Ways I Experienced Instructional Design & Technology In My Personal, Academic, and Professional life?
Hector Dueñas Jr.
St. Thomas University
EDT-600-AP1 Introduction To Instructional Technology
Dr. Linda M. Howard
June 30, 2022
St. Thomas University
EDT-600-AP1 Introduction To Instructional Technology
Dr. Linda M. Howard
June 30, 2022
For the last 20 years, the author has worked in two roles; as a pastor of a small church and for the Division of Instructional Technology at Miami-Dade County Public Schools. During this time, one contention has always been how best to use graphics in instructional design and presentation media such as web pages. The push has historically been to load any form of delivery media (i.e., webpage or presentation) with lots of words to educate the audience. However, some might argue that the purpose of excessive words in a presentation could be to allow the presenter to read from the slides. Personal observation has led this author to conclude that content delivery using graphics makes learning more enjoyable and engaging. Studies support this observation “students who received any kind of graphic produced significantly higher satisfaction ratings than the no graphics group, indicating that adding any kind of graphic greatly improves positive feelings.” (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p. 1–1).
The two camps of thought are; first, the more words are better, and second, the more graphics are better. This author's personal bias leans more toward concepts learned in reading Slide: ology by Nancy Duarte. As Nancy Duarte says in her excellent book on presentations, “We groan when we have to attend a meeting with the slide deck as the star.” (2008, p. xviii) The central goal must be front-and-center during the entire process of developing the media to communicate that goal clearly and in an engaging fashion. “Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic, or whatever else you are). If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures then cancel the meeting and send in a report” writes Seth Godin in “Really Bad Powerpoint. ”
Experience as a preaching pastor (essentially a public speaker) has allowed the author to theorize and test various graphic styles in presentations. Personal anecdotal experience has demonstrated that unless chosen properly, random or non-optimal use of graphics could be distracting and even negatively affect learning retention. In other words, strategic graphics can be compelling for engagement and learning retention. As a case in point, in a recent study comparing various forms of graphics with the same core content, “students who received instructive graphics performed significantly better than the other three groups, indicating that the relevance of graphics affects learning outcomes” (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p. 1–1).
So to wrap up this introduction, personal experience as a small church pastor and working for the Division of Instructional Technology at Miami-Dade County Public Schools has gained this author insight into graphics, technology, and communication skills.
So to wrap up this introduction, personal experience as a small church pastor and working for the Division of Instructional Technology at Miami-Dade County Public Schools has gained this author insight into graphics, technology, and communication skills.
The two camps of thought are; first, the more words are better, and second, the more graphics are better. This author's personal bias leans more toward concepts learned in reading Slide: ology by Nancy Duarte. As Nancy Duarte says in her excellent book on presentations, “We groan when we have to attend a meeting with the slide deck as the star.” (2008, p. xviii) The central goal must be front-and-center during the entire process of developing the media to communicate that goal clearly and in an engaging fashion. “Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic, or whatever else you are). If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures then cancel the meeting and send in a report” writes Seth Godin in “Really Bad Powerpoint. ”
Experience as a preaching pastor (essentially a public speaker) has allowed the author to theorize and test various graphic styles in presentations. Personal anecdotal experience has demonstrated that unless chosen properly, random or non-optimal use of graphics could be distracting and even negatively affect learning retention. In other words, strategic graphics can be compelling for engagement and learning retention. As a case in point, in a recent study comparing various forms of graphics with the same core content, “students who received instructive graphics performed significantly better than the other three groups, indicating that the relevance of graphics affects learning outcomes” (Sung & Mayer, 2012, p. 1–1).
So to wrap up this introduction, personal experience as a small church pastor and working for the Division of Instructional Technology at Miami-Dade County Public Schools has gained this author insight into graphics, technology, and communication skills.
So to wrap up this introduction, personal experience as a small church pastor and working for the Division of Instructional Technology at Miami-Dade County Public Schools has gained this author insight into graphics, technology, and communication skills.
References
Duarte, N. (2008). slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations (1st ed.). O'Reilly Media.
Sung, E., & Mayer, R. E. (2012). When graphics improve liking but not learning from online lessons. Computers in human behavior, 28(5), 1618–1625.
Sung, E., & Mayer, R. E. (2012). When graphics improve liking but not learning from online lessons. Computers in human behavior, 28(5), 1618–1625.
