“With iSpring, we empowered students to build stronger instructional design skills and increased learning engagement”
7 minutes
The Darden College of Education & Professional Studies is part of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, US. The college is the alma mater for over 41,000 alumni and is dedicated to expanding the influence of education, industry, and clinical and service professionals globally.
Amidst the growing digitalization of all professional and educational niches, the Darden College of Education faced the challenge of building new learning scenarios where students could use technology to generate new solutions quickly and easily. One discipline in need of such an upgrade was “Theory and Design of Instructional Simulation,” in which learners design instructional simulations and simulators.
An adjunct professor, a PhD student, and a graduate student at Darden College shared how iSpring Suite helped them boost student creativity, produce more engaging student projects, and learn more effectively.
Dr. Miguel Ramlatchan, adjunct instructor at ODU
Background
The Darden College of Education & Professional Studies opened its doors in 1963 and now hosts 11 bachelor’s degree programs, as well as 60 graduate programs and certificates on-campus and online. Instructional Design & Technology is a program at the Darden College of Education & Professional Studies that provides graduate students with a foundation in instructional design, cognitive theory, and research.
One discipline that the program includes is “Theory and Design of Instructional Simulation.” Dr. Miguel Ramlatchan, an adjunct instructor at ODU, taught this discipline in the spring semester of 2023. It was a 16-week series of online project-based classes in which nine PhD and master’s degree students gained and then applied theoretical knowledge in a simulation design project. Dr. Miguel notes that each student was free to choose a software or platform to build their project and present it to peers. This presented the challenge of finding the right software that would empower students to sharpen their skills with confidence.
The Challenge: Navigating the Shift to Digital Learning with the Right Tools
Both the instructors and students at the Darden College of Education & Professional Studies have been witnessing the old approach to teaching and learning get outdated. Heath Edelman, a PhD student at ODU, says that the need to switch from paper workbooks to a more agile and accessible type of learning resource has been especially urgent in the post-pandemic world.
Students didn’t like the format and were confused by the workbooks. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this was worsened by the need to use these remotely and individually.
Dr. Miguel Ramlatchan adds that the course would benefit from solid, easy-to-use authoring software:
Students at the Instructional Design & Technology program needed a reliable authoring tool to create and present their simulation design projects. While the students were free to choose the software from a multitude of options, such as Adobe Captivate or Articulate Storyboard, they often had a hard time mastering the interface of these tools.
Dr. Ramlatchan notes that, as a result, students spent too much time figuring out how to use a tool, which diverted their attention from actually building projects. On top of that, short trial periods and expensive pricing models of most of the tools on the market didn’t help solve the issue.
Solution: iSpring Suite
iSpring Suite proved to be the most convenient, intuitive, and adaptive tool for the educational purposes of the Instructional Design & Technology program.
Providing students with a robust authoring tool for impressive projects
We quickly realized that iSpring Suite is a great asset for our students to build design simulation projects. It doesn’t require lengthy onboarding, and we could leverage all its features right away to create elaborate presentations.
I researched and found iSpring Suite, signed up for a trial myself, and was very impressed with the results I could create quickly. The extended trial, the integration with PowerPoint, the speech-to-text features, and the ability to output a stand-alone simulation were essential. And so, I knew that iSpring would be a very attractive and effective alternative to Captivate and Articulate, and advised students to look at and consider iSpring as they researched tools and software options.
Indeed, iSpring Suite enabled students to create complex, engaging design simulations with nuanced scenarios from scratch while avoiding the longer learning curve they experienced with other authoring tools.
The creators clearly gave some thought to enabling educators to convert existing content in PowerPoint to iSpring Suite presentations. iSpring tools can be used to develop simulations, and the scenario mapping tool is very easy to use. So far, I’ve developed and modified 13 courses with iSpring Suite.
Establishing a strong hybrid learning foundation
iSpring Suite also came in handy for hybrid and remote classes when we had to make sure that all the students had access to well-crafted learning materials and project prototypes.
I used iSpring Suite 11 in a proof-of-concept demonstration. Adopting eLearning definitely ensured better access to course content for students. It allowed me as an instructor to present an initial classroom lecture and then turn students loose to work through the scenarios on their own and at their own pace.
Fostering students’ confidence and presentation skills
What was an unexpected but valuable outcome of incorporating iSpring Suite into the program was an increased level of confidence we observed in our students. We were pleasantly surprised to see how they used the functionality of the tool to make their project presentations more dynamic and comprehensive, as well as to deliver their ideas more effectively.
Two projects in particular were both impressive and diverse in the content areas. One example of a successful and effective simulation project using iSpring was a simulation for young elementary children that demonstrated acts of kindness. Another successful and effective simulation project using iSpring was a simulation for working adults in the utility and public services industry that taught safe drinking water regulations and certified learners to be able to sample and test public drinking water systems.
Having spoken to the students who opted for iSpring Suite over other software, we found out even more. Besides the ease of implementation of the tool’s feature set, there was a psychological quality to using Suite: it mitigated learners’ anxiety associated with public presentations.
I loved using iSpring. I usually get so overwhelmed doing projects and presentations, but I loved the ease of using iSpring Suite and the ability to continue improving my project the more I learned. I loved that it uses PowerPoint, so I felt very comfortable using it. And I enjoyed using the text-to-speech feature for my presentation. It really helped me deal with my anxiety about public speaking.
Results
iSpring Suite’s integration into our Instructional Design & Technology program has yielded impressive outcomes. This tool has established a robust foundation for hybrid and remote learning, ensuring that all students have access to high-quality learning materials. Instructors found it versatile, allowing for initial classroom lectures followed by independent, student-paced learning.
iSpring Suite empowered students to create complex design simulations with ease, surpassing other authoring tools in efficiency. Surprisingly, it also boosted their confidence and presentation skills. It led to higher grades and fostered better learner engagement, both in the classroom and in remote learning settings.
In general, adopting iSpring Suite into our curriculum enriched our program, enabling seamless content creation and improving overall learning outcomes. We look forward to implementing iSpring Suite in our future programs at ODU.
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