Instructional Design

 

 

Golly, there have been many visitors to this page and I didn't have it updated at all. So I'll start. I'm going to go in reverse chronological order starting with my most recent ID writing.

Dispelling Myths, Navigating Ethical Labyrinths, and Applying Design Principles in the Metaverse 

This series is an update of my original 8-part Instructional Design in the Metaverse series. I will continue to bust myths related to learning in immersive environments while also advocating for research-based decisions related to instructional design.

 

I estimate that I have at least 15 parts right now, but new research (and bad examples) comes in every day. 

Part 1: From Myths To Principles: Navigating Instructional Design in Immersive Environments

Part 2: The Immersive Environment Delusion

Part 3: The Case Against Virtual Campuses

Part 4: Myth: Learners Learn Faster

Part 5: Myth: Learners Learn More 

Part 6: Myth: Immersive Learning is Active Learning 

Part 7: Myth: Immersion Creates Empathy

Instructional Design in the Metaverse

October 2023 

The promise of the metaverse in education is like a mirage in the desert. Educators seem to be forever anticipating the arrival of the metaverse but still not yet embracing it.

However, this waiting time has not been without value as solid research foundations have been built. In an article titled “The Hottest Job in Higher Education: Instructional Designer”, Decherney and Levander asserted that as instructional designers (IDs) have become the “sherpas of online learning teams, experts in how to teach and design a course” (2020, para. 5). It follows that instructional designers will be the experts by reading research and determining the best route to the metaverse promise.

This article series intends to provide guidance for instructional designers entering this new and rapidly changing space by straddling between what is known and unknown in instructional design in the metaverse. Early research that addresses the metaverse “tends to focus on outcomes-based research while neglecting the important details of how something was accomplished” (Beck, Morgado, & O’Shea, 2023, p. 1). Studies can also target emergent cause-and-effect or comparison relationships and ignore known educational practices and principles. Quests can contain grand promises, spurring a rush to implement, followed by unmet hopes and expectations (Mayer, 2020, p. 13). If administrators determine that the metaverse does contain unmet hopes, future funding for uses that truly could change education for the better will dry up.

After the Introduction section, the second of eight sections will examine research myths in the educational metaverse. These myths include that the metaverse will cause more learning at a faster rate and reach learners in new ways. I will look closely at what the research currently says for and against seven specific claims. In the third section, I will look at what the research is pointing to as characteristics of success when considering the incorporation and implementation of the metaverse. The characteristics do not seem to arrive in popular metaverse claims, but like the slow and steady tortoise, they seem to predict the winners of the race. In Sections 4 and 5, I will cover the detailed work of instructional design, targeting especially what we already know about multimedia learning and what will be uncovered in the metaverse. Section 6 will discuss the current limitations of using research to drive instructional design in the metaverse. Finally, Sections 7 and 8 are written to leave the reader with hope and soaring possibilities in mind.

Part 1 Introduction

Part 2 Theory and Scope

Part 3 Myths versus Reality

Part 4 The Characteristics of Success

Part 5 What is the same between 2D and 3D design? 

Part 6 What is different between 2D and 3D design?

Part 7 Design and Build

Part 8 Limitations, Serendipity, and Conclusion

My full references list

Bonus content!  Check out my Behind the Scenes post on writing this series.

 

 12 of My Most Favorite XR-for-Education Examples

Seeking Integrity in VR Educational Research

Three article series that represent similar themes to my Bad Research page but are updates that show that some of the arguing continues on the effectiveness of VR for education.