A "Tug of War"

A few years ago I was tasked with updating a WBT with new system screen images. This WBT was rather long in its entirety; however, it was completed over a number of days. Originally there were two project managers – one for the client (me) and one for the curriculum design and development side. However, due to another project conflict, my PM moved onto another project and I worked with the curriculum project manager.

I was the primary SME/designer on the project; however, I added another trainer/SME to the project. This additional trainer/SME was an asset and a detriment to the project. Asset skills included excellent system knowledge and ability to effectively outline a WBT lesson for the learner. However, her other skills – needing to be right and questioning others who have been doing this for years – caused the project to be tense many times. Unfortunately, this project lasted 12 months.

Early in the project, after describing to the designer/developer in a review/feedback document, this person still felt the need to meet with us to review our feedback. The trainer/SME pointed out to me that this was a waste of time and should this occur for each lesson, the project will be extended another six months. I felt the trainer/SME made a sound observation so I discussed it with the PM. The PM and I agreed to adjust the review process and to only facilitate a meeting when the feedback was unclear.

As time progressed through this project, the trainer/SME was continually and persuasively changing and questioning the designer/developer. Basically the trainer/SME wanted to complete all the edits in the storyboard and have the developer just develop/revamp the WBT. Yes, the trainer/SME took over as the designer.

However, she was not the designer and as the primary SME/designer, I had to constantly buffer feedback and actions with the PM. You may wonder why I chose to tolerate this behavior; well, I needed the trainer/SME. I did not have the system background or understanding and I was still maintaining another huge curriculum, so I could not dedicate my time to this one project but the trainer/SME had the time. My primary role became one of the ‘buffer’ between the trainer/SME (now acting as designer) and the PM. I was able to use the asset skills to my advantage and I chose to accept the role as buffer.

How did the project end? On time, within budget, the trainer/SME and I become great friends, mutual respect attained with the PM and a great deal of lessons learned.

There were quite a few issues with this PM; however, Project Scope Creep was not in the actual task or product but in who was doing what tasks, which ultimately was about roles and responsibilities (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 385).


If I was the real PM on this project and with my new found PM understanding, risks may have been mitigated as follows (Portny, et-al, 2008, p 385):

• Roles and Responsibilities

oEnsure all parties are involved in developing the roles and responsibilities.

oExpand SME base beyond one person, if possible.

oRevisit roles and responsibilities agreements when these began to change.

• Assumptions

oMy PM skills were up to par – every assumption leads to a potential risk.

These risks primary affected the schedule. Since the roles had changed, tasks needed to be moved to allow for learning curve and new resources assigned to these tasks. The PM on the project kept us constantly focused on the end project date and how little changes would affect the end project date.

References:

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.

Communicating – Written vs. Oral

One message, different deliveries and different meanings!

The message in this email is the same words that were delivered via voicemail and then in person. Listed below is how I interpreted each message from the method it was communicated.

The email came across as trying to be polite and sensed that I had hindered the project; however, there was an undercurrent of understanding and apologizing for needing the information on short notice.

Understanding – I know you have been busy and possibly in meetings all day

Voicemail truly sent a kinder message in Jane’s tone of voice and conveyed a truer understanding than the email. No emphasis on the word ‘your’. Tone of voice implies his or her attitude to the message (Besson, Graf, Hartung, Kropfhausser, & Voisard, 2004).


Face to face – conveyed understanding but there was a tone of annoyance. Jane began with a smile and then it disappeared. She also used her fingers to show emphasis on the word ‘your’ in this phrase “because your report”, as well as, her voice inflection/intonation on the word.


Oral communication can be significantly more effective in expressing meaning to an audience because there are more signals such as gestures, intonation, inflection, volume, pitch, pauses, movement, and overall appearance (Ferraro & Palmer). When a person speaks, they have more control over the listener will hear and can alter their message while talking with the listener than a writer has over what the reader will read. Most times written words can be chosen with greater deliberation and thought. The exception is when a writer is writing as they talk or text.

Implications:
1. Need to know what and how you want your message to be conveyed.
2. Need to know yourself. Example: If you know your body language may be misinterpreted and your email written quickly may come across with room for misinterpretation, use voicemail.
3. Prior to beginning a project, discuss preferred methods of communication for each team member and use scenarios to truly understand which method will be most appropriate for that team member.
4. During post project assessment, ask project team members to rate your communication style during the project and request an explanation for the rating.

Therefoe, communication is an integral part of any relationship. Therefore, it is important to know yourself, your most effective means of communication, and adapt them based on the needs of your team and the individuals on the team.

Ferraro, V., & Palmer, K. (n.d.). Differences between oral and written communication. Retrieved from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/differences.htm

Besson, C., Graf, D., Hartung, I., Kropfhausser, B., & Voisard, S. (2004). The importance of non-verbal communication in professional interpretation. Retrieved from http://aiic.net/ViewPage.cfm/page1662.htm

Division-wide Orientation Program

Overall project was to design a new hire orientation training curriculum to be used by all lines of business within a call center for a major financial company. The course outcome was and is still successful; however, from a project perspective there are many tools and processes that could have been used that would have allowed for a more successful project plan and better outcomes to the project team.

“Post Mortem” Questions

In reviewing the various project phases many were on target; however, in hindsight, some could have been performed better. Let’s take a look.

Phase 1: Determine Need and Feasibility

All major stakeholders agreed there was a need for a division-wide orientation program, especially during a two-company integration. It was important for new employees to understand the company’s mission, vision and strategies. One area that could have been improved upon was better organization of source documents from all sources (Portny, et-al, 2008, p. 33) and enhanced inclusion of other company divisions, and then a comprehensive document outlining the sources, division and content to be considered.

Phase 2: Create Project Plan

The first item to mention is that I served as the primary ID and the PM. According to Allen & Hardin, this is feasible because 53% of the time is spent performing PM projects and 47% as ID. However, this was my first project using project management tools so my numbers were skewed. Many instructional designers are ill-prepared to manage the resources, schedules, and budges associated with ISD projects (Allen & Hardin, 2008, p 75). I do think there are advantages to have an ID be the PM; however, the PM/ID needs to add another ID to be the primary ID with me supporting them in the process. Therefore, I would not have been the person doing most of the design and development.

A detailed design, development, and review schedule was created. However, the flaw in the timeline was that the SMEs had multiple documents to review at the same time. Once the project began, the SMEs requested a second review of all the documents which was not considered in the timeline and overall schedule. Therefore, the timeline did not anticipate for any unknowns (Portny, et-al, 2008, p 41).
Additionally, a clearly defined audience list was not developed (Portny, et-al, 2008, p 274). If this list had been created, it would have allowed me to ensure all parties were informed throughout the project.

I did create a project task list, both in Microsoft Word and Project Management; however, I did not use the tools to their fullest capabilities. In other words, my task list was not as detailed as it could have been and I did not continuously update my project plan with changes so it was difficult to manage any crunch or overlapping deadlines. In other words, I did not create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (Greer, 2010, p 15). If a WBS had been created and followed, risks would have been identified earlier and considered in the overall timeline to allow for the unknowns. This would have allowed the SMEs/reviewers additional time to complete their tasks and for the designers wiggle room during the development phase (Allen & Hardin, 2008, p 75).

As far as the right people involved, all SMEs were appropriately identified and their roles defined. All the SMEs proved to be very effective and valuable to the project and project meeting was conducted to share and review their responsibilities. A project roles and responsibilities document was created and each responsibilities assignments were made to designate primary, secondary and approval (Portny, et-al, 2008, p 96).

Another project tool that could have been more effective was the use of a clearly defined communication plan (Greer, 2008, p 15). A high level plan was created but because of the other issues; ID as PM, crunched timelines at the project initiation, and not all tasks being identified, the high level plan was implemented but more nilly willy or wishy washy than should have been. All communication seemed rushed because the deadline was looming.

Phase 3: Create Specifications for Deliverables and Phase 4: Create Deliverables

As far as the training development, my department has and uses established templates. However, this was my first design project using the department templates so the learning curve to gain a comfort level with them added to the design timeline and was not considered in the original schedule. Another aspect of the development and product deliverable was pulling each individual module into one document for ease of printing.

And as mentioned previously, the timeline was truly crunched due to overlapping documents to review and complete edits. It often seemed as though we were stumbling over documents.

Phase 5: Test and Implement Deliverables

This phase went more smoothly and most likely because I previously was a trainer and understood their expectations. The curriculum was implemented using train-the-trainer training sessions and a pilot program phase allowing ample time for feedback from other designers’ delivery observations and trainer feedback and surveys.
Another area that I would and should have done differently was the last phase of Evaluating and Ending Projects. I did not perform a post project evaluation (Portny, et-al, 2008, p. 404) which would have included a post project evaluation that would have gathered feedback on the overall project and uncover areas of project management strengths and improvements.

As you can see, the project was developed successfully with the exception of how it was completed. Phase 2: Creating a Project Plan of Project Management could have been more successful if many of the project tools and processes had been developed, implemented and followed. If I had to choose one project management tool to make sure I use the next time I am in charge of a project, it would be the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) (Gordon & McDonough, 2010, June 14).

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.

Allen, S., & Hardin, P. C. (2008). Developing instructional technology products using effective project management practices. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(2), 72–97.

Copyright by Springer-Verlag, New York.
Gordon, A., & McDonough, M. (Ed.). (2010, June 14). What is a work breakdown structure? Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/2645.aspx

Advancing Distance Learning

It is amazing what has occurred in the last five years in respect to the internet – its tools, usage, content, and access. With the continued forward rapid motion of the internet, this will help to advance distance learning and its acceptability; hence, the perception of distance learning will continue to grow in its acceptability factor.

The Instructional Technology Council shows that college distance courses popularity continues to grow rapidly with distance education growth at 11 percent from 2006 to 2007. With this kind of distance learning growth experience, and combined with hopefully, good individual experiences, the perception will grow exponentially and distance education will be more the norm than the exception.

Education is the foundation for learning and growing our individual knowledge and improving society. Therefore, it is important to ensure easy access to quality education. As Martin Luther King stated:

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

Therefore, in order to help build society’s intelligence and character, education needs to be readily accessible and distance learning can provide this accessibility.

In order to help with a positive perception of distance learning, as an ID, I need to continually seek ways to ensure the latest and most effective tools are being used in course designs. When consulting, I need to ensure my analysis includes a comprehensive and current view of current successful trends. The more the ID can make any course engaging and interactive, the more this will help to advance and support distance learning. Therefore, my work will be a contribution to advancing distance learning, as well as, sharing my personal distance learning experience with others both professionally and personally.

References:
GetEducated.com. LLC. (2010). http://www.geteducated.com/online-education-facts-and-statistics/latest-online-learning-news-and-research/341-community-college-online-education-courses-up-22-percent

Classroom

to

Online

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.

Applying ADDIE to this scenario will be very beneficial. Therefore, the trainer will go through each of these steps in order to move the course from the classroom to online. A brief summary of the steps to take include:

To see detailed description of this summary:

Mind Map

Classroom to Online - Entire Document

Open Course

Open Course studies is very interesting because well known educational institutions are making their fundamental courses available to all to learn. Scholars believe that knowledge is there to be shared. Therefore, well renowned colleges are making courses available to all using open courseware.

Open Yale has an easy to use website which includes information about itself. The About page includes basic question and answers as to the reasons course are offered online, who is supporting this endeavor which includes the hosting grant, technology, and professor, as well as, how and if content can be shared.

Open Yale offers a variety of course. In reviewing their website and courses, I chose to explore the course content for HIST 119: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877 so that I could better understand how the course presents content.

Entering this course, there is a simple list of links to the left to guide the learner to a brief course introduction, list of lessons or sessions, syllabus, downloads and a survey. There are 27 sessions contained in this course. Each session includes an html (website), audio or video of the session presentation. In essence, these are the actual content of the professor’s lecture. In addition, many of the sessions include a reading assignment.

Upon review of Yale’s course, the courses appear to be neither synchronous or asynchronous but more a pure independent learning experience with no interaction with the faculty or students. Therefore, it is more information or content sharing with no process for the student to show an assimilation of understanding of the content.

From an instructional design perspective, the Open Yale courses include some good foundational concepts:

• Easy to navigate
• Provides a content introduction
• Reading assignments
• Overview of course and each lesson
• Variety of delivery methods

However, from a pure instructional design perspective, these courses are missing course objectives. Therefore, it is providing a broad experience for content but no objective for the learner to define if they have achieved the outcomes expected after completing the course.

From a distance learning perspective, these courses are considered distant learning because there is a separation of learner and instructor. The course is organized well and does provide some basic variety of presentation so it can appeal to different learning styles. View a sample of a video lecture for this specific course. However, there is quite a great deal lacking in these courses in order for them to be considered a good or great distant learning experience.

In order for distance learning to be successful, there needs to be some key components which include the following:

• Key players include faculty. ” The success of any distance education effort rests squarely on the shoulders of the faculty.” (University of Idaho)
• Delivery media – using a variety of methods engages different learning styles and preferences.
• Internet technology is used to provide a communication link among the instructor and students (Florida Gulf Coast University).
• Learner centered approach versus teacher centered
• Encourages individuals to become their own knowledge navigators, taking control of their education (Uribe, p.4)
• Knowledge-centered (Shea, Li, & Pickett 2006 p.176)
• Assessment-centered (Shea, Li, & Pickett 2006 p.176)
• Community-centered (Shea, Li, & Pickett 2006 p.176)

As you review this list, you can see that Yale does meet some of these criteria; however, many of these components are lacking in an Open Course environment and specifically at Yale. Yale uses a more teacher centered approach and delivers the content using a variety of media so learners can adapt it to their learning style.

The largest component missing at Yale is the community centered approach which would allow for interaction between the student and the professor. Due to this lack of interaction, there are quite a few other criteria lacking in this Open Course curriculum. There is not collaboration built into it so the student is purely on their own, navigating content, reading but lacking any component to assimilate the information to demonstrate understanding or to challenge or seek further understanding of the content. Additionally, there is no assessment component so the learner’s ability to assess their understanding is also missing.

Therefore, Open Course at Yale is great resource for content but after that it lacks many of the components needed to be a successful and effective distance learning experience.

References:
Florida Gulf Coast University. (2006). Principles of online design. http://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/intro.html

Shea, P. Li, C., & Pickett, A. (2006). A study of teaching presence and student sense of learning community in fully online and web-enhanced college courses. Internet and Higher Education, 9(3), p. 175-190. (EJ800673)

Snyder, M. (2009). Instructional-Design theory to guide the creation of online learning communities for adults. Tech Trends, 53(1), p. 48-56. http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1007/s11528-009-0237-2

University of Idaho. Distance education at a glance. http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/eo/dist1.html. Based on Willis, B. (1993). Distance education: A practical guide. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Uribe, E. Learner centered principles in distance education. http://itec.sfsu.edu/wp/860wp/F05_860_uribe.pdf

Interactive Tour Design Proposal

Congratulations on your students being selected to display their art work in two prominent New York City museums. It is unfortunate that the students are unable to take a trip to the museum to see their work displayed, as well as, be able to see first hand the other exhibits.However, I have designed an instructional design proposal to meet your needs.

Design Needs Defined

Let's take a brief look of the needs you have requested.

Needs	Specifics
Visual	View students exhibits
	Tour the two museums
Interaction	Museum curators
	Group critique of specific art work

In other words,you want this learning experience
to be as real, as if they are physically standing in the museum.
Additionally, you are looking for the students to learn more about
the other exhibits and connect with the museum curators. Then
lastly, you want students to critique a work of art, one from each
exhibit, as a group activity. To learn from each other, it will be
beneficial to hear and view each group's critiques.

Visual

View Students Exhibits:

The introduction would include a congratulatory statement from the teacher and school district and museum.

Next a museum explanation of the selection process and reasons for bringing students artwork to the museum.

Video links for both exhibits using a panoramic 360 video. The 360° video provides a full scan of the exhibit and will allow students to view their exhibit from a visitor's perspective. Click on the link to view an example to view the difference between a static image and 360° video.

http://www.virtualvue.com/Technology.htm

Tour of the Two Museums:

To help students understand how their exhibit contributes to the musuem, it is important for the students to tour the museum and to see other exhibits in the museum. This will help students understand the museum's overall vision and gain a better understanding of their contribution to the museum.

The tour will be accomplished using an interactive map and allow students total control of their tour. Students will design their own tour. After identifying a specific area in the museum, a slide show will display using a static picture and description of that exhibit. Depending on the exhibit, video may be used to display the exhibit. Click on the link to view a sample of a museum map and its exhibits:

http://www.lamoth.org/exhibitions/virtual-tour/

Students will need to view all exhibits in order for this portion of the course to show as complete.

Interaction

Museum Curators:

Since we are unable to physically visit the museums, the curators have made themselves available using online technologies for us to chat with them. We will use desktop two-way audio/video. Therefore, the computer lab will be utilized for component since each of these computers have webcams installed in each.

Working with the teacher, the curator will set a designated time to meet with the students. The curator will provide a brief prepared introduction which will congratulate the students for being selected to exhibit at the museum, brief history of the museum and why the student's art contributes to the museum, and then a brief explanation of the curator's career and background. Click on the link below to see a demonstration.

http://www.nefsis.com/movies/carousel/carousel.aspx

At this point, the curator will open the session to the student's questions. In order for students' to contribute and play an active role in this session, they will submit questions using the class Wiki. The Wiki will allow students to view others questions and insights and minimize duplicate questions. Click on the link below for a brief demonstration of a wiki.

http://www.wikispaces.com/content/wiki-tour/introduction

After students complete the museum tours, they will have time to prepare their questions. The questions asked will support concepts presented in class and seek additional insight to the exhibits, seek to understand reasons for media selection, and to understand the process for writing the exhibits descriptions.

The teacher will monitor the Wiki to ensure all students are participating and asking quality and valid questions as outlined in the course outline. The teacher will submit feedback using the Wiki so that all students learn and will develop questions meeting the course outline.

Group Critique:

To engage an expert, the teacher will request the museum curator of each museum to select a work of art to be critiqued. The curator will share their reasons for selecting this piece of art with the teacher.

The art work will be photographed from various angles to support the curator's reasons for selecting this art work. Enlarging the photograph will be enabled.

After the students have explored the piece of art, they will then ensue in a discussion of the artwork and begin their critique. The teacher will monitor the discussion by physically being present in the classroom. Additionally, the teacher will ensure the curator's observations and insights are shared during the discussion. The teacher will use art class standards for critiquing and supporting the learning component.

The group critique sessions will be videoed using a standard video camera. This video will then be presented during class so that each group can broaden their understanding of each piece of art and learn from one another.

Prior to viewing the other group's video, students will examine the art work online using the photographed images described above.

After both groups have viewed the critiques, the class will view a video of the museum curator sharing their critique, insights, and reasons for selecting this specific artwork to be critiqued.

Summary

Media used for this interactive tour include:

1. 360° video to view the students' exhibit

2. Interactive virtual tour using a map of the museum and static pictures and text descriptions

3. Wiki for group discussion and interaction with museum curator

4. Webcams for interactive

5. Static photographs of artwork to critique

6. Video for group critique

All these media components will support both the visual and interaction aspect of this learning experience. Students will be engaged to learn about the museum, to gain insight from an expert, the curator, and to apply their learning in a group critique session. The teacher will provide student coaching to ensure learning is related to the course objects. Additionally, students will be able to learn from each other and about themselves when viewing the group critique video. Each component of this course support the learning objectives, allow for skill application, coaching to enhance learning, and to learn from peers and experts.