The Importance of Iteration

Iterative design is a continuous cycle of creating, testing and making refinements and adjustments.  It's an ongoing, incremental process (Enginess, 2018). Iterative design is a way to start a project when the outcome isn't clear and helps move the project towards being seen and tested so that reviewers can offer feedback.  Iterative design offers a starting point that can then be refined as the designer continues to improve the product.

When using iterative design with regards to course design it's useful for the designer because he or she might have several ideas and is unsure of which one to start with.  A prototype of a course is a relatively inexpensive way to gather rapid feedback to make sure that the best ideas are taken forward and those which do not provide as much benefit are abandoned with no investment in their development (IDF, 2018).  Once the designer has identified the user needs he or she can revise the course accordingly and then have it tested and receive feedback again.  Iterative design is an ever-evolving way for a designer to create a course that adequately meets the needs of the learners.

With the course I've created in Blackboard, the revising process has been crucial to the instructional design.  Being new to the field of instructional design, any feedback that has been received from my instructor or reviewers has been beneficial to improving my course.  With the feedback I've received from various testing of the course, I've been able to revise my course accordingly to meet the needs of my learners.  Without iterative design, and the ongoing testing/reviewing/revising process, I don't feel that any poor elements in the design would have been addressed in a timely manner in order to avoid poor course quality.  In this respect, I feel that iteration has had a positive impact on the quality of my course.

Evaluation is an essential aspect of instructional design.  Evaluation determines whether you, as the designer, was successful in designing content and activities within a course that demonstrates content mastery for your learners.  It's a useful tool to use at any stage of the design process.  It alters the design of the course if a reviewer feels that the content and/or activities do not follow along with the learning objectives in the course and needs to be changed.  The evaluative process offers the designer an outside view of the course from a third party and alters their perception of the course.

It's important to consider different design methods when contemplating instructional design.  Iterative design is just another tool that designers can use to make their course stronger and beneficial to their learners.

References
Enginess. (2018).  What is Iterative Design? (and Why You Should Use It).  Retrieved from: https://enginess.io/insights/what-is-iterative-design

Interaction Design Foundation.  (2018).  Design iteration brings powerful results.  So, do it again designer!  Retrieved from: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-iteration-brings-powerful-results-so-do-it-again-designer

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