The internet offers opportunities and threats for today's middle school students, requiring parents to proactively educate their children about life on the internet. However, there is a lack of clear, accessible information about how to initiate these complex conversations in a way that fosters openness and trust among parents and teens. An asynchronous instructional module provided parents with information about teen brain development and offered communication strategies to initiate and facilitate conversations about life online with teens. The instruction was guided by communication strategies developed by therapists Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. The design and development of the instruction were guided by theories in Androgogy, informal learning, Keller's ARCS model, and Merill's Principles of Instruction.
The instruction was evaluated through a usability study and learning effectiveness assessment. Results of the usability study showed strengths in instructional content and design but weaknesses in navigation. Learning effectiveness data showed that the instruction was generally effective but not relevant to a small group of study participants. Results showed growth in understanding, and 100% of the participants were motivated at the end of the instruction to use the strategies with their teens. Future work in this instructional area could delve more deeply into the target audience's needs and expand on the number and types of scenarios parents and teens may face. The most important thing the designer learned from this process is that effective instruction is less about the "bells and whistles" of novel technology and more about understanding the problem, formulating clear objectives, and implementing research-based instructional strategies organized in an easy-to-follow fashion.
Sherri Uecke