MicroLearning Sample
LDT100x Instructional Design and Technology: Learning
Theories
Published: Oct. 31, 2019
Learners were instructed to identify a
technology tool they wanted to learn more about, such as an app,
software or other authoring tool to support work or as a designer.
Learners were to contemplate the learning theory employed and why
they it is effective or not effective.
Reflection:
Identify the tool, add a URL if online,
and a short description of why you picked it.
I chose BookCreator.
I was especially intrigued by two things:
- The portal page contained a rather
comprehensive video that truly showed the tool's capabilities
(despite loud, obnoxious background music). I find that the portal
pages of MANY tools will tell you almost nothing before collecting
your contact information via registration. How can I know I want
to use the tool when I have virtually no information about it? The
presence of content that helped me choose was indeed one of the
reasons I chose it.
- The tool is targeted to students,
suggesting it is very easy to use. This presumed ease-of-use was
almost a drawback because I'm not certain that I would, as an
instructional designer, use a tool meant for students to deliver
instruction to students. I would definitely suggest it as a tool
students could use for their class projects.
As I signed
in for the free trial, I immediately saw that BookCreator works only
on Chrome. I have Chrome but rarely use it.
A couple of
weeks after signing up for Book Creator, I sat down to create my
project on it. The dashboard for doing so is very stark, and the
only buttons or controls on it are My Books, Pages, Undo, a plus
sign (+), a lower-case i, and a right arrow.
I liked the
fact that not only is Google Image Search integrated with
BookCreator, but the results are filtered so only those available
for public use appear.
I learned by
trial-and-error that for a page with both an image and text, the
image must be uploaded first.
I was
dismayed that very few choices are available for text, such as
color, size, and alignment. The cover-text font is the same size as
body text inside! I am guessing the sparse number of typographic
choices is related to the tool being targeted to young students.
Overall,
except for the cover with its too-small type, I was reasonably
satisfied with the final book I created.
Short
reflection on the learning theory or theories that supported
learning to use the new tool and why those approaches were
effective.
Seeking to to
bolster this reflection with research, I was very surprised at how
sparse the literature is on constructivism from the LEARNER'S
PERSPECTIVE.
I was a
constructivist learner for this project in that I did not sit back
and receive information.
I constructed
my knowledge of BookCreator through hands-on experience with it. I
formed questions. I created the experience of learning the tool by
using the tool. I developed strategies to figure out how perform
actions that were not obvious. I experienced minor roadblocks (e.g.,
learning that images had to be uploaded before text) that led to
reexamining the process and developing new paths and strategies.
I
drove my own process of HOW TO LEARN, constructing my own learning
through trial and error.