Concordia’s Ed Tech Program 50th Anniversary: An Instructional Designer’s Takeaways
I graduated from Concordia’s Educational Technology (Ed Tech) program with a master’s degree four years ago. During my studies, I did my internship at an online learning company and have worked there since. I was invited to the Ed Tech program’s 50th anniversary and was looking forward to catching up with the alumni community as well as discovering what current students have been working on. The anniversary programme was a four-day celebration comprised of workshops, an entrepreneurial symposium, and a two-day conference. This experience left a profound impression on me and I want to share with you my five major takeaways:
- Be an entrepreneur in your life
- Back it up with proof
- Prepare the instructor for the learner
- Redesign for an ever-changing world
- Going small won’t send you home anymore
1.Be an entrepreneur in your life
My first takeaway comes from the entrepreneurial symposium. Presenters Paul Cholmsky (LearnerKinetic, ExploreLearning), Lorne Novolker (GP strategies), Edouardo Rotondo (Studio 7), and Haidee Thanda (Hacking Health) shared what entrepreneurship means to them. Each had their own journey to success, from growing pains to failures and then, their first break that made history. Initially, I was skeptical as to the benefits the day would yield for me. My day-to-day responsibilities do not involve sales, budgets, or management. What was an entrepreneurial event going to do for me? However, after the symposium, I realized that while I am hardly ready to strike out on my own, I was inspired and motivated and felt the passion for my career reignited. I was reminded of the good our work can do by providing educational solutions for future generations as well as the people that we can reach through innovation and technology. As the panelists shared their various perspectives and advice on entrepreneurship, I internalized their words as encouragement to work towards more challenging goals, both as an individual and as a part of a business organism. There was a consensus that being an entrepreneur meant striving to do better and taking advantage of every opportunity to do so. We can apply the lessons of entrepreneurialism to becoming an “entrepreneur” within the workplace. Though that does not describe traditional entrepreneurship, it creates the potential for initiating positive change and being an asset to company growth. This can be accomplished by becoming a leader, pushing boundaries, embracing innovation and reinvention, and welcoming collaboration.
2. Back it up with proof
My second takeaway was inspired by keynote speaker Patti Shank PhD., CPT (Learning Peaks LLC) and Paul Cholmsky (LearnerKinetic, former VP R&D, ExploreLearning). Patti Shank kicked off the conference with the presentation “What’s Science Got to Do With It?” Shank discussed how science and fact-based evidence is integral in the field of education. Paul Chomsky’s roundtable presentation “Here’s to the First 50 years of Ed Tech… Now, get ready for the next!” reiterated some elements of what Shank presented, including that data is key to backing up our work. Chomsky focused his talk on big data and the viable use of such research. Too often, we get pulled into the latest trends; however, it is important we discern between legitimate praise and hype rhetoric. Educators and instructional designers should not rely on trends to provide good instruction, but instead question and investigate the theory and application of practices in order to ensure the best outcome – regardless of the vehicle used. Data and evidence-based research should be used to reinforce our strategies as well as to help us redesign when our strategies fall short.
3.Prepare the instructor for the learner
My third takeaway focuses on our goal as instructional designers: to impart the best learning experience possible. A critical component of this includes properly preparing trainers, facilitators, moderators, and instructors to meet this goal. When designing and developing a learning program or training, the major concern is ensuring the final product allows the learner to attain the intended objectives. Much of what we are taught to focus on is the audience – the learners. The question then becomes how we ensure moderated learning is delivered in a way that best optimizes learning. The importance of training the trainer (or instructing the instructor in my case), should be something we consider more often. In their presentation “Lessons learned from preparing educators to guide learners through a social innovation challenge” Ivan Ruby (Concordia University), Ann-Louise Davidson (Concordia University), Jorge Sanabria Zepeda (UDGVirtual), and Ben Douek (Concordia University) demonstrated the benefit to facilitators when they participated in the same activities as their future students. By taking part in the workshop, educators were able to gain first-hand understanding of the challenges students face as well as how to overcome these common obstacles. Whether it be the SME, a designated instructor, or the instructional designer themselves, it is essential that the individual or individuals chosen to impart information to learners are properly equipped with all the tools and strategies, including knowledge gained from experience, to assist learners in attaining their learning objectives.
4.Redesign for an ever-changing world
My fourth takeaway focuses on the challenge of redesigning. We must not forget that sometimes the old way is not the best way. In her presentation “Creating a new model for the reintegration of formerly abducted young mothers in Northern Uganda”, Michelle Savard (Concordia University) demonstrated the importance of reassessing programs. In her case, she found that the current NGO model for working with the women in this program toward reintegration was no longer successful. The old way that targeted training for the same three occupations was not helping women find their independence, but instead creating an overcrowded job market. Savard worked with a group of the women to address their needs as well as the changing needs of the community. The focus was on the giving the women the tools needed to create their own success and establish a place for themselves in their communities. Stefanie Corona (Institute for Co-operative Education, Concordia University) shared how she has been working to revamp Concordia’s Co-op program in her presentation “Shaping the future of work: Supporting international graduate students in securing employment through the Concordia Co-op Industrial Experience Program”. She examined gaps in the program that was created to help students get the full benefit of the internship experience and found that was in place was not meeting its goals. Regular reassessment is needed to ensure programs are up-to-date and relevant. We must be able to adapt and redesign as the obstacles learners face shift and change. Different challenges require different skills and programs need to be flexible and adaptive to meet the needs of the participants at any time.
5.Going small won’t send you home anymore
My final takeaway centers on the saying “go big or go home” or rather, the antithesis of this statement. In our field, microlearning has been trending for a few years now. While keynote speaker Patti Shank does not think the science behind the claims of ever-shrinking attention spans holds up, others argued, during the conference, that microlearning has its place and its benefits. Naomi Burton Macleod’s (Concordia University) “A Case study of Microlearning to support training transfer” and Alison Piper’s roundtable “The Five Ws of microlearning” argued for the selective use of microlearning. Microlearning is a way to refresh a learner’s knowledge. While small bursts of training are far more appetizing to learners than an hour of seat time – does that mean it automatically leads to successful learning? Burton Macleod highlighted that for microlearning to be effective in the transfer of knowledge, there needs to be an intent to transfer. During Piper’s roundtable discussion, microlearning was acknowledged as something many of us with a penchant for DIY engage in regularly via YouTube. For others, Google has become the mecca of just-in-time solutions for everyday problems. Seeking out microlearning is now common practice, but is normally user-initiated. In that case, how can we ensure user buy-in in a professional context? Perhaps it is a case of tapping into people’s regular habits to change the way learning and training is framed by making it a regular part of work culture.
Ed Tech’s 50th anniversary celebration was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with former students as well as to discover new trends in the field. I came away an inspired learning specialist – I feel invigorated and ready to tackle challenges with new ideas and inspiration! I can only imagine what the next 50 years in educational technology will bring us.