In previous posts, our team has discussed the importance of designing courses with the students in mind. However, instructional designers should also consider the needs of the faculty while designing courses, especially their cognitive load. Developed by John Sweller in 1988, cognitive load theory notes that each of us has a mental schema (i.e., knowledge base) developed from “a series of structures that enable us to solve problems and think. It also allows us to look at several different elements within a lesson or experience and treat those elements as just one whole element” (Pappas, 2024). However, our minds can only retain so much information. When our mental schemas become overwhelmed with too much information, we experience cognitive overload.
Continue reading “Designing Courses with Faculty Cognitive Loads in Mind”Category: Uncategorized
Creating eLearning Solutions Using OBS Studio
eLearning problems; eLearning solutions
This blog post is written in collaboration with Kyle, Instructional Media Support.
Last Fall, Kyle and I tested five different instructional technology tools, and we have been eager to use these technologies to assist with eLearning team projects. In January, Tara, Lead Instructional Designer and assistant professor at Spring Arbor University (SAU), asked for help clarifying expectations for a major group presentation assignment in her History 221: Black Experience in America course. She needed to communicate the links between the expectations outlined in the syllabus and rubric to a sample presentation provided to students. With these requirements in mind, we chose OBS Studio to best support Tara and her students.
Continue reading “Creating eLearning Solutions Using OBS Studio”Designing with Timelines in Mind
Many components of higher education remain consistent through time; however, some changes have occurred to how the material gets presented and delivered, which have now altered the way people understand learning in this context. One change in the learning experience has been the increase in options for the length of a course.
Continue reading “Designing with Timelines in Mind”The Basics of Video Editing
You’ve recorded your lecture or instructional video, and now you need to edit it into something you can share with your students. With the complex elements and tools involved, the process to convert a simple recording into a full-fledged video can seem intimidating or daunting. While the technical side of editing can be very complicated, it’s a very simple and straightforward process.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the basics of video editing. Whether you’re learning editing for yourself or just interested in understanding the process, this post will give you an overview some of the elements of video editing basics. I’ll use Adobe Premiere Pro as our example, but video editing software like Camtasia, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve have similar features. So, without any further ado, let’s begin!
Continue reading “The Basics of Video Editing”Creating Accessible Learning Materials — Microsoft Excel
Hey there! Ready to continue learning about how to make your course materials accessible? In keeping with our theme thus far, we’ll look at another program in the Microsoft Office Suite–Excel.
Continue reading “Creating Accessible Learning Materials — Microsoft Excel”How Much Is Too Much?: A Look at Tool Use in an Online Course
We’ve all done it. A new tool gets introduced, and we find several ways it can be applicable to the lessons we teach all in the pursuit of making sure the ways we present information to our students are relevant, interesting, efficient, and current. But is this actually helpful? Do our students get a better experience when we introduce the latest programs, software, and technologies?
Continue reading “How Much Is Too Much?: A Look at Tool Use in an Online Course”Limited by Modality
Many conversations addressing education lately have returned to the way various designers, instructors, learners, and stakeholders define a particular modality and its effectiveness. Some individuals focus on a modality’s apparent constraints instead of its affordances as an excuse to do less or remain stagnant, while others view the very same limitations in addition to the modalities strengths as a way to explore more options for how to reach learning goals in a new way.
Continue reading “Limited by Modality”Looking Through a Learning Tool
There is a spectrum of opinion about online learning, inclusive of two polar opposite sides in the discussion: it’s either new and exciting and every course should be online, or it is a scary new technology that destroys the personal communication essential for a “good class.” As I consider this debate, something that both groups should realize is that it’s easy to fall into the trap of defining instruction through the use of a tool, rather than realizing there is an inherent separation between the instruction and the tool. Today I’ll explore the differences and how this separation impacts our design.
Continue reading “Looking Through a Learning Tool”From Instructional Design to Learning Design
Student-Centered Design
Back in 1997, I was a member of the Ed Tech faculty at Northern Arizona University. We had decided to move our Masters of Educational Technology online—and did what an inexperienced faculty without support would do.
We took our face-to-face curriculum and put it online.
It went about as well as you would expect.
Continue reading “From Instructional Design to Learning Design”Going the Extra Mile: Understanding Non-Traditional Students
When thinking about the demographics of students currently enrolled in colleges and universities, we often first consider traditional students, between ages 18-24. However, enrollment trends in traditional, blended, and online programs are revealing that nontraditional students, those ages 25 and older, are becoming more and more prominent in the classroom. Today I want to discuss the dynamics of nontraditional students, the pressures they face, and what it means to go the extra mile in order to understand their needs and enable them to succeed.
Continue reading “Going the Extra Mile: Understanding Non-Traditional Students”
Model eLearning 
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