CEP 811: Final Reflection

One of my favorite topics in this class was instructional design. Learning the Assessment, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) approach to creating instructional materials was a great experience. A structured approach to creating learning materials is very important, especially when there is a lot of content to be included. I also enjoyed learning about and evaluating WebQuests. This showed me how TPACK can be applied to any educational experience and helped me to think more deliberately about my uses of technology when creating learning materials.

Integrating web based technology in this class helped me to think more from the user or student’s point of view. When creating the StAIR, I often became very focused on the content and making sure there was a slide addressing every component of the process. This focus is important, but I had to continually remind myself of the need for the presentation to be airtight. Any student viewing the project would likely only have their own intuition for guidance should technical or content errors arise. Considering that the project would be accessible to anyone through MERLOT, I had to think deeply and be very meticulous when designing the presentation. Using web-based technology helped me to view all of e-learning as a both a design effort, and a user experience.


This class helped me to work towards my goal of learning to hard code websites. I have some minor experience with HTML and CSS, and in this class I had the opportunity to develop these skills further. Now, I have a running website project to work on. I also think this class helped me to gain a better understanding of the principles of instructional design. This is an area I have wanted to learn more about. With the knowledge learned in this class, I was able to do a better job as an instructional designer for Michigan State.


I plan to further develop my instructional design skills. I do not yet have a completely defined approach to designing e-learning experiences. Working from the base of knowledge I have gained in this class, I hope to guide my practice and work towards a structured approach to instructional design. One way I will be achieving these goals is completing the Master of Arts in Educational Technology degree through Michigan State University this summer.