Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Day 1 AECT 2012: Ontology, TCL, and Opening Social

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.
#AECT 2012

It is the end of my first day at the AECT 2012 International Convention. I've enjoyed the presentations and interactions thus far, despite the fact that I helped give one of the presentations... Here are some of my experiences at the conference today.

10:00 - 11:30 IDT Professors Forum
This morning I attended the IDT Professors forum. We talked about how our foundational beliefs about reality, what knowledge is, and how people learn have a profound influence on the way we teach and design instruction. The presenters shared the slide below:

Ontological Perspectives Comparison Table
It was a good discussion - got me thinking about my own underlying beliefs and how they influence my approach to teaching and design.

1:00 - 2:00 Co-presented with Greg Francom - What is Task-Centered Learning?
Dr. Greg Francom and I presented on a paper that we wrote on what task-centered learning (TCL) is. The purpose of the paper was to identify the common elements of several similar models of instruction. We also differentiated TCL from Problem-based Learning (PBL) and showed some of the fundamental differences in the underlying assumptions and applications of each theory.

Fundamental Components of Task-Centered Learning: 
  • Learning Tasks
  • Activation of Prior Knowledge
  • Demonstration/Modeling
  • Application
  • Integration/Exploration
One will note that these principles align quite well with Dr. Merrill's First Principles of Instruction.

Greg during our TCL Presentation


One interesting discussion with the participants revolved around the question of whether or not we should try to synthesize theories together into a coherent framework. There were 2 camps - one thought we should, the other that we shouldn't. In my mind, I think that we should try to make coherence out of the theories and principles that have been discovered and researched by putting them together into a coherent, usable structure. However, this is not to say that we should try to combine everything that has ever been studied into one great ultimate theory of instruction; rather, we should clarify what works when and provide a structure that allows a person to use that knowledge in meaningful, contextualized ways.

Evening Social
After an interesting keynote address, I spent a couple of hours at the Evening Social event. Talked with lots of old friends, colleagues, and professors. It is always fun to get together with my particular brand of nerd (no offense, my fellow-edtech nerds) and talk instructional design and technology. Talked briefly with Dr. Merrill, who has been a great mentor and leader in the field.

Drs. Preston Parker, Joel Gardner, David Merrill, Greg Francom, and Max Cropper

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Galt House Hotel and Suites

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.
#AECT 2012

For this year's AECT Convention, I am staying at the Galt House Hotel and Suites, sharing a room with my good friend John Jeon. A very nice hotel and we are in the same building as the convention, which is a lot nicer than walking a mile or two (like I did at the last conference).

Some photos:

Me in hotel room (yes, that is an ATARI shirt)
  

The hotel room

View of Ohio River from hotel room

View of downtown Louisville from hotel room

The Roommate
John finally arrived late this evening after a cancelled and rerouted flight. John and I have worked together on multiple research projects, written an article together and have been good friends for years, so it was really fun to see him again.

John Jeon

Traveling to AECT 2012

This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.
#AECT 2012

Traveling to Louisville
Instead of flying, I drove to this conference. Louisville is only a 3.5 hour drive away, so I drove my beloved 1994 Toyota pickup down.(You can see the route I took by reading my previous post).

While on the drive, I listened to a great book entitled "The Power of Habit," a great book that summarizes some of the research on habit formation. If I have time, I may write a quick post about the book.

The Drive:
It was generally dreary weather on the drive down; still, Ohio and Kentucky are beautiful states, and I really enjoyed the scenic, relaxing drive. I've posted some photos of the drive below (though these are not necessarily of the best quality... remember, they were taken in the rain as I drove.)

Driving Through Cincinnati


Through the Kentucky Hills

Approaching Louisville

    I am excited to be here - Louisville is a great town and I am glad to be able to reconnect with friends and colleagues. I am looking forward to a great AECT Conference!

    Monday, October 22, 2012

    AECT 2012 International Convention - Looking Forward!

    This post is part of a Multiple Part Series on the 2012 AECT Convention.
    #AECT 2012

    In a week I will attend the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)  Annual Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. I attend AECT's convention every year and enjoyed attending in Louisville a few years ago.


    I am looking forward to another outstanding experience, this year. In the past, I have enjoyed the following things about AECT's convention:
    • The people at AECT are open, friendly, and willing to share ideas and research. This was particularly welcoming to me when I first attended as a graduate student, and I appreciate being able to approach people that I respect in an environment that is open and somewhat relaxed.
    • The research and technologies that are discussed are often very timely, interesting, and useful. I find that working at the daily grind sometimes keeps me away from what is new in the field, and AECT's convention is a great way to familiarize myself with what is currently happening in the field.
    • Many of my good friends and colleagues attend AECT regularly, and I find that the convention is a great place to reconnect with them and see how they are doing. I plan on meeting many friends at the convention and hope it will be a good way to create new opportunities for future research, work, and collaboration.
    Travel to Louisville
    I grew up in the western United States of America where the states are giant compared to states closer to the east coast. When I think of driving to another state, I think that it will naturally take at least a day to make the journey, but it surprisingly only takes 3 hours and 25 minutes to drive from Columbus, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. I'll be staying with my good friend at the Galt House Hotel and I look forward to spending time with him.


    View Larger Map


    Reporting on the Conference
    As with previous conferences I have attended, (for example the 2012 ISPI International Conference) I plan to write a daily report on what I learn, along with reflections on whether I find it useful or worthwhile. I am looking forward to the experience!


    Friday, October 19, 2012

    A Cure for Procrastination: 20 Minutes of Focus

    Have you every had a task or a project at work that was so boring or so overwhelming that you just kept putting it off? In a world of distractions, competing priorities, and overworked employees, it can be hard to focus energy on what is really important.

    20 Minutes of Focus
    I have recently devised a strategy that has helped me to accomplish a great deal of procrastinated work in a short amount of time. I call this strategy 20 Minutes of Focus. Instead of putting that important task off, I focus all of my energy on doing it for only 20 minutes. Here is how to do it:
    1. Identify the task or project that is most important, the one that you keep procrastinating.
    2. Identify what to do next.
    3. Set a timer for 20 minutes. I have been using this countdown timer.
    4. Start the timer and focus on this specific task for the full 20 minutes. 
    You can repeat the cycle or move on to something else. Either way, you have made progress on that important task. I have found that just getting started on those difficult tasks helps me break through the procrastination and get the project moving forward, and I often keep working on the project after the 20 minutes is up.

    Tuesday, October 16, 2012

    Video - What Does an Instructional Designer Do? 5000 Views

    Several months ago I uploaded together a video that describes in basic terms what an instructional designer does. It has been  viewed over 5000 times in the last 10 months, so I thought it would be fun to repost the video here.

    Saturday, October 13, 2012

    Firecrackers and Learning - Creating the Essential Spark

    Fireworks
    When I was a kid, I always looked forward to the yearly Independence Day celebration because it meant that we would enjoy an outstanding fireworks show. My young friends and I were thrilled by the Sparklers, Snaps, Flowers, Fountains, and Atomic Whammies, as each firework contributed to a diverse, beautiful display.

    However, sometimes the fireworks would not perform their functions and would simply lie dormant. My friends and I called these lifeless firecrackers "duds." Although they contained within them the elements that could produce a brilliant flash of light, the flame never reached the necessary fuel source. These duds, therefore, never contributed to the show.

    Fireworks and Education
    Like the firework duds that never received their spark, I wonder whether our general approach to education is also missing a crucial component. We seem to spend a lot of time giving our students knowledge and skills that they can use professionally. Like the fuel in the fireworks, these abilities are absolutely vital, but too often it seems that we do not provide our students with the spark-like qualities and characteristics like a positive attitude, honesty, and a strong work ethic. Like a firework dud, we sometimes seem to produce citizens who have some skills and knowledge but lack the excitement and work ethic required to contribute to our society in meaningful ways. Just like an overweight nutritionist, many individuals possess useful knowledge and skills but lack the motivation or work capacity to execute use that knowledge.

    We Must Empower Our Students
    I assert that if our students do not have foundational characteristics and habits such as hard work, honesty, discipline, positive attitudes, and service, then they they will never be able to achieve personal success and contribute to society in meaningful ways. These characteristics are a foundation upon which all the other skills are built. People can have the skills, but if they choose not to use the skills, then our potential lies dormant.


    How do we teach someone to obtain these characteristics? How do we train students to do what is difficult? People ultimately have the power choose how they will act, but I believe that parents, teachers, religious leaders and friends must model and teach the characteristics, guiding their students in acquiring and enacting the characteristics. We must show students how to take responsibility for their lives so that they can live meaningful lives as productive, contributing citizens. We can show our students how to light their own fires, provide light and excitement to people around them, and contribute to society in beautiful, meaningful ways.