Questions for the field

Here is another item, similar to the Big Ideas. These are some key categories of questions for the field.

Questions for Instructional Design and Technology
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~bwilson/Trends/KeyQuestionsTable.pdf

I believe that questions can drive research and inquiry - but they also help to define the field. People with similar questions can form a community to help address or answer those questions. And the way questions are framed - that also helps to define a perspective can reinforce a community.

Like the Big Ideas list, these questions are out of context - no authors cited, no theories, no literature, no examples of illustrations. Just a list of questions I'm interested in understanding better, about the practice of our field.

Big ideas in IDT

A couple of years ago I developed a list of "big ideas" in the field of instructional design and technology. These are core principles that help define how people can learn with technology.

Here they are:

Big Ideas - Technology and Learning
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~bwilson/Trends/BigIdeas.pdf

The good thing is, having a list of principles in one place. The bad side - no references to theories, theorists, or the literature. They're out of context. And no graphics or examples to help make them concrete.

First outside connection

Class member Kirsten Morton has been out making contacts with other blogging professionals. Tony Karrer's eLearning Technology blog profiles our course activity in a recent post.

Thanks for Kirsten for her aggressive inquiry - It's good to connect with people outside our own circle!

Finding your voice

Instead of weekly threaded discussions, I have required students this term to create blogs and begin posting commentary and reactions to professional readings of their choice. Many of these students are starting their first semester in the program. I know this is asking a lot of them, and hope they don't feel overwhelmed.

One student, a second-year student more experienced with the technology, wrote me a note. It's not the technical part of blogging that has her hesitating – rather, it's putting her thoughts out there for the public to see. "I'm struggling to come up with any original content that is worth posting."

Most of us, once past elementary school, are our own most severe critics. I have always wanted to be a songwriter, but can't get past feeling that my lyrics are trite and obvious, and not worth someone actually singing. How do bloggers have the nerve to just put out their opinions, and not expect to be laughed at?

"I've always been a bit skeptical of blogs," she continues. "The more of them I read, the more I find that a lot of them are either redundant or too lacking in original/interesting content to be worthwhile."

The profusion of bad blogs – that could make it harder to participate. We don't want to be one of those bad blogs out there!

"I've always been hesitant to speak up unless I felt that I had something particularly valuable or profound to say, which has usually meant that I stay fairly quiet!"

Shyness isn't usually a universal thing. We keep quiet in some circles, and dominate others. We can laugh and be funny among friends, but clam up around someone we're trying to impress.

As a teenager I had a problem reading in public. By the second sentence I would be nervous and get all shaky-voiced, barely able to breathe. I was embarrassed, but I figured, hey these people don't hate me. Just finish the paragraph and give them some relief – they don't like listening to you anymore than you like getting nervous. So I never declined an invitation to read; I just lived with the shaky voice. Over the years the problem has become less noticeable, but it's still there in milder form.

Blogs must be like my reading problem – kind of embarrassing, but it's not going to stop me from asserting myself. With some practice I'll develop my voice, and come to feel comfortable sharing my opinion with anyone willing to read!