Making the Case

http://www.slideshare.net/pdgordy/making-the-case-for-employee-development-9881242


Personal Development Plan

Professional goals and motivation 

My professional goals are to remain customer centered and successfully complete tasks necessary to meet the goals and expectations of the department.  I am excited to grow professionally because I am determined and open to new technology and ways to handle situations.

Talents and strengths
My talents are counseling students and their parents in financial solutions.  I am a efficient supervisor.  I have a full cup of customer service skills.  I am detail oriented and organized.

Development opportunities
In order for me to improve I need performance appraisals implemented.  Expectations and feedback is essential to job performance.  Appraisals will provide a clear understanding of the differences between current performance and expected performance. Appraisals will help me develop an action plan to improve.

Development action steps
My objective for this plan will be to improve the quality of my performance.

The steps I will take to meet the objective:
1. Continue my education and complete my Master’s degree.
2. Continue to enlarge my job by completing special projects, switching roles within the work team.
3. Maintain positive relationships within our department and other departments in the institution.

The Age of Virtual Reality

When watching a movie in the theatre every movie has a 3-D option.  People want the movie in their face and as close to being in the movie, with the actors and actresses, as possible. The idea is to make everything feel like it is "real". Virtual reality is computer-based technology that provides trainees with a three-dimensional learning experience (Noe, 2010).  Technology is used to stimulate multiple senses of the trainee (2010).  Devices relay information from the environment to the senses (2010).  For example, American Airlines uses virtual reality in its simulated training drills annually with high tech aircraft simulators that allow trainees to hear and see the actual sounds and sights of real life emergency situations.  The advantage is it allows trainees to experience and practice dangerous situations without putting themselves in danger (2010). Another advantage to creating this type of environment is that is promotes more room for recalling what was learned.

Aside from virtual reality there are many other technological advances that are enhancing classrooms using different sources of information such as independent blogs, wikis and podcasts.  The use of the technology occurs when the connection between how technology is used by teachers and students to learn skills, knowledge, and values (Hostetle, 2009). For example, SmartBoard and projector are used to introduce students to podcasts on the Internet and then allow students to view, evaluate and examine their own podcast creations (2009).

Technologies such as expert systems, groupware, and electronic support systems are being used to support training efforts (2010).  Expert systems are software that organizes and applies the knowledge of human experts to specific problems (2010).  Groupware is electronic meeting software that enables multiple users to track, share, and organize information (2010).  All of these tools are valuable at some time as long as employees know how to access them in the work environment.

References

Hostetle, A. L. (2009). Democratic Citizenship in a Global Society: PURPOSEFUL USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIAL STUDIES CLASSROOMS. Ohio Social Studies Review, 45(1), 51-58. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill