My Fall Semester Classes

EdTec 670 Exploratory Learning Through Educational Simulation & Games

This course deals with aspects of the design process that are sometimes neglected. To design an instructional game well, you must be both systematic and intuitive, analytic and artistic. In mastering the ISD process, you've learned to handle the cognitive side of instruction (which, almost by definition, is the most important). In EDTEC 670, you'll also learn to deal with the affective side of instruction. Throughout the course we'll be addressing the questions: What makes some activities interesting or fun? How can we maximize enjoyment without sacrificing instructional quality? It's a difficult and fascinating challenge for any instructional designer.

A second major theme of the course involves the design of simulations. The questions that will dominate the second half of the course are these: How do we represent reality in a simulation? How do we balance simplicity, efficiency, and playability against realism, richness and complexity? These, too, are challenging design tasks.

EdTec 795A Seminar

This graduate seminar/practicum is part of several culminating experiences for students earning a Master's degree in Educational Technology. In this class, students serve as instructional design consultants for real clients with pressing needs. Each student is asked to reflect on instructional design, development (and, occasionally evaluation) case studies; examine the art and science of design and development while while engaged in their field work (particularly in light of new technologies); and self-assess competence/readiness to enter the workforce as performance professionals.