Professional Documents
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ID Project No. 1
Use of Blackboard
Abstract:
This is an instructional design project for the learning management system tool,
Blackboard. This project includes four parts of the ID - learning context analysis,
learning analysis, learning task analysis, and learning assessment. This project
also provides an ID model and a rational for the design.
Farnoush H. Davis
Boise State University, Ed Tech Dept.
10/20/2009
Selected Topic
Use of a learning management system (Blackboard)
chose the ASSURE model which was presented by Heinich, Molenda, Russell and Smaldino in
1999. Since this is a face-to-face training workshop and it also presents utilizing technology
tools, the ASSURE model provides these essentials. This model is a classroom-oriented and
focuses on media and technology. ASSURE is an acronym for Analyze learners, State objectives,
Select and Utilize media and materials, Require learner participation, and Evaluate and revise.
This model starts out with a thorough learner analysis including the learners’ attributes and
learning styles. For this particular classroom and lesson subject, we require a model which
emphasizes learner analysis and setting up the objectives. The reason is that the instructional
designer needs to gather some personal and professional information of the teachers to meet their
needs. Moreover, the emphasis on the outcomes helps the instructional designer to set up
appropriate objectives that fit the learners’ goals. In order to have effective learning, the learners
need to interact in the process, and this model provides this participation.
The abovementioned reasons were the critical issues for this instructional design, however, other
components of this model such as utilizing media and evaluation methods impact the teaching
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Analysis of the Learning Context
In order to teach the use of Blackboard, we have been asked to design a 3-hour workshop. Since
this is a computer application, we require facilities with computers and internet accessibility.
This requirement has been confirmed, however, we are limited to 40 computers in the largest lab.
Since we have 160 teachers with only 40 computers we need an area with enough space for
group work. The table arrangement should be in a fashion where we can have one computer for 4
users. Since this may be the first experience that many of the participants have had with
Blackboard, the instruction should be designed using an instructor who can show and
demonstrate the features for everyone, and still allow the learners to follow and use the same
functions at their own workstations. The distribution of teachers at each table should include a
range of novice to expert, in order to provide more effective interaction between the users.
We already know the following facts: we will be instructing 160 K-12 teachers, their computer
skills may not be at a level for more detailed or advanced instruction and we need to incorporate
hands-on activities. We also know that we have most of the technology that we need, however,
having additional tools will help to make the instruction more thorough.
• Does the computer area have a projection screen and instructor terminal?
• Are the 40 computer stations large enough to have 4 students at each one?
• Can the arrangement of the computer area be changed or the stations moved?
Depending on the answers we may need to change the instruction for a shorter time period, as
having only one student per computer would force us to shorten the design to allow everyone a
chance to practice. This would also mean that we would need to find other activities for the
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students who are not on the computer to do. If we are limited by the arrangement of the computer
stations we might ask if it is acceptable to have three shorter sessions and divide the teachers into
groups. For technical questions we will ask the computer facilitator for the location. The
questions about the course length and number of students that can be trained at the same time
Plan:
At this point of designing the instruction, it is critical to know who our target audiences are.
Every learner is a unique individual; however, there are some characteristics in which an
instructional designer can build their assumptions to meet the learners’ needs as much as
possible. We should also select the most important characteristics which affect the learning tasks
we are going to choose and our target audience in particular. According to the ASSURE model,
analyzing the learner is considered the initial step of designing because other steps of the
instruction are based on it. We want to create successful training with efficient materials and
effective methods to meet our learners’ expectations and learning goals. Some important
attributes, which can be either similarities or differences between the learners, need to be
considered, such as learning styles, cognitive styles, prior knowledge, social characteristics, and
motivation. To obtain this information we need to accomplish assessment of the learners through
interviewing and surveys. While we can assume some basic information about the teachers who
will participate in this training, for instance, all being from the same district with shared overall
goals and procedures and similar social attitudes and behaviors from their students, there are
many important variables that should be measured if we can. We need to prepare a survey with
relevant questions to provide specific information about the learners’ level of knowledge and
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experience with technology tools, personal and social characteristics, and their goals of taking
this intensive training. We also need to set up an interview with the principals and school
officials of the district to gather information regarding the teachers’ backgrounds and current
state of computer technology knowledge. The information that we get from the administrators is
actually a backup resource in case not all of the teachers complete the survey. Both of these
information sources should be completed at least one month prior to the scheduled workshop to
allow time to design the training to meet the needs of this specific audience. This is important
because every district has individual situations where technology is either already in use or is
hardly used at all. The training must be designed in a way that all of the teachers can understand
the ideas that are presented and also be able to use the resources to apply what they have learned.
Survey:
* The online form of this survey is available here.
2. What type of skills do you desire to obtain at the end of this workshop?
3. Of the following different learning styles, which one(s) matches you the best?
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5. As a teacher how are you going to use Blackboard in your class?
7. How many of your students own a computer and have access to the internet?
9. What type of online tools have you used in your classroom? Which one do you prefer to work
with?
10. What type of assessment helps you to evaluate your learning the best?
11. How do you currently use technology in your classroom? (check all that apply)
12. Provide a list of significant and relevant information – personal and professional – which
may impact your learning results of this workshop.
Survey Report:
Out of 160 teachers we received 140 competed surveys. That means that we do not have specific
pieces of information including learning styles, personal goals, and background knowledge of
almost 1/8 of the participants. However, the remaining 7/8 of the participants provided good
Based on the given responses, the majority of teachers are either able to work with computers
and technology applications or are very expert in the field (Figure 1). In addition, a number of
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teachers are already utilizing and integrating technology tools in their classrooms. However,
there are teachers who know very little about technology applications. This small percentage
somewhat relates to their instruction fields which do not require them to learn or their school
Figure 1
Computer Ability
Little Some Good Capable
30% 9% 22%
39%
This chart also provides information on the participants’ background knowledge and how
experienced they are in using technology, especially online tools like LMS (Blackboard).
The graphic below (Figure 2) shows that most of the participants learn more effectively by doing
hands-on exercises, group work, and visual materials. This is important to know because we had
to put the learners in groups of four as a result of the computer facility workstation shortage. The
10% auditory audiences explain that instruction should be less lecture and have more practical
training.
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Figure 2
Learning Style
Visual
30% 32% Auditory
Social
Physical
10%
28%
The results of the survey indicate that most of the teachers were interested in this workshop
because they wanted to use computers and online technology more in their classrooms, since
99.9% of their students have the ability to work with computer applications and have access to
high speed internet. However, ¼ of the teachers stated that they were taking this training because
it was required by the district. We can assume that the participants are motivated enough to
create a collaborative high intermediate training workshop to present the needed skills and
information.
Learning Goal:
At the end of the workshop the learners would be able to design a basic lesson in Blackboard.
Task Analysis:
* In the following flowchart we assume that the district has already bought Blackboard
administration for the schools’ and teachers’ use. Therefore, the presented task order is not for
Blackboard free trial.
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Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the main elements of Blackboard.
2. Sign up and log into Blackboard.
a. Create user accounts for students and enroll them
b. Create user account for observers (peers/instructor)
3. Format the appearance of the lesson Web page(s) to reflect four principles of online
design.
(1) Contrast
(2) Repetition
(3) Alignment
(4) Proximity
Assessment is a critical component of a successful teaching and learning process since it should
directly address the learning outcomes. Based on the practical concept of the topic and the
appropriate evaluation for this workshop, where the learners will each have to design a very
assessment. The learner will not only demonstrate their abilities to perform the skills with the
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knowledge they have obtained, but the instructor’s feedback will also help them to learn about
The learners will be graded not only on the necessary components that Blackboard provides but
also on the principles of graphic design, like contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity. The
basic things that they must demonstrate in their lesson in Blackboard are:
• A “course” title
I chose each area because it is a basic component of every course. No matter what subject a
teacher much teach and no matter what level they have to teach at, the things I have listed on the
rubric will be important to them all. Since the assessment is the demonstration of things they
have learned, I also needed to make each item specific enough to score but also flexible so that
students can be creative with their solutions. For some of the steps in the Blackboard rubric they
only need to follow instructions, like enrolling the student or creating a grade book. I tried to
keep the basic instructions to only a few areas in the rubric because if the learners follow the
steps they should have no trouble creating the framework of their course. However, once they get
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to that point they need to use the tools available to be creative with the rest of the content, which
include:
• Teacher/staff information
• Discussion room
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Assessment Rubric:
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References:
Gustafson, K.; Branch, R. (2002). Survey of Instructional Development Models, ERIC
Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, New York.
Smith, P., & Ragan, T. (2005). Instructional Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Dawley, L. (2007). The Tools for Successful Online Teaching. Information Science Publishing.
Jonassen, D., & Land, S. (2000). Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environment. Mahwah,
New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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