Instructional Technologies

When I refer to instructional technologies in this section, I am referring to the various tools, applications, and programs I have used as an instructional designer to build different kinds of learning experiences. I will explain each tool that I know how to use and describe the kinds of things I have built with them. I also want to highlight that these are tools I have learned on my own through online tutorials, trial and error, and by seeking feedback from other instructional designers that I know. So, as much as there are tools I have not yet learned, I am confident in my ability to learn them given the access and opportunity.

Brightspace

Brightspace is the main learning platform that I have used. With it, I have built courses from the ground up. This includes developing the organization and the modules as well as creating assignments, discussions, rubrics, and grading schemes. I am experienced with utilizing calendar sensitive content, intelligent agents, and html-based page templates for effective universal design.

Feedback Fruits

Feedback Fruits is a powerful application for building a wide variety of learning experiences. I have used it to build skill-based assignments, interactive videos and documents, discussion activities, peer reviews, and various combinations of the former. In my experience, the advantage of Feedback Fruits is that it is a bit stronger than other tools at guiding students through each step of a multi-part assignment, and it is much more user friendly for students when it comes to bringing in other media such as video, screen recording, and audio recording.

WeVideo

WeVideo is a strong tool for building interactive lectures and videos. I have found it to be very powerful for some instructors who are struggling with a transition from in-person teaching to online and they are not sure how to make their lectures as engaging as they felt in-person. I have built quizzes that use multiple choice, True/False, free response, and fill in the blank interactions. You can create discussions in it, but honestly, it is not my favorite for that. Perhaps what I have found to be the most interesting use is creating polls inside of lectures to see what aspects learners responded to best, what they were confused by, or where they see potential for improvement.

Panopto

Panopto is another tool that focuses on creating interactive lectures and videos. The main strength of this tool vs WeVideo is that you can do in application video edits. So, if you want to cut a small part out, or combine multiple video segments together in one learning activity, you are in luck. It is also much more capable at making video content accessible as it auto generates captions and makes it very easy to edit the captions where the auto generator makes a mistake. The good news is that it is compatible with WeVideo in that you can link a video where you have done the edits and captions in Panopto, but you want to use the additional interactivity options in WeVideo.

H5P

I have found H5P to be an incredibly powerful tool. I have created everything from small interactions like a Flash Card practice activity, to massive scale ideas like building an entire course. I have found it useful for when an instructor is interested in creating some gamified elements like crossword puzzles, image hotspots, dialog cards, and memory games, or when an course needs something to change up the pace a bit and it is in need of a different kind of activity beyond a traditional assignment or discussion. I have also used it to create branching scenarios which are great for a course where you want to give learners more autonomy and an opportunity to build their own learning experience.

Google Classroom

I used Google Classroom when I built an online art program called Shape and Sound Arts during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was a crazy time with a lot of uncertainty, so using a free platform that all of my learners from different backgrounds and in different situations could access was very important. It allowed me to present all of the assignments, resources and learning activities in one place without a lot of complication. The learners ranged in age from 9-19 and there were very few tech hurdles to get over which made the access to learning so much easier.

And beyond...

My interest in continuing to pick up more skills and learn more tools feels pretty boundless. With my current position, my institution is often piloting new tools to see if we should adopt them, and I always take advantage of that. This summer, I am taking an opportunity to learn ThingLink, which I feel will give me a lot of effective practice at building complex learning journeys with various options and types of interactivity. There are also times when an instructor wants to use a tool outside of what the institution has fully adopted. So even though I would not consider myself an expert, I have dabbled with Genially and TopHat.

From my experience as a K-12 teacher, I also have experience on the teacher side with additional Learning Management Systems like Blackboard and Canvas. Even though I have not gotten to build with them, I feel that combining my teacher experience with my instructional design experience would make me a quick learner given the opportunity.

Lastly, comes addressing what might be the white whale of instructional design, Articulate 360 Storyline. The licensing fee for it is pretty steep, so I have not been able to use it on a regular basis, but I have taken advantage of multiple trial memberships just so I can kind of know what it is capable of. I have a lot to learn with it, but would be excited to take advantage of any opportunity to learn it on a deeper level.

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