Review of Reiser and Dempsey’s Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (3rd Edition)

For the Fall of 2014 IDT 510 course, Research Practices in Instructional Design and Technology, the final of the four required texts was Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology (3rd Edition) by Robert A. Reiser and John V. Dempsey. I also used this text in the IDT 520 Course in the Spring of 2015.
This text is a little different than the others used in the course, as very little of it was actually written by Reiser and Dempsey. It is divided into chapters that are actually essays by some of the more highly regarded individuals in the instructional design field. It is actually one of the books that I have fond more valuable, and I have used it as a reference many times already, both professionally and academically.
The text is more up-to-date than many I have seen and it covers an incredible array of topics, including: whole task approaches, motivational design, models of evaluation, performance support, informal learning, ethics, social networking, game-based learning, virtual worlds, online learning, the design process, and what IDT professionals actually do.
This book is a must have for instructional designers, and it would also be a valuable resource for instructors that have any involvement in the development or revision of training materials. As it is a specialized textbook, it is not cheap ($90 from Amazon), but it is worth every penny. Trust me!
Thanks for checking in, and next time we will start getting into the courses and books from my second semester in the MSIDT program.
Reiser, R., & Dempsey, J. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Review of Fred Pyrczak’s Making Sense of Statistics: A Conceptual Overview (5th Edition)

For the IDT 510 course, Research Practices in Instructional Design and Technology, one of the four required texts was Making Sense of Statistics: A Conceptual Overview by Fred Pyrczak.
I was nonplussed when an assignment was posted from this book, as there was no advance notice that we needed it, and it was not in the syllabus. So, I got on Amazon and had it shipped to the hotel I was in that week so I could get started on the assignments. There was no way to get around having the book, as there was a problem set quiz for each chapter that needed to be completed on a weekly basis.
On the plus side of this equation, it is a really easy to read book, and I had three semesters of statistics and an undergrad, so I got through everything ok. Also, there was almost no math involved, as it was more about statistical vocabulary, concepts, and relationships. The chapters were short, and the associated quizzes were pretty easy. I ended up speeding a few hours to go through the whole book (about 178 pages), and marked the answers on all of the quizzes so I would be able to better concentrate on other assignments that were coming up.
This book will not get the reader through a full-on statistics course, but it turned out to be perfect for giving students a general idea of statistics and terms as they are used in scientific research, so it served its purpose. I went ahead and held on to my copy, as I think it might come in handy if I need to brush up on statistics or if I need to explain some of these concepts to my kid as he goes through school.
Lastly, it was relatively cheap -- I think I paid $35 for a used copy of the 5th Edition, but there is now a 6th edition that include a basic math review booklet.
Pyrczak, F. (2010 or 2014). Making sense of statistics: A conceptual overview (5th edition). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak Publishing

Review of The Psychologist as Detective: An Introduction to Conducting Research in Psychology (6th Edition)

For the IDT 510 course, Research Practices in Instructional Design and Technology, the second of the four required texts was Smith, S., and Davis, S. (2013). The Psychologist as Detective: An Introduction to Conducting Research in Psychology (6th Edition) by Randolph A. Smith and Stephen F. Davis.
This book is not a lightweight, coming in at 456 pages, but it is well-organized and it really does go through the entire research process, albeit with a psychology emphasis. The authors use the cute device of approaching research like a crime drama, showing the different ways that evidence can be interpreted and how solutions can be determined.
Everyday language is used for the most part, making it a fairly easy read. At times it can be difficult to take notes from it, as it jumps around a bit and the language needs to translated from the fictional anecdotes that are woven throughout. But still, kudos goes out to the authors for trying to make a fairly dull subject into something more interesting.
The real downsides to this book are its lack of usefulness as a reference after the course is completed and its jaw-dropping price: this book costs $166.23 for a new copy and $105.26 for a used one. I went the rental route, which was about $33, but I forgot to return it and ended up paying full price. Ugh! Anyway, I recommend renting it if possible, because if you study it properly during the course, you probably will not need it again.
Thanks for reading my blog today in, and next we will be taking a look at the other two texts that were used for the IDT 510 course.
Smith, S., and Davis, S. (2013). The psychologist as detective: An introduction to conducting research in psychology (6th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson.