PENN STATE
Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies
Instructional Systems - INSYS 441 (section 301)
Design, Develop, and Evaluate Internet Resources
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Course Overview
This course is designed to facilitate your understanding of the role and potential of Internet technologies for the design of learning systems. Keep in mind that this course is not designed to make you a multimedia developer, but rather to provide you with a conceptual understanding of the process of designing and developing computer and web-based instruction. An emphasis will be placed on helping you achieve the following goals:
- Demonstrate research-based message design principles, including navigation, screen design, and the use of color and visuals.
- Demonstrate basic skills competencies related to developing instructional materials to be delivered using Internet/intranet technologies such as HTML, ftp, and graphic conversion, in order to understand the current requirements and also limitations of using Internet/intranet-based resources for instruction.
- Describe the role of the instructional designer in Internet/intranet-based instruction.
- Describe the advantages and limitations of Internet/intranet authoring in order to make informed instructional design decisions.
- Apply an instructional design model during the design and development of Internet/intranet-based instructional materials.
Course Instructor
Dr. Roy B. Clariana E-mail:
Great Valley Office: L
Phone: 610.648.3253 (o) 610.648.3284 (sec)
Office Hours: Monday/Wednesday, 5-6 pm; and by appointment
Course Texts and Support Materials
Required text:
- Lynch & Horton (1999), Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites see:
Optional materials:
- Raggett on HTML 4 see:
- Multimedia Tools Website at
- WWW consortium at
Course Structure and Expectations
Overview - This course is based on adult learning theory and has a large hands-on component. Every session will include a mix of lectures, discussions, group activities, demonstrations, hands-on guided practice, and hands-on independent work. You will be provided with a substantial amount of in-class work time and with direct assistance and written guidance from the instructor for all exercises and projects. However, you will be expected to spend significant out-of-class time preparing for classes, working independently with the software tools, and completing your projects.
Participation - A good class requires both an effective teachers and prepared students. Read the assignments. You should attend every class meeting. If you are unable to attend, contact me (or department secretary) as soon as possible, and make a plan to make-up missed work. Excessive absence (i.e., more than 1 class) will impact your final course grade. You are encouraged to talk to me at any time about anything. I will try to return all assignments by the next class period. For class cancellation due to inclement weather or other emergency, listen to local news media and/or call the Great Valley Campus 610-648-3399 for recorded information.
Academic Integrity - "Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. At the beginning of each course it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a statement clarifying the application of academic integrity to that course.” (from 1989-1990 Policies and Rules for Students, p.25). Violation will likely result in a failing grade for the assignment or course. Even though academic dishonesty, plagiarism, or any form of cheating is not tolerated, co-operation and sharing information among students is recommended and encouraged.
Special Services - Special services are available to students with disabilities. “The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact Kathy Mingioni (610-648-3315) in advance of your participation or visitation.”
Grading - There are several scored components. Your final project carries the most weight (see table below). Final letter grades will follow the convention:
A / A- / B+ / B / B- / C+ / C / D / F100 - 92 / 91 -- 90 / 89 -- 88 / 87 -- 82 / 81 -- 80 / 79 -- 78 / 77 -- 70 / 69 -- 60 / 59 -- 0
Course Schedule
Date / Scheme / Assignments / Readings1
M / 10/23/00 / Course Goals & Expectations Introduction to WWW (PP) – Blackboard.com
Examine:
and other sites (refer to handout)
What is an on-line course? / Apply for Login and
CAC web space
2
W / 10/25/00 / Independent work on Project 1
3
M / 10/30/00 / Constructivist ISD alternative
Cognitive Flexibility Hypertext
- PP discussion
- Take CFH, debrief
Teams begin to create cases and perspectives for Project 2 / DE
CFH
4
W / 11/01/00 / What is good instruction?
CFH
- MS FrontPage
- How to FTP
5
M / 11/06/00 / More FrontPage
Work on CFH
QA/ Finish CFH, ftp
6
W / 11/08/00 / CBT Design Theory (design
elements, screen design, message
design, etc.)
Prep Project 3 (web search etc.) / Project 2 (CFH) / Screen design
7
M / 11/13/00 / CBT Design Models - (prototyping)
Traditional CBT - Tutorials, Games,
Simulations etc.
What makes good CBT?
- Interaction/CGI / Project 3 (Critique) / Traditional design
(many pages)
8
W / 11/15/00 / MM team
Storyboards and flow charts
HTML tags - Front Page / Development
9
M / 11/20/00 / Web Graphics, GIF animation, Photoshop
PowerPoint - as HTML and for site maps / Images
11/22/00 / Thanksgiving - no classes
10
M / 11/27/00 / Capture images, Photoshop / Project 5 (paper)
11
W / 11/29/00 / Evaluation Plans
Quality Assurance Testing
Small group review activities
Authoring System vs HTML
Browser Plug-ins / Project 4a / Evaluation
12
M / 12/04/00 / Independent work
Formative Evaluation (cont.)
13
W / 12/06/00 / Independent work
Formative Evaluation (cont.)
14 / 12/11/00 / Final Project Presentations / Project 4b
Course Assignments
1.0 Describe a typical web-based course (10%) / Examine several web-based course sites: list the sections or components of a ‘typical’ web-based course; describe each component (definition and purpose). Reflect on the importance or value of each component. Should some components be added or left out? Why? Describe how you might be able to use a site like in your workplace (schools, businesses, home).2.0 CFH(20%) / As a member of a team, together develop cognitive flexibility hypertext cases, perspectives and themes. Put CFH on the web. Submit an individual reflection on the project.
3.0 Screen design (5%) / Select two screens on the web (or a CBT lesson) and critique the screens describing the things that are wrong and the things that are right, place the critique on the web (PP is probably best for this). In your write-up to be turned in, include the URL of your critique along with a reflection (which may include: In your opinion, what was the one most important screen design issue that you observed? What problems/challenges did you encounter? How did you solve these? If you had to do it over again, what would you do differently? What were the highs and lows of this project? What was most important thing that you learned doing this project?
4a Prototype Half-way point (5%) / Half-way point for the Instructional Project Prototype -- develop several varied screens of your project. In a feedback group, present your materials for review and solicit feedback from the group. The write-up to turn in should briefly describe the content and the intended audience and include ‘paper’ screen captures/printouts of your screens.
4b Prototype of an Instructional Project (30%) / Create the Prototype of a WWW lesson that uses proper instructional, visual, and message design features including such issues as harmony, balance, and efficient navigation. You are encouraged to form a team to submit one project together.
- The prototype should present information, provide practice or testing, and allow manipulation of content. Or alternately,
- The prototype could utilize a more open-ended constructivist strategy such as using a cognitive flexibility hypertext. Specifically, you may choose to finish the CFH that was initiated in Project 1.
- It could include both 1 and 2.
- A rationale statement for your program, including the theoretical and practical reasons for the design approach you chose to use.
- The broad goal of your program.
- A paragraph description of the learners that the program is designed for, including a rationale for what types of analysis tools you would use to determine the needs of your learners.
- A realistic timeline of the program’s development.
- Instructional flowchart of the content, to show the navigational and other issues relevant to WBI programs.
- Storyboards or PowerPoint slides of representative screens that will be part of the program. These should show an understanding of the principles of screen design and explain the authoring needs of the program.
- Prototype of the program – a working piece of the program (FrontPage)
5.0 Paper (5%) / Write a 3 to 5 page paper on some aspect or topic relevant to WBI. The exact nature of this paper is open for discussion with the instructor on an individual basis. Some suggestions would be to do a review of literature on a specific aspect of WBI; to do a descriptive report of the implementation of WBI within a company; or perhaps to write a proposal for introducing WBI to your organization.
Collaboration (10%) / Lesson development requires continual feedback and change cycles. During the course, evaluate and give feedback to another student team's project twice (each worth 5%) during any stage of development. Submit a one-page report for each evaluation that describes what you observed and the changes that you recommended.
Research Study (5%) / Participate in a CBTstudy - Your voluntary participation consists of completing an instructional lesson and a posttest, total time about 40 minutes (anonymously). If you choose not to participate, you may complete this assignment by writing a 1-3 page paper that describes how research influences ISD (include references).
Participation (10%) / Do the readings and contribute in class.
The Big Picture / This is NOT a programming or authoring course. In our experience, most instructional designers currently are not involved in technology delivered instruction. However, there is a trend towards alternatives to stand-up instruction, especially involving web-based delivery. Certainly during your career, at least once you will need to "put something up on the web", and a few of you may be thoroughly involved in computer and web-based delivery of instruction.
Instructional designers, though intimately involved in the analysis, design and evaluation of technology delivered instruction usually do not directly develop the final versions of that instruction. Multi-media design involves a team which includes the instructional designer, programmers/authors, graphic designers, audio specialist, video specialists, and content specialists. The Instructional Designer is often the team leader, so project and people management skills are an important part of your tool chest.
The instructional designer develops flow charts, storyboards, and scripts that communicate unambiguously how the final product will look. These storyboards and scripts if converted into PowerPoint type slides are an efficient (low cost) way to prototype the look and feel of your instructional message to various audiences such as:
upper management (to support a business plan for funding),
programmers (who do the development work),
end users (to collect formative feedback and also buy-in),
clients (who may buy your services),
ISD design peers (who can provide valuable feedback),
the training department (who can scope out and prepare materials for field training far prior to the actual product release),
and you the designer (to consider and try-out unifying details like graphic elements early on in the process).
Also, for teachers in the classroom and for corporate in-house training materials where production quality is less important than cost, the final prototype can serve as the instruction.
(note: It would require a focused 40-hour course to reach the intermediate level in HTML programming; plus another 80 hours to become proficient in CGI scripting and JAVA. The engineering department offers such courses if you are interested in programming and authoring).
Course Instructor
Roy Clariana has been an Assistant Professor at Penn State Great Valley since 1997. Besides his duties for Penn State, Roy consults in training design and evaluation, and technology support in schools.
Roy was a high school math teacher before joining Peace Corps as a biology teacher in Kenya. After 3 years as a volunteer, Roy spent the next two years as a training consultant for Peace Corps in Kenya, Malawi, and Nepal. These training experience required soup-to-nuts planning implementation, and assessment; and included such diverse tasks as hiring and training language instructors, technical trainers, and support staff, finding training sites and housing for the teachers, working with the training staff to develop comprehensive 12 to 14-week training experiences, interviewing witch doctors for cross-cultural sessions, taking tea with chiefs while arranging family visits, mixing cement for water projects, and repairing generators struck by lighting.
Roy returned to the US after five years abroad to work on a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Instructional Design and Technology at Memphis State University.
Roy then worked for two years at Rocky Flats in Golden Colorado for EG&G, Inc., a Fortune 100 manufacturing company. Roy worked as a training developer, then as manager of the Task Analysis group, and finally as manager of the training department for the plant Quality Assurance division. Roy switched companies, and began working with Jostens Learning Corporation (an instructional software company). His five years at Jostens included: consulting with educators in technology integration and professional staff development, integrating and evaluating JLC software into UK schools, and developing curriculum software (Roy was lead developer for VITAL Tools, a WWW search engine that recently won a "Technology and Learning" software award.)
Roy came to Great Valley in the Fall of 1997 as a tenure track Assistant Professor. Roy and his wife Sarah, who is a professional doll maker with a Ph.D. in rhetoric and communication, live in Royersford. They spend as much time as they can at their cabin in Colorado hosting family and friends and enjoying cool summers and Christmas ski trips.
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