(ID) and Me

A simple question, “What do I think about Instructional Design so far?” This seems like a simple and benign question to pose, but as I reflect upon this, I find that it’s a much more complex topic. I came into this degree with a basic idea, that I would be incorporating technology into the learning process, to help facilitate others on their learning paths. While this still holds true, I’ve now become better acquainted with the creative side of instructional design, which is speaking directly to my heart. I’ve had opportunities to write research papers on numerous interesting topics, such as the study of playing stringed instruments and the impact on memory. I’ve been able to create visually interesting and informative presentations using numerous creative presentation platforms, and I’ve been able to design conceptual projects, that I can see as a feasible and functional addition to this worlds’ long list of beneficial technology. These opportunities have opened my mind to the endless learning possibilities that technology helps to create. I can feel myself looking at the world differently now, and wanting to contribute and refine methods of disseminating information to learners. My background in education, has always been in the role of the student, not in the chair of the instructor. This lack of familiarity to that role, makes the “educator” title still feel quite foreign to me. I have always had an active and creative mind, and been lured towards entrepreneurial endeavors on more than one occasion in my life. I find the creation of content, and methods of delivery of information to be the aspect that I’m feeling most excited about at this point in my Master’s’ journey. I have spent the past 13 years of my life, in an environmental research arena, which I feel has influenced me, and broadened my awareness of impact on the planet, human health, and ways to invoke change at the community level. I believe that this model is important in all areas of life, and I see how this foundation crosses over into instructional design, and the desire to invoke change through learning methodologies. I’m currently in my second semester of this Masters program, in Instructional System Design, and I feel that I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg on what I will learn throughout the duration of this program. My current position on this question, is that I feel encouraged, challenged, and excited about the learning process, upcoming projects, and becoming acquainted with new technologies that will better equip me for this career path. I’ve had opportunities to work in team collaborations, which I’ve come away feeling impressed with my peers, and feel like each variance in perspective has had a valuable contribution to the project as a whole. I still feel extremely encouraged that I’m on the correct career path for my life, and looking forward to what’s next. I’ve also learned a valuable lesson in my life, up through this point. Every aspect of my life has had a scaffolding effect, that has overlapped and built off of the one that came before it. I’ve explored the arts through graphic design. I’ve explored my love of beautiful aesthetics through floral design and photography. And I’ve explored my desire to make a positive impact on this planet through my job in environmental science. I see overlapping opportunities to learn in everything new that I’ve approached, such as bees and floral, and shapes in nature guiding art principles. There are opportunities to learn all around us, if we are open to see it. Below is an example of many pieces of my life coming together through one of my graphic design compositions. Just as instructional design pulls from multimedia resources to create a deeper level of understanding, I created this piece for a similar reason. I used my photography, to capture a photo of flowers growing in my garden, and my artistic inspiration of Frida Kahlo, as my subject who represents juxtapositioning between beauty and pain, while building the entire composition from hexagonal shapes, similar to the construction of a colony of bees. I believe that this is a representation of the construction of my life, and instructional design has become another building block to guide my creative path.