Utilization
“The act of using processes and resources for learning” (Seems & Richey, 1994, p.30). This domain involves matching learners with specific materials and activities, preparing learners for interacting with those materials, providing guidance during engagement, providing assessment of the results, and incorporating this usage into the continuing procedures of the organization.
The utilization stage occurs or focuses on how the learner will interact or engage with the learning materials, which I am guilty of never considering before this program and need to constantly pay attention to, even now, because I tend to assume that the learner will automatically know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it, especially when using technology that seems almost routine, like PowerPoint, for example. I believe that I wasn’t truly introduced to this stage until I took Applied ID theory, in which I designed an entire website in Dreamweaver, and was forced to provide the guided information and instructions so that my learners would know what to do as they interacted with the various videos, quizzes, images, and buttons I incorporated into each webpage to make it as interactive as possible and keep their attention. With the first draft of the website, it was clear that I assumed that my learners would just figure it out. However, after careful consideration of my learners, I reevaluated each page for my second and final draft and was able to provide detailed instructions to avoid confusion and allow the learners to interact as I had intended them to.
Media Utilization
"Media utilitzation is the systematic use of resources for learning" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p. 46).
I created this instructional video as a tutorial, using QuickTime's screen capture and Audacity, to help Virginia Tech students navigate and become better acquainted with PCalc, a software-based calculator downloaded to each desktop computer within the Math Emporium. The idea behind creating this wasn't one that came immediately as my colleagues and I had originally planned to develop a printed resource. However, after completing the Foundations of Instructional Design and Technology course and learning more about dual-coding, I persuaded everyone to let me create this video to better appeal to our audience. Overall, I was pleased with the final product because it led to less questions about the software and it was a resource that could be watched and rewatched.
Diffusion of Innovations
"Diffusions of innovations is the process of communicating through planned strategies for the purpose of gaining adoption" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p.46).
The goal of the research paper I submitted for Project and Report was to explore the effectiveness of lightboard videos on student learning and use the results to attempt to persuade the Math Emporium instructors, who don’t currently use lightboard videos to supplement their instruction, to change their views, and potentially give them a shot for future semesters. This research paper communicated the evolution of online learning, a breakdown of the Math 1114 course, and detailed information about how ligthboard videos can and are used for instruction, before exploring grades between two semesters and survey results in response to the use of lightboards for the Math 1114 course. In the end, the data didn’t make a strong enough case. However, it did effectively communicate this innovation, which could persuade instructors to at the very least consider the idea.
Implementation and Institutionalization
"Implementation is using instructional materials or strategies in real (not simulated) settings. Institutionalization is the continuing, routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of an organization" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p.47).
Following the move from in class instruction to online instruction in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, I created several studio spaces at the Math Emporium that could be used by faculty in the College of Science to film instructional materials, which included a light board studio that has continued to be in demand in the years that have followed. This is an example of one such video that was created for a section of multivariable calculus. In looking back on the impact that these videos have made, I am very proud of the work and effort I applied to implement this into several math courses at Virginia Tech because it allowed me to learn about a new piece of technology, while also creating new instructional materials that have only added to the courses that have chosen to use them.
Policies and Regulations
"Policies and regulations are the rules and actions of society (or its surrogates) that affect the diffusion and use of Instructional Technology" (Seels & Richey, 1994, p.47).
In order to be able to conduct research for the paper I completed in Project and Report, which entailed collecting survey data from students who had taken Math 1114 and had access to light board videos specifically designed to supplement their regular course materials, I had to submit a project description to the Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board for review and prove that I had completed training in human subject protection before being able to proceed with contacting these subjects. The Institutional Review Board ended up determining that I didn’t need further approval from the Virginia Tech Human Research Protection Program, however this process and the policies that support it directly affect how instructional technology is used from a research standpoint, which is very important.