Web programming for instructional designers on Demystifying Instructional Design

One of the bits of advice regarding creating instructional design portfolios is to describe the problem you are trying to solve, your solution, but also your thought process in coming up with that solution. Stay tuned for Episode 7 of Demystifying Instructional Design where Arthur Harrington talks a little bit about portfolios and hiring instructional designers!

I figured I’d write this blog post as a way to outline my thought processes around creating the Web programming for instructional designers course that I will hopefully be teaching in the spring (assuming I get enough enrollment in the course).

The Problem

Some instructional designers need to be able to edit website and integrate xAPI statements into eLearning modules. Further instructional designers need to be able to setup a basic eLearning ecosystem. This course is intended for the students who want to understand some of the more technical foundations of eLearning.

One of the interesting aspects of the course is that my learners will be entering the course with different background levels. I needed to create an assignment structure that allows for challenges for both those who are newer to web programming and those who have some experience with web programming. This also is not a coding course, in that the focus is not on teaching the basics of computer science, but rather the focus is on what practical things instructional designers might need to do – like learning how to edit the look and feel of a website and how to send xAPI statements from within an eLearning module.

For additional context, the learners in my class are highly motivated mid-career professionals who are taking the course because they want to learn and they want to challenge themselves.

My Solution

My solution to the problem is to create a series of course challenges at different levels. Learners are required to gain a minimum number of points in order to get an A in the class. The following are the instructions I give to students.

Learners will be expected to choose the appropriate challenge levels for this course. Learners could need a minimum of 4 points. You get 1 point per level 2 challenge, 2 points per level 2 challenge, and 3 points for a level 3 challenge. To get credit for challenge projects, learners will be required to create the project, demonstrate the projects, and provide a short reflection (paper or presentation) on their learnings.

Learners may propose their own challenges.

Below are some suggested challenges.

Challenge Level 1 (1 point):
1.1 Modifying the look-and-feel of a WordPress website using CSS.
1.2 Creating a child theme in WordPress (HTML, CSS, PHP).
1.3 Modifying the look-and-feel of an existing H5P module (HTML,CSS).

Challenge Level 2 (2 points):
2.1 Integrating an H5P module to send an xAPI statement to a learning record store (JavaScript).
2.2 Modifying the functionality of an existing H5P module (JavaScript).
2.3 Create a branch logic story/lesson using Twine (JavaScript).

Challenge Level 3 (3 points):
3.1 Creating a new H5P module (HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
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