Journal Review for 10/7
I. Summary
The article by Bransford, et. Al (1990) dealt with Anchored Instruction and the incorporation of Video Production Technology as a tool for this type of instruction. The article began by briefly discussing shortcomings traditional methods of instruction to establish a need for new approaches to instruction. They provide illustrations on the differences of instruction on for a facts only focus and a problem solving based focus. They also provide the theoretical basis for anchored instructional methodologies and it’s effectiveness in teaching problem solving strategies. The authors then provide a discussion on the incorporation of video production technologies as an anchored learning strategy in instructional design. The article by Valia (2007) reviews the Bransford(1990) piece and discusses how, due to the sate of the article, it is somewhat out of date because of the technology i t describes.. The article argues that, due to major advances in instructional technology, anchored instruction is considerably easier and can incorporate other technologies.
The article by Kass, et. Al (1994) describes the use of a video production program entitled Broadcast News. This program was developed to teach social studies by incorporating the history lessons into a televised news broadcast that students would have to produce themselves. The article provides a brief overview of the program and how it is used. It also describes how students incorporate research tools, historical/political experts as panelists, interviewing skills and story editing and publishing in order to fit the lesson into news broadcast.
II. Reflection
This article was interesting in that it described one possible tool for incorporation into learning activities. After reading the Bransford piece, it occurred to me that I had read this for another IT class dealing with either Performance Technology or Interactive Leaning. This type of technology has several possibilities for use in subject areas such as upper level history courses, engineering, communication, and broadcast journalism classes. It also has several possibilities in training courses in private industry for demonstrational purposes, such as showing proper procedures in performing job tasks, in video conferencing for cross country or international communication, and other forms of job related tasks. One area that I seemed to consider was whether or not the use of other instructional media, such as PowerPoint, or gaming/simulation technologies might be an outgrowth of this type of instruction.
III. Impact
As far as my design project is concerned, I will not be incorporating video production technology into my learning activities. This is due to the fact that this type of technology cannot be applied to the types of learning activities in the subject matter of the course. The material is better suited for either PowerPoint or Word/.PDF files. Also, class discussions and interactions will be done on a chat and discussion board basis.