EDT 8900 - Instructional Design Internship
1. Internship Location
The Air Force Institute of Technology, or AFIT, is the Air Force's graduate school of engineering and management and it’s institution for technical professional continuing education. Located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Area B, AFIT is home to four schools: the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the School of Systems and Logistics, the Civil Engineer School, and the School of Strategic Force Studies.
The Air Force Institute of Technology, or AFIT, is the Air Force's graduate school of engineering and management and it’s institution for technical professional continuing education. Located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Area B, AFIT is home to four schools: the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the School of Systems and Logistics, the Civil Engineer School, and the School of Strategic Force Studies.
This internship focused on an AFIT-wide learning management system (LMS) conversion from Blackboard Learn to Canvas. Due to the web-based nature of both learning management systems, I was able to perform 95% of the work from home using a login and password to both systems. In-person visits to AFIT consisted of bi-weekly intern-supervisor meetings to validate the conversion progress.
2. Individual Skills Emphasized During the Internship
EDT 8140, LMS Evaluation, provided the technical background for using learning management systems. In that course, I compared Brightspace/D2L to Canvas LMS. Because of this experience, I was able to quickly re-acclimate myself with creating course modules and pages in Canvas.
Image of AFIT BlackBoard Learn MATH 004 Course Overview Page
EDT 8140, LMS Evaluation, provided the technical background for using learning management systems. In that course, I compared Brightspace/D2L to Canvas LMS. Because of this experience, I was able to quickly re-acclimate myself with creating course modules and pages in Canvas.
Image of AFIT BlackBoard Learn MATH 004 Course Overview Page
Although I learned basic Canvas structure and navigation in 8140, this task required learning course structure and navigation in BlackBoard, trying to determine relevant content to transfer to Canvas, downloading significantly large files from BlackBoard to my home computer, and uploading them to Canvas. Once uploaded, the courses had to be designed and built from scratch due to a lack of simple conversion method from BlackBoard to Canvas.
Image of AFIT Canvas LMS MATH 004 Course Overview Page
Image of AFIT Canvas LMS MATH 004 Course Overview Page
Once re-familiarized with Canvas, designing the courses was fun! The intern supervisor emphasized the inclusion of humor and creativity while re-creating the math courses in Canvas. After the first few weeks, I was able to quickly convert and design course content in Canvas that was consistent and repeatable for future designers.
Image of Canvas MATH 004 Pretest Page
Image of Canvas MATH 004 Pretest Page
3. Summary
The internship and associated tasks were a beneficial and fun learning experience, supported by an intern supervisor who encouraged design creativity combined with humor. It provided a real-world glimpse of the instructional design career field. As a full-time working adult, the ability to perform the majority of the internship from home played a huge role in its success.
The internship and associated tasks were a beneficial and fun learning experience, supported by an intern supervisor who encouraged design creativity combined with humor. It provided a real-world glimpse of the instructional design career field. As a full-time working adult, the ability to perform the majority of the internship from home played a huge role in its success.
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