Collaborative Training Environment

Example #1:

A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an instructional designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.

After reviewing the challenge, an instructional designer must consider a learning management system that will keep students informed constantly; make the course outcomes and requirements are clear while integrating the power of the web into the course in order to train six regional offices at different times in different locations (Simonson, M., Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2012). In order to keep cost to a minimum, I would create a podcast series totaling a 30-minute class into three separate learning objects. The podcast series will be stored on the corporate’s website and will be a requirement to complete by a certain date. The final (4^th) scheduled podcast will be live and during the training, students will be asked questions to be answered and surveyed as they are watching.  In order to implement the q&a and survey I would implement Poll Everywhere:

 

 

Poll Everywhere is an online service that allows you to poll an audience through text-messaging or response from a computer.

“I've used Poll Everywhere with a Team-Based Learning class. Students use PE to submit their individual responses to questions before discussing with their teams. The questions are low-stakes (they just need to submit something because the point is to have them think a little on their own before discussing” (Sample, 2012).  In addition, Poll Everywhere can be used to relay announcements in order to get new information to students through text-messaging. The only drawbacks are Poll Everywhere will not allow the student to submit documents and screen captures.  If the students need to submit documents they will be provided an email at the beginning of the final presentation to submit any supporting documents and ensure ongoing collaboration. In some cases, there are students that do not have cell phones and computers and would not be able to participate in Poll Everywhere. If this is the case then the Instructional Designer must analyze the general abilities of the students before implement the course (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek, 2012). If many are without cell phones and computers then the Instructional Designer will have to make the course design basic and more relevant to the students’ immediate needs (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek, 2012).   

 

References:

Sample, Mark (December 13, 2012). Live Polling of Students with Poll Everywhere.

Retrieved from: The Chronicle of Higher Education, http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/live-polling-of-your-students-with-poll-everywhere/44961

 

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. (

Distance Learning-Climbing to New Heights

Before I began this course, distance learning meant an opportunity to obtain more in higher education while working full-time and caring for two young children. Distance learning also meant learning online (24/7 access) with others, learning to develop strict time management skills, in order to create the best learning experience for everyone all over the world. Who would have ever thought I would be learning amongst people in other countries, but it is happening. Working in higher education also helps me to understand how popular distance learning is becoming based on the increasing numbers of registered students to online courses.

As we learned in our resources this week, “distance education is rapidly transforming post-secondary education and the driving force is economics and access” (Moller, Foshay, and Huett, J. 2008-pg. 66). I refer to myself as “today’s most popular, “new student called “the non-traditional” student. I am reaching for more education to advance professionally and add value to my resume and my current position. Each day my job duties change completely (based on new skills I am developing in my education) or increase based on technological advancements, environmental and personnel changes. 

“A principal motivator is the relatively unfamiliar force of competition” (Moller, Foshay, and Huett, 2008- pg. 66) within departments. In addition, it seems that “the lack of change” or “the desire to change” is crippling many departments at institutions in higher education. Employee resistance to change has been a problem at my current employment. Our software is upgrading quarterly, hardware is being replacing and procedures are improving. Many senior faculty and staff are being forced to retire or voluntarily retire because they did not want to accept the change or did not expect the competition that arose with change. 

“Educators in the distance medium are faced with new pedagogical issues surrounding student interactions, course content design and delivery, multiple levels of communication, defining new types of assignments and performance expectations, and different assessment and evaluation techniques”(Moller, Foshay, and Huett, 2008- pg. 67). This brings me to a revised definition of distance learning which states: distance learning is using electronic delivery that requires the student and educator to be able to operate an electronic devise in order to be a participant in the online environment. I would also require faculty and staff have a recurrent training with an Instructional designer that gives them ideas and/or instructions to a web 2.0 or any electronic tool used to build assignments, assessments and evaluations. The recurrent training could translate into continuing education credits which would make one more competitive when the next opportunity arises for a promotion.

 As distance learning continues on a path of evolution and change, it will need faculty teaching online courses that are technologically able to create their own material and organize the assignments. Employees must challenge themselves to change with time and technology. Institutions must make email and social media the official mode of communication such as Skype, YouTube and Facebook. It’s time for people to aim higher and climb that mountain along with the evolution of technology and distance learning.

 
Click here to visualize climbing to new heights with distance learning


Reference

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.

 

Learning Theories and Instruction Reflection

                                                   

Before the start of this class, I did not realize the various perspectives and theories about how people learned and how they impacted the instructional designer’s approach. Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, connectivism, social and adult theories all had a distinct concepts but were also interrelated.  Comparing and contrasting the theories gave me a new perspective of how I learn and how I apply them in my current career and in the field of instructional design. In addition, I found that learning requires more than just exposure to the content but then the knowledge of what to do with the content exposed. 

 I found that it is easy to adopt concepts that have been part of the brain research but not really found valuable to the classroom or even true.  The concept that the left and right hemispheres of the brain should be taught separately to maximize the effectiveness of learning was a concept I believed was true but surprisingly just a subject of brain research).  I learned that functions of some areas of the brain are hardly set in stone (Ormrod, Schunk, & Gredler, 2009). Different parts of the brain may be ready to learn at different times (National Research Council, 2000).  Learning organizes and reorganizes the brain (2009).

 I have thought about how I learn.  I am a visual learner who prefers to participate in computer-assisted instruction.  Ertmer & Newby prescribe this type of learning in the “Behaviorism” theory. Ertmer & Newby explain that “Behaviorism” was designed as the basis for audio-visual materials.  I learn most productively in an online and self-paced environment which is a reflection of how I work as well.  Ertmer & Newby suggested that behavioral theories imply that teachers ought to arrange environmental conditions so that students respond properly to presented stimuli.  On a deeper level, I learned better when I’ve been challenged to master tasks that I am not familiar with or know how to complete.

 I stated in the “Connectivism” blog that learning is the process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources (Davis, Edmunds, & Kelly-Bateman, 2008).  The ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill (2008).  Decision-making itself is a learning process (2008). I learned that the connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology and motivation is the ability to make a decision to create a learning process from the different concepts.   

 The learning in this course will help me as I further my career in the field of instructional design because I am able to distinguish between the learning theories and styles.  I am able to actively make decision in order to prepare a design with purpose.  I am able to use and understand how to incorporate technology in the lessons.  I understand the importance and value of motivation when instructing people.

 In conclusion, attrition plays a factor in the instructional designers work.  It is important to understand Keller’s ARCS model when designing instruction (1999).  In order to keep a student’s attention there must be an abundance of information that is relevant to the subject that is presented. The instructor must maintain his/her attention to the student’s learning style and provide continuous motivation.  Incorporating the use of technology that is unfamiliar would help students build confidence that will result in satisfaction after the technology becomes familiar.  Applying the ARCS model could be the key to retention.

                                                           References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

 Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4),50-71.

Keller, J. M. (1999). Using the ARCS motivational process in computer-based instruction and distance education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning (78).

National Research Council. "5 Mind and Brain." How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction (Laureate custom edition). New York: Pearson.

Fitting the Pieces Together

 When beginning this course, I prescribed my learning style as self-paced and audio-visual based from the behaviorist theory.   In the behaviorism theory, learning is accomplished when a proper response is demonstrated following the presentation of a specific environmental stimulus (Ertmer & Newby, 1993). After researching the many styles, strategies and theories in this course it became apparent that my prescription to successful learning wasn’t as concrete as I thought.  Understanding learning styles and theories is much more complex. Dr. Jeanne Ormrod explains the importance in knowing the nature of not only the learner in general but also the nature of specific learners and the fact that different people approach learning tasks in somewhat different ways (2009).  I stated in week one discussion that I was a learner that did well with audio-visual materials in an online environment.  That statement is true however what I found to be different is that my learning style changed based on different tasks.


Gilbert & Swanier stated that learning styles may fluctuate within the context of a course (2008). For example, in the past weeks from lesson to lesson I’ve had to change my learning style in order to complete each assignment or task successfully. Many of our assignments included using blogs and library research that required us to work one with another by collaborating and responding to postings.  At the end of this course, I feel like as an adult learner I must focus more on a strategy to learning rather than style because styles can change based on the context. 


Dr. Jeanne Ormrod explains the importance of teaching strategies rather than focusing on learning styles (2009).  Learning strategies are plans that do, make and proceed which conclude with a result.  I’ve learned the importance of three strategies that actually worked for me in the past weeks of study.  The strategies are elaboration, comprehensive monitoring and mnemonics all-in-one, like a printer, in order to be a success in an online environment (2009).  I’ve been able to take information and do something with it with software called “WebspirationPro” and analyze it to create a mind map.  I’ve been able to periodically stop during the learning process and assess what I was reading or learning from a variety of periodicals and articles found on database in our library.  I’ve been able to identify learning problems by writing, reading and responding to various blogs.  Overall, the accumulation of different learning strategies is the reason for successful learning of theories and instruction as an instructional designer.

References

Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from an instructional design perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 6(4), 50-71.

Gilbert, J., & Swanier, C. (2008). Learning styles: How do they fluctuate? Institute for Learning Styles Journal [Vol. l]. Retrieved from http://www.auburn.edu/~witteje/ilsrj/Journal Volumes/Fall 2008 Volume 1 PDFs/Learning Styles How do They Fluctuate.pdf.

Ormrod, J. (2009)."Learning Styles and Strategies" Retrieved on May 31, 2012 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_552973_1&url=.

"Connectivism"

When I reflect on the “connectivism” of my learning process I found that learning requires more than just exposure to the content but then the knowledge of what to do with the content exposed.  The network visually allows me to understand the pathway to “doing” which enables me to learn.  In our resources, George Siemens explains that decision making is a form of learning (style or platform) which best describes my cognitive network (2008). The best tool I use to facilitate important decisions professionally is the mobile phone and personally the laptop.  I gain my knowledge from the World Wide Web when I have a question about anything.  For example, my 4 month old is teething and I needed to know how much ibuprofen to give him.  I went to google.com and place a question in the search box and found that at his age the dosage is determined by his weight not his age.  My personal learning supports the central tenets of connectivism because it all ties together into one complex learning experience.  Through the electronic sources personally, I am able to connect, nuture and maintain communication with people all around the world.  I used Siemens six principles of connectivism to provide a clearer explanation (strategy or plan) (2008).

 

• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources (face book, twitter and Skype).

• Learning may reside in non-human appliances (laptop, mobile device, kindle, digital camera).

• Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known (researching World Wide Web and textbooks).

• Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.

• Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.

• Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.

 References

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Connectivism

Is it me or My Brain?

In the first http://strategiclearner.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/do-what-we-like-or-like-what-we-do/ blog John E. Smith engages in a dialogue about working to earn a living or are we earning a living which is taking the joy out of work.  Bottom line is if you change the way you look at work then maybe it would be more enjoyable. 

In the second http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/#!/2012/05/more-fabulous-learning-spaces.html blog Steven Wheeler emphasized the how important the learning spaces are to children’s learning success. In our resource (2009) we read that various practices help keep classrooms from becoming predictable and repetitive.  Both of these articles relate because the end result depends on how we look at work or learning spaces in order to stay focus, are attentive and productive.  Our thoughts become problems that can be automatic.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Reference

Pearson Custom Publishing. (2009). Learning Theories and Instruction. New York,NY: Pearson Custom Publishing . (Original work published 2009)

Learning Resources

In researching blogs related to learning concepts and theories I found three very helpful resource sites.  The first resource located at http://kmbslearningservices.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/the-end-of-e-learning provides reflections on educational challenges. Information about learning, learners and education and the examples of the training solutions can be found on this blog.  I enjoyed reading the post “The End of e-Learning” which asked the question, “Should e-learning be the key focus for learning?” The second resource located at http://www.internettime.com/blog/archives/000023.html provides information specifically related to emergent learning and online learning.  The site is hosted by a team that calls themselves the Internet Time Group who are known as educational experts.  I enjoyed reading the post “How People Learn” which explains learning as “social activity”.  The third resource located at http://strategiclearner.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/3-aspects-of-deep-learning/?blogsub=confirming#subscribe-blog provides information on leadership, learning and human behavior by John E. Smith.  The post entitled “3 Aspects of Deep Learning” gave insight on why learning is “deep”.  I found this resource to be helpful when researching learning from a critical thinking perspective.  The author is very creative and adds a lot of quotes in his writing.