INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

From an instructional perspective, live practice closes the kinesthetic learning loop, thus enhancing cognitive encoding and improving skills retention.

In order to create compelling experiential learning solutions, you must find a way to combine and synergize instructor‐led training, live discussion, real‐world based scenarios, and self‐directed study into one rich and accessible educational experience—delivered right to each student’s desktop. This is a proven instructional methodology that attracts professionals who want the interactivity of the classroom and the flexibility of an online course.

Student‐centric blended courseware must be built from the foundation of interactivity and student engagement. Furthermore, instructors must direct pre‐built interactions and team collaboration activities in a live classroom. This nirvana blended learning experience is built on the foundation of the following instructional design principles:

• Learning is most engaging when multi‐sensory support is provided
• Learning is most effective when potential cognitive overload is minimized and avoided
• Learning is most engaging and effective when multi‐modality learning support is provided
• Learning how to learn is just as important (or even more important) than learning through instructor facilitation and modeling. This is known as the student evolution curve.
• Learning is better sustained and reinforced through continued self‐assessment and instructor feedback

Toolwire has built a proprietary instructional design architecture around these principles. In each ‘Immersive Learning Cycle’ students are presented with several Major Interactions and a few Minor Interactions. Next, students are presented with an interactive signposting exercise with remediation to ensure that learning objectives are appropriately addressed. Finally, scoring is accomplished using a variety of different experiential assessment activities. Please reference the accompanying flowchart for more information.

Toolwire Co‐Creation Methodology

Toolwire follows a structured set of processes as a “best practice” methodology that has been developed and refined over a number of years. Our Clients have found this to be a very successful approach and has yielded award winning projects at a number of institutions. A very general summary of this co‐creation methodology is as follows:

1. College identifies the course that will employ Toolwire experiential learning solutions.
2. College provides Toolwire with the course Topics and Objectives. Toolwire purchases the Textbook and other supporting materials.
3. Toolwire creates a Toolwire Assignment Mapping (TAM) document with a list of proposed experiential learning solutions and descriptions of each.
4. College reviews the TAM and approves the appropriate activities.
5. Toolwire provides College with an initial External Design Spec (EDS)/Outline of each activity, including: equipment, images, software, features, objectives, rough dialog (Scenarios), etc.
6. College approves the EDS/Outline and Toolwire begins development. If any changes are required, Toolwire incorporates the changes and sends the EDS/Outline back to College for another round of approval.
7. Partially through development, Toolwire provides College with a Flowchart and/or Storyboard of the lab guides and/or Scenario storylines/dialog. The Flowchart includes the following: logical flow, structures and sequences of programming, and decision points/branches. The Storyboard includes the following: sketches of visual designs and layouts of all screens, navigation, description of interactions, description of animation, video, and audio components.
8. College approves the Flowchart/Storyboard and Toolwire continues development. If any changes are required, Toolwire incorporates the changes and sends the Flowchart/Storyboard back to College for another round of approval.
9. Towards the end of development, Toolwire provides College with an Alpha version of each activity and incorporates College feedback.
10. Toolwire provides College with a Beta version of each activity and incorporates College feedback.
11. College approves the final version of all activities.
12. Toolwire provides College with integration metadata to incorporate into the College Learning Management System (LMS).

In addition, we are available to work directly with your Instructional Designers and Developers in crafting the course design. Many of our Higher Education partners appreciate our “experiential” perspective when they are crafting their curriculum.

Experiential Assessments

All Toolwire solutions include performance‐based assessment to track student progress. These experiential learning Scenarios help students encode knowledge they learn in class to Long Term Memory. This ensures a more effective level of skills retention – a key element of learning.

Toolwire solutions include two types of assessment:

• Results‐based – Scenario reports and configuration files submitted to instructors.
• Interactive Avatar Quizzes – integrated into the “day‐in‐the‐life” experience. See the accompanying graphic for an illustration of Interactive Avatar Quizzes.

In addition, we use an open‐ended assessment approach for all of our solutions: Project‐based (open‐ ended) and Assessment‐based (close‐ended). The Interactive Scenarios and LiveLabs typically have a “right” answer, although the student can arrive at the right answer in a variety of ways. On the other hand, the Student Desktops and Immersive Learning Environments are Project‐based and open‐ended. From an assessment perspective, students develop solutions, build presentations, and write papers. Then, the system helps them submit their work to instructors for grading.