Week 11 – What We Can Learn From iLearn and Anytown

Both iLearn and Anytown designed the interactions in a way that they were realistic. In iLearn the learner is give the role of a middle school principal who must communicate digitally because injuries (broken legs) prevent him/her from going to the school. In Anytown, the learners are given the role of novice journalists who have to write about events in Anytown. Both of these case studies provided interaction roles that worked in context of the virtual scenarios. In both cases, the learner observes and writes. It would be hard for learners using the virtual scenarios to transfer their learning if they were given the role of a blacksmith, or an auto mechanic. However, the communication and management skills and writing skills learned with the iLearn project and in Anytown are easily transferred to real world situations.

This leads me to wonder is virtual world learning is appropriate for all types of disciplines? Could a person learn blacksmithing or auto mechanics in a virtual environment? In my own work for a flight simulation company, I have sometimes wondered what kinds of learning outcomes we might expect when we teach aircraft maintainers how to replace an alternator on a drone in virtual reality. Will the psycho-motor skills required to turn a torque wrench, or remove a canon plug transfer from VR to the flight line?

Going beyond those musings, the design approach for both of these cases focused around a problem. The need to provide situated experience for people learning to be school administrators and the need to provide engaging, effective instruction in a reusable environment were problems that the designers of these projects sought to address. My own instructional design document will focus on solving a problem, such as the need to update old, obsolescent training for simulator operators.

Beyond identifying a concrete problem that can be solved by training, I will attempt to rigorously apply a specific set of instructional design principles. Initially, I thought a model would be required for this assignment. However, I may use the instructional design treatment as a way to determine if a practical model may be developed that applies the principles of a learning theory like Learning Object Design and Sequencing (LODAS) theory. It is clear from our reading that a solid foundation of guiding instructional design principle is a crucial element when seeking to solve a practical problem. In this case, the selection of instructional design principle is just as important to the project as identifying the desired learning outcomes are for the instruction.

A final thought, here. If the purpose of research and experimentation is to contribute to the general knowledge of the learning and development community, then publishing the results of the study, or presenting the findings in a conference, are necessary. If the research is grounded in formal instructional design principles and methods, the conclusions and findings will carry the weight of legitimacy. Basing the research on accepted, even if controversial, principles will allow for the inclusion of the findings into the larger body of work around those specific principles. My own project will attempt to maintain that standard.