As we progress in this course and I go through some of the readings, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm truly in the right field. I reach chapter 2 - Toward Understanding the Nature of Design and I truly struggled with just trying to understand what the author was talking about. I get that the author was making the case that ID is a very complex practice, but I think it was the theory that was losing me. One of the redeeming sentences though was Bannon suggesting that we further understand how designers actually derive solutions creatively rather than focusing on models and algorithmic solutions. Bannon also shared some excerpts from Gero, et al.'s (2014) research that I believe may have been more simplistic and easier to follow. Perhaps, much like Gibbons's response notes, I was hoping for more focus on finding the "true nature" of design that Bannon had prefaced for the entire piece.
On the flip side, I was able to engage more in reading chapter 4 - Design Beyond Content because of the focus on developing content that the learner can retain. The content alone is not enough, it's in the design, delivery, methodology, etc. that create the entire learning experience. The key point that stuck with me was the idea that learning the content isn't enough. It's when the learner goes beyond the content to seek more, learn more, understand more, building "deep learners". Would you rather teach a child a set of facts, or how to be creative, etc. to develop skills AND character traits. What a novel concept?! Develop a learner, not a robot who can memorize content.
I will admit, my faith in ID as a field of study was heavily questioned after reading chapter 2. However, faith restored after reading chapter 4! The supplement activities that we've been doing also feel like I'm doing what I should be doing. The activities are simple, but useful, and have a practical purpose in my life. For example, this week's assignment to generate a Google doc and collaborate is something I do on a daily basis for work. In this example, I generated a promotion memo for another employee and had her review and sign. I played around with some of the add-ons and downloaded Docu-Sign. I've included both the original here and the fully executed, signed version here.
I am looking forward to learning more about the functional design activities, maybe less theory for me personally.
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