Cindy Walsh

Comprehensive Instructional Design Plan

MEDT 7490
Summer 2015
My client for this instructional design plan is Mr. Jerry Holmes, a part-time ContinuingEd computer instructor at our local technical college in Moultrie, Georgia. As a part-time
instructor, Mr. Holmes is responsible for coming up with his own lessons for any given topic of
interest relating to computer technology. With the latest rage of Raspberry Pis, he wanted to
teach the local students how to build an inexpensive computer using the latest version of Pi,
which is the Raspberry Pi 2. This new version of Pi is still inexpensive but is much faster than
the previous version. However, he needed to come up with a lesson that contained good visuals
and easy to follow guided instructions that his students could follow and understand with ease.
The Raspberry Pi 2 comes with an instruction manual, but manuals are often vague and
misleading.
Mr. Holmes and I met and discussed several ways in which I could help him enhance his
lesson. He really wanted a PowerPoint to help him introduce the lesson that depicted images
showing the students how to turn the Pi into a computer. I constructed a PowerPoint according
to his instructions with a brief assessment tool included at the end to test for understanding. He
planned to use the PowerPoint with the whole class, guiding them and answering questions as he
went through the PowerPoint. I referenced the images I used at the bottom of each slide on the
PowerPoint. They mostly came from the Microsoft clipart depository, but I did have one image I
retrieved from Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported license which allows you to share, copy, distribute, or adapt the work for free. Then he
wanted an additional visual with the same instructions as the PowerPoint but condensed for the

students to follow on their own or even use as a print-out as their guide while building their own
computer during independent time. I thought an infographic would be perfect. I took the
instructions and visuals from the PowerPoint I designed for him and created an infographic that
his students could use as their guide to build their own computer. The students can print this
infographic to use as a handout if desired. Building their computer will serve as the final
assessment to be evaluated by the instructor. Images used in the infographic are cited in the
Sources section at the bottom of the infographic. All images are from Wikimedia Commons and
are free to use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license or
from Pixabay Free Vector Graphic images.
Visual literacy is more important today than ever before because of television and movie
theaters, billboard advertising and the Internet. Our world is visual, and according to Frey and
Fisher (2008), its no longer enough to read and write text. Our students must learn to process
both words and pictures. To be visually literate, they must learn to read (consume/interpret)
images and write (produce/use) visually rich communications (p. 5). We are learning that by
students seeing images associated with text, they are more likely to remember. Research has
indicated that humans process images at 60,000 times faster than text, so it only makes sense that
educators take full advantage of this learning tool (p. 8). I feel that the PowerPoint and the
infographic I created for Mr. Holmes provide the visual elements needed to help the students
learn through text and images. I used some of Mayers principles for multimedia instruction to
design the PowerPoint and infographic. I used the coherence principle by using only words and
images necessary for the instructions to build the computer. I also used spatial contiguity by
placing text next to the part of the graphic it described. Mayers signaling principle was used by

including bold headings and pointer words such as first, second, third, etc to signal the series
of steps needed to build the computer.
The PowerPoint and the infographic I created also meet several of the Association of
College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher
Education even though these tools were created for middle school students. The ACRL states
that individuals must develop the skills to critically view, use, and produce visual content in
order to engage capably in a visually-oriented society (ACRL, 2011). Students use Standard
Ones learning outcome 1c which states the individual articulates criteria that need to be met by
the image (specific item). This is satisfied when the students choose the appropriate items they
need to complete their computer build from the bulleted list and from the images provided.
Without the list of items, they will not be able to complete the computer build project. Students
also make use of Standard Two, learning outcome 3a, which states students will make use of
download functions. Students must perform this task when they are required to download the
appropriate operating system for their Raspberry Pi from the web link provided. Standard five
includes learning outcome 3b which states that students will use visual thinking skills to clarify
and solve problems. Students will make use of this standard when they follow the images in the
directions to build their own computer by making sure their outcome matches the images
provided.
The challenges in creating this project were miniscule. I have used PowerPoints for
many years and actually enjoy making and using them in instruction, so creating this one was no
problem. Creating the infographic was not a challenge either, even though I just learned how to
make one this year. My biggest challenge was finding the time to actually sit down to work on
this project with my client as this is one of the busiest times in my life. My son is getting

married in two weeks, so spare time is scarce with a wedding to plan, work, and school.
Learning about visual literacy has literally changed the way I think about images and look at
images. I never knew images were so powerful in instruction until taking this course. According
to Frey & Fisher (2008), the eyes are the most powerful information conduit to the brain and
that seeing is also remembering (p. 7). After learning how the brain interprets images and that
students can learn best when words are mixed with images, I will make great use of images in
instruction for future lessons. As an instructional technology specialist serving my county, I will
pass the learning of images on to my teachers in professional development courses and trainings
and encourage them to use more images. I plan to show my teachers that creating images in their
instruction will help their students foster understanding, retain information, and monitor for
meaning (p. 48).
References
ACRL Visual Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. ACRL Board of Directors,
2011. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/visualliteracy
Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2008). Teaching visual literacy: Using comic books, graphic novels,
anime, cartoons, and more to develop comprehension and thinking skills. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Multimedia Instruction. Handbook of Research on Educational
Communications & Technology, 385-399. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_31