There are certain elements to instructional design that are in all competent and successful lessons. Robert Gagné broke them down into nine principles; Gain attention, describe the goal, stimulate the recall of prior knowledge, present the material to be learned, provide guidance for learning, elicit performance, give informative feedback, assess performance, and finally enhance retention and transfer of knowledge. (click here to see elements defined). Sullivan and Higgins reduced them to five; Introduction, activities, practice, feedback, and review. How these methods are accomplished varies somewhat between the traditionally executed lesson and that accomplished using hyper-media over the internet or local computer work station. There are advantages and disadvantages to both.
In a traditional lesson the instructor has worked out the execution of their lesson using the principles listed above. They have the advantage of knowing their audience is and background (learning style, past experiences, access to learning materials). This allows the instructor to create a lesson template of sorts, and alter it to the particular class is needed as well as modify the elements as the lesson progresses. In this format the instructor must be an expert in the material to be taught. This is particularly useful in the secondary level setting where the teacher might have to teach the same subject three times a day were the classes are divided based on learning potential. The disadvantage being that the instructor must teach to the middle of each class. There will be students that are intellectually un-stimulated by the lesson because they already know the material, or are intellectually not up to the level of rest of the class. The instructor must then take additional time either during the class or supplemental time to assist those students. This method divides the instructors resources. Some say that the teacher must be a motivator and not the expert and all knowing resource of the material that is being taught.
In a hyper-mediated lesson the same basic principles apply but the methods can vary greatly. The instructor can be not one, but several people working together to accomplish the goal of fulfilling the role of teacher. There is the project manager, subject , expert, instructional designer, graphic artist, technology programmer, product marketer, reviewer, and of course there is the motivator. It is not unusual for there to be several people filling each job description, but the project manager wears the second hat of principle instructional designer. The motivator is normally the teacher that interacts with the students.
This division allows for a better product that can take in the possible permutations that might arise from a curious student. The finished product is normally a lesson that can be viewed and read. Read by just one, or a small group of students or the same learning level. This allows for the lesson to progress at the pace of the individual learner rather than the class as a hole. The students can also go back in the lesson or to previous lessons when they have a question about the material as it arises and not feel embarrassed by having to ask questions in a traditional classroom setting that might have the additional repercussion of slowing the lesson down beyond the time allotted. Do to the fact that it is programed and pre-planned, it does not allow the student to get the educator off the subject. The notable disadvantage to muli-media learning is that in order for it to be effective it must include possible permutions and tangents that might be desirable in a possitive learning setting.
After doing research on the net in order to locate examples of quality instructional design it became apparent that the best ones were post secondary level. Of the exceptional examples found most were either for technology or graduate education students. With additional research a site specializing in history was found.
On initial examination it looks like a good site to study several different historical topics. It follows the the principles of introduction, instruction, evaluation. However it becomes apparent that it does not have any evaluation and reinforcement tools. On closser observation it becomes apparent that the author or authors did an extensive search on topics related to the subjects but have included highly questionable and ethical material that should not be used in legitimate education. On even closer examination many of the related texts are on commercial internet servers that have not reason to check what individuals post on their site.
An academic exclusive site that teaches the topic of Teaching on the internet. It has an introduction, objective, instructional section, as well as supplemental instruction and practice. However, the site does not have evaluation. Since it is a self moderated lesson formal evaluation is not necessary, that can be done by the implementation of the lessons on a practical level.
After searching for educational sites that meet all of Gegné's principles it becomes apparent that they are few and far between. The web is still a new frontier for education even though it was created as a medium for exchanging academic information. In most places it is being used as a supplement to learning pursuits. It has not replaced the traditional teacher, but rather just another tool in their box to fulfill the goals of education.
"Instructional Design Methodology." Christie Communications.
Gangé, R. (1985). "The Conditions of Learning" (4th ed.). New York; Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Eklund, John. "Cognitive models for structuring hypermedia and implications for learning from the world-wide web." Faculty of Education, University of Sydney 2006.
"Motivator vs Expert." The Institute for the Learning Sciences. Copyright 1994.
Mason, Robin. (1994). Using Communications Media in Open and Flexible Learning. London. Kogan Page.
Moshell, J. Michael. Charles E. Hughes, Mark Kilby. "Virtual Academy: The Educational Model." University of Central Florida . July 27, 1995.
T.H.E. journal. Technological Horizons in Education!
Windley, Phillip J. "Using WWW to Augment Classroom Instruction". Laboratory for Applied Logic, Brigham Young University.