Before EDID6503

There was realization that my view was limited. Some research was needed to improve my view.

Assignment four started off as a journey and then it became a puzzle and finally it became the journey to build a puzzle. Why a journey? It was the instructions given for the presentation that made this assignment different from all of those before it. It said Using a presentation tool, you are to present your first concept map and your final concept map.

Your presentation must show: 1. How your knowledge changed (if it did) from the first to the second 2. At least four factors that influenced your second diagram 3. Reflections on how your knowledge has or has not change.

I thought, how much can a concept map on the same topic change, over this short space of time? Boy was I wrong!

I started the Concept Map journey by trying to group words associated with each field by itself but then as I reflected back on the weekly discussion and activities that began in January, some of the words began to overlap

and then I became perplexed as I reviewed my first concept map and discovered that some things place in one field may have been better suited in another field.

For instance in my old concept map, behaviorism was placed in Distant Learning only. Not that it doesnt belong there but now I think its place is also in Instructional Design.

This is when the building the puzzle part came in for the journey. Reflecting over the weeks of information received through group discussions and other activities on the forum

there was realization that my view of the three fields: instructional design, instructional technology and distance learning was limited and some research was needed to improve my view

With research and discussion the following four factors influenced completion of my second concept diagram:

Factor 1: Discussion on How people Learn Ormrod in her book tells us we should think of learning theories as dynamic, changing models of the learning process and inevitably these theories will be revised as new knowledge is gained. The learning process is to be marveled when we understand that consists of neurons that multiply at a rate of 50,000 to 100,000 per sec.

Despite the fact that I was unable to create on the Wikipedia page, being able to do the research and find out about Professor Otto Peters, (didnt know before) a pioneer of Distance Education was worth it.
Professor Otto Peters

Factor 2:

Hodges (2006) states that Instructional Design is a field that is often confused with Instructional Technology. Smith and Ragan (1999) define instructional design as a systematic and reflective process of translating principles of learning and instruction into plans for instructional materials, activities, information resources, and evaluation).

Even among experts in the field there appear to be blurs between the fields of Instructional Design and Instructional technology

Factor 3

While I was aware that there were design models available, I never knew there were so many until the weekly discussion on models

Factor 4

What I learned: Distance learning is dependent on both Instructional Technology and Instructional Design for transformation into 21st century and beyond.

http://arcmit01.uncw.edu/hodgesa/definitio n.htm http://www.weibnc.com/wpcontent/uploads/brkpdfs/Human-Learning5th-Edition-by-Jeanne-Ellis-OrmrodInternational-Version-Is-Identical-And-1-4The-Price.pdf