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 The Path to Teacherdom
As I mentioned before, my latest passion is for design for education. I'm entranced by the idea that strength in visual communication is a limitless tool. Typically, when one thinks of haute design, they think of multimillion dollar firms creating campaigns for Fortune 500s. My work is a bit different - my students are usually overworked faculty with no extra time for complicated design endeavors and mere pennies to spend on technology. Their audiences expect the seemingly impossible - bleeding edge technological innovation with no concern for the time or money that it takes to put it together. How do we go about bridging the gap between digital natives (most students) and digital immigrants (most teachers), all without killing the workhorses (once again, the teachers) in the process?
As a youngin', it wasn't too terribly long ago that I was sitting in classrooms, hyperanalyzing the quality and effectiveness of my instruction. I've come to the conclusion that as a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, there is a momentous challege placed on teachers in attempting to communicate with their students. I thought to myself that just as a public speaker or a performer on stage goes out of their way to reach their audience where they are, shouldn't teachers do the same? Shouldn't all teachers be fluent in the digital language that their students speak? Wouldn't that be merely the least that they could do?
Lies and Allibies
This all led me to think a bit more about the process of designing for education and implementing technology for student learning. If technology is such an essential tool, then why are there these huge gaps in technology fluency amongst teachers? What is keeping every single professor from burning their Scantrons and cancelling face-to-face sessions for synchronous virtual lessons? I came to a few well-known conclusions, that surprisingly were what I consider to be the biggest myths of the digital age...
MYTH: Good design tends to be impossibly difficult to create.
It's a well-known fact that student retention plummets when information is presented in a manner that rivals VCR instructions. This is no different for teachers who are attempting to pick up the latest and greatest technology. I've known for quite some time that some of the best designs were the easiest to create - the trick was in knowing how to approach the design problem itself. Knowing this requires a bit of education, a bit of practice, and an ability to pare things down. As such, I've taken the attitude in my workshops that if I truly want folks to learn the software, they need to use it (and use it often, and make it their own). In keeping with the simplicity factor, I turn tedious lessons into quick, hands-on sessions, showing users of all levels that creating strong designs doesn't have to be rocket science (or brain surgery or rocket surgery, as the case may be).
MYTH: Good design comes at a price.
As long as the price of gas soars to the heavens, and football players make bank while teachers get their peanuts, I won't have much of an audience for software that costs a pretty penny. How do I keep people coming in for help with their courses and projects? I smile a lot and I drop the F bomb (as in "free"). I'm a big proponent of open-source, shareware, freeware and linkware. And yes, I can hear you guys heckling, "Free doesn't always mean good, Angela!" I completely agree - much of what is free out there needs to be experimented with before it can become useful. That task has become one of my favorite parts of my job - namely, comparing the quality of comparable free and commercial packages. I figure that I can spend my time as the guinea pig for all that's out there (free or no) and share the wealth.
Really and truly, the point is that your content is what needs to be quality - the design should only serve to strengthen and highlight the points you're trying to make. All the bells and whistles, though flashy, are useless as the package for weak or unrelated content. Good design is unobtrusive design, and that, my friends, is quite often free.
MYTH: It is seemingly impossible to keep up with all of the changes in technology.
Just like verbal communcation, visual communication has received a major facelift over the years. The ability to reach students effectively is all grounded in speaking their language. Having a fearless attitude about new technology allows you to roll with the punches - and spares you the ridicule you'll face after showing your old school PowerPoint presentation. True, technology constantly changes (cue Bob Dylan). Know, though, that the ability to adapt and innovate knows no age.
Bridging the Gap
Ok, with these myths acknowledged, it's easier said than done, right? Nah, it doesn't have to be. In fact, if it wasn't truly easy, I wouldn't be in business :)
My goal has always been to change not what we design, but rather to simply the way that we design. As such, meeting this goal has involved quite a bit of educating. I've gone about this by offering a slew of professional development workshops, tutorials, video lessons and modules, all at my college. In addition to this, I've taken my show on the road, spotlighting effective (and oftentimes free) technology for use in the classroom. All of these conference sessions have been wildly popular, mostly due to the fact that educators love talk of free and easy innovation. The majority of teachers will gladly revamp their older methods assuming that the newer are easy to use, inexpensive, and effective for students. I am currently working on a web site that will allow folks to keep abreast of the onslaught of tech goodies out there, providing them with easy ways to integrate the "new tools on the block" into their curriculum.
Money => Mouth Is
Before I leave you with a bunch to ruminate on, I'd like to show you some of the things that I have been fortunate to work on during my time at the college. This ED PORTFOLIO features just a few of the projects that I've created and/or helped to create, all for use in the classroom. One last thing - if you ever have questions or comments regarding effective design strategies and technological innovation, don't hesitate to CONTACT me. I'm always up to chat some more on this subject that I've grown to be quite passionate about.
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