Helpful Resources for Instructional Design

I don't have much experience blogging, but as I was researching I found many blogs to be very useful. In my profession it's essential to integrate different technological resources in order to reach every learner. There were blogs that directly relate to the teaching profession as well as Instructional Design. I am very excited and inspired to learn of these different websites and to continue to use them within the field of teaching and ID.

http://rlstan.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/what-instructional-design-means-to-me/

The first blog I found to be very interesting was Instructional Design Means to Me. It gives you an overview of the resources teachers continue to use in their classrooms when they implement lessons. Rlstan states that the roots of Instructional Design comes from the educators core beliefs and practices (Rlstan, 2011). I agree with this statement because as stated in the coursework this week for Learning Theories and Instruction, in order for an educator to be effective they need to know their own learning methods and use them within their instruction. Also, the educator becoming knowledgeable with the other learning theories and being able master them. He also went on to say that games and simulation are becoming more relevant in education and that they are trying to sway from teacher led instruction and more towards this model. He disagrees with the effectiveness of implementing this into classrooms and I do as well. I do believe that students are engaged with gaming, since most children use gaming systems to entertain themselves at home. I do believe that this can be an important element to integrate into a lesson, but I don't think it should be the only component or emphasis of instruction. I did find some insight with Instructional Design and what components are essential and beneficial to a consultant.

http://edumacated.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/technology-and-test-results/

This next blog I found discussed the correlation between test results and technology. Most districts are driven by data and test scores and therefore they continue to find and implement new strategies or tools to use in the classrooms. This blog indicated the test scores are not improving after the implementation of new technology. It goes into the implementation of these technological tools needs to be effective. In order for them to be effective they need to know what's useful for each student and find creative ways to reach all learners. This gives you insight of what tools are proven to be effective that correlates with the data they have compiled. This source would provide useful information for an Instructional Designer when creating instruction and implementing technological tools for a school district.

http://www.proteacher.net/blogs/

This last blog I found to be very useful is proteacher.com. I constantly use this blog and post periodically because it has so many different tools teachers, districts and parents can use. It focuses on teacher resources as well as different ideas to implement in the classroom. It has teacher practices, classroom management, and different content areas according to grade level for any teacher or district to utilize. This blog would be a great instructional design tool for district training on presentation skills, lesson planning and support.