Integrating Technology with ADDIE

ADDIE Model

Last week, I attended ISTE in Philadelphia and met a lot of educators who all had the same goal of bringing more technology into the classroom. One thing that stood out to me though was the large range of backgrounds among those in technology leadership positions (e.g., principals, tech coordinators, media specialists). And I didn’t meet a single one that had any formal training in instructional design and technology (not to say they weren’t there, I just didn’t run into any)–most were using ISTE and other PD avenues for gaining skills in technology integration.

I find this problematic because it has essentially resulted in the reliance on less than adequate methods (e.g., SAMR model) for technology integration. Because technology integration is really about learning, and because instructional design serves as the foundation of technology integration, I was inspired to write today’s post as an introduction to the nuts and bolts of technology integration, using ADDIE as a framework (ADDIE is really the generic basis of many different models).

So, what is technology integration really? I think of it as the use of technology to enhance learning or to help solve learning problems. The process of technology integration is metacognitive in nature–it requires an intense amount of self-awareness and self-reflection about your own teaching and learning.

ADDIE is a good place to start with planning for technology integration because it is simple and fairly easy to remember. Here is how technology integration fits into the framework of ADDIE:

Analysis. Technology integration starts with assessment and analysis.

• What are the learning goal(s)? What do your students need to be able to do?
• What knowledge or skills are necessary to reach the learning goal(s)? What prior knowledge do you expect them to have?
• What type of technology (this is where you analyze different technologies’ affordances) would be best suited for the learning goal and topic?
  • Example: A visually-dependent (e.g., ThingLink) technology might be a great fit for a visually-dependent topic (e.g., art), but an inadequate fit for a more abstract concept (e.g., philosophy).
• What are your technology limitations (e.g., access, availability, support)?

Design and Development. This is where the lesson planning takes place. Think about your teaching practices. Are they teacher-centered or student-centered? How will you use technology to achieve the learning goal(s)? Technology integration isn’t just about what technology you will use, but how you will use it. The table below is one of my favorites (pay special attention to the bottom two categories related to technology):

Taken from P.A. Ertmer et al. / Computers & Education 59 (2012) 423–435

Implementation. This is where you implement your lesson plan. Expect the need the make revisions. Good teaching is a process not a product!

• What worked well in the lesson? What might you change?
• How smoothly did the technology fit into the implementation process?
• What, if any, problems did you run into with implementing the technology?

Evaluation.

• Based on assessments, did students achieve the learning goal(s)?
• What features of the technology helped you achieve the learning goal(s)? How might those features help in future lessons?

ADDIE serves as the basis for a number of instructional design models (e.g., NTeQ, ASSURE) that support technology integration, which I will discuss further in future posts.

The ADDIE Model in a Nutshell

The ADDIE Model is the foundation of the instructional design process. ADDIE stands for analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. It’s generic in the sense that virtually all other instructional design models are based on it. Understanding it will give you a picture of what it takes to fully design instruction.

That being said, in reality ADDIE is not always used in its entirety for instructional design. It really depends on the circumstances. For librarians though, the ADDIE model can serve as a guide for the design and development of a full scale information literacy program.

Here’s ADDIE in a nutshell, with the kinds of questions you might ask when designing an information literacy program:

Analysis

The Analysis stage is the research you take and the decisions you make that will inform your learning needs, instructional delivery and design. This is where you start, but you will also revisit Analysis along the way and modify as the need arises. For the analysis of an information literacy program, ask yourself the following questions (answering the questions will require assessment and research):

• What learning outcomes are we looking for?
• What do the students need to learn? What do they already know?
• What are the students’ characteristics? What are their learning motivations?
• How will the learning outcomes align with course curricula?
• How will we deliver the instruction? What constraints might impact instructional delivery (e.g. time, equipment, physical space)?
• How will we measure learning outcomes?
• What constraints will impact design, development and implementation (e.g. staff, expertise, technology resources)?

Design

During the Design stage, you create the instructional plan using the information gathered from the Analysis stage. The Design stage falls into three primary categories:

• Task design (or task analysis): What steps will be required for students to meet the learning outcomes? It’s easiest to write these as instructional objectives and sub-objectives because you will be measuring them. A great tool for this is the Bloom’s Taxonomy interactive wheel.
• Content design: What content will be included? How much content? Is the content aligned to the objectives? Will the content facilitate the learning outcomes?
• Instructional strategy design: What strategies will be used to facilitate learning? Here are some strategy sources that are particularly relevant to information literacy:
  • Project-based learning tools
  • ReadWriteThink strategy guides
  • NCTE resources – 21st century literacies
• Interface design: What will the final instructional deliverables look like (e.g. handouts, screencasts, PowerPoint slides, interactive tutorials)? Consider this the storyboarding stage.

Development

During the Development stage, the instructional deliverables are created. This is a team effort. For example, one person might create graphics, another audio clips and another interface development. This is also the stage where you conduct usability testing, and make initial modifications as needed.

Implementation

During the Implementation stage, you deliver the instruction to the learners for the first time. You will get feedback from the learners on usability of interface and understand-ability of content (i.e. did content delivery confuse learners?). You will likely find ‘bugs’ in the instruction, which may result in anything from simple tweaks (that’s your hope) to a full-on redesign (that’s not your hope).

Evaluation

In the Evaluation stage, you get feedback on the effectiveness of the instruction. Did learners meet the learning outcomes? If an adequate number learners were able to meet the learning outcomes (e.g. 80%), then the instruction is deemed successful. However, good instructional design is iterative in nature, and evaluation is an ongoing process. Expect periodical modifications to instructional content and strategies to be needed.