PURDUE UNIVERSITYCommunicate Knowledge
The communication of knowledge is a skill that must be developed over time and with diverse audiences. The Purdue Learning Design and Technology program provides numerous opportunities to design and deliver instructional experiences to various types and levels of learners. For this competency, I provide artifacts specific to high school and post secondary learners, as well as a job aid developed for a corporate environment.
THE FISHERMAN
A Digital Story
This artifact is an example of a learning object that integrates content and pedagogy (Sub-Competency 2) that has been adapted to a diverse range of learners and at least four different learning objectives (Sub-Competency 3.
The first video artifact I offer is a digital story developed for students ranging in age from 11th grade through post-secondary (college/University) and is entitled, The Fisherman. It is intended as a lead-in for a high school writing class studying character development, college/career classes prefacing conversations about career goals as they tie into higher education; and/or sociology or psychology classes where feelings of isolation or authenticity may be the topic of study. While I chose to use actors for the voiceover, The Fisherman shows my ability to understand voice and tone, signaling, rate of delivery, chunking or segmenting, and the use of music for overall engagement and impact.
For example, using a ticking audio track and red digital numbers, as well as short verbal cues in plain white lettering on a black background, and music and/or lyrics that augment the story, I broke the content into sub-topics:
A second artifact that demonstrates my personal ability to orally communicate (Sub-Competency 1) is a short tutorial I created for one of our discussions, in which I introduced some free online industry tools that are easy to use and greatly enhance productivity. While the first video was created for emotional impact and delivery of message for a young audience (11th grade through sophomore in college), this artifact was developed for a tech savvy masters level audience.
This learning object is simply designed to introduce learners to efficiency concepts and tools used by professionals in the field. I also was able to use it in an online graphics design module I recast for an online course for Troy University demonstrating the adaptability of design (Sub-Competency 3).
Sub-Competency 1 is reflected in this artifact as well, as I use an informal tone to create a sense of personalization to help convey that the software is simple to use and to master. The content and pedagogy are closely integrated (Sub-Competency 2) and the language is such that the learning object can be used for graphics industry professionals as well as beginning Instructional Designers.
An Example of Adaptive Assessment (Sub-Competency 3)
Finally, I present a jobaid developed for a local manufacturing client as an example of a dual purpose instructional device featuring adaptive evaluations. This jobaid does demonstrate the written competency specified in Sub-Competency 1; but, it has a dual function and subsequent assessment tools as it can be used as a just in time guide for a substitute employee as well as a training tool for bringing on a new employee, which meets the parameters of the third Sub-Competency (3) as well. I will present the artifact more fully in a later competency; but, introduce it here with the related assessment instruments available at the end of the instructional plan to demonstrate the difference in assessing two types of learners while using the same instructional tool. The jobaid comes in two parts to better secure the process. The first part is a start-up file; and, the second guides the user through the online deposit process.
What is Next?
I found I really enjoyed video presentation, both because a large amount of information can be conveyed in a short amount of time, and because the medium allows an integration of devices/tools that work together to create a holistic learning experience. I also enjoyed using multimedia tools to segment and present the content in a way that can be easily received/absorbed and assimilated into existing schema. I am anxious to further explore the tools available, such as Articulate, and to further develop my skills. I believe one thing that will change drastically with practice is time to completion. I saw great improvement as I progressed through The Fisherman project and feel confident the skills I have acquired will pave the way to creating even better learning experiences.