Trends and Issues in Various Settings

Instructional Design in Business and Industry

When searching for a useable example of rapid prototyping, I found myself a fish out of water.  The concept I understand quite well, rapid prettying “involves the development of a working model of an instructional product that is used early in a project to assist in the analyses, design, development, and evaluation of an instructional innovation.” (Reiser & Dempsey)  As an educator, this makes complete sense for me, but once I dove into business and industry, I was a bit daunted by engineering and machining terminology.  Yet once I sifted some of the examples which I found, it was clear that this process is valued in the creation and implementation of any project, whether it be for instruction, business, or industry.  Specifically in education, we see classroom management software and applications as quite valuable, but often these programs can be more trouble than they are worth.  By giving instructors the opportunity to use a prototype of any new software for teaching, such as lesson planning programs, they are able to enhance the product through feedback and are more likely to use it once it is fully developed. 

Full Spectrum Training Suggestions

            If I were asked to offer suggestions to the military to use technology in training where little electronic access was available, I would attempt to provide lessons that would be compatible with or without that access.  My first task would be to assess what tools would be available and what my target audience would be.  Then, I would design lessons that would be available in a variety of formats, all of which could be printed if necessary.  This way, paper versions could be copied only if needed.  For example, one location may have access to a computer lab where learners could listed to lessons, participate in web-based quizzes, and take notes on printed outlines, but another location may only be able to print one copy and project it with a document camera for the class.  The goal would be to incorporate the plans and learning theory necessary to facilitate the learning in a train-the-trainer setting that could perpetuate gained knowledge from low to high ranked learners in multiple settings.