Exploring Instructional and Access Technologies
Session Summary
(M11C)
A Multimedia Instructional Design Model for Planning and Delivering Professional Development for Teachers of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in the Czech Republic
Gerald Berent
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An innovative multimedia instructional design model was devised for the planning, development, and delivery of a week-long professional development conference for teachers of English to deaf and hard-of-hearing students at secondary and postsecondary levels of education in the Czech Republic. The conference took place in August 2004 and was co-hosted by Charles University in Prague and the Postsecondary Education Network-International, supported by The Nippon Foundation of Japan. The conference consisted of eight multimedia lectures and nine workshops focusing on English language teaching and general educational topics. Conference presenters were recruited based on their proven expertise in teaching-learning specialties relevant to the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Every aspect of conference planning, preparation, format, materials development, presentation, dissemination, evaluation, and archiving was driven by the organizers' multimedia instructional design model. Central to the model is a comprehensive conference Web site on which materials were posted as they were developed, through which all conference materials and related resources (PowerPoint presentations, handouts, articles, readings, and photos) could be accessed during the conference, and on which the complete conference experience remains archived and accessible. The conference organizers will explain and demonstrate the conference model, which facilitated this invaluable international effort and which high participant ratings validate as a general strategy for teacher training initiatives. |