BrendleRevisionsReport

Instructional Design Unit

1. The URL in the post-unit assessment was incorrectly written. This typo is costly when you are asking the kids to evaluate a web site. I had umle instead of umke. (Blame it on the old eyes.)

2. Post-unit assessment: I would provide a checklist for the final evaluation instead of the elaborate document I created. If I really want them to do this task independently, I need to ease off on the intense questions and see if they can do the process on their own using a minimal checklist. Or, I could just ask them to analyze the web site in an essay (having provided no checklist). That would be messier to grade, but it would show if they internalized the process and terms.

3. Better congruence between the pre and post tests: The pre-test asked open-ended questions about the process while the post-test was application of the process. I felt this was eduationally sound. In retrospect, it may be better to ask them also to analyze a site as a pre-test to see a better correlation of what skills were mastered. I like the pre-test I created, but I would use it as part of the lesson. It would make a good homework and discussion activity.

4. Tutorial: This lengthy document needs to be reformatted to be more user-friendly. I created a document that the students could read in the absence of the teacher, so the whole process is described in detail with visuals. If I were doing this lesson with my students, I would walk through the steps in front of them and discuss each step. I would use the SMARTboard and show web page examples in gigantic size and color. This would be much more motivational than the handout. I am a very interactive teacher, so creating something they had to do without me was very hard for me.

5. Prerequisite Assessment: I would probably revise some of the wording on this document. The scores on this were lower than anticipated, and I wonder if it is due to difficult wording in the definitions.

This whole process was formative for me. I see now where the real needs lie and can better teach to the gaps in knowledge and skills. I have learned how useful formative assessments can be in instructional design. J

Overall, I am happy with the whole process. My seven students have been using their evaluation skills since this project. They make it a point to tell me when they find a bad source or really good documented expertise. We are working on research now, so this unit did come in handy for these select students. I will definately be able to tweak this and use it with all my classes next year.