ID-2-ID Deliverable: Glenn Johnson & Lindsey Kiraly’s Course Information Survey
Glenn Johnson and Lindsey Kiraly used their partnership in the program to focus on providing guidance to faculty and the course design process for online course revisions. Through the program, they developed a Course Information Survey, with the goal that responses will collectively lead to a more informed conversation of a plan for a course design or re-design.
The survey is broken into three components:
- General Course Information
- Course Overview
- Student Learning Outcomes
Glenn and Lindsey are sharing their Course Information Survey for other Instructional Designers who are partaking in an online course revision.
From all of us: Thank you, Glenn and Lindsey!
ID-2-ID Reflection: Beth Lease & Julie Meyer’s Active Learning Journey
The opportunity to meet my ID buddy gave me the opportunity to learn how they are approaching the Canvas Transition as well as other things that are happening in the design and delivery of courses. This also includes the approach the campus takes at delivering training and more.
Among the many things that were discussed, our focus towards the end of our ID 2 ID program was on Active Learning. We were able to compare active learning spaces on each of our campuses, strategies used by faculty in each space, technologies/features in each space, and student perceptions with each space. Faculty hesitations with each space were discussed as well.
In Class (f2f) | Online/Blended |
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Throughout the program, we were able to research two different articles related to active learning and one book, Promoting Active Learning. Among the vast amount of information regarding the topic, there were several main points that stood out. Since this approach is often different than what students are used to experiencing in their courses, it is very important that instructors plan out their day’s content ahead of time and to be prepared. Confidence from the instructor about the active learning activities the class will practice is among the most important things to happen during the class. The instructor may have to explain the importance of the day’s activities to the class and encourage the class to take part in those activities. Another main point that stood out is that not all students learn in the same ways, which makes it paramount for instructors to use various techniques to help the class in their active learning.
The opportunity to collaborate and brainstorm between ID’s from two different Commonwealth campuses was a unique opportunity in our own active learning. Our conversations often turned to how we can best approach Canvas, faculty development, active learning, and active learning statements. Together, we were able to find out information from each other about our respective campuses and make those connections to what we were researching and how we can apply it.
Beth Lease & Julie Meyer
ID-2-ID Joint Reflection: Zach & Jeff’s Grand Adventure
Written by: Zach Lonsinger and Jeff Puhala
Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
– John C. Crosby
As any grand adventure, our journey began shooting for the stars. We immediately agreed on creating a presentation based around our experiences working on the Canvas Project. The goal of this presentation was to create something that could also duel as a conference proposal/presentation. This goal lasted until our first in-person meeting at Starbucks. Over two highly-caffeinated beverages, we transitioned our focus to a research project that would examine the presence of an instructional designer(s) at each Penn State college and campus. Do colleges/campuses with instructional designers experience higher faculty satisfaction compared to colleges/campuses without any instructional design support? How does this factor into course development? Student engagement? All great questions, all very time consuming research!
Well, the caffeine wore off and the holidays arrived. Before we knew it, we were coming back from holiday break. Reenergized, we were ready to tackle our little monster of a research project! However, January was full throttle for the both of us. New semester meant new courses, and new courses meant an influx in Canvas trainings and course conversions. Trainings happened and courses were converted, we drank more coffee and one of us accepted and started a new position (keep reading to find out who!), and then it was February. Whoops. What about our research project?! It’s a good thing the Horizon Report is published in February.
Zach: “Let’s do a shared reading and blog reflection on the Horizon Report.”
Jeff: “Great idea. We could even compare it to our current work on the Canvas Project.”
Zach: “There’s even a section on ‘Next-Generation LMS’. Perfect.”
And now here we are, drinking what may or may not be coffee, illustrating our grand adventures through this wonderful program. So, what did we do? Here are some more over-caffeinated thoughts on our ID-2-ID experiences. Enjoy!
Our collaboration has been unique because we both worked on the Canvas Project. Jeff served as a trainer at the beginning of the mentorship program and Zach served as an instructional designer. The joint collaboration led to increased productivity in training, course conversion, and networking across Penn State.
During our mentorship experience, we met in person and talked frequently at Canvas training sessions, which Jeff led and Zach assisted, through email and on Yammer chat. During one event, we had the privilege to travel together to the Worthington-Scranton campus with a third Canvas team member for a training session. The combination of in-person and virtual conversations led to a rich experience.
Our conversations revolved around job searching and the skills and training needed by an instructional designer to successfully find a full-time position. While Zach served in a temporary role as an instructional designer, Jeff was in a temporary role as a trainer. We spoke frequently about the skills needed to transition from trainer to instructional designer. Jeff completed LDT415A through the Penn State World Campus and used Zach’s exemplar project, included in the course, to learn how to design training materials and academic courses using the Dick Carey and Carey model, or ADDIE. Jeff’s team project received a near perfect score at the end of the semester and introduced him to the development process used in the instructional design setting.
The continual conversations and mentorship paid off. Jeff applied for an instructional designer position at the College of Nursing, where Zach used to work as an instructional production specialist. Jeff was able to learn about the College of Nursing through Zach’s positive experiences as an instructional production specialist. As part of the interview process, Jeff used the LDT 415A final project as part of the requested work sample. The College of Nursing offered Jeff the position, which he accepted and now works at full-time.
Zach continued to collaborate with Jeff in his new role. The College of Nursing course conversion was underway; however, prior to Jeff’s arrival, the College of Nursing did not utilize the services of TLT where Zach served as an instructional designer. Collaboration between the TLT course conversation team and the College of Nursing is underway at the time of this writing. This collaboration went smoothly due to the relationships developed in the ID-2-ID program.
We believe the ID-2-ID program can benefit both the mentor and mentee. While Zach helped Jeff with training sessions, Zach also developed and delivered his first online and in-person training session, and his first conference presentation. Zach tapped into Jeff’s reservoir of conference experiences, as Jeff has presented at multiple conferences. Our conversations were a key element in the success of Zach’s first presentations. These experiences and conversations expanded Zach’s skillset as an instructional designer and trainer. We still plan to co-present at a future conference.
We are thankful to have been paired together. Our skillsets were different, but complimentary. We learned from each other and advanced our careers. We are proud to have been associated with the ID-2-ID program and look forward to continued collaboration.
2015-2016 Participant Testimonials
See what participants of the 2015-2016 program said were the key elements of being a part of the ID-2-ID program:
Feeling of Support
“The most helpful aspect of working with my partner in the ID2ID program is the feeling of support. Most often I feel like I’m the “blind leading the blind.” Our faculty members are not trained in research in teaching and learning. Although I have some schooling in research, I feel that I have only scratched the surface and have many questions. The new IRB web application platform caused me to come to a screeching halt in conducting one research project (a definite missed opportunity). I’m eager to begin that process again. The difference, this time, is that I have a willing ear to listen to and answer and help me bridge the gaps.”
Paired Based on Interests
“And the key to this is to pair up people who have the same interest in learning, same positive attitude toward changes, and the same curiosity to expand/share one’s own knowledge base. I am glad I have seen all from my partner. Our primary job responsibilities are not the same, but interestingly, the broad spectrum of what we do kept us going. We never ran out of topics in our Zoom meeting, only out of time.”
Connect with New IDs
“I value this ID 2 ID program as a way to connect with new ID across the commonwealth and gleaning ideas and experiences from other campuses. By having our scheduled meetings, it was an excellent way to ‘force’ these conversations when often time our own development is sacrificed to help others.”
Working on Projects Together
“Our main accomplishment this semester has been to build a scenario involving a think-pair-share model that I could use during an instruction session. We built our model around the idea of helping students to formulate a manageable research question for their assignments and decided to use Poll Everywhere to facilitate it. It was really beneficial to think this process through with my partner and consider all the angles and possibilities.”
Sharing Friendship and Desserts
“ We interact often and in varied ways, using various technologies, and have presented and laughed together. It is a good match for achieving goals and sharing what I have learned in the last 30 yrs with the institution. This is short and sweet, but a good summary of our relationship. It will continue beyond the mentoring period. My partner and I continue to enjoy this new-found friendship. Besides, she makes good applesauce…..”
ID-2-ID: Program Changes and Application for 2016-2017
Greetings!!
We understand that this is going to be a challenging year for instructional designers at PSU with so many involved in the Canvas conversion. Yet, we didn’t want to “pause” the ID2ID program simply because of time constraints, as the connections made through ID2ID partnerships might also be a source of welcome support during this year. So we took this into consideration, as well as your feedback from previous years, and we’ve come up with something that we think represents a good balance between time required and value-added to be offered within a simpler format!
Changes for 2016-2017 Program Year
Here is a brief summary of the changes to the program for this year:
- Shorter time frame – The program will kick off in early October and end with a session in mid-April. There will be one professional development opportunity in January
- All joint gatherings will be held remotely via Zoom
- Fewer pairing options for this year – All IDs will simply be paired with one another, so no one feels they have to assume a “formal” mentoring role this year
- Simplified deliverables:
- MOU from your supervisor will still be required (So you get credit for your efforts!)
- Pairs get to choose the kind of deliverable they’d like to complete for the program! You can choose from the following, or suggest your own idea!
- Joint final reflection posting to a blog
- Summary of lessons learned from a shared reading
- Completing a project together and sharing lessons learned
- Presenting your a-ha’s and experiences at the final gathering
- Other
Think about the deliverable as a” show and tell”. You’ll just need to share out what you found valuable from the program. Make the deliverable you choose meaningful for you and your partner!
Application for 2016-2017 Program Year
The 2016-2017 Application opens Friday, August 12 and ends Friday, September 9.
To apply to participate in this year’s program, complete the 2016-2017 ID-2-ID Application Form.