Communication is the KEY!

William Knopf-Blog posting Week 3

The message was the same throughout the 3 different types of communication (email, voicemail, and face to face). As I went from each message I felt that it was the same for the email and voicemail, and different with the face to face.

Perceptions influence how you can take any of the messages. In emails, I have found that you have to use very direct language. Also the way a person takes the message depends greatly on their mood and how the take the written message. In the voicemail the tone of the message can determine how the listener takes the message. In the example the voice was positive and asking in a supporting manner. Finally in the face to face communication, your non-verbal communication speaks louder than your words. Like Stolovitch (2010) stated the attitude, body language is a huge factor in communication. One thing that I was taught long ago (not sure by who), “the mouth speaks lies, the body tells you all!” This is so true, and in the face to face communication, I felt negative vibes from her. From my perception the voicemail conveyed the best and true meaning of the message.

From the exercise and the video segments, communication needs to be direct and to the point. The problem should be stated clearly and in the beginning, a solution of some kind should be suggested, and how you want the person to respond to you. One thing that I need to work on is getting all the team players involved and engaged in my projects. I have run projects so long by myself that I will have to learn how share and communicate the tasks and focus (Portny, 2008). One thing that I have done and it was suggested by the text is involving the right people (Portny, 2008). Identifying the right people in the project is extremely important and making sure they stay engaged is a key feature (Stolovitch, 2010). Another important item is to not be ambiguous (Stolovitch, 2010), in the case study Carlos was extremely ambiguous and open-ended, and this lead to problems in the project with Catherine and Dan. There are many things to think about and I liked how Catherine put a real world number on how much time it takes, 300:1 (Portny, 2008). Planning is extremely important and just as important as communication, because without proper communication all the planning is worthless.




Sources:
• 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.
• Video Program: “Communicating with Stakeholders”
Dr. Stolovitch discusses communication strategies and managing client expectations.
• Video Program: “Practitioner Voices: Strategies for Working with Stakeholders”
In this program, Troy Achong discusses strategies for dealing with different stakeholder personalities, and Vince Budrovich illustrates why stakeholders need to be kept involved during the entire lifecycle of the project.
• Video Program: “Project Management Concerns: Communication Strategies and Organizational Culture”
Dr. Stolovitch gives Carole Kramer advice on adjusting her communication style to fit her client’s culture.

Failed project

Project overview: I was working at a private school. As you may or may not know funding in private schools is less than public schools. Therefore fundraising is an extremely important part of working for a private school. When I took over the role of fundraiser chair, I decided to make some new fundraisers to break up the routine. At the time paintball was a big and popular at the time, so I thought it would make a great fundraiser. I contacted a local field to for details and billing. The date was selected and the price set. However the day only raised $60 for 7 hours of activity and many more in planning. The day was not a success.


1. Are you proud of our finished deliverables (project work products)? If yes, what's so good
about them? If no, what's wrong with them? The product of the project was fundraising money for the school, and I was not happy with the result. The net profit of the day was only $60.
2. What was the single most frustrating part of our project? The most frustrating part of the project was the net result. Planning for the event took over 3 weeks of time and the day itself took 7 hours.
3. How would you do things differently next time to avoid this frustration? The next time that I did the project, instead of inviting just our school, I opened it to the public. Instead of a few handfuls of families, the local community got involved. The next paintball fundraiser brought in $800.
4. What was the most gratifying or professionally satisfying part of the project? Even though the project was not a huge success, the school was still thankful and believed in the project.
5. Which of our methods or processes worked particularly well? Instead of doing all the leg work, like Stolovitch (2010) stated, I gave up control to gain more control of the project. I had a person in charge of concessions, paintball supplies, entry tickets, and t-shirts.
6. Which of our methods or processes were difficult or frustrating to use? None.
7. If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about the project, what would you
change? I wouldn’t change anything, because I learned from the experience. You don’t have the ability to go back in time and redo things. I took the good things from the first day and re-worked the failing objectives.
8. Did our stakeholders, senior managers, customers, and sponsor(s) participate effectively? If
not, how could we improve their participation? The stakeholders, the school, did not actively participate. I had total control and was also totally accountable for the project.


Source:
Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Management and Instructional Design. Walden Video Library

Discussion 1-reposted

William Knopf-ID

Instructional designer has many roles and responsibilities when a project is concerned. One of the first roles is to identify the need of the project. What is the goal that the project is trying to accomplish? When an ID is doing this function they are showing an understanding and relating to the project itself. According to Dr. Stolovich (2010) ID are musicians that control their own section of a project. The ID is concerned with the objectives, methods of delivery, media to deliver, learning styles, and assessments (Stolovich, 2010). When having the first initial meeting with the stakeholders or client the ID should identify the topic and objective of the project. The ID should start to formulate ideas that will best serve the project and fulfill the objectives. The ID should also know the trade and be able to find SME, these are similar to project champions that the PM will find, and they can assist in the development of the project (Portny, 2008). Another key concept the ID has to consider is whether they have to report to the PM or not. In some projects the ID has to not only design the instructional methods, but also manage themselves through the project. An ID can have very similar roles of a PM if that role is not established.

Sources:

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.
Rekom, P. (2010). Practitioner Voices: Barriers to Project Success. Walden Video Library.
Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Management and Instructional Design. Walden Video Library

Stolovitch, H. (2010). Project Kickoff. Walden Video Library.

Reflection EDUC 6135

William Knopf-Reflection

Distance learning has already changed throughout history. The original hand written correspondence has given way to the internet and other faster types of media. In the next 5-10 years the future of distance learning will become more acceptable. Siemens (2010) stated that just in the last 5 years the amount of traditional universities are offering some sort of distance learning courses, whether they are hybrid or fully off-campus courses.
When I become an ID I will show the value of the distance learning model. For example in my field of secondary education the need and use of distance learning is already increasing. In my classroom, all assignments are listed on Edline where the students have 24/7 access to the files and information that we cover in class. The students that are out of school will not lose the information, and can come back to the classroom not as far behind as before. One of the other areas that I see for distance learning is the GED programs and the alternative learning programs. For example when you have students that are trying to acquire the knowledge, but not in the traditional classroom the content is “watered down.” With distance learning there could be a teacher that teaches all the GED programs and alternative programs via the internet or webcam. This would allow those students the same opportunities as the students in the classroom.
The world is growing faster and faster each day. Technology is improving by leaps and bonds. The 21st century student will not need the same skills to master their workplace as our grandparents did. The traditional methods are effective and with the delivery styles such as blended instruction, those best practices can still be used and utilized. The one way to keep positive about distance learning is to show more and more people the benefits, and disadvantages. Research and best practices have shown that when you give the audience the true picture, they will make the most logical choice for themselves (Simonson, 2010). Personally I know that distance learning has made getting my Master’s degree possible. Distance learning has allowed me to continue my education with the flexibility that fits a crazy packed schedule. Since I am a teacher (middle school), coach 3 sports, have a family, and still can maintain a social life.

Sources:
Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). The Future of Distance Education. [Online]. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

Scenario- Trainer switches to distance learning

William Knopf-Training scenario
Scenario: 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.
• When converting a course to an online/distance learning experience planning is a huge concern and focus? According to Dr. Piskurich (2010) planning will take a major of the time when making a distance education course. The trainer will have to look at the very important items such as time, budget, objective parameters and course objectives (Piskurich, 2010). Another suggestion for the trainer would be to give surveys. The surveys would be an excellent tool to determine the technology level of the class and the learning abilities of the members in the class. Since learners have different abilities as well as different degrees of technology skills, this step would be extremely valuable. The trainer could make simple surveys using several websites. Such websites as Survey Monkey, Free online surveys, etc. From the results the trainer could then determine the best delivery method for the discussions. The technology survey would also give the trainer data to work with on regards to making the material available on a server, the learner’s abilities, and not making the technology a hurdle that the learners must fight to overcome. Since the trainer wants to place the information on a server, servers will have to be researched as well. Services such as Free Webspace, or even a list of free web services. Another suggestion for the trainer would be to use any of the CMS and LMS that are online. This will allow the trainer to track and keep better records of the efforts from the trainees. There are a variety of free CMS, LMS available. Here is a list that are available 15 desks, Ectolearn, Lecture Share, School Rack, rCampus, Moodle, Edmodo, and edu2.0.
• What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format? The original program can be enhanced with distance learning by making the program have more activities. Since the biggest problem that the trainer is seeing is communication, the trainer could use discussion boards, blogs, instant messaging, and multimedia. The trainer also stated that they wanted to place their course files online so they can be accessed at any time. By placing the files online, the trainees could access them before the face-to-face setting making the course time more valuable. The better prepared the trainees are before they come into the face-to-face setting, the better the discussions in class could be, as well as the information from the trainer would not be totally new.
• How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment? In the distance learning environment the trainer’s role would change from an instructor to a facilitator. If the trainer decides to use discussion boards, blogs, etc he will need to follow the rule of thumb for discussions. The rule of thumb for discussion is 1:4 (Simonson, 2009) when interacting or replying to the online discussions. Keeping to this ratio will allow the trainees to learn from each other and the discussions will become more valuable. In the distance environment setting the trainer would be more of a supervisor of the discussions. The trainer would look over the discussions and make sure that there is correct dialogue being given and correcting information that was incorrect (Simonson, 2009).
• What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online? To encourage the trainees to communicate online, the trainer could make the first discussion a getting to know you discussion. This would be more open and allow the trainees to share something about them. The trainer should have the same requirements for this discussion, so the trainees could get used to the format and expected style. Another idea would be for the trainer to be the first one to post in that discussion. This would give the trainees a piece of information about the trainer that they might not have gotten from the face-to-face course.

Sources:
Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Facilitating Online Learning. [Online]. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.

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

Open Course Assessment

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/science-technology-and-society/sts-471j-engineering-apollo-the-moon-project-as-a-complex-system-spring-2007/

I selected for the Open Course website review MIT and the course on engineering Apollo: The Moon Project a Complex System. The reason that I selected the course was because my class that I teach is about to enter into the Rocketry section of the year. This is a very exciting and eye opening section that the students seem to get very involved with.

Analysis of Open course-Looking at the site more critically I was looking for planning of the course/website and how it was laid out for the learner. The course has the layout and design of a typical online course. On the left hand side there are hyperlinks to all the different areas that are important to the course and to the learner (syllabus, readings, lecture notes, assignments, related resources, and download-entire course materials). Once you select the hyperlink that you are looking for it takes you to a different page where all the materials are laid out in an easy to read format, the font is approximately 20-24 font which is easy for the learner to read (Simonson, 2009). The text and titles are in different colors to indicate which is which (red-title & black-text). The course is well designed and the assignments are linked well to the syllabus and the lecture notes. It is well designed and organized and each “lesson” is linked to its assignment, notes, and resources. The resources are full of videos and media to enhance the course, not hinder them.

According to Dr. Piskurich (2010) this type of course would be asynchronous learner led course that is the 5th best choice for a course delivery style. This type of course would be highly dependent on the learner’s motivation. The course would be better for the learner if there was some sort of interaction between the instructor and the learner. However I do understand why it does not, the course is a free course, and thus no one is getting paid to lead it, grade the assignments, or delivers the material. The objectives of the course are not clearly defined and to make this course better that would need to be added. According to both Dr. Piskurich (2010) and Simonson (2009) the objectives have to be clearly stated and related to the needs of the learner. The activities that are related to the course are designed to make the learner think cognitively about the information that they processes and relate that information to the assignment/course project. Dr. Piskurich (2009) believes that one of the best ways to make the activities link to the objective is to use small groups leading to the large group. In the team project the learners are broken into smaller groups and they will display their projects to the entire class. The project is directed yet flexible enough to allow for the learners to show creativity and grasping of the objective (Piskurich, 2010).

Sources:
Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Planning and Designing Courses. [Online]. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Developing Online Courses. [Online]. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

Distance Learning Scenario

Scenario-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?


To help the history teacher out with this project the technologies that I would suggest would be an interactive tour and a web-quest. After the teacher has introduced the lesson, she could build a web-quest for her students. (see below) A web-quest is similar to a worksheet that is solved by going to various websites to locate the answer. A web-quest can easily be made, differentiated, and completed with basic computers. Even if the teacher is not familiar or unsure about making a web-quest, a very simple search using Google or Bing (see below)can deliver thousands of examples or ones that other teachers have used. I have personally used and created many web-quests and the students enjoy them.

Once the web-quest is complete she could send her students on an interactive tour of the museum. Since she wants to have her students interact with the museum curators setting up a webcam or Skype would allow them to have real-time conversations. Another option to have synchronous communication would be to setup a discussion board where the students could log on and post comments to the curators to comment back. Using the http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/museumkids.asp will take her students to the museum’s main page(see below). While in communication with the curator, the students could navigate the museum, pausing for questions and still seeing the major exhibits without leaving their classroom.

A more self guided tour would use http://www.moma.org/interactives/destination/# will actually take her students to the museum of modern art in New York City. The tour is animated, yet has the abilities to focus on pieces of art. From this site she could assign various paintings for her students to discuss or even have activities with (see below). This site allows the students to use other intelligences to examine and manipulate the paintings, while learning about the pieces of art. With some practice, trial and error the teacher should become more familiar with using the technologies to enhance her lessons.