Continuing with my project of designing an online Honors Art History class, I am now focusing on the Design and Development phases of the ADDIE model. And, similar to my last blog post from two weeks ago, I am doing so at home because of social distancing and travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Staying home and staying safe has given me a lot of time to ponder the importance of effective online teaching and learning as I am doing both.
The design phase of my project outlines many factors of my project from Unit content, learning objectives, and deliverables. It seems as if the intricate and extensive process of the design phase helps with the development phase in several ways. For one, the design road map for the entire project serves as a guide for developing each section of the project. And, as I develop each section of my project, I can return to the design elements to modify my plan as I discover needs to tweak my original ideas. The design phase includes documenting design strategies, applying instructional strategies to achieve intended learning outcomes, creating storyboards, and applying graphic design. The development stage is where instructional designers create and assemble content (Richard Culatta, 2020).
As I develop my project while simultaneously teaching my campus classes online, I am drawn to the conclusion that distance learning can pose a big challenge to certain learners. Many of my campus students are feeling the emotional strain of social distancing, and my online classes are generally sessions to “check in” on students and provide an uplifting environment. This new method of teaching is also highlighting the fact that students have access to different levels of technology and internet connections, which can negatively affect online teaching and learning. In order to compensate for these challenges, the development phase has to include accessible online content, activities that include the students’ personal reactions, and interactive assignments that can be completed using a variety of online tools.
In the development stage, I have been met with the challenge of creating graphic designs using the C.R.A.P. method while keeping in mind my University’s branding designs in Blackboard. It poses a challenge designing an Art History course because visual content varies wildly from time period to time period. If you compare an image of Stonehenge with a stained-glass window in Notre Dame in the image above, you can see an inconsistency with visual content. However, I can use the C.R.A.P. principles of design to develop Units that are colorful, consistent, have similar repetitions, alignments, and proximity. Take a look at this interesting video highlighting the psychology of color:
In the past, Post University’s brand colors were green and white, which are categorized as calming colors. They’ve recently switched to a purple and orange color palette for their branding, and it appears to be that purple was a smart choice. Since it is a combination of red and blue, purple is a calming and empowering color. Since most of Post students are online learners, it seems practical that using purple on Blackboard creates an energizing environment. I just wish purple worked better with images from Art History.
Culatta, R. (2020). ADDIE model. [Blog]. InstructionalDesign.org. Retrieved from: https://www.instructionaldesign.org/models/addie/
FarFromAverage. (2017, Apr. 18). How colors affect your mood / read personalities and persuade people with colors. [YouTube]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKTa7tFqNks
Tracy Collamore PLE Project 