EDLD+5370+Reflections+on+assignments+in+EDLD+5368+Instructional+Design

====EDLD 5368 was a course that dealt with Instructional Design. The first couple of weeks has to perform a Teaching Style Inventory and Student Learning Inventory. This was really interesting to me. I found out that I am primarily a Quadrant A teacher, which is one that prefers to have students process information via symbols and language and work as individuals. In other words, students should listen to a lecture. When I think about it, that is very true. I also like all the other methods, but I believe that the students must have a foundation before they go venturing off. Once that foundation is received, then they can take that knowledge and expand on it in what ever ways they may want. This falls in line with the constructivism approach. Students will use their prior knowledge to construct new. This is also in line with a knowledge-centered environment. ====

====With the Student Learning Inventories, I was not surprised. Most of my students learn by doing something “fun” as they say it. They definitely want a more learner-centered environment as discussed in the article. But, as was stated in one of the readings, we must guide the student’s thinking. We cannot leave it up to them on what they will learn. I see a slight conflict in my teaching style vs most of their learning styles. This is in part due to the fact that my kids are artistic. I teach at a performing and visual arts high school. ====

====In the third week of the course we started to familiarize ourselves with an open source learning system called Schoology. We actually had to create an online course and enroll some of our students. I also enrolled some of the teachers at my school into this course so that they could experience it first hand. I felt this would make it much easier to entice them to possibly using this type of learning system if they had a first hand experience with it. This was a great experience and I can see where it can be used, especially for those students that are on homebound. At my school, we had quite a few students that had to be at home for an extended period of time due to an illness. Schoology would have been perfect for them.====

====I learned a lot in this course about Understanding by Design. Although this is the approach that I take when planning a lesson, I discovered that I use it regularly. When I plan my lessons, I always plan with the end in minds. I work backwards. This is how I best learn also. If I understand what the end result should be, I can figure out the pieces in the middle. I could have never learned Schoology had I not actually set up the course in the program myself. If I do it, I remember it.====

====Whenever I had problems with setting up something in the Schoology program, I would email one of the other student's taking the course, or post my question on the discussion board. With these open source learning systems, I wonder what effect they will have on public education. With so many parents frustrated with the public school system, this could provide a viable alternative to public education. The number of students that are now being home schooled is on the rise, and these systems allow for a home schooled student to be educated by a licensed, certified teacher.====

====I will continue to experiment with this system because it falls right in line with what I want to accomplish in the near future. I want to be able to reach those home schooled students, and setup a program for those pursuing their GED.====