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IDLT Creates Interactive Lessons and Training
Posted December 5, 2018
By: Jennifer Albat and Laura Million
Have you ever seen a really great interactive learning module and said, “I wish I could have that in my course!”? Now it can be a reality. The ITS Instructional Design & Learning Technologies group have been working on several modules already that have been beneficial not only to academic courses but to Springboard and other department training initiatives, as well.
Our first major project began with the Office of Admissions. They needed a learning module to accompany their Springboard experience that students and parents could use as a reference after attending the sessions. After this, word started getting around. Next up was Student Affairs with a training for their Cougar Guides. We also dabbled with this idea for an exploratory module to help students know if they are ready for online learning.
While we enjoyed working with departments on campus, we were hoping to find a purpose to build interactivity for academic courses. A recent biology course redesign provided that purpose. As a part of the redesign, we focused on specific learning gaps observed in past courses, such as students forgetting the steps for carrying out certain lab procedures. Bridging these gaps was the main goal behind creating learning materials for the course, including the enzyme activity lab. (Note: This example is ungraded, but creating grade-able activities is certainly an option!) This is what faculty member Katie Durbin had to say about the process of creating course materials with IDLT:
“We've been working with IDLT on creating online lab simulations for our freshmen majors course. They were so easy to work with, timely with a product, and welcome to adjustments in the simulation. I wasn't sure what to expect, but given a brief description and a video of a lab procedure they created exactly what we envisioned! The interactive simulation gives the students a chance to walk through the procedure before chemicals are involved. Students have a better idea of the overall purpose for the procedure and are more prepared for upcoming steps. IDLT made this possible with little assistance from us. Excellent service!”
We hope these examples have sparked an idea for your course or learning situation. Please know that projects like the ones linked above take anywhere from one month to over a year to complete, depending on the scope of the project. So, if you have an idea in mind, please reach out well in advance of your project deadline to get started.
Because interactive learning materials like these require a significant investment of time to create, we prioritize projects that are targeted to address specific learning gaps or challenges in teaching, especially those involving large classes where the learning material could be shared and reused overtime.
We would be happy to collaborate with you or your department on project ideas, discuss timelines, and show you additional examples of what can be done. Schedule a consultation online or call IDLT at 650-5500. Please provide a basic description of your idea or need.
