Reflection The concept map for me was something that I used to organise my personal ideas and chart how

I would link topics when planning for a given school term. It was always something personal that never went beyond my desk. It was never something that I saw as an evaluation tool nor did I welcome it as one. Having to complete two for this course has highlighted the usefulness of this element as a learning tool. Novak states in his article that Concept maps are tools for organizing and representing knowledge and this exercise proves one more time the importance and effectiveness of prior knowledge to learning and instruction. This concept map led me to activate and assess my prior knowledge in the areas of distance learning, instructional technology and instructional design. Prior knowledge is always the port of entry and foundation upon which new learning is structured. The journey through this course and having to do this exercise highlight that gaps in the area of instructional design have been filled and that my understanding of this area has indeed been augmented. Every course of study ought to leave a mark on its participants in some way. The material covered in this course has deepened my understanding of the theory of instructional design through exposure to the fact that a vast array of models or permutations thereof exist beyond ADDIE, ARCS and Blooms Taxonomy. It must also be said that knowledge in this area has been made permanent in my psyche as a result of having to create a model of my own. The creative process managed to close the door left ajar by trying to figure out how to meaningfully integrate technology into the curriculum. This course has also confirmed many areas of my practice including but not limited to proper and detailed planning as indicated by many researchers and theorists. Overall I would say that my schemata relevant to instructional design have been reorganized and it has been confirmed that every teacher is in fact an instructional designer. To conclude, it is also clear the areas under study in this assignment though distinct in terms of theory, are interconnected. Instructional Design determines the approach, Instructional Technology determines the means by which the approach is delivered to those who have chosen to take up a course of study via the opportunity afforded by the concept of distance learning. Sources Novak, J (n.d). The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How To Construct Them. Retrieved 08 April, 2014 from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/SUSE/projects/ireport/articles/concept_maps/The%20Theory%20 Underlying%20Concept%20Maps.pdf