Project Near Disaster

Project Near Disaster

Many years ago I was working as a programmer/analyst for a prestigious company when there was a decision by upper management to expand the business into Canada.  The Canadian office would be housed in Mississauga, ON which is not too far from Buffalo, NY.  At the time I was working as the programmer and network system analyst.  As part of my duties I would: 1.) make sure the network structures for the offices were in place and 2.) maintain the computer systems.  When the decision was made to open the new office and because of the successful work I had done in the past I was put in charge of the office setup.  At the time I did not know what a project manager was and heck the role probably did not exist.  I had been part of setting up offices in the past so I was comfortable with knowing what is needed to organize the project.

My project plan was well defined and considered every item that would be necessary to setup the office (or so I thought).  I was still young and did not understand all the rules of business between the United States and Canada.  I was unaware that paperwork needed to be filed in order to work in Canada when you are not a resident of Canada even if the office was part of an American company.  I tried to cross the border and when asked my purpose for going to Canada I told them I was going setup our new office in Mississauga.  This answer delayed my entrance into Canada and thus my delay the start of the project.  I was not the only person with this issue.  There were other people being sent from our main office in the United States to the new office in Canada to help with the setup.  The proper paperwork had not been completed and filed with Canada so each person attempting to enter into Canada to work on this project had difficulty.  

The project that was planned initially worked well once we could get all the workers to the site.  The only issue with the project was a delay in the start time so it pushed back the start date for the office opening.  Due to the delay of the personnel the office, wiring was not complete when the hardware arrived at the office.  This was not a problem because we were doing all our own installation, the deliveries were just that, deliveries.  Nothing that was delivered needed expertise other than us to complete a proper setup.  Other than the project being pushed by three weeks all steps of the plan worked. 

The take away with this project was to plan the logistics for the staff that is required to be on site.  There were no issues when working within our own office; it was only the interaction between the two countries that needs to be organized well in advance of the project start date.  As I stated at the beginning of this post, this event was many years ago and completing the paperwork requirements for the workers temporarily working in Canada did not take too much time.  In today’s world the time frame for completing the paperwork to travel between the countries would be a longer and more involved process.  It is vital that any organization working with other countries start the inquiry into what is needed at least six months prior to the start date – probably more like a year.  It was a lesson learned and luckily it did not take too long to resolve and not impact the project too drastically.

EDUC - 6135-1 Reflections - Class Wrap up

            Distance Education is just now starting to come into the main stream in my opinion.  I know that distance education has been around since the 1830’s in the form of correspondence courses.  As technology progressed so did the forms of correspondence courses and how they were offered, through television, videos, recordings, etc.  Personal computers have come on the scene and taken the correspondence course to a whole new level.  We now have actual distance education coming into its own through online universities, blog postings, wikis, and internet videos.  As people progress to having constant access to the internet through smartphones and tablet computers, online studies will become more accepted and even recommended for those that want to learn more but need to have the flexibility to obtain that learning on their own schedules.  With the advance of Web 2.0 technologies, the sky is the limit and as the society is raised with these technologies it will just be part of how the world works and not an exception to the rule.

            As for the people that think distance education and degrees earned online cannot be comparable with those obtained at traditional institutions, I tell them that it is time to pull their heads out of the sand.  I try to get them to see that everyone is learning through distance education in one form or another.  I also try to point out that they have probably done some form of online learning recently whether it be through research they have done or a live meeting they may have attended or being on the receiving end of a person trying to trouble shoot an issue with their computer from a remote location.  You see it is really the perception that needs to be adjusted.  Once you can adjust the perception you can then take the talk a little further to say, “now that you see what you have done in a small way would it not be feasible that someone does this on just a slightly grander scale like taking a class or two or twenty to fulfill and educational program?”  I find if you start with a small sample and you can get people’s buy in to that sample you can then expand it past the sample to the full blown courses.

            As an Instructional Designer I will attempt to design courses that are not just educational but have interesting presentations and fun interactive projects.  I think that if training programs are developed to be educational and fun more people would want to learn online.  The trend these days is for people to use online games to help children learn and I think we should take that further and design similar avenues for the adult learner.  Adults talk a good game about wanting to learn more, however I know for a fact that there are plenty of adults that like to have a diversion from their everyday lives and giving them games suited for adults would be just what is needed.  As an adult learner utilizing online studies I know I would enjoy some classes that have an element of fun to break from my everyday work.  That Is not to say all classes need to be delivered this way – that would not be productive.

            The biggest help I can provide to be a positive force for distance education is to promote distance education.  Letting people know that I am a product of distance education has already changed some people’s opinions.  I have had several people inquire as to what I am studying, how it is going, and asking how I am able to make it work with my busy schedule.  I have also sent out links to colleagues letting them know about the programs available at Walden University.  There have been some great new additions in the curriculum that some of my colleagues could benefit from attending.

            I have explained to many people that while I am taking these classes to obtain a master’s degree I also want them to understand that online learning can be done at any time for any reason.  I also talk about the grandmother who has obtained her Phd and the number of people that are continuing to obtain their masters degrees.  As for improvement, one thing I would like to do is to continue to take courses myself and see where the field of ID is headed.  I think we all get stuck in the ways we have always done things and unless an effort is made to work outside of our comfort zone we will stop growing.  The best I can do is lead by example.  As the old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink” holds true in everything we do so the only thing one can do is lead by example.

Instructional Design and Technology - How to/Should You Go Online with Your Class

This post is outlining information to help a trainer determine if a class for which they are the instructor would be appropriate as an online class. There are tips to help determine that very thought as well as some tips on how to make the online class and the materials that may/should be used for the online class.

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Helene A. Smith

Walden University

Dr. Rosemary Dawson

EDUC – 6135 – 1

February 25, 2012

            When converting to a distance learning format from an instructor-led training environment several considerations need to be reviewed.  After reviewing, The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web – part 2 several questions should be answered before proceeding with converting a traditional course to one that is online:

• Is this class appropriate for online?
• If appropriate, what technologies are best?
• Is there easy access to the technologies?
• What is the cost for creating the class/curriculum?
• Was the traditional classroom training, for the course to be implemented on the web, effective?
• Who will be creating the web based version of the traditional course?

(Moller, Foshay, Huett, 2008)

All these questions are important to answer before even beginning a project to create an online version of a traditional class.


Whenever converting material from a traditional setting to an online version some items to review would be:

• Determine if the class will be appropriate for an online setting.
• Does the course need to have a trainer local to convey the message even after the online portion is completed?
• Can the learner understand what needs to be done even to access the online training?
• Is the course designed to be “user friendly”?
• Determine what will it take to develop the course and what materials are needed.
• What materials will be required?
• Who will generate these materials?
• How much time is needed to create the materials?
• Prepare the trainer for how to deliver the material online if there will be live meetings.
• Prepare the learner on how to find the material needed for the course.
• Create a forum for the learner to ask their questions about the material covered.
• How will the question be addressed in the online classroom?
• How will the question be addressed during a live meeting or synchronous training event?

Once you have determined that the class is appropriate for an online version, consider doing the following best practices:

• Quality design of learning materials for different methods.
• Professional design – aesthetically pleasing.
• Utilize different technologies – so many to choose from today.
• Mix up the technologies to keep the interest of the learner.
• Cover all the media available for the online studies and mix them up.
• There are many technologies available, however try not to use too many.
• “Interaction is essential” (p. 172)
• Determine how large of an audience before continuing – do not limit yourself.
• Just because a technology is newer does not make it better.  Sometime the tried and true programs are quite effective.
• Make sure the teachers/trainers know the technologies being utilized.
• Involve all members on the team when developing the program.
• Remember technology is the tool – how do we want the learners to gain the information they need.

(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)

Following these best practices will help keep you on course for creating the online curriculum.  The best help I can provide at this point is to remember best practice #12 above – technology is just a tool.  There is several times where I have seen people not be able to function if their computer is down.  We were able to do most of our functions in the past without a computer so you should be able to continue in this vein.  

To help assist in determining what goes into the online version of the training program try organizing the process into the following hierarchy:

• General Goals
• More Specific Goals
• Objective

The trend in distance education is to reduce the amount of information being delivered (i.e. classroom lectures) and increase the amount of interactivity amongst the learners.  What an online class should strive for is interactivity and cooperation between the learners themselves and with the instructor (Simonson, et. al., 2012)

Try to picture the learner when generating your class and you will develop material that the learners will adapt to quickly.  With this adaptation for the learner, adaptation will also be needed of you as the trainer. As a trainer, in the past, you stood in front of a large/medium/small room giving information and the learner hopefully absorbing the information – this role will change.  As a distance trainer a few items will need to change from the traditional setting you have had:

• As a distance trainer you will no longer be able to see the learners’ faces or hear their sounds so if possible try out your “class” on friends or other co-workers before doing it virtually.  See if you can pick up on areas that may be of concern or areas you may be excited about but the audience will not have a reference.
• Make sure you know your material – nothing sounds worse on a live meeting than when someone just reads their presentation.
• Make the presentation sound like you.  The “class” that you are delivering (with a few exceptions) should not need to be word for word from the “deck” you were given.  If you make the presentation in your style people will stay with you on the calls because they know you believe what you are saying.

Some tips to help facilitate communication and learning in the online environment:

• Begin each class session with a quick quiz to see if the leaners understood what was assigned. Depending on the information received adjust the class to review information that needs clarification (Simonson, et. al., 2012).
• Assign reading assignments that are not in the textbook.  When the learners review information outside of the main textbook they hopefully will understand perhaps a different perspective of the information being taught in the class  and thereby retain the information (Simonson, et. al., 2012).
• Communicate your contact information to the learners.  Make sure they know your schedule for office hours.  Send e-mails to the learners if noticing there are issues with their studies.  Show that you care about the learner – if you keep in contact it is more likely that the learner will as well (Piskurich, 2012). 
• Make sure you contribute to any discussion boards where the learners are posting their information (Piskurich, 2012).
• If a synchronous classroom environment, make the learner have to do something with the communication system at different times during the presentation.  Make sure the learners know that they will have to perform a function when something specific happens during the class.  This should keep the learner focused on the class and not multi-tasking on something else in the area where they are “attending” the class (Piskurich, 2012). 
• Use documents that the learners can refer to later to help with some of the required software that needs to be incorporated for the classes.  I have attached a document which gives an example of what I like to refer to as a QRC or Quick Reference Card.  This is a great way to get some information to the learner so later when they need assistance and you may not be available the learner can reference the information for him/her self.

MIT Online Instructions

In the MIT Online session provided above you will find the class for Linear Algebra. This course, as with many online courses from established universities, is presented online for the learner to expand their knowledge. These free online courses are not for credit, you cannot use this course to gain a degree from the institution and it is simply another way to access information. The main part of the sample from MIT is laid out like any class you would take either in a traditional classroom or online. There is a syllabus, a course description, course format, course overview, goals and prerequisites. This course also offers other suggested sources of information such as a textbook and introductions to the instructor and TAs; there are even credits for the videographers and writers. As you proceed through the screens the way this course differs from a traditional classroom setting is that there are links to view the lecture and/or the transcript of the lecture. These links are a page design set for self-paced study by the online learner (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek., 2012).

This online class demonstrates definite pre-planning because unlike traditional courses there are documents you can use to check your progress in the class. Another item that shows pre-planning has happened is where the links for the sessions are posted on the screen, the length of time for the hyperlinks is shown in parentheses. On the downside and this is probably because the course is an audit type course; however there is no interaction of any kind. There are no blog sites, posting sites, no way for learners to interact. In a true online course for actual credit or as a step in a degree program these posting sites are available. It is understandable that an audit course would not provide posting sites, however it does not mean that people interested in this class could not try and create their own posting site. Anyone can make a blog site these days - the hardest part would be to have others that might be auditing the course to join in on the blog - or even find it.

Yale Online Chemistry Instruction

Another site I reviewed is the Yale Online courses area, specifically Chemistry. I was interested in this area because my daughter is a graduate student in the Chemistry department at Yale University. I was interested to see what a university of the caliber of Yale would put out as an online course. As with the MIT sample above, the free online courses in the Yale site are not for credit, these classes cannot be used to gain a degree from the university. I was not impressed with the online class. There were no indications that the classes were designed for the web. Basically the classes were just videos of the instructor giving his lecture to his class. Unlike the MIT page, there was a syllabus for the class through a link on the left side menu, however when selecting the link the syllabus was somewhat vague and too high level. The only way I found any classes (or lectures in this case) was to start clicking on links and see what the next page would give me. I eventually found the classes for the beginning chemistry classes by sheer luck. Once on the page with the links to the classes and eventually selecting one of the classes all that was on the page was an overview and links to the video of the classroom lecture. There is a link for the HTML version of the script which I suppose is something but nothing significant enough to say this is a online course. The only other item that would be online about the class is that the video can be paused, replayed or fast forwarded - in other words self-paced. It leads me to believe that Yale feels the pressure to offer online courses but it is an afterthought and nothing that they will put much work into since they probably feel that Yale is a prestigious university where the knowledge should be held within its walls.

The big difference here is that Yale is an old established university first opened back in 1701 and MIT is by definition a technical college. I would expect MIT to have a well-developed online course structure and that they would have a well-developed online degree program in many areas of study.

McBride, M. (2008) Freshman Organic Chemistry. (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu/chemistry/freshman-organic-chemistry/ (Accessed 05 Feb, 2012). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

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

Strang, G. 18.06SC Linear Algebra, Fall 2011. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare), http://ocw.mit.edu (Accessed 05 Feb, 2012). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA

 

This post is directed to distance learning and how it is happening every day all around us but perhaps it is going unnoticed.  In this post we will discuss how to incorporate techniques for distance learning into the training being devised for a new automated staff information system being implemented by an organization.  The staff is located in different offices throughout the country and they cannot meet at the same time or location. 

My first inclination was to offer what is referred to as a live meeting.  There are several different live meeting software packages available however I like Microsoft’s Live Meeting.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oSbxAURjWs&feature=player_embedded) The live meeting could be recorded and made available to all staff personnel to replay when they are free.  After the meeting is held the recording would be placed in another application where files may be shared between groups of people.  Another option is to utilize an application called Brainshark to create a recorded training session. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainshark )  The difference between the Brainshark and the Live Meeting is there are no people interacting in the meeting so you do not have the advantage to see facial expressions or hear questions posed by the listeners.  The recorded training would be placed in a location so everyone could access it when they had time.

There are two options for the shared area – Microsoft’s OneNote application (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f85IyulX0TI&noredirect=1) and/or on the contact management system (CMS) being utilized by the organization at the time.  Utilizing one of these applications will not only allow the live meeting recording to be shared but the staff members could utilize the space to share information, screen captures and documents as requested.  My preference would be to the CMS area only because there are many options within this package to be utilized by the organization.  Why not use a package with more abilities, unless there is a budgetary issue and the CMS software is just too expensive. 

To create those screen shots there are a couple of options as well.  Microsoft has this new tool in their Windows 7 operating system called Snipping Tool. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR_cq21c0T4) This tool is used to capture whatever part of the screen the user wants and then place that picture into whatever location needed to share.  The other option has several steps that are manual and you may not ever retrieve all the information you need but you also may have no choice if using something other than Windows 7 operating system.  To do a screen shot the steps are:

1.       Depressing the CTRL and the PRTSCR button

2.       Open Word, PowerPoint, or an e-mail

3.       Use the Edit menu and paste the information into the document or use CTRL-V

4.       Save to document

5.       Attach the document to an e-mail

6.       Send it to the recipient and how they are not on vacation

The obvious answer is to use the snipping tool so everyone upgrade to Windows 7!

An example of CMS software is a package I have recently found called CourseSites. (https://www.coursesites.com/webapps/Bb-sites-course-creation-BBLEARN/pages/index.html)  This site is used for classes primarily; however it is a great location in which to share information with others in a particular group.  The site is free as well so it is something that can be reviewed for some time instead of making a hasty decision on software that the organization has not had time to thoroughly review.

It is important that the staff in the organization can keep constantly informed and the use of a CMS system helps by having a venue by which all the staff can place and retrieve information promptly. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)  If the proper CMS software was chosen for the organization it can also be of great service to help keep the requirements for the training (as well as future trainings) organization and easily accessed from any location. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)

My last comment is to make note of a site which supplies all kinds of information with regards to distance learning.  It is not the prettiest site but the content is quite extensive. (http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu/Distance-Learning/Examples.html)  Take some time to review this information – it deals mostly with school situations, however if you select the link toward the lower left side labeled, “Technology-in-the-Classroom” you will be overwhelmed with the information supplied. (http://performancepyramid.muohio.edu/Technology-in-the-Classroom.html)

Before taking this class my “definition” for distance learning was a person taking a class via a computer and web cam.  Now that I have taken a few classes for this degree program and the readings for this class in particular, my definition for distance learning needs to be altered a bit.  Distance learning does happen via a computer and many times a web cam but there are other considerations as well.  I never considered the synchronous and asynchronous variations of study and although I had heard of correspondence courses I never considered this as a form of distance learning.  In hindsight it makes sense and only now after reading about this form of distance education do I realize that this is a form of distance learning.  One of the definitions referred to in the text is the term open learning and focuses on individual requirements and the learning outside of traditional classes in a brick and mortar building.  (Simonson et. al., 2012)  I prefer the term open learning to distance learning because it lends itself to many variations of learning.

Distance learning is always changing because human beings are always changing.  Humans have active brains that are constantly inventing new things whether developing new physical objects or new theories.  It is because of this creativity that the definition and direction of distance learning will be continually changing.  Humans continually evolve and as they evolve so does the world around them evolve.  Same can be said for every living thing on the planet.

Change cannot be pinpointed to a specific thing like a person’s profession or the technical knowledge the person has acquired.  Many would like to think that these are the factors for change in a person but it really has to do with the total environment of the person.  Anyone can change in any direction if they so choose and if they have a desire that drives them enough to carry through with the change. 

Take for example the story of Michael Oher.  Michael was a child from the projects who ended up becoming an All American football player.  This change for Michael happened not only because of a lucky encounter with a well-to-do family but also because he worked hard to pull his grades up in school so he could participate in football. (Hancock, 2006)

Another example would be me; I went to a traditional school and attended all the classes set for a young woman in the 70’s.  I attended university initially for a degree in computer science and realized that was not for me so I changed to a degree in communications.  After graduation instead of acquiring a position in the communications field I found myself in a position as a computer programmer.  Did this type of work for a long period of time but then realized that I have many more talents and would like to explore other avenues.  I quit my position as a programmer/systems analyst and took a position as a Client Service Associate with an investment banking firm.  This position was totally different than any position I have ever had in the past – something to which I would need to adjust. This change happened because of an internal need of my own and had nothing to do with my profession or technical knowledge.  I had a desire and chose to follow that desire instead of letting it die inside of me.

As for the future of distance learning – I honestly do not know.  The world and technology is changing so fast that it is hard to put a finger on the direction for the future.  It makes me think of the days of the Beta/VHS tape machines for recording.  The Beta tape machines were far superior to the VHS machines however since the marketing for the VHS machines were superior these machines were the ones to win out over the Beta machines.  Then there were the mini-disks; they were created and marketed for a brief period but the mini-disks never really lasted.  Who is to say what the next big break in technology will be and will stay around long enough to make a difference.  The best we can do as Instructional Designers is to stay flexible with the technologies and keep focused on what matters.  What matters is the education of the masses and the delivery of that educational material.

Reference

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

Back to the Blogs

Hello everyone,

Well it looks like it is time to get back to blogging.  I work so much with computers that in my free time I tend to not do anything with the computer.  This is why I do not update my blog too often.  Now it is time for blogging for my new class that just started - the class is Distance Learning - this should be interesting!!!!

Helene