Behind the Site: An Instructional Design Reflection

So the journey continues; I'm at a turning point in my learning design program, having acquired more knowledge and skills. In this particular class, I put my knowledge and skills to the test with something quite familiar: Google Sites. I've previously used Google Sites in my primary teaching career, creating visually engaging content for a young audience. However, for this assignment, my audience was quite different—faculty staff. This necessitated a sudden shift from what I was accustomed to; the site needed to be professional in its appearance, visuals, and details. Every detail had to be meticulously crafted to meet the goals of the learners while maintaining a professional tone—essentially, not talking down to them. Although this task posed a challenge, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even when going through the motions. I knew that the effort would be worthwhile and influential in the end.

The main aspect of the process that resonated with me, and also the most chilling, was the task of recording my share of the tutorials, uploading them to YouTube and embedding them onto Canvas LMS. Public speaking and recording were never my strong suits, but I knew this would be the best way to meet the requirements of the instruction. The task encouraged me to explore various software and applications. 

Following my partner's advice, I used Camtasia to record my screen tutorials and then used DaVinci Resolve to edit my videos and add the bumper and transitions. The videos were clear but compared to my partner’s, they could’ve been much better. First, there would be no watermarks, which was a consequence of Camtasia’s free 3-day trial. Second, more edits could’ve been made. It was a race against time to record (again, a 3-day free trial). Lastly, the recordings weren’t completed until close to the end, and with DaVinci slowing down on my computer, I didn’t have time to make further edits. This resulted in a couple of obvious transitions that were intended to be in sync. It detracted a bit from the professional appearance I wanted, but thankfully, the instructions and visuals were clear, which was the main goal of the project.

 Reflecting on this, I have become more comfortable with recording tutorials, and I have also come to enjoy the editing part of the process. Going through this experience has taught me how to prioritize the steps involved in creating tutorials, ensuring ample time for editing and preparing videos for professional viewing. In other words, it has taught me to start early.

Similar to many of my classmates, my partner and I adhered to the rubric to ensure our work aligned with the target learners and met their goals. We agreed to keep information on a 'Need to Know' basis, avoid unnecessary details, and present it clearly and straightforwardly. Therefore, I believe we achieved that, resulting in a well-supplemented site.

We established the learning goal on the home page, which I was proud of because writer's block frequently hindered me throughout the entire process. I was grateful that we took notes in the Detailed Design Document to define the goal. It was just a matter of elaborating meaningfully. The subheadings under "Objectives" were initially named "What You'll Do," but to enhance clarity for the assignment, we made a change. If I create similar sites in the future, I may revert to our original title, but either way, we made sure to establish the goals.

The Content Structure did not meet the goals but there’s room for growth. Each page was organized with lessons that went together and transitioned fluidly, along with titles and descriptions. As the site was a prototype, we were certain that we had met the objectives… or so we thought. They were not in the style of Canvas LMS, notably, the page previews on the left were replaced by icons zigzagging from top to bottom. While this was a quick fix, it taught us a valuable lesson on why it's crucial to meticulously follow instructions. This experience will influence my future designs; when creating a site, outlining will be the first thing I do rather than working page by page.

We were exceptionally proud of the sequencing and text since we both had experiences with assisting in similar situations; my partner’s work helping employees with tech issues and me teaching my father, a university professor, how to use Canvas, so we had a pretty good idea of what the faculty staff may need. The main question we asked ourselves was “If we showed this to our parents, would they understand this?” and that affected how we delivered our instructions, both in the written parts and our videos. We were confident that we met this, but we’re also aware that there is always room for improvement. 

The media work we undertook was the most painstaking, but it turned out to be our greatest accomplishment in this project. The videos consumed the majority of our time, and as I mentioned earlier, they were the aspect that pushed me out of my comfort zone. After completing that phase, we believed that most of the site was finished. With step-by-step visuals, clear audio, and supporting transcripts, this is where we truly felt we achieved the goals set by the staff. Testing the website with our friends made it even more validating. 

Looking back at the assignment, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I am very proud of our work, and I'm even more grateful for my partner, with whom I collaborated famously. We plan to collaborate again in the future. The assignment and the feedback helped me develop my skills and pinpoint my strengths and areas for refinement. I will remember to adjust these aspects in later classes to prepare myself for a future career in learning design. The journey continues.