A Content Developer’s Approach
Ellen Dornan, University of New Mexico
Introduction
I came into the field of Instructional Technology through the field of public lands interpretation. Interpretation is an informal educational method used to communicate the meaning and value of resources, and is used widely in museums, zoos, and parks. Interpretation is terrifically effective in a short time period, and results in affective, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes ranging from decades-long retention (Barrie, 2001) to societal impacts, such as participation in advocacy groups or shifts in basic societal values (Beck and Cable, 2002).
In practice, interpretation skillfully blends the environmental experience of a museum or park visit with high-quality communication provided at teachable moments, such as when a visitor is feeling awe of the surroundings or interest in the artifacts. My burning question is whether this technique still works if you take away the environmental and human elements, as with computer-based interpretation?
The answer is a definite yes, although computer literacy certainly impacts the ability of a user to learn and enjoy computer-based media (Goldman and Schaller, 2004; Chadwick, 1998), and remains a serious obstacle when designing for older audiences. In discovering how to translate the interpretive model to a digital realm, I developed this approach to instructional design for multimedia. I have interspersed the fifteen guiding principles of interpretation throughout the text, to clarify the goals of each section of the design process.
Complete article at:
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper80/paper80.htm