Educational Technology

NIU eLearning Services bases its approach on standards developed by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). AECT defines Educational Technology as:

"The study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources."
(Januszewski and Molenda, 2007)

Creating

The instructional design model we use to develop online courses is based on the ADDIE model:

• Analysis - we meet with the client to determine what is to be built. This includes the target population, content, and platform for delivery.
• Design - the eLearning team develops a design document and/or a storyboard from which to develop a prototype to show the client.
• Development - once the prototype has been approved the eLearning team develops the rest of the product.
• Implementation - the product is uploaded and tested by our quality assurance specialists as well as a sample of the target population if available.
• Evaluation - at the end of the first course offering we ask our client to provide the learners with a survey to obtain feedback and begin modification.

Using

Our students are the focus of our development. It is our goal to keep their experience in mind first when designing, developing and testing our products. It is also why we need to evaluate their experiences so we can improve the design of our products.

Managing

Management is an important part of any project. eLearning is experienced not only in managing resources but also in project management. For faculty this means you can focus on your course and not have to worry about managing the development team.

Process

We don't believe in letting technology lead the way. We look at the course objectives, successful strategies in teaching the materials and then help you pick the right technologies for your course.

Resources

People - NIU faculty and staff are very important resources. Without our instructors and subject matter experts eLearning would have nothing to develop. The eLearning team is also a very important resource. Our team is made up of instructional designers, multimedia specialists, graphic designers, technical support and quality assurance specialists. Our graphic designers specialize in illustration, Flash interaction, animation, interface design, and game development.

Technology - eLearning offers access to several NIU licensed instructional tools, such as Adobe Connect, podcasting server space, blogging, web-based chat, a Second Life virtual campus and our social networking portals. We will gladly provide training and support for these tools.

Values

As stated earlier we put the learner's experience first. Our goal is to provide our clients with value for their learning experience. That means we want our materials to be engaging, interactive and to meet their learning goals.