an easy to understand visual, which can help when you are having to justify decisions to the high ups.
On the first page, Kahn states "When an e-Learning course is completely desinged, developed, and taught, and managed by a single individual, it is clear that the same individual has performed the role of content expert, instructional designer, programmer, graphic artist, project manager, etc..." I immediately thought of the first online course I developed for the department I was working for - they handed me the content and that was it, it was a great learning experience and there are things that I know now that I definitely could have improved upon, but it was also one of the reasons why I became interested in instructional design and eLearning.
I know that a lot goes into developing a good online course, but seeing that Table of roles and responsibilities was almost jaw dropping (for me at least) because although I know the processes are there, to break it down was quite eye opening.
Pinwheels for Peace
12 years ago
5 comments:
I agree Dena...it is surprising to see the long list of roles that it takes to pull together an elearning project. I too have created entire products virtually single-handedly, and while the experience certainly benefitted me, I think it's rarely the best way to come up with an end-product that is as good as it can be. Even if I'm working in a team where everyone has basically the same skill set, just the ability to bounce ideas and discuss options and get a fresh perspective on an issue can improve a product immensely. Further, I have found that getting a good technical consultant (someone who works with the software that is being employed on a regular if not daily basis) is really worth cutting back in the budget in other places if need be. I have found that particularly when it comes to creating web pages it is not the time to hone your own HTML skills to save a few bucks! Having the benefit of their experience will likely yield a more usable product with less bugs and ultimately way fewer headaches and problems that need to be solved down the road.
I agree about being surprised by the long list of roles but not really. I was use to that when I was programming software but it seems that these days companies and universities really cut back on the staff to perform all this work. They still want a super product, on-time and below budget. As instructional designers we have to figure out how create balance in the work place but the new web tools give us the ability to have a conversation with experts and get feedback from the IT community regarding the development of our product. We are no longer stuck within one organization for that feedback.
Dena, you had mentioned that you had thought of the first online course that you had developed, I was wondering which course that was, and what role you played in developing it?
I agree that when you break down the process it does look impressive! I feel like a one armed paper hanger sometimes and finally I have some charts to prove why!!!
I created a course for the state health department based on the department's emergency response plan that included several sections such as fire, bomb threats, tornado, etc...the content was developed - I was in charge of developing it into a course and getting in into our LMS system, as well as training our employees to use the system since this was the first mandatory online course for employees.
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