For the Remix Design Approach activity, I started with existing Instructional Design frameworks, like ADDIE and SAM, to think about what my framework for design is. I also considered the MALXD framework and how it has shaped the courses in my graduate program so far. For better or worse, I kept landing on creating a backronym using my last name, Smania. In this blog, I will share my process for creating two different videos that present my design concept.
Original Design
Watch the short Tik Tok below to view my first creation, which was built within the Tik Tok app without the use of AI.
I decided to create a Tik Tok for this activity, because I wanted to engage with a platform that many people are turning to for microlearning. I also wanted to lean into some of the silliness of my design concept and thought that a back-and-forth conversation between two versions of myself would be a meta approach.
I began by drafting a script that hit on the most important points of each part of the process. Once the script was created, I watched a few Tik Toks about how to create this style of Tik Tok. I have very little experience on the creator side of the app, so this was a good opportunity to sharpen my skills. These Tik Toks are created in multiple takes. I recorded the video from my first POV (the novice/LXD student), and then I recorded how long it would take me to explain as the expert. Then, I did a quick outfit change, and re-recorded all of the expert segments. It was really tricky to time myself correctly with each of these clips, and the end result does show a couple of my mistakes along the way.
AI Video Generation
The next stage of this activity was to create an AI-generated video of the same content as my original video. I gave AI my script and prompted it to polish the script, then I headed over to Vyond to have it create the video. I opted for an animated style featuring a similar novice/expert dynamic. Here is the AI-generated video:
https://app.vyond.com/videos/36964e56-c5e9-4f87-8508-630040c9d5d6
It was not terribly difficult to edit the dialogue within Vyond, and I thought the final product was a pretty polished and easy to follow video; however, I do think it lacks the human-charm of my Tik Tok. I also think it’s much more boring content over all.
Challenges and General Thoughts
I do not think that Tik Tok is the best platform for learning experience design, and I wrestled with using a different method for some time. In the end, I am pretty happy with how the Tik Tok turned out, but the video editor is certainly lacking in some ways. It has a limited number of features for graphics and other elements without using a third-party app. Vyong had tons of features, though many were disabled in the free trial version. I do think that the final product was a really neat video that fit my criteria from the prompt quite well.
I feel like the creativity that humans can bring to designs is, so far, unmatched by AI. I think my 6th grade students would spot the AI-generated video as what it is, and ultimately, we want our learning experiences to feel human.