Communicating effectively

Communication is very important when working on a project. A I have learned in any project in life when the project manager communicates everything goes smoothly. As Portny reminds us, “To successfully launch a project, everyone associated with the project must understand the roles and responsibilities” (Portny & Mantel, 2008). If team members do not understand their role in a project the project, it may fail.That is why it is important to be clear what everyone’s role is.

In this week’s activity I viewed a message in multiple ways. I viewed the message by text, audio, and face-to-face. The reason I did this in more the one way was so that I could analyze and understand the delivery of each message. I read the text, listened to the voicemail over and over again, and tried to pay attention to the speakers tone. My interpretation of the messages changed for each message. I found this interesting because they saying “it’s not what you say, but how you say it” came into play for me.

I felt like this activity was meant to show me how words can have power. It also showed me the many modes of getting messages across and how it can be understood by the other party. 

References:
Portny, S., Mantel, S., & Meredith, J. (2008). Project Management: Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling Projects. Danvers: John Wiley & Sons.

Learning from a Project “ Post-mortem”

    One of the most recent projects that I was involved in had to deal with creating a document that placed students that I taught in classes that I thought they would benefit from for the next school year. As a group member I was in charge of coming up with the best way to do this. I had no idea that there were so many ways to complete this task. I ended up creating an excel spreadsheet, but the process took forever.
    Another team member had to make sure that all teachers put this information into the spreadsheet by the deadline, but that quickly failed. Due to the load of work that teachers have the work was not completed in time. Teachers felt like this was just another thing to do on top of what they were already being asked to do. I believe that if teachers were asked to come to a meeting where all they had to do was put this information in they wouldn't feel like they had to make time for this. This would help the teacher get one more thing completed.
    This project may have helped the scheduling process for students and for administration, but it caused chaos and a decreased moral for the teacher. As a result, many teachers were unable to complete the on time which in return caused the schedules to be a whole week late at the beginning of the new school year.

Reflection

     My experience in this course has been a very rewarding one. I never thought that I would be able to create a course online with the direction of an instructor, but I was able to. This course has taught me to take into consideration my audience and my learning resources.

      Everyday many students are considering online education. This way of schooling is becoming very popular to the society that we live in. Ten to twenty years from now I see online education getting more complex. I think that people will need to have prior experience in order to be successful in a distance education course. I say this because as an educator I am noticing how schools are beginning to incorporate technology into the classroom. A program called Bring your own device (BYOD) is being used to encourage students to become familiar with using technology to find resources online.

      As a future instructional designer, it is important that I am familiar with the kinds of technology that I will help my students to use for educational purposes. Making meaningful learning experiences for students makes it possible for them to enjoy their learning and to become an expert in the area of their specialty. In other words, if I don’t care for my students education as an instructor I will fail them as an expert in my area.

      Distance education is progressing every year. It is needed in order to give others easy access to receiving an education online. The use of the internet helps students to become better learners and instructors to become better deliverers. Distance education will continue to be the mode of deliverance for the majority of students in today’s world. It will help alleviate the pressure of the face-to-face classroom.

Face-to-face classroom --- Blended Classroom

  Everything doesn’t always happen the way that it was envisioned to happen. Sometimes there are different ways of doing things, but you have to be open to change if it comes your way. This could happen because it needs to match the time we are living in or to keep up with the demands of a new crowd of individuals. Whatever it may be the new plan needs to be well thought out.

  This week in the course that I am taking the scenario says “A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.” With change will definitely come new results it’s just a matter of if it will be beneficial. Whether they will be good ones or bad, there will still be some information to show success or failure.

  Starting a class that was already set up one way, to change it to something totally different is a not an easy task, especially if you are changing it because the old method wasn’t working. Changing the presentation, delivery, instructors, content, and maybe even learning materials will require a well thought out approach, because the end result must be a better way of teaching the material.

  The instructor must understand and realize that he or she is no longer giving the information, but is now the sole source of information for all and must be prepared to handle such a task. According to an article by San Diego State University “many ‘ingredients’ can comprise a blended learning model, including instructor-delivered content, e-learning, webinars, conference calls, live or online sessions with instructors, and other media and events.” So some key elements should definitely be considered like:

·         Professional development

·         Technology infrastructure

·         Funding

  So that means that when changing from face-to-face into a course that solely be online the instructor must know that most students will be successful. Successful how, you may ask. Well the instructor needs to know if all students are able to use the technology, he or she must be well informed about what technology they are going to use, and be ready to invest his time to teach according to each students learning style.

  First, the instructor may need to give learner surveys so that he can learn how the students learn best. He will also need to find ways to motivate students to and other trainers to interact more when either in the face-to-face classroom or in the blended classroom. He also need s to know if the company is willing to purchase software of technology to access information on the server.

Preplanning

  This is the most important part of the beginning this change. This manager needs to know how he will divide the students, how to choose what material he will teach, and will everyone be happy about the change. Eduviews writes “A study by Susan Lowes, Ph.D., at Columbia University describes another dimension to the efficacy of blended learning. This research found that teachers’ instructional practices are transformed by learning how to teach online, because they develop new skills and build pedagogical strategies using technology. The research also reported that online teaching improves practices in both virtual and face-to-face settings. Further, 75% of the teachers in this study said that teaching online had a positive impact on their face-to-face teaching.” Will this be the results that will be gained for this manager?

  Will the course encourage communication? We all know that we communicate, because we have a reason to talk. Will the presentation of the course and the instructors inspire communication? Will those who do not like to communicate join in on discussions to give their contribution to any discussions they may be posted. Edudemic talks about ideas for better communication in an online course. Here are a few prompts to keep in mind to encourage conversation:

10 Prompts to Stimulate Conversation

• Share personal stories of overcoming
• Be understanding when things come up
• Set clear action plans for failing students
• Use video chat to explain information
• Read an entire email before responding
• Ask students for their proposed solutions
• Don’t forget about the A students
• Contact your boss for assistance
• Allocate more time for needy students
• Ask if you have answered adequately
• Don’t criticize the school, course, or leaders

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

http://www.edudemic.com/encouraging-better-online-student-faculty-contact/

https://www.blackboard.com/resources/k12/Bb_K12_WP_BlendedLearning.pdf

Technology is being used for our everyday lives. There are so many different kinds to choose from that research has to be done to know which one will be of use for the kind of end result that an instructor may want. With any instructional activity heavily invested in technology for the delivery of content, the choice of types of tools is important (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, Zvacek, 2012, 204). This leads to instructors having to think creatively to design instruction that will allow their students to interact while learning material.

There are so many questions that one might ask themselves when trying to choose the right kind technology for distance learning. It is important that there be work done on the front end to ensure that the technologies that will be used will benefit all learners. Technology used in distance learning should be considered as a tool to deliver the instruction and not as a method (203). You have to plan how you would use the technology to present information to your learners and you also have to learn how to use the technology so that you can get the best end product. Using the distance education technologies should not limit the choice of strategies used by instructors, but should open new possibilities for those wishing to enrich their teaching (Smaldino, Lowther, & Russell, 2011; Westbrook, 2006).

The example that I chose to focus on is example 2 interactive tours. It reads “A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the art work on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district’s instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?” In this case there are two things that need to be accomplished. The first is the teacher would like for the students to take a tour of these two museums and interact with the curator. A virtual field trip combined with video conferencing equipment would be one of the best kinds of technologies to use for this part of the assignment. Not only are the students able to tour the museum, but they can also ask the tour guide “curator” questions pertaining to this assignment.

Next, it says that the instructor would like for the students to critique two art pieces. This can be obtained from the museums website or sent as a picture file to the teacher to display for his or her students. This could be used as a collaborative assignment where students could be put into groups and maybe linked to have a video conference with a New York City school that was able to view the display. This is a great interactive piece for high school students to hear viewpoints of students from another side of the country. A well-designed distance education course can be as easy to deliver as a traditional face-to-face course (205).

References

Education world. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech071.shtml

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Video conferencing for education. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ivci.com/education-video-conferencing.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8BSzQG2Ti0

Wk1

When I first started in a distance learning course I said to myself "this is going to be the hardest thing that I ever do in my life." That was about 6 years ago. To me the thought of distance learning made me cringe because I didn't think it was possible to learn without a teacher in front of me. Every time I logged in for class I had the hardest time staying motivated and getting myself together in order to finish assignments. My personal observation for this course is that it will teach me how to appreciate the luxury of learning from a distance. I hope to gain a lot of knowledge on how to teach a course from a distance to a group of learners from all age groups. Upon reading the information for this class I learned many things. One of those things is that distance education is becoming more world-wide. Because of the availability or access to internet that the world has been experiencing, everyone now has the chance to learn from a distance. Anywhere in the world now, you can be given a quality education from a great teacher. This has given many an opportunity to receive diplomas or degrees. Distance education has a major and varied impact worldwide (Simson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek). In the United States in particular the ability to receive an education from a distance is always advertised. This has changed my feelings of distance learning. I have begun to feel that distance learning is the new way of giving those who are unable to go into a school building to learn a chance to learn. This is also done at the students pace or when the student is able to complete the assignments. This has taken off some of the load and self-esteem issues that people have suffered with which makes me happy to be a part of such a wonderful concept of learning that will bring in a brighter future. There are many hopes that I have for distance learning. One being that I hope it is able to help children in other countries to be educated by teachers in the states. In many countries students are unable to receive the quality education that students who are born in the states receive "free education." This would allow these students more options for higher education and even allow them to attend school here as well. To conclude, my experience with distance learning then and now has changed dramatically. From being terrified of it, to wanting it to help others it has become the way to get an education nowadays. Resources Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Designing for Distance

T.H. White once said in The Once and Future King “The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.” This is true when thinking about educating yourself through an online course. The course that I chose to analyze on its effectiveness as an online distance course is the Exposing Digital Photography Computer Science E-7 course through the Open Culture website. This course is designed to teach students about the terms and use of digital cameras. The instructor states that students are “not required to own a digital camera, but if you do, one with a manual mode and an option for RAW is recommended” (Exploring Digital Photography). According to what I have learned over the past few weeks I understand that a good distance education course should be able to do certain things for the students who are participating in the course. One of the things that I will focus on is that a good distance course should have a website that can be easily navigated through. This Computer Science E-7 course has just that. Once you enter the website on the left hand side you have an introduction from the instructor along with his email address if you need to contact him. He also gives students a brief look into what the course is about along with some other information you will need to know for the course. The instructor then puts on the right side of his website, links to his lectures. Students also have resources linked to the lectures. Some of these resources include links, slides, and videos. In these the instructor goes into great detail about the materials needed or used for digital cameras. This is a great way of having students connect to the course. Morrison, Ross, and Kemp state that “When the learners have an understanding of the reasons why they are participating in a particular type of instructional activity, they are better able to use that experience to expedite their own learning (Teaching and Learning at a Distance Foundations of Distance Education). A lot of times instructors focus so much on how to make their website so “pretty” that they forget that there must be a certain flow in order to keep students from playing a guessing game or getting frustrated when looking for what they need.