Building Blocks for Information Architects: Teaching Digital Media Production Within an Instructional Design Program

An analysis of an introductory multimedia production course for preservice instructional design professionals was conducted at a large Midwestern university to determine if and how students' attitudes toward instructional media production was affected as a result of taking the course. Data was collected from the students and instructors in the form of active interview transcripts, participant-observer journal entries, and case studies of selected students. A set of recommendations has been developed regarding the instructional strategies that worked best to create a positive change in students' attitude toward the production process, which in this instance was defined as developing an attitude toward the process that is similar to that of experienced instructional designers. ********** Competent instructional design (ID) professionals recognize a difference between the instructional design process and the production process. Designing instruction involves the identification and development of objectives, activities and evaluation protocols to promote learning; the production process is a subordinate activity that focuses on the creation and design of tangible products identified as necessary to the overall instructional design (e.g., worksheets, booklets, posters, videotapes, and computer software) (Gentry, 1994). Regardless of how much he or she actually participates in the production process, the instructional designer must have some working knowledge of media production to work effectively. Students in the process of learning how to be instructional designers may have trouble understanding the production process as it relates to the instructional design process (Brown, 2001). Any course of study in ID must at some point address issues of media production. Many ID degree programs have at least one required media production course. Also, many teacher education programs have instructional media production requirements (these are often part of educational technology courses that cover other elements of instructional design as well). This is in keeping with Dick and Carey's (1978) assertion that a modern classroom teacher is an instructional designer. The implication is that educators running instructional design programs, and teacher education programs that equate teachers with instructional designers, believe that becoming a competent ID professional requires at least a basic understanding of instructional media production. Therefore, a question that must be addressed is, What makes for effective instruction in media production? This article attempts to develop an answer to this question by describing a case study of an instructional media production course offered as part of Indiana University's graduate programs in Instructional Systems Technology. The course and setting, questions posed, method of data collection, and conclusions drawn from the study are presented herein. A CASE STUDY The course chosen for study was designed to be an introduction to the production process; part of a graduate program of study in Instructional Systems Technology (degrees conferred in this area include MS, EdD, and PhD). It is intended to impart the minimum-level production skills that all graduates of the program should possess. The course requires students to complete three production projects of their own choosing. They select two small projects from a list of five possible project types (instructional audio tape, World Wide Web (WWW or Web) site, poster, stand-up presentation, or picture & audio demonstration), and one large project (either a digital multimedia piece that requires interface design and digitized video and audio, or a videotape project that requires approval from the instructors). Traditionally, the most popular project choices are the website and the multimedia piece. Along with the production projects, which are completed by individual students working on their own, there is a "Production Community Participation" aspect of the class intended to foster supportive interaction among the students. …