R541 Syllabus

R541 Instructional Development and Production I -- Design Thinking

SYLLABUS

Overview of the Course

Instructional Development and Production I: Design Thinking provides an integrative experience in design thinking which includes:

identifying and documenting design precedent via the in-depth description of a learning/performance intervention
shaping a design space and acting within it to produce rich communication
seeking, selecting and using resources and tools to support your design activity

The text for this course is: The Practical Guide to Information Design by Ronnie Lipton, 2007, John Wiley & Sons.

Objectives

In consultation with instructors and peers, you will identify and select an instructional or performance intervention to which you have sufficient access that you can document it in some detail.
With guidance from instructors and access to resources, you will document the selected intervention in terms of:

form and function as evidenced in the intervention
experiential qualities of the intervention
primary components of the intervention and their relationships
matches and mismatches between the design moves evident in the intervention and the likely goals of the intervention

Given feedback and access to supporting materials, you will use appropriate rich media to develop a documentary that communicates your descriptive study of this intervention.

Course Structure

You will produce four primary deliverables related to your main project: proposal, prototype, trial run and final documentary. These are spaced four weeks apart during the semester. You have the option to participate in class, and also in a development forum within Oncourse where instructors and peers will share questions and feedback relating to selecting projects, selecting and using tools, and clarifying expectations as projects get underway. You will be required to select and complete a minimum of eight tutorials via lynda.com, and to post a reflection after each one on the tutorials forum in Oncourse. You will also be expected to install a drop box (instructions below) which will be shared with the class and to post into it some new evidence of progress on your project once a week for comment/critique.

Part of your learning in the course is to establish, or to strengthen, the designerly habits of identifying relevant precedents within your field of practice and interrogating them as a means of extending your range as a designer. These habits will take concrete form in this class via your development of a documentary describing one complex precedent in detail and this documentary will require you to select and use tools for producing rich media. You will be provided tutorials via Indiana University's lynda.com license, links to other resources as available, and feedback/guidance in class. We expect you to use these resources, and others available in your local context, proactively and independently. Each of your documentaries will require a unique combination of media strategies, and developing these strategies is an additional component of your learning.

The Project

Choose an existing instructional or performance intervention to describe	Select one of the following from a context where you have both interest and sufficient access to be able to review the intervention in some detail: an instructional intervention ... you can choose something like a single course to be described in great detail, or something like a global training program from which you will select several salient samples for the most detailed components of your description a performance intervention ... this should be sufficiently complex that it requires some effort to describe, but also concrete or bounded enough that you will be able to convey its experiential qualities; a rollout of green initiatives worldwide in a manufacturing conglomerate may be a bit large, while new signage encouraging employees to smoke at a distance from a single building may be too small. Whatever your choice, the object of your description needs to be something that was consciously designed as an intervention with goals. Those goals do not have to be explicitly stated, but the purpose here is that you choose something which is occurring as the result of some design effort (use of video games in a classroom to teach math) rather than a phenomenon which is a byproduct of forces in society (video game playing in general). You will also be choosing a specific instance of intervention (video games in the classroom of Ms. Smith, 3rd grade math teacher in Hoboken) rather than a generalization about interventions (using video games in education). In other words, you will be describing something actually happening in a specific place as the result of someone or some team designing that intervention. Your description of this intervention will encompass, and focus on, these issues: form and function as evidenced in the intervention experiential qualities of the intervention primary components of the intervention and their relationships matches and mismatches between the design moves evident in the intervention and the likely goals of the intervention That is, you are looking at the intervention as an example of something designed and you are describing it in order to understand it as a designer. If you were describing it as a marketing specialist, a researcher, an administrator or manager, or an accountant you would pick out different aspects of the intervention or perhaps use different language to communicate about them. As your project progresses, many of the questions you get from an instructor may have to do with bringing this design perspective into clear focus.
Produce the documentary	The vehicle for your description will be a documentary lasting between 15-20 minutes. This can be a self-running presentation created as an interactive Flash module, a website, or a PowerPoint or Presi presentation for which you turn in both the materials and a recording of yourself presenting. While it is possible to create a complex description of a designed intervention via an illustrated text report, in this class we are asking for a documentary that employs rich media. You will have a wide range of options for the combination of media you use, and we will expect you to use the most appropriate media for the message you need to convey. For example, if you are documenting the frantic environment of the shipping dispatcher who is also trying to complete just-in-time training, we will expect that you provide video or audio of that environment. Whatever your selected intervention, you will be required to include at a minimum (B to B+ level): one instance of time-based media (video, audio, animation) lasting 30 seconds or more one instance of original photographic documentation some feature of the documentary requiring navigation by the presenter or the audience You should begin general planning for the documentary at the same time that you produce your proposal discussing the intervention you intend to describe. We will ask you to declare the intended audience for the documentary. As you do the investigation required to describe that intervention, you will also be considering the best ways to represent the experience and qualities of that intervention for the audience you have identified. This is a good place to make a connection between what you are doing in this class to your own professional situation or goals. You may decide that this documentary will cover a major program you have actually overseen on the job and that you will use it as a portfolio item. You may imagine that the documentary will describe a performance intervention that you want to promote to your own management, who would then be the audience for it. You may view the documentary as a form of scholarly, descriptive design case that could be presented at a conference. If you develop media now, or plan to do so, this part of the class project is also a chance for you to dig into the production tools and stretch those skills as far as you can. If you are not a media developer, or do not plan to be, this part of the project is intended to help you expand your options for communicating information in general and expand your understanding of the extent to which the choices made in representation via media interact with the more abstract decisions we make about analysis, evaluation and instructional strategies.
Self-study technology tutorials	Survey the offerings from lynda.com and complete a minimum of eight tutorials relevant to your own project over the course of the semester. For each one you will produce a reflection which you will post to the Tutorials forum in Oncourse. You must complete at least three of these by the midterm, but the schedule you follow is up to you. We expect that you will choose the tutorials based on your individual need and their relevance to the unfolding requirements of your documentary project. You may propose to your instructor that you complete up to four of the required eight tutorials form sources other than lynda.com. You will also be introduced to the specific tools available to you in the IST Suite where some of which have their own tutorials available. Make such a proposal prior to the last two weeks of class, and provide both a rationale for each alternative tutorial and a URL or reference for the source of that tutorial.
Self-study technology tutorials	Each reflection on a tutorial should include: specific reasons you chose that tutorial ("it was relevant to my project" is not specific enough) what did you already know in this area before you undertook the tutorial? (extent of your experience/knowledge; any relevant or related experience you brought to it) and what were your expectations coming in (expected it to be hard, easy, boring, to save my project ...) the experience you had with it (was it easy to use, confusing, time-consuming, ? did you have to augment with other materials? what did it help you to accomplish, specifically?) recommendation to others regarding this tutorial (general recommendation, caveats, warnings, tips for getting the most from it)

Feedback and critique

A major part of the learning support available in this course cannot be offered to you until you have actually taken action and begun your project. Your project will involve application of the resource materials to an individual situation in an appropriate way for that situation. This does not mean you make random, or purely personal, decisions only, but it does mean that you will not benefit very much from generalized principles until you are in the process of carrying out the work to which they apply.

You will receive the most detailed feedback in response to the four deliverables (proposal, prototype, trial run and final documentary). However, your project success will depend in part on your working continuously throughout the semester and part on just-in-time feedback/discussion of that work in progress. Therefore, you are required to file something new in your drop box that represents progress on your project every week of the semester. During a week when you have a primary deliverable due, that deliverable will be your "evidence of progress." In addition to the new material in the drop box each week, including the week of a deliverable, you need to visit the critique forum and post:

a very brief description of what the new material is
one or two critical questions you are grappling with relevant to the new material, or your current place in the project

We will review these postings and materials and often, although not every week for every person, respond with the most relevant commentary and discussion of principles we can muster. While we may sometimes contact you individually with this feedback, we will also post some of it to the forum. Your chances for learning are amplified when you can observe the questions, discussions and work in progress taking place around you in a class like this one. We will make every effort not to slam anybody in the public forum. At the same time, a key disposition in design is recognizing the value of dispassionate critique. We expect that exchanges in the forums are respectful, but we also expect to get down to the critical issues when necessary.

The function of designated class time will be utilized in two ways:

1. For orientation to the class during the first week
2. For demonstration of special concepts, tools, or procedures as advertised through announcements in Oncourse
3. To ask specific questions of the Instructor who will be available during class times on Monday and Wednesday
(a sign-up sheet will be available on Dr. Appelman's door such that discussions with individuals will be on a first-come first-served basis)

Deliverables

Proposal -- this needs to contain at minimum:

identification of the intervention you plan to describe, and the context in which it is currently being employed
discussion of the audience for the documentary and your plans for access to that audience for your trial run
sources of detailed information about the intervention that you plan to use and discussion of the access you have to those sources
practical planning information
your general timeline that you plan to use for completing the project
your backup or contingency plans

Prototype -- this can take many forms depending on the final format you plan for your documentary but should include at minimum:

a broad sketch of the documentary with at least one segment represented in enough detail that it is possible to imagine what the final form will look/sound like
detailed segments as required for a valid trial run with your audience; depending on media this may include:
sotryboards representing proposaed animations
mock-ups of data displays or timelines to see if they are clear to your audience
scripts or text drafts to be tested for acuracy and/or clarity

Trial Run -- you need to conduct one or more trial runs with people in your intended audience, or people who are very much like your intended audience. The deliverable for the trial run will include at minimum:

description of what you did in detail -- who was involved, what you showed them and asked them
concrete description of what data you collected -- what did people actually say or do during the trial run
detailed discussion of the revisions or adjustments you are making based on these trial runs
rationale for deciding that something went over well with the audience

Final Documentary -- this is it; the final form of the description you have created. if it is to be delivered live with support from a presentation tool, then you need to record yourself presenting it and turn in both the materials and the recording (in digital form). If it is to be self-running, you need to turn it in as a packaged format that is both self-running and that can be archived.

There are three kinds of deliverables in this class; each one needs to appear in a specific place, as follows:

project deliverables -- getdropbox folders
project progress -- getdropbox folders
tutorial reflections, project progress postings, general postings -- Oncourse forums

Using the "getdropbox" web utility

You may have noticed that you have received an invitation to join "Dropbox". You may go to the site by following that invitation link or by going directly to http://www.getdropbox.com .

Once at this site you can get an overview of what it is by viewing the video, creating an account (make sure you use your IU email address when creating this account), and downloading the dropbox software on your primary computer. What will happen is that a mirror image of the folders on-line will also be available on your own computer, and any time you drop something into your personal computer "dropbox folder", it will be uploaded and be available to everyone in class (but only to those instructors and students in our blended class).

Once you create your account you should be able to see an R541_SP10 folder.

Within this folder You should CREATE A FOLDER with your FIRST_LAST name as a title.

within the folder with your name on it you should CREATE 2 MORE FOLDERS entitled:

"ARCHIVE" and "CURRENT" (see the example provided by drBOB_Appelman)

Each week the instructor will be reviewing ONLY those items in the CURRENT folder, and the ARCHIVE folder is for your use as you develop and collaborate with other students.

Grading Criteria

10% each	proposal, prototype, trial run	interim deliverables are assessed by: flexibility of your approach as you define the problem space responsiveness to input and changing factors in the design itself increasing appropriateness in choice and use of methods, and choice and use of strategies degree of challenge to self based on your starting point rigor of the information collection, trials and protoyping processes you use
20%	final documentary	final documentary is assessed on: congruence between goals and design decisions degree of professionalism in message design and outcomes internal integrity of the presentation appropriate handling of dominance relationships between visual, audio, motion and other elements clarity in statements, visuals, navigation and sequencing appropriateness of the presentation for the selected audience craftsmanship
20%	tutorial reflections	reflections are assessed by: credibility -- did you actually complete and learn from the tutorial? concrete detail in describing your experience evidence of self-awareness -- skill level, application of learning to your project degree of challenge to self
30%	work in progress and postings	work in progress is assessed by: timeliness salience and thoughtfulness of the critical questions you post each time responsiveness from one week to the next to feedback evidence of sustained and iterative work toward your goals

In this project it is reasonable to assume that you may be using graphics and other materials from the context of the intervention you are describing. This is appropriate as long as these are credited to their sources. Other elements of the documentary -- text, graphics, screen elements, audio, video and animations segments -- MUST BE YOUR OWN ORIGINAL WORK. Failure to meet this criterion may result in your project being returned without a grade, your project being given a failing grade, or your course grade being recorded as Fail. When in doubt, ASK.

The School of Education's policy regarding grading for student work at the Graduate level provides the following outline for scoring student assignments:

A	95-100	Extraordinarily high achievement and professional quality of work; shows unusually complete command of the subject matter; represents an exceptionally high degree of originality and creativity
A-	90-94	Exceptionally thorough knowledge of the subject matter; outstanding performance and professional quality of work
B+	86-89	Significantly above average understanding of material and professional quality of work
B	83-85	Signifies mastery and fulfillment of all course requirements; very good professional quality work
B-	80-82	Good, acceptable work
C+	77-79	Satisfactory quality of work
C	73-76	Minimally acceptable performance and quality of work; partial mastery
C-/D	60-72	Unacceptable work, does not demonstrate mastery
F	below 60	Completely unacceptable work

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