EDS 199 ePortfolio - eJournal 5: Applying What I Learned Before

EDS 199 ePortfolio

Facing the challenge of designing the Self-Learning Modules is one that I have foreseen since the moment my Gatekeeper and I decided to take on this project. However, like tripping on a pebble you already saw, I still fell for it.

I began the design stage with a vague concept in mind. I thought the modules and study guides I see and use in the university would be a good source of inspiration on the SLMs' format. As I wrote an outline of the module, I recalled the previous courses I took in the Bachelor of Education Studies program to see which ones would be relevant to my project. I revisited EDS 112, EDS 153, and EDS 155 and found some concepts and reading materials that could help me in the SLM design.

EDS 112 Principles of Instructional Design introduced me before to the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) Model. Due to its iterative nature which would allow me to revisit previous stages, I decided to adopt it as my project’s methodology. It immensely helped me in keeping track of my project’s progress and guided me in which steps I must take next.

For EDS 151 Instructional Media Resources, I revisited my lessons on designing printed learning materials to guide me in creating the SLMs. There was a plethora of reading materials about choosing the right instructional materials and developing them, but the one that I found most relevant to my project is Lamb’s (2005) “Designing & Developing Resources: Print materials.” I previously used this material to assist me in creating a printed worksheet for reading comprehension during one of the activities in EDS 153. Using it today as a guide to develop SLMs made me realize how I can use it better with more knowledge of designing educational materials. I followed Lamb’s guide in typography, graphic incorporation, margins, spacing, and more.

On the other hand, I already knew what concept I would use from my EDS 153 Design of Educational Multimedia Materials course. Mayer’s (2003) Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning was the highlight of my EDS 155 learning journey as I experienced applying its concepts into practice by designing audiovisual materials according to its 12 multimedia learning principles. I applied Coherence (reducing distracting, extraneous material and only keeping relevant information and elements), Signaling (using cues and highlights to direct the learner's attention), Spatial Contiguity (placing related words and pictures close to each other for easier information processing), Multimedia (using pictures and words, not words alone, for enhanced learning), and Personalization (using simple language in a conversational tone to convey information instead of a formal tone) principles. in the incorporation of multimedia elements in the SLMs. For example, I made sure that related texts and diagrams were placed close together to avoid confusion.

Aside from my instructional design courses, I also revisited EDS 160 Open Education to use my learnings on Open Educational Resources in my project. Finding appropriate OERs for my topic has proven to be a challenge but fortunately, through actively searching for OERs on project management on OER websites like OER Commons and Pressbooks, I found four books that became primary resource materials in the writing of the SLMs’ content. I made sure to look at their Creative Commons licenses to determine how far I could access and use the materials.

I decided to use OERs in this project because of their open access which grants users more freedom in using the materials. Additionally, it would save me and my project from a lot of trouble as there are licenses that permit the reuse and redistribution of OERs. I realized that if I carelessly used whichever resource I found first on the search results, it could bring me a lot of plagiarism issues despite properly citing them. I discussed in detail the Creative Commons licenses of these OERs and their openness in ePortfolio 2, ePortfolio 3, and ePortfolio 4.

In addition, I also scanned my reading materials from EDS 103 Theories of Learning to find a suitable theoretical framework for the project. I initially considered utilizing Behaviorism by using rewards to promote motivation. However, I am unsure how to best use it in a modular learning delivery without affecting the intrinsic motivation of the learners. As a result, I decided to use Constructivism due to its rich learner-centered approach that fits with the module’s self-learning or independent study approach. I discussed this in detail on my ePortfolio.

Moreover, I made sure to have theoretical underpinnings on the SLM’s assessment methods and learning objectives. To do this, I used my learnings on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Objectives from EDS 113 Principles and Methods of Assessment to develop LOs on the three SLMs. I ensured that they were a combination of lower-order and higher-order thinking skills. Additionally, I aligned the assessment methods to the LOs to measure the learners’ understanding of the concepts more effectively. For example, Module 3 Enrichment Activity 2 which requires learners to create their own Work Breakdown Structure is an assessment for the LO “Demonstrate the use of WBS.”

Aside from the theoretical knowledge I applied to the design and development of the SLMs, I put into practice the skills and attitude I gained from my experiences in civic engagement and project management in CWTS 1 and 2. These courses honed my communication and collaboration skills during our projects in our partner barangay and instilled within me an appreciation of the rapport one can build with others when working within the community. I communicated frequently with my Gatekeeper during the crucial stages of the project and worked with her to find solutions to some of the problems I encountered. Although most of our conversation took place online due to her temporarily relocating to Makati City for her board's review, we maximized the time and opportunities we had to collaborate.

Despite the difficulties I faced during the design and development of the SLMs, I learned how to be appreciative of what I reached so far with the help of my partner institution, my adviser, and my friends and family.

References:

Lamb, A. (2005). Designing & developing resources: Print materials (Chap 7). In Building tree houses for learning: Technology in today's classrooms, 243 – 272

Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of multimedia learning: using the same instructional design methods across different media. Learning and instruction, 13(2), 125-139

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