J3: Roles and realities...

In the ever-evolving design process, a product emerges that at best addresses and solves a problem, or at worst leads to still better iterations. When the topic is important, much of the work must transcend the formulaic and ineffectual.

I make it no secret of my distaste for the tendency toward technology in disproportion to effective human engagements in instruction. Post-humanist nonsense quickly decays as a justification for the teacher-less learning environment when considering algorithmic approaches to instructional design technology. For many subjects, the value of a human designer must be enlisted to more effectively address problems that are impossible to automate. Whether one considers him/herself an artist, engineer, architect or craftsperson, these roles, when making design choices that address problems which may be solved with instruction are distinctly human.

I am also not a huge fan of Storyline, however, like PowerPoint, as a production tool for composing assets created by other means it is fairly harmless. As I am working within SL3 and the Adobe CS among other design and development tools, most of the "design work" happening involves subverting the aesthetics of the Storyline program in order to make use of some of the underlying functionality. In my other projects, one that is considerably larger in scale, it pays to adhere to industry standards for the software. The goal, however, in all of my projects, is to hold to my personal dictum that technology should serve the artist (or engineer, architect or craftsperson), making it the designer's charge to bring technology to bear.

By now, a few of my classmates are aware of my project topic and many have offered personal stories and valuable feedback. The gravitas of such a project demands mindful consideration, and it is constantly evolving as a living experience — also distinctly human. As the aesthetics speak to my design sensibilities, I feel more strongly than ever, that design may be the best avenue forward for technology if it is to serve the human purpose of informing, instructing, teaching or training. With a message this clear, and this stark, the truth of that human purpose could not be more evident.