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Activity 4: Blog Reflection: Analysis and Design

Part 1

What have you learned from analysis?

When I first approached my client about this project, I was very excited and thought I understood what this client was wanting and what she was envisioning.  We had our first meeting and after gathering information, I was left with more questions than answers.  I thought maybe I had not controlled the flow of the first meeting in a way that would have been more beneficial to the both of us.  During my second meeting, my client seemed overwhelmed with the situation.  I left that meeting with a pile of old paper forms and documents and after analyzing the paper content, I was reminded of the black box diagram, where the designer is left to deduce the purpose of the black box by comparing the input (old course documents) with the output (what the instructor needs to happen). 

What are you planning to do with it?

By our third meeting and through back and forth emails, we seemed to be in agreement in the direction and shape this course should be going.  Our learning objectives became clearer and we started working on converting static paper forms into electronic forms.  Because this is an ongoing course, we had to start posting some of the electronic documents in the online course.  Had I not gone through the needs analysis process, I would have been completely lost.
Brainstorming

In order to keep up with this ongoing course, we have to start uploading the forms and video recordings.  We will need to try to keep at least one week ahead of the course content.  We will need to communicate with the students on a weekly basis and remind them of the work to be completed.  I will start looking at the possibility of incorporating actual surveys.

Part 2

How are analysis and design related for you?

Design cannot happen without first doing an analysis of what is needed and why is needed.  One must also analyze how best to design the content/course so that it meets the needs of the students and the instructor.  Once a complete needs analysis is finalized, the design should be easy to develop.  Therefore, design cannot happen without analysis first.

Think about it in the context the articles and chapters we have read thus far. How closely should these two pieces of the model connect?

These two pieces of the model are extremely connected.  It is important to analyze the problem, in order to come up with a solution.  Depending on the analysis findings, an instructional design approach might be better than other alternatives.  The systems approach suggests (Romiszowski, 1981) that in order to “identify the training or educational needs,” one must first define the problem, analyze the needs, and design the instructional methods (p. 18).

How does the Information R/Evolution video affect each of these?

I thought the video was creative and thought the constant movement of the camera for the first minute or so, kind of reflects the way real life is, chaotic and shaky at times.  I also thought how the text content constantly changed from one thing to another reflects the constant changes and adjustments we all have to make as technology changes on us.  I thought the point of the video was very clear, everything is changing.  The idea of the video seemed to have been carefully analyzed and designed with a specific purpose.

References


Rominszowski, Alexander J. (1981).  Designing Instructional Systems.  New York:  Nichols. Chapters 1, 2 and 9.

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