Taking a Closer Look at Discussion Activities

Taking a Closer Look at Discussion Activities

As you learned from this week’s resources, many assessments can be performed in a discussion forum either as an individual or as a group. This week you and your colleagues will engage in a discussion about the organizational structure of a course and how the activities effect the time allotted to complete the assigned task. You will also share your growing expertise related to how to design meaningful discussion activities.

Begin by reading the section of the book E-Learning by Design “Guide Discussion Activities” Pg. 463-471. Then, reflect on your own experiences with participation in online discussion forums.

• Book Excerpt: E-Learning by Design

(Horton, W., Designing for the Virtual Classroom, E-Learning by Design). Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons Inc. Used with permission from John Wiley & Sons Inc. via the Copyright Clearance Center.

o Chapter 9, “Design for the Virtual Classroom” (pp. 463–471)

By Saturday:

Post your response and be sure to cite information from the Learning Resources to support your analysis and recommendations. Reflect on the following questions:

How would you as an instructor ensure that the learner has all the necessary skills to interact in the learning environment? What would you do to help them be more successful in the discussion? What could you do as in instructor to assure the environment promotes success?

Respond to two or more of your colleagues’ postings in any of the following ways:

• Build on something your colleague said.
• Explain why and how you see things differently.
•  Ask a probing or clarifying question.
•  Share an insight from having read your colleague's posting.
•  Offer and support an opinion.
•  Validate an idea with your own experience.
•  Expand on your colleague's posting.
• Ask for evidence that supports the posting

Open Textbook Publishing:


What is it?

With the advances in e-reader devices and the trends in publishing toward electronic media textbooks authors have more options in how their work will be distributed.

How does it work?

Textbook creators are motivated by the content for educational purposes should be open and educational models are evolving to depend on open content. Compensation to the creators is acquired through grants, foundations support, and advertising within the textbook.

Who is doing it?

Many open texts are available from for-profit publishers such as Flat World knowledge, Lulu, O’Reilly, and Textbook Media. Repositories are store textbooks such as CK-12, Curriki, OpenLearn (UK) and the California Open Source Textbook Project (Baker & Hood, 2011). Connexions open repository offers a full range of educational content to a worldwide audience and is suitable for learners at any age level (Baker & Hood, 2011).

Why is it significant?

The open textbook model represents only a fraction of the textbooks needed by educational institutes, the model represents a new direction in publishing and lowers the cost to students reduces economic barriers in postsecondary education (Baker & Hood, 2011). This venue also helps instructors vary materials in their courses without the gray area of fair use (Baker & Hood, 2011).

What are the downsides?

Without the backing of a publisher some authors might not embark on authoring a textbook. Publishers provide support in the form of editors, illustrators, and compensation but they also troubleshoot copyright issues. Open text books could be missing essential credentials that speaks to its validity. The adoption of open textbooks could impact traditional campus bookstores (Baker & Hood, 2011).

Where is it going?

Open publication may encourage commercial publishers to provide additional services, such as modifiable textbooks, resources in a variety of formats, and various access options such as rentals, subscriptions, and per-chapter downloads improving the availability and affordability and allow more targeted course content selection (Baker & Hood, 2011).

What are the implications for teaching and learning?

Authors and students can now contribute to course content without writing an entire book. Instructors can design content on an as-needed basis with the option to choose from a variety of books, articles, videos, audio recordings, and readings (Baker & Hood, 2011).



Android:

What is it?

A Linux-based operating system designed for use on cell phones, e-readers, tablet PCs, and other mobile devices (Educause, 2010). The adoption of Android by Motorola, Samsung, HTC, and Sony Ericsson among others suggests that Android-bases phones will continue to be strong competitors in the smart-phone market.

How does it work?

With androids growing popularity and open market that allows software developers to create new applications without waiting for review and approval users have a growing marketplace to choose from. Android’s ability to support screen-based interfaces has made it the OS of choice for many industrial and consumer electronics. Devices such as kiosks, self-checkout stands, medical equipment, netbooks, tablets, and e-readers use Android technology (Educause, 2010).

Who is doing it?

Computer science, engineering, and applied science teams though out the world our working on applications for using Android technology. Major companies are funding grant opportunities to develop learning applications, data-collection platforms, and custom hardware.

Why is it significant?

Android based phones are available from all major cellular providers in the U.S. Market allowing students to choose a phone that works with their network of family and friends phones (Educause, 2010). Location awareness in the Android phone allows the phone to be silenced based on your schedule of work or class time. With this feature your phone can automatically read text allowed when in the car and only except voice input when driving. My personal favorite time saving feature is the voice recognition allowing me to speak to text, search with any application, and navigate. I have found the features to be easy to use and time saving, the newest addition to my application library is “Evernote” the article said this feature would save time allowing me to go paperless on the numerous notes and take throughout the week and be able to share them with others.

What are the downsides?

While the number of Android applications are growing it tends to fall behind the number of iTunes applications. Students could find that fewer applications could mean less flexibility. And the major difference is Android applications may pose some privacy or security concerns because unlike Apple, Google does not oversee or approve third-party Android apps before they go to market (Educause, 2010).

Where is it going?

The App inventor which provides a web-based visual development environment may prove simple enough that faculty and students may build custom applications. This could broaden student understanding and transform them from consumers to creators.

What are the implications for teaching and learning?

The list of connectible devices is longer for the Android devices than for other devices and this interconnectivity allows students to move data from their smart phones to other locations. Building individual and group projects is easier with the use of mobile learning devices and give faculty and students new ways to interact with content (Educause, 2010).

This is a helpful link to the top 25 Essential Android Apps for College Students as a Droid owner I am excited to see how useful this technology can be as we enter our final two courses. http://undergraduatedegree.org/2010/25-essential-android-apps-for-college-students/



Online Media Editing:

What is it?

Cloud-based media editing applications allow anyone with a suitable computing device to touch up photographs, mix music, and edit video (7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing, 2010). Compared to costly software applications that need to be installed on individual computers online media editing are available from a multitude of locations and devices. They are an affordable solution for many common student projects that require media manipulation.

How does it work?

For many of these online editing applications the students must register an account then upload media, perform editing as needed, and wither download the new file or send it to a site such as Flickr, YouTube, or Facebook for sharing (2010). Typically these are free for basic feature of editing and limited storage and for an additional features and storage a fee is charged.

Who is doing it?

Cloud based free pared-down versions of software offer student’s options to work with media in their projects without the commitment to expensive software applications. Many of institutes such as Art Institute of Chicago lists media editing applications for images, video, and sound on its “Wiki Site for Digital Stories” (7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing, 2010).

Why is it significant?

Without the cost of traditional web applications more students may undertake media-based assignments. Traditional software editing suits are complex to use and may demand to steep a learning curve to be practical for many course projects (7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing, 2010). With media processing done in the cloud local Ram or storage is not burdened with the storage of media. Though these media were originally designed for media professionals they are now easier to use and it possible for more people to use their editing capabilities.

What are the downsides?

Students may not be able to find free web-based applications to complete their work depending on the projects parameters. Some knowledge is required to use the software and could be difficult to receive support if you have issues. Online digital editing is tricky if an application disappears mid-semester you could lose work.

Where is it going?

Digital editing as moved to mobile devices with applications like Adobe’s Photoshop Express for iPhone or Android (7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing, 2010). With cloud based media tools being offered inexpensively or free they promise to open new territory in teaching and learning. Students can now remix their coursework and create new media to expand their learning options.

What are the implications for teaching and learning?

Logistical challenges for instructors are reduced by providing all students with access to media editing tools. Students learn best when involved in projects that results in creative output and with free user friendly tools that do not require extensive skills teachers are able to develop projects that encourage creativity. With the learning threshold being lower than with traditional media software the low online media services open up opportunities to students in any discipline.

Works Cited:

7 Things You Should Know About Online Media Editing. (2010, Oct. 22). Retrieved April 20, 2011, from Educause : http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutOnlin/214611

Baker, J., & Hood, J. (2011, March 8). 7 Things you should know About Open Textbook Publishing. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutOpenT/225383

Educause. (2010, December 8). 7 Things You Should Know About Android. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from Educause : http://undergraduatedegree.org/2010/25-essential-android-apps-for-college-students/

Plagiarism Detection and Prevention

What is Plagearism?

Types of Plagiarism

Anyone who has written or graded a paper knows that plagiarism is not always a black and white issue. The boundary between plagiarism and research is often unclear. Learning to recognize the various forms of plagiarism, especially the more ambiguous ones, is an important step towards effective prevention. Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

Sources Not Cited

1."The Ghost Writer"

The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.

2."The Photocopy"

The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.



 

3."The Potluck Paper"

The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.

4."The Poor Disguise"

Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.

5."The Labor of Laziness"

The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.

6."The Self-Stealer"

The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality adopted by most academic institutions.

Sources Cited (But Still Plagiarized)

1."The Forgotten Footnote"

The writer mentions an author's name for a source, but neglects to include specific information on the location of the material referenced. This often masks other forms of plagiarism by obscuring source locations.

2."The Misinformer"

The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.

3."The Too-Perfect Paraphrase"

The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information.

4."The Resourceful Citer"

The writer properly cites all sources, paraphrasing and using quotations appropriately. The catch? The paper contains almost no original work! It is sometimes difficult to spot this form of plagiarism because it looks like any other well-researched document.

5."The Perfect Crime"



Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.

Consider the following:

What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?

• ArticleChecker: http://www.articlechecker.com/
• CodeMatch (incorporated in CodeSuite):
• www.ZeidmanConsulting.com/CodeSuite.htm
• CopyCatch: http://www.copycatchgold.com/
• Duplichecker.com: http://www.duplichecker.com/
• TurnItIn: http://www.turnitin.com/
• MyDropBox: http://www.mydropbox.com/
• Eve: http://www.canexus.com/
• PlagiarismDetect.com: http://www.plagiarismdetect.com/

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?

Build the assignments to enable students to prevent plagiarism

• Use of reference material
• Life experience
• Collaboration
• Teacher created questions that are required to be addressed
• Comparison or application questions

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?

• Clarify and educate learners about the definition of plagiarism
• Guide students to resources with the college and course that explain how to prevent plagiarism.
• Encouraging the use of resources prevents plagiarism by encouraging sited sources.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?

As an instructor its essential to be knowledable of current resources and methods of plagiarism. It is necessary to guide students toward resources and methods that will help them understand what plagiarism is and how it can damage their credibility. Designing course materials so that students are required to answer specific questions and use course resourses encourges honesty. Utilizing software to help detect and prevent plagiarism is also important on major coursework. Knowing that work will be investigated encourages academic honesty.

 

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. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Palloff, R., and Pratt, K. Plagiarism and Cheating. Laureate Education, Inc. Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4894963&Survey=1&47=6260654&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1
What is Plagiarism? (n.d.) Retrieved April 7, 2011, from http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_plagiarism.html%3E ( resources I used from this site were used based on the site permissions of fair distribution to expand knowledge as long as citation was included )

Image links:

Understanding Technology in Online Education

What impact does technology and multimedia have on online learning environments?

Course management systems form the basics of online courses. You will need to first prioritize familiarizing yourself with management system.

• Requesting and arranging for a course template
• Uploading documents and pictures
• Updating and revising documents
• Setting up and creating discussion forums
• Setting up and using the grade book
• Setting up teams and groups
• 
  

  The most popular course management systems include:

• Blackboard
• Desire2Learn
• Moodle
• WebStudy
• Sakai

You may review these systems and many others including details of their features and tools are at the WCET Edu Tools site (http://www.edutools.info). WCET is a nonprofit, membership-based organization.

What are the most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology?

• The instructor will need to learn the required software applications
• Synchronous collaboration applications
• Maintain grade book
• Participate in email, discussion thread, wikis, blogs
• Use and explain the use of audio, video, podcast, webcams
• Upload resources, course documents, learner tools

What implications do usability and accessibility of technology tools have for online teaching?

• Students want to learn with technology
• Critical thinking skills and knowledge application
• Comprehension of new ideas
• Decision making and problem solving
• Information analysis

Students need to be able to demonstrate knowledge through the use of multimedia elements such as sound effects, music, narration, and text.

What technology tools are most appealing to you for online teaching as you move forward in your career in instructional design?

• As a classroom teacher and future online instructor webpages, blogs, wikis and skype are sources I find exciting
• I utilize an internal course management system with my current students to post links to educational sources and course documents/requirements.

My new personal favorite technology is my Droid X phone my sister purchased for me. She told me I would be able to upload, download, view emails to study and send my images to the computer with ease. She was right and so much more, I know have the ease of use of calendars, emails, and media files. I would be even more excited if I could watch course videos from my phone – I am working on that.

My son who is 18 received the same phone and his favorite feature is the voice command feature. He explained to me that all you have to do is activate voice command and it will call who you choose, locate your destination using the GPS feature and compose your text messages for you. I am anxious to start using this time saving feature after his excited explanation.

Resources:

Palloff, Rena. & Pratt, Keith (2010) Video: Enhancing the online Experience

http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=4894963&Survey=1&47=

5974603&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1 (Accessed Mar. 28, 2011)

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. (2004). Engaging the online learner: Activities and resources for creative instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

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

As an instructor you will need to become familiar with the course management system (CMS) that your institute uses (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). “Some of the most used systems in higher education are Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, WebStudy, and Sakai” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). The following chart list the basic skills an instructor needs to tackle prior to the course begins.

Table 4.1 (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)
Basic Skills and Tools for using a Course Management System
1. Requesting or arranging for a course template
2. Uploading document and pictures
3. Updating and revising documents
4. Setting up and creating discussion forums
5. Setting up and using the grade book
6. Setting up teams and groups

 

Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

Clear guidelines about what is expected of the learner need to be communicated and make a significant impact in student understanding and satisfaction in an online course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

The course rubric has eight sections that address the key elements of online courses (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

Course overview and Introduction	Learning objectives and outcomes
Assessment and Measurement	Resources and Materials
Learner Interaction	Course technology
Learner Support	Accessibility

Example of clearly communicating teacher expectations prior to the course.

 

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

Presences

As an instructor you need to create a presence socially, teaching, and cognitive the presence of the instructor increases the success of the learning environment (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). Initiating a getting to know me and you post at the beginning of the course helps to establish community. This non-academic process enables students to relate to you and to their peers and feel less isolation as an online student.

Know Students Individually

You not only want to know students in the social context of their lives you want to know what they know and what they want to learn when they complete the course (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

Weekly Rhythm

Regular weekly assignments and activities keep students engaged with teh course content. A weekly schedule makes expectations clear and helps students plan their daily personal and work lives (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010).

Discussion Boards

Learners process, analyze, and make connections among ideas this is what changes the learners knowledge and rustructures their brain (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010). The activities help students think deeper about the material and synthesize the information.

Other Things to Consider

Are kids different because of digital media?

How do we understand the learning styles of the Net Generation?

What are the best practices in online learning and teaching?

What is the Next Geneartion Learning? Check out this exciting video created by a student in the UK and see how exciting technology in the classroom can be. Technology makes learning faster, more enjoyable, engaging, can keep all work for future reference, you can not be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow with knowledge of technology. Students who use technology and stay abreast of current trends in the market place are more employable than students who are taught in a traditional educational environment.

Works Cited

Learning Styles of the Net Generation. (2009, March 1). Retrieved March 20, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzX21oQx94w

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R.-M. (2010). The Online Teaching Survival Guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Higher Education.

Conrad, R. &. (2004). Engaging the Online Learner. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.

Foundation, T. M. (2006, December 18). Are kids different because of digital media? Retrieved March 20, 2011, from YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PT3vEjw5g

Insidethecomputer. (2008, January 11). Best Practices in Online Learning and Teaching. Retrieved March 20, 2011, from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIu8e3I67HQ

Nextgenlearning. (2009, May 11). What is Next Generation Learning? Retrieved March 11, 2011, from YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dBT9mmizL8

Schmidt, S. P. (2007, February 25). Distance Learning- It's Real Education. Retrieved March 20, 2011, from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an8rZyqCXW0

 

Online Learning Communities

Facilitator’s role might not be apparent so they need to explain to students how they will be supporting them in learning community approach(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  You can use learning communities in any context. Learning communities have to have a purpose to connect the people through an engaging process(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011). There has to be a social presence and method of interactivity to establish a sense of who we are(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  Rules of engagement need to be established such as how students will engage, frequency, meeting compliance with federal guidelines. It’s everyone’s responsibility to create a successful learning environment (Palloff, & Pratt, 2011). 



The instructor is a critical component of the learning community as an equal member. Student satisfaction increases and perception increases because students feel they are more a part of something larger(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  The social pressure to succeed is greater in developed learning communities where students feel a sense of connection. The first two weeks of the course are the critical point of connection in an online learning environment(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  The human approach of connecting with the students early helps to prevent them from dropping out of the course.

New Student Orientation:


• Allows students to know one another
• Introduces students to the Learner-Course Management System
• Orients students to the philosophy of online learning (Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).


Online Learning communities are sustained through:


• Students establishing their own learning goals
• Students working together in groups
• Exploring appropriate resources to answer meaningful questions
• Tasks that are multidisciplinary and authentic, with connections to the real world
• Assessment that is ongoing and performance based
• Products that are shared with an audience beyond the classroom so students are able to add value outside of the learning environment (Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. 2004)
• Posting information
• Addressing problems
• Commenting on activities
• Engaging in activities


Adult learners are easily overwhelmed by the use of technology the use of technology should be to enhance the learning environment not to simply add bells and whistles(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  Learning communities need to be easy to navigate. Make the classroom feel warm and inviting verses cold and formal(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  Instructors need to visit the online classroom multiple times a day for the first two weeks. Welcome students to post a bio and try and relate to students personally. Offering a icebreaker activity helps build a sense of community among learners but should not contain a grade because many learners do not feel comfortable with participating in these activities(Palloff, & Pratt, 2011).  Building a community is the key to a successful online learning community remembering that everyone in the community plays a key part in the environment and that all members are important is essential.


References:



Boettcher, J., & Conrad, R., (2010), The Online teaching Survival Guide. Simple and Practical Pedagogical Tips. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.


Conrad, R. & Donaldson, J. a. (2004). Engaging the online learner. Activities and resources for creative Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

WEEK 1- Join My Blog Tell your a follower

I am excited to be in back here I had to change my specialization and joined you all on Wednesday March 2, 2011. I am happy to see many familiar names and look forward to learning about Online Instuctional Strategies.

We are in the home stretch now -- no stopping us now.

Share your thoughts-- let me know your following my blog.

Managing Ongoing Projects--Understanding Scope Creep

Week 6: Managing Ongoing Projects



Understanding Scope Creep:


In this course I have struggled with relating Project Management to situations in my own life. But thanks to a blessing of fate the IT on campus came by my classroom yesterday looking for a computer that needed updating. As we waited for the antiquated PC’s to upload he inquired about my PDF creation issues in my software. Before long he stated had been a project manager for a length of time prior to becoming the campus IT. What a stroke of luck, he help me related to project management on terms related to my current job. He told me not to stress so much I could not possible completely understand how to be a project manager in eight weeks. I told him of my project and my concerns, he told me to take a deep breath and remember a project is just a problem with a formulated solution. He had my attention I work with formulas all day as a math teacher.


He stated that as a teacher and single parent I manage things all the time and they have the same aspects as most projects. I set a budget, formulate a goal, and build a plan for success utilizing my team. He said you deal with Scope Creep where you have to make changes in a project once it has started. You may have to adjust the original purpose, timeline, or budget. I was amazed that he was right, I manage projects continuously and just considered them life or my job.


I recently discovered the Project Charter is the key to uniting stakeholders and the team under a common goal. This communication tool used in the early stages of communication brings all the parties involved under a single scope definition. Later you should use this Charter as the compass to decide if requested changes fall within the defined and agreed upon scope.


One of the biggest issues in preventing scope creep is defining what “scope” is. Scope simply put encompasses all the work that is agreed to be done, but in my mind also defines what work won’t be considered part of the project. Often times defining what will not be included in the project is easier than defining what will be in the project. The deliverables in the Scope is the statement of work document, a narrative description of products, services, or results to be supplied. You need to define a simple easy to use change process at the onset. Such as, “Send all changes to Crystal in IT”.

Project Management requires five basic skills to assure you success as a leader:

• Foresight/Problem solving skills

• Integrity

• Motivational Ability

• Intelligence

• Competency/ Experience

As a Math Teacher and Parent I exuded these skills in my day to project management. From the Project Manger of a large scale project I still lack the competency/ experience to successfully manage a large scale project on my own. My research has taught me that I will gain this knowledge with practice and real world experience. I will continue to gain the knowledge I need to feel competent as a PM and with time the experience needed to lead a project.






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


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.a.). Practitioner voices: Overcoming ‘scope creep’ [Multimedia]. Project Management in Education and Training. Retrieved from Week two resources.


Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.b.). Project management concerns: ‘Scope creep’ [Multimedia]. Project Management in Education and Training. Retrieved from Week two resources.


Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., & Sutton, M. (2008). Project management in practice: Third edition. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Murphy, C. (1994). Utilizing project management techniques in the design of instructional materials. Performance & Instruction, 33(3), 9–11.
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.

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resource- Weblinks WK5BLOG

The eLearningcoach: Tips, advice and reviews for online learning


http://theelearningcoach.com/business/how-to-avoid-project-failure/

This blog answers many of the questions I have posed myself while studying in the Instructional Design field and answers them in a clear manner. The majority of the questions are related to being a Project Manager and how to deal with clients, superiors, and your team. Robyn states “The more self-managed we are the more chances we have of being recognized as a leader”. When I read this I realized as online students we are self-managed and therefore on the path to being great leaders.



Real World Project Management: Estimating Your Project Costs

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=383854

This site notes that there are three important estimate types: Ballpark estimates, budget of top-down estimate, definite or bottom-down estimate. The site explains what types are crucial for a Project Manager to rely on and explains each including examples. This is a great tool for beginner Instructional Designers who are learning about the project management process.

Evaluating Effective Communication

This week’s assignment is about communicating effectively in the work place. I am reviewing a multimedia program “The Art of Effective Communication” in this video the same message is delivered in three modalities: text, audio, and as a video. I will evaluate how I interpret each version of the message and the factors that influenced me.


TEXT: As I read the message I thought it was to wordy and lacked professionalism. The apologetic nature could be perceived with various voices depending on the mood of the reader. The indirect nature of the email annoyed me and telling me that my part impacted there part of project was offensive in this format. I felt as if the person were telling me I was not doing job and that I needed to get on the ball and indicated I might not do my job. The line that stated “I might miss my deadline if I don’t get your report soon” was offensive in email.

AUDIO: In the voice mail it was better but still hard to tell if the person was truly sincere or if she was trying to be polite. I still thought the request was wordy in the voicemail and would have annoyed me had I received it. This time the line “Because your report contains data I need to finish my report” seemed unnecessary in a voicemail.

Video of Face-to-Face: When the same message was delivered face-to-face the inflection of Jane’s voice was very different in person than on the voicemail. In the video Jane used a positive body language that was casual and non-confrontational. She maintained appropriate eye contact and gave a pleasing smile at key points in the conversation. Though what was said seemed lengthy in an email and voicemail it was appropriate for face-to-face communication.

I have learned in this scenario that effective communication is all about conveying your message to others clearly and unambiguously. It is also about receiving information that others are sending to you without distorting the message as much as possible. Communication is only successful when both the sender and receiver understand the same information.

Despite the need for effective communication skills many individuals continue to struggle unable to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively. This makes it nearly impossible for them to compete in workplace and stands in the way of career progression.

References:


Ertmer, P., & Quinn, J. (Eds). (2007). The ID casebook: Case studies in instructional design (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

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

Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

The first project I ever worked on with a team in design still lingers in my mind. I was on a team of four, two artist combined with two designers building a sales ad. I had to work closely with one of the artist to build the storyboard design for the team concept. Though it was saluted as a successful project in retrospect as I look over the 15 year old storyboard it was rudimentary at best. We worked within the confines of our software and training and built the storyboard strictly by hand. We followed the concept, technical requirements, and script designed by the team. My contribution was to assure that technically what the artist rendered we could reproduce with the software and technology we had available.


My larger task grew to keeping the artist on task and on schedule. He was very precise and deliberate in his graphic style and was taking excessive time with each cell of the storyboard. He was not realizing that the storyboard is a concept piece not the entire project and can have rough drawings with informative text. If I were to redo this project today I would use storyboarding software and collaboration software to communicate with the other designers on the team. I recall we had communication issues due to schedule conflicts. Software such as SKYPE would have allowed us all to meet without everyone having to be in the same room. Designating a team project manager would have also benefitted each member in defining our roles and duties to the group. The project if redone today given the knowledge I have gained as a designer, technology improves, and software advances would be easier to produce and take a fraction of the time to create.

References:
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Project management triangle. (2010, June 15). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Project_management_triangle&oldid=368175262.
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.

15 Essential steps of IT project management - Digital Perspectives

I found a great article that discusses the “15 Essential steps of IT project management - Digital Perspectives”. The article is from Healthcare Financial Management, Feb,2002, by David Hefner, Christine Malcolm. I have summarized the article here and provided a link:


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_2_56/ai_83044084/

1. Thoroughly evaluate project feasibility.

2. Clarify the project objectives and scope.

3. Make a single sponsor accountable for project success.

4. Appoint a full-time project manager one individual should oversee the day-to-day management, execution, and deliver of the project.

5. Establish a project-management team that can exercise real authority.

6. Create a detailed project plan.

7. Secure committed staff resources.

8. Obtain commitments from vendors and suppliers.

9. Divide project into manageable segments to reduce complexity.

10. Establish clear performance measures and report progress regularly to assess project performance, a specific set of performance indicators should be identified.

11. Take decisive, corrective action sooner rather than later resolve any performance variances quickly and decisively

12. Establish and manage a formal change-control mechanism.

13. Proactively manage a risk.

14. Develop a communication program to promote organization wide acceptance of the program.

15. Celebrate successes, at each milestone to foster team coherence.



Resources:

Hefner, David; "15 Essential steps of IT project management - Digital Perspectives". Healthcare Financial Management. FindArticles.com. 07 Nov, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_2_56/ai_83044084/

Reflection on Distance Learning

George Siemens explains in this week’s video, the acceptance of distance education by society as a whole is due to the increase in online communication, practical experience with new tools, growing comfort with online discourse, and the ability to communicate with diverse and global groups (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.b.). The notion of distance is not the same as it was a few years ago due to the new technology we are realizing that we can now participate in conversations globally. Education has become a global interactive option for corporations and education. As new technologies have improved educational options are growing in the online environment.


My perceptions of distance learning are constantly evolving as my knowledge of interactive media expands. The views I had of how could I implement a course and fill it with interactive stimulating options for my learner’s changes on a weekly basis. We are asked to look at the future of online education 10-20 years from now and I see a future where online education is the norm and face-to-face becomes the antiquated form public education still uses. Online education will is becoming a highly sought out form of education for adult learners in various fields. I foresee both private and public institutions utilizing online learning to save time, money, and expand their reach.

As a designer it is important to be a proponent for improving the perceptions of distance learning. As such an advocate I will continue to build my own knowledge of available educational solutions through collaboration, education, and research. I will offer peers support and guidance in learning how to utilize new tools and technologies and long with accepting support and guidance. My personal technology blog and website will be building blocks to aide in my development of larger projects as I start my career.

Working as a positive force in the field of distance education involves continuous personal growth and skill develop in the field of Instructional Design Technology. I will need to offer support, guidance and training backed by research and practical practice in the field. To be a true leader I will need to join groups, utilize new skills, and actively work to spread the knowledge that Online Learning and Instructional Design open the door to education that might other be closed to many learners.



Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.b.). The future of distance education [Multimedia]. Distance Learning. Retrieved from Week eight resources.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.c.). Theory and distance learning [Multimedia]. Distance Learning. Retrieved from Week Two resources.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

e-Learning Project Management

E-learning: How to deliver an engaging Virtual Classroom presentation

Best Online Teaching Practices-2010

 Encourage contact between student and faculty
o Structured discussions or debate
o Small-group discussions

 Develop reciprocity and cooperation among students
o Set up small groups for ease in discussion
o Build a problem solving forum
o Encourage student-to-student support

 Use active learning techniques
o Hands-on-experiences
o Small-group discussions
o Study analysis
   Virtual field trips


 Give prompt feedback
o Grades should be posted within a week
o Questions should be answered within 24 hours

 Emphasize time on task

 Communicate high expectations
o Course Syllabus expresses clear expectations
o Clearly explain grading policy
Websites that contain Best Online Teaching Practices.


DESIGN FOR LEARNING http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/ecoach/tenbest.html

eLearning Magazine: 10 Things I’ve Learned About Teaching Online

http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=best_practices&article=57-1

vuDAT Virtual University Design and Technology: Michigan State University

offers a great website exploring and explaining the aspects of 10 years of research in online learning experiences.

http://vudat.msu.edu/teach/

Video link:

I found the suggestions given by Dr. Elsa Barkley Brown on using PodCasting to explain the weekly assignment in a pre-cast/post-cast mode to be innovative. The use of audio to personalize and humanize online learning and as a technique for reducing insecurity among online learners is effective. Dr. Elsa Barkley Brown does not give online lectures she uses PodCasting as a tool to respond to feedback and guide instruction. Best Practices in Online Teaching, Dr. Elsa Barkley Brown: http://vimeo.com/15158381

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Facilitating online learning [Multimedia]. Distance Learning. Retrieved from Week seven resources.

Levine, R. (2010, May). Top 10 quotes on collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/collaboration/articles/71425.aspx

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

The Impact of Open Source

In understanding how the Internet has impacted the way both teaching and learning are managed in an online environment. “To teach and learn effectively we must understand the concepts of student-centered learning and distributed learning”. (Simonson, Pg. 231) In the developmental years of distance learning the instructional model essentially replicated the face-to-face teacher/textbook for the course content. “With computer and Internet-based technologies, however, have come exciting new opportunities for providing learning experiences to students”. (Simonson, Pg. 231)


“Student-centered learning promotes active learning, collaboration, mastery of course material and student control over the learning process”. (Simonson, Pg. 232) In the following paragraphs I will examine an open course class from Stanford on iTunes U: A public site that includes courses and faculty lectures. http://itunes.stanford.edu/ I focused on the Stanford School of Education on iTunes and quickly realized it was very different than my current online classroom.

Distance education is structured from the beginning with the evaluator’s requirements in mind (Simonson, 2009). Data is collected before, during, and after the instructional events or procedures. The data is evaluated in comparison to traditional face-to-face learners in the same courses and decisions about the distance learning process are actively made. Proponents of the Open University are opposed to the traditional, quantitative procedures for evaluation (Simonson, Pg. 350). The Proponents believe “in evaluation by focus groups, interview, observations, and journals to collect evaluation information in order to obtain a rich and colorful understanding of events related to the distance education activity” (Simonson, Pg. 350).

Most evaluators now use a combination of quantitative and qualitative measures to measure a student’s acquisition of the material. In the Stanford School of Education open course documents I found lectures and videos on fourteen topics. I was pleased that with the click of one button I could download them in iTunes and later to my iPod. I watched several and found them relevant and fascinating in examining modern educational issues.

Yet, they did not offer actual courses that I could locate merely excerpts from courses. Yet all of them materials I viewed on the Stanford School of Education iTunes list met the standards described in the text as the “five abilities” that e-learning standards should have.

1. Interoperability-can the system work with any other system? The software works with with any MP3 player that can accept files from iTunes.

2. Re-usability- can courseware (learning objects, or “chunks”) be re-used? The individual lessons, videos, and readings are free for use and viewing and be re-used.

3. Accessibility-can the learner access the appropriate content at the appropriate time? The portability of the information makes it assessable any where the learner chooses to view the data once it is downloaded.

4. Manageability- can a system track the appropriate information about the learner and the content? This system did not require registration or information of any type to access the open lectures, videos, and text that the site provided. Without being required to log in or register they have no way of tracking who is actually using the information they are providing.

5. Durability- will the technology evolve with the standards to avoid obsolescence? The technology that Stanford is using is the latest available and the course materials are current and continually evolving. The use of iTunes enables students the ease of access with very little effort and the option for portability increases user interest. (Simonson, Pg.255)

In review of numerous Open Course classes I found that they all lacked in assessment features and opportunities for collaboration. Participation is independent study or research format with the opportunity for self evaluation in a few courses I reviewed from other Open Course Universities. Of the courses I examined I favored the ones that offered multiple modes of data (MP3, video, text) and download features. Simple features to select entire sets of course with one button increased my desire to download the courses so that I could upload them to my iPod for later evaluation. I would recommend giving Open Course classes a try and take time to find one that suits your own learning style and interest.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Planning and designing online courses [Multimedia]. Distance Learning. Retrieved from Week five resources.



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

Design solutions

Example 1: Collaborative Training Environment




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.

To solve this design issue it would be best to start with a software that can do several things at once. I have chosen Elluminate it’s a discussion technology that allows teachers and students to interact synchronously through instant-messaging-style interface. Elluminate vClass is a shared virtual classroom for50-400 with a customizable moderator name. Elluminate’s project lifecycle of initiation, development, validation, deployment, and closure ensure an on-time, on-budget launch of the virtual campus. Through their professional services the company will have access to consultants through every stage of the design process. Training online or onsite, instructor led and recorded delivery, and courseware conversion and development. Elluminate additionally provides a reference library and quick reference guides, user guides, and white papers. Technical support is another great feature that is offered in a variety of ways to the client and their staff.

The Elluminate website offers dozens of examples of uses of the software in various applications from k-12 traditional education, online events, professional development, tutoring, higher education and enterprise. For our solution we are building a training module to enable six regional offices to collaborate and participate simultaneously and on a ongoing bases.

Training: examples of real world use

• LINGOs

• NW Kansas Reg'l Prevention Ctr

E-Sources "What to Choose?"

Review of Course Management Systems

Review of Course Management Systems:


I reviewed 15Desks, Schoolweb, and ectolearning and found that though they all had some similarities they were very different in their formats. Schoolweb is the CMS that my current employer uses throughout our district. The three software’s offer the major components that the textbook authors recommend for a CMS. Each software offers: course management, readings, content presentation, course communications, digital drop-box, group project space, course evaluation tools, student assessments, and course and system statistics.

The CMS software 15desk has mobile access features, duplicate course, security and backup, OS and Hardware indifference, Grade Book, Emailer, announcements, and teaching assistance access. All of these features including the afore mentioned features make it a great asset. I have read that in the instructor mode they have a wizard to help set up a class that is easy to maneuver around. I was not able to locate this feature.

15Desks has a plethora of features none of which I found to be user friendly I have used a multitude of software over the years and this does not have the drag and drop features that I anticipate in a software that boast the feature of easy in use ability. I am a software snob, technology is designed to simplify your life and enable you dissimenate information in a timely and efficient manner. At first as I reviewed the many features that 15desks boast they provide and the various user friendly options I was excited. After I downloaded the software I was frustrated and left wondering how to review something that I could not access as the features had expressed. I would not use this software based on the time it took me to review it and I still could not drag and drop in data and get up in running in a short time.

After evaluating the three software applications ectolearning had all the bells and whistles. The easy to understand instructions and the familiar layout were immediate attention grabbers. I quickly was able to upload images, add links to my blog and set up a class. I found myself lost in the possibilities of using the software instead of my current software Schoolweb. In Schoolweb I am limited to the groups in my school district and access is limited to members of the district. Should I leave the district all my information, effort, and groups would be lost. In contrast with ectolearning I have free access anywhere I have an internet connection and can add to my groups from a global population. The idea that all of my creativity would not be lost should I change jobs is also exciting and would make transitioning to a new position easier. Ectolearning offers a wide variety of group and library of pages and links that easily connect to my dashboard. I found of the three CMS that we evaluated this week ectolearning was usable, aesthetically pleasing, simple to use, and extensible (Smith,2009).

References:

CollegeBrain, Inc. (2010). 15Desk features. Retrieved from https://www.15desks.com/features.php.



LectureShare. (2010). About. Retrieved from http://www.lectureshare.com/about.php.





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