The criteria for satisfying the Apply Computer-Based Technologies and Media to the Solution of Instructional Problems competency are:
- Plans and designs effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology
- Applies technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies
- Demonstrates understanding of social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology and applies it in practice
Artifacts for Apply Computer-Based Technologies and Media to the Solution of Instructional Problems
EDCI 56900 – Getting Started with Intune Digital Prototype
Justification for this Artifact
For Apply computer-based technologies and media to the solution of instructional problems, I chose to use my final project from EDCI 56900: Introduction to eLearning. This project was a fully functional eLearning lesson that I developed about Microsoft Intune, the primary product that I have worked on during my time at Microsoft. While I had written documentation for Intune in my capacity as a technical writer, I had not created an integrated learning experience for it.
First requirement: “Plans and designs effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology”
The single biggest lesson that I learned during this process was that ineffective time management will eliminate your ability to improvise or deal with unexpected issues that appear during development. I had to simplify my design from what I had originally intended and eliminated any possibility of making a truly effective mobile experience. However, by the time the project was completed, the entire experience worked seamlessly together. The website, videos, and captioning worked well; the assessments led back directly to documentation as the source material. The surveyed users all provided generally positive feedback to the final product and were able to reproduce the tasks presented.
Second requirement: “Applies technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies”
While I deliberately did not include a pre-assessment activity, there were multiple assessments available; one per module, plus one overall checklist to use throughout. These evaluations offered different question types (true/false, multi-select, multiple choice) and allowed the learners to self-diagnose their problem areas within these 100-level lessons. The customizable checklist allowed them to apply the lessons learned directly to their real-life environment.
Third requirement: “Demonstrates understanding of social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology and applies it in practice”
I built this entire experience to be accessible, but it didn’t start that way. The research I did prompted this, along with the lengthy checklist.
Legal issues were addressed through authorization by my employer to ensure that I was allowed to create content for Intune.
Ethical issues were addressed through the development process. I had not considered all the factors in the various visual and interaction design components, as I had never had to build my own from scratch. It forced me to think about the ways that people with impairments would use my product.
Social and human issues were addressed through questions about cognitive impairments and participating in more accessibility conversations with my colleagues. It’s since become a passion.
Barry Langer 