Setting Up and Online Learning Experience

The following are important questions to consider when setting up an online learning experience.

What is the significance of knowing the technology available to you?

Technology in the online learning environment sets the foundation for the course.  As the instruction of an online course you must be aware of the resources available to you.  You must also be aware that some students have limits related to technology.   One of the initial steps in course development is determining which tools will be used in the course.  Once the instructor determines the course requirements, the skill level of the students needs to be determined ( Conrad & Donaldson, 2011). If you a new to the online learning environment the best advice is to Keep It Simple(KIT)

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

Communication is the foundation for any online course.  Giving clear expectations at the start of the online will eliminate confusing and problems later.   The syllabus to me sets the foundation for the course expectations.  The syllabus for an online course performs the same functions as for a face-to-face class, but even more so.  Providing a bird’s-eye picture of the whole course so that learners can plan their lives is essential to learners’ having a sense of control and optimism (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)  It is important to remind students from the beginning that communication in an online course is very different from a traditional face-to-face course. In face – to-face environments, the instructor is in front of the students, and most of the questions are directed to him/her, so communication patterns flow predominantly between faculty and students. In the online course site content, questions are posted in the question forum and not in a private email to the instructor (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

What additional considerations should the instructor take into account when setting up an online learning experience?

Setting-up and conducting your online course can be a daunting task.  If you are new to this process like I am, it can seem downright over whelming.  I would recommend the ten core principles that can guide the design of your online course and the delivery of your course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)

1.      Every structured learning experience has four elements with the leaner at the center.

2.     Learners bring their own personalized and customized knowledge, skills and attitudes to the experience.

3.     Faculty mentors are the directors of learning experience.

4.     All learners do not need to learn all course content, all learners do need  to learn the core concepts.

5.     Every learning experience includes the environment or content in which the learner interacts.

6.     Every learner has a zone of proximal development that defines the space that a learner is ready to develop into useful knowledge.

7.     Concepts are not words but organized and interconnected knowledge clusters.

8.     Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.

9.     Everything else being equal, more time on task equals more learning.

10.  We shape our tools, and our tools shape us.

This Framework simplifies the process of designing and managing instructional experiences.

What other questions/considerations would you add to this list?

References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Online Learning Communties

Setting the foundation for the online learning community is critical.  Meeting the needs of the learner should be the forefront goal of the course. 

The essential elements of building and online community can be accomplished in four stages.  Each stage of a course is different and depends on how the four elements of the learner, faulty-mentor, content, and environment interact and flow(Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)

1.      Course Beginnings-Starting off on the right foot – launch the course well, laying the groundwork for a learning community in which learners and faculty support each other to accomplishment of course goals

2.     Early Middle- Keeping the ball rolling – The primary goal is for the learner to become deeply engaged with the content, laying the basis for more complex learning and course project in the latter half of the course, and development of the learning community.

3.     Late Middle – Letting go of the power – the learner  begins to focus on particular case studies, scenarios, and other discipline of course issues.

4.     Closing Weeks – Pruning, Reflecting, and Wrapping Up – The primary goal is for the learner to complete a positive learning experience and identify the knowledge and skills they have developed form the course experiences while supporting the community goals to accomplish tier own personalize, customized learning tasks.

Laying the foundation is the key to building effective online communities.  If you thing about the coordination and foundation it takes to build a neighborhood from scratch and the infrastructure to consider it takes that much detail and consideration to build and online community. A student’s learning process is enhanced through careful activity preparation on the part of the instructor or course designer.  The goal is to create activates that twill engage and challenge learners while expanding their personal connections to their existing knowledge(Conrad & Donaldson, 2011)

Resources

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2011). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction (Updated ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Handleing Project Change

From a team of 15 to a team of 4

Whoever said change is good never; never had to plan an event usually with a team 15 plus people with a single team of 4.  I am an Education Manager for a local program serving children 3 -5 years of age.  I am responsible for putting together our Annual Art Show.  The show use to have a committee of about 15 – 20 people from various areas.   Last year due to some other agency commitments it was left up to my team of 4 to plan and implement the event.  The event requires 17 site to implement various art activities on site bring them to the event as well as on art piece for the silent auction.   I was stressed the entire spring preparing for the April even In addition to the event my regular duties and those of my team must continue.  To my advantage I have dynamite plan that I had created for previous events.  All that was needed was to change the theme, update the material to match the new theme.  In our course reading this week I seem to have followed the steps to handle changes in scope form (Greer,2010):

1.       Stay calm. Remind yourself that the original project scope documents were created at a tem when you knew less than you know now.

2.       Pinpoint the exact change.

3.       Analyze the impact

4.       Discuss the impact with your project team

5.       Report the impact to the sponsor

6.       Update the project scope statement and overall plan

7.       Obtain written sponsor approval of the change and the corresponding revised plan. 

If I knew them what I know now about project management, I could have saved myself so much grief.  It appears I knew enough to get by. The event went well and on the surface seemed great.  It was at great cost and stress to my team.  Planning and preparation for other projects during that time and what was needed suffered during that summer as well.  Having great plan to start is the key I am learning with project success.  It was a hard time of year but you can take solace during a project in knowing this too shall pass.   All organisms have a life cycle.  They are born, grow, wane, and die.  This is true for all living things, as well as organizations, companies, and projects (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer,2008)..

Reference

·         Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

·         Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Instructional Design

Instructional Design

What to charge? How to calculate?

As an individual about to enter the field of Instructional Design, I am trying figure what to charge for services.  There are so many questions and ways to calculate these services.  I have provided a few helpful links and resources please enjoy.

1.       Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design

The link above provides some various costs to estimating training costs.

2.       Let’s Talk Instructional Design

The link above is to goldmine of blog. Its budgeting and planning down in manageable terms with some simple examples that transition to more difficult projects.  The site also provides links to additional resources some of which contain some great budgeting tools.

3.       Michael Greer’s PM Resources

The link above was truly a find.  The page is filled with articles, tools, videos, and more for The Project Management Minimalist.  Yes it is by the one and only author we have grown to love of the book The project Management Minimalist: just enough PM to Rock Your Project!

Communicating Effectively

What is communication?  It is a Big word with a Big meaning and a Big deal to most people. Communication defined by Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer,2008 is sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner. The question that puzzles many of us on occasion what is the best communication approach to use in certain situations.  In the business world sometimes it is clear and other times it can feel like a hit or miss.

Multimedia Program: "The Art of Effective Communication"

The example in the link above is a clear example of the use of communication and how the same message delivered three different ways can take on several meanings.  The same message was conveyed via, email, phone message and face to face.  As you analyze the example it is important to remember there are two communication approaches formal and informal ( Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer,2008):

A.     Formal communications are preplanned and conducted in a standard format in accordance with and established schedule.

B.     Informal communications occur as people think of information they want to share.

As I reflect on the different forms of comommunication, I considered the following questions:	Email	Phone	Face to Face
How did your interpretation of the message change from one modality to the next?	My interpretation of changed as it progressed.  The email conveyed a serious tone It appeared to be accusatory in tone and was putting blame on Mark for not doing his work and holding up Jane’s.  It also convey a since of a more serious problem by putting it in writing.  The phone message tone softened the message a bit but still had a not so positive undertone.  The face to face cleared up many of my perceptions.  Jane started by first coming to Mark with a smile and appears she was passing by.  It appeared very informal which keeps the tone positive.
What factors influenced how you perceived the message?	*Type of font used *Punctuation *Opening greeting *Closing Greeting	*Tone *Pitch of voice *Emphasis placed on certain words *Closing and the sound when the phone hangs up	*Tone *Pitch of voice *Body Language *Facial expression
Which form of communication best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the message?	It is hard to say which form of communication best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the messages.  If the intent was documenting this as a formal problem with past concerns the email was it.  If was a simple request with no other intent but a gentle reminder the phone call or face to face was the way to go.  I could also change that as a manager in the program I work for sometimes email is the best form of communication for me.
What are the implications of what you learned from this exercise for communicating effectively with members of a project team?	As a member of a project management team I have learned the following: 1.       Communication is the foundation of any project 2.      Communication while a great tool must be used wisely.

        

In closing I would like to add to my earlier definition of communication sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner and in a way that fits the purpose of the intended message.

Resource

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Small Project in need of some BIG Plans

Our church earned and award through the city to distribute food to the community every quarter.  The Project manager (Coordinator) of the project had participated in a full food back before but never a temporary set-up.  The project would always have 200 -300 clients serviced in a single day.  On the day of the event volunteers stated showing up at about 6:00 a.m. to truck loads food, shopping for meat was needed at the local grocery store, bagging and sorting food.  The single most frustrating part of the project was the coordination and utilization of volunteers. Most events we had plenty of volunteers however many went underutilized. Based on Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer,2008, suggest that every project passes through the following phases:

1.      Conceive phase: and idea is born.

2.     Define phase: a plan is developed.

3.     Start phase: a team is formed.

4.     Perform phase: the work is done.

5.     Close phase: the project is ended

Under the guidance of a project manager, projects move through these 5 stages.  I believe the project went through each of the fives it was steps 2-4 where I believe things fell apart.  I am not quite sure if a formal plan was developed however I do know a committee of stakeholders and experts was not established.  Teams were not formed until the day of the event.  The work was done however not in the most efficient and fair manner. For this project as soon as one ended the new planning should have began.  The deliverables were accomplished far beyond expectations and continued to grow each quarter, however at what level of frustration to the volunteers and the coordinator.  While the seemed like a small, easy, well intended project it needed some big planning.

Resource

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Open Course Source

The Impact of Open Source

Open courses provides free and open access to a selection of courses.  The aims of the course are usually to expand access to educational resources to expand your knowledge.  One source of open courses is Harvard Open Courses: Open Learning Initiative; http://www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning-initiative.  The Harvard open courses at Harvard Extension School are videos for the following free Harvard courses are made available by the Harvard Extension School’s Open Learning Initiative. Featuring Harvard faculty, the noncredit courses are open to the public. You do not need to register to view the lecture videos.

A word to the wise as it relates to online learning the courses are not designed of online learning.  Keep in mind that courses previously taught in traditional classrooms may need to be retooled.  The focus of the instruction shifts to visual presentations, engaged learners, and careful timing of presentations of information (Simonson, Samaldino, Albright & Zyacek 2012).  The courses are truly informative and quality lectures. The courses fit the basic definition of distance education.  Distance education emerged in response to the need of providing access to those who would otherwise not be able to participate in face-to-face course (Beldarrain, 2006).  The course in a traditional learning environment was well thought-out and planned.  They do not however follow the basic recommendations for online instruction Instructional design is a systematic process.  A critical part of the process is to consider the components of  a successful learning system(Dick et al., 2009) These components are the learners, the content, the method and materials, and the environment, including technology.  The interactions of these components create the type of learning experience necessary for student learning (Simonson, Samaldino, Albright & Zyacek 2012). 

 

 

 

Resources

·         Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2), 139–153.

·         Dick, W., Carey,L., & Carey, J.O.(2009).  The systematic design of instruction,(7^th ed.). new York; Longman

·         Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.  Chapter 7, "The Student and Distance Education” (pp. 150 - 191)