× Discontinuance of ITMA Program:


Please be aware that the ITMA program will be phased out over the next two academic years while the School of Education engages in curricular restructuring. I understand this may be disappointing news; please know we remain committed to ensuring you successfully complete your degree in a timely manner.

We have reached out to the faculty in the ITMA program to help plan for the phase-out of the current curriculum. To support students currently enrolled, we will be preparing a plan of study for each student enrolled in the ITMA program to allow students to finish their program within two academic years.

Please check your email for additional communication regarding the phase-out process and course offerings. Should you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Nancy Bradley, Associate Director of the Office of Academic Programs at nbradley@vt.edu.

We look forward to assisting you in the successful completion of your degree!


Introduction

Welcome to Applied Theories of ID. This course is designed to help you produce a fully-functional interactive multimedia instructional program in which theories related to the field of instructional design and technology have been applied. Along the way, you will be introduced to aspects of interactive multimedia authoring and gain an understanding of authoring software and some of the limitations in using this type of software for this purpose. This course requires that you have completed an Instructional Design course prior to taking this one, as it involves numerous Instructional Design principles.

The primary theories applied during the design process are Behaviorism, Gagne's Events of Instruction, and Keller's ARCS model. Behaviorism is one theory on which the Dick, Carey, and Carey ID model is based. You may have been introduced to this ID model in an Instructional Design course (perhaps our Design for Learning course). In this course, you will use this model to design your instructional program. Gagne's Events of Instructional and Keller's ARCS model will be applied, most evidently, in your instructional strategy, but also impact the objectives and assessments you design.

This course is divided into four sections: Introduction, Planning, Developing, and Evaluation. The Planning section is further divided into 2 separate "threads": Design and Tools. The Design thread deals with the instructional design process, while the Tools thread is designed to guide you through the process of becoming comfortable with your authoring software. Due to the nature of the course, you will have to develop competency with the authoring software you choose to use at the same time you are planning your multimedia project; therefore, we suggest you follow the activities in both threads at the same time. The topics in one thread are not necessarily related to topics in the other, even though they run parallel. However, if you follow both threads as listed, by the time you reach the end of the Planning part of the course you will be ready to begin developing your project, both from a design standpoint and from a technical standpoint.

The design assignments are available by clicking the "Lessons" link on the top. The tools assignments are available by clicking the "Competencies" link on the top.

*** Please note that Design for Learning is a prerequisite for this course.

About Your Project

Your project in this course includes two main parts - a program and the supporting documents. Your project is demonstrated in your design document, storyboards, your program, and your evaluation report after the evaluation process. Your program is the interactive multimedia product that you will design, develop, and are submitting for evaluation.

Much information can be found throughout this course that relates to the "big picture" for your project. This information is listed below so you can keep it in mind as you progress through the design phase of this course.

  • Your project must cover a topic that can be taught using multimedia. (Needs Assessment and Goal Statement)
  • Your program must be a single instructional product that contains text, graphics, animation, digital audio and/or digital video. These components must be integrated into the single product rather than components of an individual lesson within the product. (Needs Assessment and Goal Statement)
  • Your program must require learner interaction to learn the material. Moving from one slide to the next is not sufficient interaction. (Overview of Planning)
  • Your program must be able to stand on its own. (Instructional Strategy)
  • Your program must support learning without any assistance or intervention form an instructor or other learners. (Development)
  • Your program is not a slide show.  It must provide for learning and interaction by the learner to achieve the objectives and goals. (Development)

Additionally, in the past, a project designed in "Principles of Instructional Design" or "Design for Learning" was allowed to be used as the project for this course. This is no longer the case - your project for this course must be different.

If you have any question about your project, it is best to ask them early in the process.

Required Materials and Resources

The main part of this course will involve the creation of an educational multimedia program that contains various media components, such as graphics, sound, and video. There are many forms multimedia can take, and many software products you can use to create it. However, we do need to produce an instructional program that can be used by peers that may not have the software specific to your location. To complete the work in this course you will have the option of using one of the following:

  1. Microsoft PowerPoint

  2. HTML (Web pages)

  3. JavaScript

  4. Flash

The decision on which software to use is up to you. If you choose to use PowerPoint or HTML you will be expected to expand your skills in those areas. Most of you should already own PowerPoint. If you want to use HTML we recommend using Dreamweaver. However, if you would like to use authoring software not on this list, please email the course facilitator or ITMA (itma@vt.edu) for approval as soon as possible.


Safari Tech Books Online

Virginia Tech Libraries has subscribed to numerous books from Safari Tech Books Online. These online books typically cover topics in the fields of computer science and information technology. There is a limited number of concurrent users, so if you are unable to access the site, please try again later. To access the Safari Books offered by the VT Library . . .

  • Go to the VT Library homepage (a link is available on the VT homepage)
  • Select the DATABASE tab
  • Type SAFARI in the search box
  • You will be taken to the Safari website and should be able to browse the titles available to the VT community.

Off-campus users will be required to login using two-factor authentication.


Lydna.com Tutorials

We will not be providing direct instruction on using the various software packages. Instead, we will make use of the tutorials provided by LinkedIn Learning. They have tutorials for each of the software options recommended above. As a Virginia Tech student, you have free access to the tutorials at the LinkedIn Learning site. Log in with your Virginia Tech email address to find tutorials.


Additional Tutorials

OBJECTIVES: Effective instructional objectives are a vital part of any instructional strategy. If you need or want more information on writing effective objectives, please follow the link below.

Course Assignments Schedule

Your interactive multimedia instructional program is a major work in this course. During the Planning section of the course you will create an Instructional Design Document that describes the program you hope to create. The Design Document is comprised of seven separate sections, which closely follow the traditional instructional design model. Once you have a completed Design Document you will then use your authoring software to create a working multimedia program. Finally, you will evaluate your results and create a plan for revisions. You will also be graded on the competencies covered in the Tools thread of the Planning section of the course.

The multimedia design and development process is complex and can be very time-consuming. Please take some time thinking about each step as you progress through the course. You may be working on multiple assignments at the same time, so try to manage your time efficiently. Do not wait until the end to start working on your project. If you wait and submit all assignments at one time near the end of the semester, you will receive an Incomplete in the course. Students who have been keeping up with course work will be given priority over students who have waited until the last minute. 

Please wait for feedback before proceeding too far with subsequent sections. We will attempt to provide feedback shortly after receiving your work. This feedback is extremely important to the design process because it will affect how you proceed with subsequent steps. Remember that it takes time to grade your work, so please wait patiently for grades and feedback.

Please follow the suggested submission dates for each activity. Following this schedule will allow you to finish the course by the end of the term. From the perspective of the ITMA program administration, due dates are flexible except where specifically noted. All grading follows the university calendar, and final grades are submitted based on that schedule.

All assignments must be completed to receive a final grade, including the Peer Evaluation and Plan for Revision. Remember, it is to your advantage to work steadily through lessons, especially as these lessons will be fundamental to your success in future courses.

Course Grading Scale

There are 500 points possible in this course. The table below lists the lessons and competencies, and the points for each related activity.

Introduction
Overview of Applied Theories of ID (0 points)
Planning
Design Thread Tools Thread
Lesson 1 - Overview of Planning (0 points) Competency 1 - Authoring Environment (0 points)
Lesson 2 - Needs Assessment and Goal Statement (20 points) Competency 2 - Multimedia Elements/Text (5 points)
Lesson 3 - Instructional Analysis (30 points) Competency 3 - Graphics (10 points)
Lesson 4 - Learner and Context Analysis (20 points) Competency 4 - Navigation (10 points)
Lesson 5 - Objectives (25 points) Competency 5 - Interactivity (15 points)
Lesson 6 - Assessment Items (20 points) Competency 6 - Sound & Video (15 points)
Lesson 7 - Instructional Strategy (40 points) Competency 7 - Animation (15 points)
Lesson 8 - Storyboards (20 points) Competency 8 - Exporting the Final Product (5 points)
Development
Lesson 9 - Development (175 points)
Evaluation
Lesson 10 - Formative Evaluation (75 points)
Total Points for this Course - 500

The following scale will be used in determining final grades:

PercentageGrade
93-100%A
90-92%A-
87-89%B+
83-86%B
80-82%B-
77-79%C+
73-76%C
70-72%C-
67-69%D+
63-66%D
60-62%D-

Submitting Assignments

We will be using an online student interface to aid you in submitting your assignments. When you finish an activity you will first save the file on your computer and then use this interface to submit your assignments for grading. This will permit the graders to grade your activities in a timely manner, and provide useful feedback. The student interface is accessible at the following URL:

Online Student Interface

After your projects have been graded you will be able to log back into this interface to view your score and any feedback that was given. The student interface also allows you to review the grading rubrics for each project.

Submitting Your Project

The files associated with your project will be collected into a "Project Files" template (available in Lesson 9). This template will contain links to your design document, storyboards, your final program, and when complete, your evaluation summary.

Your multimedia instructional program could include multiple files. In order to upload this type of program into your Filebox, please refer to the document "How to use filebox.itma" available from the Syllabus tab. This information includes instructions on connecting to your Filebox as well as uploading and accessing files. Should you be housing your program on a third party resource (including work-related servers), select that option when submitting your project's URL.

When your project is in your Filebox, peers in your evaluation group will be given READ access to your folder where project files reside.

When your project is ready to be submitted for the Formative Evaluation (Lesson 10), follow the instructions in that lesson to submit your Project Files template into the Peer Evaluation Interface.

Honor Code

Each learner is expected to abide by the Virginia Tech Graduate Honor System Pledge. Any tests and Integration Activities are expected to be the learner's own work; no outside assistance may be used.

The tenets of the Virginia Tech Graduate Honor Code will be strictly enforced in this course, and all assignments shall be subject to the stipulations of the Graduate Honor Code. For more information on the Graduate Honor Code, please refer to the GHS Constitution at http://ghs.graduateschool.vt.edu.

Support

If you have any questions about this module, please contact us at itma@vt.edu