Oh no, it's Scope Creep!

Describe a project, either personal or professional, that experienced issues related to scope creep. What specific scope creep issues occurred? How did you or other stakeholders deal with those issues at the time? Looking back on the experience now, had you been in the position of managing the project, what could you have done to better manage these issues and control the scope of the project?


Since I am just a lowly public school teacher, I've not experienced project management in a business sense. What I have done has been related specifically to education. I've used this example before, but the one that sticks out in my mind is my role as brand-new Yearbook advisor this year. What I thought was going to be a structured project turned out to be an experiment in patience. I was working with 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and trying to produce a yearbook using an online program. The biggest factor for scope creep for me this year was time. We would be approaching each of our 4 deadlines, and even though my students had received several warnings and reminders to finish their pages, the majority of the students were not finished. We had to exceed our deadline by several days, and our 1st deadline found me finishing the pages myself on Thanksgiving break. 


No matter how many times I changed my strategy for motivating them, there were still a few students who pushed us past the deadline. "Monitoring the schedule on a regular basis will allow corrections to be applied if the development is exceeding the plan. Corrective actions that might be applied are: add additional resources to an activity, start independent activities earlier, decrease the scope of the project" (Lynch, 2007). If I could have applied some of these strategies, it might have improved the outcome. Maybe recruiting more students would have taken some of the pressure off the existing staff and improved the time requirements.


The second problem with scope creep for this project was budget. I had some major issues with the account because I had to pay a deposit for the work-in-progress but hadn't sold enough yearbooks to cover it. Normally this wouldn't be an issue because the yearbooks always sell at the end of the year and cover all the costs. This year the principal decided that accounts wouldn't go negative, and I had to do extra fundraising to try and cover the deficiency. What would have helped would have been to have better communication with my administrator from the beginning. He's not a great communicator, so knowing that I should have gone above and beyond to ensure that everything was laid out on the table before the money was spent. "Project managers can improve their communications by explaining in detail the nature of a risk, how it would impact the project, and basis on which the project manager estimated its likelihood of occurrence" (Portney, 2008). If I had sat down with him and talked about the risks, then the scope creep would have been decreased.


Since I was the project manager for this project, most of the scope creep issues were in my control. I needed to be more proactive from the beginning and should have implemented ways to improve my time issues with my students. I also should have used better methods of planning and communication to ensure that I wouldn't have issues with money. I have learned a great deal from this experience and know that I will apply all that knowledge plus the tools I have gained in this course to ensure that next year won't include any of the same scope creep.

Angela

Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007). Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and    

     management. London: Routledge. Copyright by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Reprinted by permission of   

     Taylor & Francis Group, LLC via the Copyright Clearance Center. 

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.

Helpful Links to ID Planning Success!

Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design

I found this website to be extremely helpful because it did a good job of breaking down each aspect of the planning process for instructional design. It gives a breakdown of the different time and money allocations for an ID project. The author walks you step-by-step through the different elements that go into instructional time, planning time, development time, etc. The final element on this website is a link to an "Excel Spreadsheet Cost Estimator" which the designer can use to apply his/her own project details to a blank spreadsheet. There are also links to other resources and learning activities that would be helpful for a first time instructional designer.

Michael Greer's PM Resources

This is the website of the slightly famous (in our course at least) Michael Greer whose captivating works we read each week in class. I certainly couldn't pass on the opportunity to use his website as an example for this assignment. ;-) He starts out by explaining the different "rules of thumb" related to instructional design and estimating costs. His advice is helpful, especially to those of us who have never done this before. For example, he states that "what matters most when estimating the development time is the instructional development project management model you will be using." This was surprising to me because I didn't think that the model determined time. It seemed to me that the model was just an organizational structure but not something that would influence the time allocation on a project. The website also includes links to other PM resources that can be accessed for assistance on all aspects of the project. Of course, if you like the website he offers you plenty of assistance for purchasing his materials. 

Team Communication

When I first viewed the e-mail message, my reaction was that it was polite but impersonal. If a project manager sent this to me, and I was already feeling overworked, then it would be easy to put it off until I had the time to address it. Listening to the phone message was a little more personal, but again it would allow me to ignore it until I was able to work on the project. Hearing that human voice though was more meaningful to me than an e-mail message. The video was the most personal and the least impersonal. The eye contact and tone of voice of the speaker showed how important it was to the speaker for me to send my report to her.

The factors that influenced how I perceived the message were my own experience with these forms of communication and the tone of voice and body language. “Effective communication is influenced by spirit and attitude, tonality and body language, timing, and the personality of the recipient” (Stolovich, 2010). None of these things were present in the e-mail, only tonality and timing with the phone message, but all these were present in the video message. In my own work experience I have been the sender and the recipient of these communication methods. This experience has definitely influenced my opinions of these methods.

In my own experience with communicating at work, there are communication methods that work better than others. The ones I have found to be the most effective have been the times where an actual physical visit was made. It’s so easy to ignore or put off an e-mail and postpone a phone message, but a physical visit is very difficult to ignore. I am the elections chairperson for our local teacher’s union. Last week was insane for me, and I put off the e-mail requests from our president to set up a timeline for the next election. When he stopped my in the hallway the next day and asked me to complete it, I could no longer put off the request. That physical request was powerful because I was able to see the need to complete the task in his tone, his body language, and eye contact. After viewing the video this week, I realized that the message was important to the speaker and needed to be completed right away. That urgency was not communicated as well through the e-mail and voice message. Physical contact is everything.

As a future project manager, I realize that working with stakeholders and team members in a way that is as personal as possible will make the difference for the success of my project. If I am assembling a team and am requiring them to adhere to a deadline, then the most effective method for keeping that team on track will be personal. Regular meetings and physical reminders will make all the difference for a positive outcome in my project. “Project teams should have the opportunity to meet periodically to reaffirm the project’s focus and keep abreast of activities within and outside the project that affect their work and the project’s ultimate success” (Portny, 2008). It is so important to make sure that communication is present in every aspect of a project, and even if it’s an e-mail or a phone message steps should be taken to ensure that it’s personal enough and that the recipient understands the importance of responding and staying on track with the project. Communication is key, and no matter what form it comes in, it’s power will make or break a project.

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.

Stolovich, D. (2010): Communicating with stakeholders [video]. Laureate Education, Inc.

Post Mortem Analysis: RIP Yearbook

The project I am involved in this year is that of Yearbook adviser. While the project hasn't exactly failed, it is not exactly the most well executed project I have ever done. It is my first year as Yearbook teacher, and I realize I have a lot to learn. Although the yearbook will be printed and delivered to the students on time, I have failed at many of the tasks that could have made my class run more smoothly and my product more polished. The students went over 2 out of 3 of their timelines, there wasn't a good enough representation of the student body in pictures, sales of the book are down from last year, and the students lack motivation to do a good job.

When I did the post-mortem analysis, the thing that stuck out for me the most was the fact that my stakeholders weren't as involved from the beginning and may or may not have truly understood their roles. If I had done a better job of communicating those specific details to them, maybe the deadlines would have been on time, and the finished product may have been done better. Also, the discussion of deliverables and creating a blueprint of the project made me realize that I could have improved in that area too. Had I spent more time mapping out all the specific details of each page with them instead of giving them a general topic and turning them loose on the page, I may have gotten a better product in the end.

Ultimately the project is a success because the yearbook will be completed, printed and distributed. The lack of success comes from the fact that it wasn't well planned, and the pages could have been a lot better. I should have spent time teaching my students about writing articles, interviewing students, and being creative. Instead I assumed they would be able to complete the pages with a general idea and the freedom to let their creativity flow. Boy was I wrong! What I needed to do was provide more guidance and training in order to best serve their needs. I needed to use the resources provided to me by my yearbook representative to motivate the kids to success. Their laziness and lack of creativity was a direct result of my lack of instruction.

From a PM standpoint, there are things I could have done as part of the process to improve my final product. In the video, Project Management and Instructional Design, there are tips for successful projects that I should have utilized. "Hold everyone accountable to the timelines, expect quality of product and outcomes, let the ID process guide the work, and ensure effective communication" (Stolovich, 2010). If I would have started by making sure that the students were aware of their timelines and held them accountable, then maybe they would have done a better job of meeting them. I reduced their grades based on late submissions, but maybe something more immediate would have been more effective. Also, I should have expected a high quality product and provided them with more training and tools to create high quality work. Training by me would have improved their final product. If I had used a model such as ADDIE to ensure that each step of the process was completed, then maybe my design would have given them a clearer picture of expectations. Communication is something that definitely should have been improved. Instead of telling them to get to work, I should have spent more time individually breaking down what needed to be done on each page.

If I had taken more time to learn about the process of creating a yearbook and spent time explaining that process in more detail to my students, then I'm certain that the project would have been a great success instead of the dismal performance it is now.

Stolovich, H. (2010): Project management and instructional design. Laureate Education, Inc.

Perceptions of Distance Education

Distance education is the wave of the future, yet the current perception by many people is that it is not as valuable as education conducted in an actual university classroom. The responses I received from interviewing three other people about distance education was that it is good enough, but that classroom education is more effective. Two out of three of them had received an online master’s degree and still felt that it wasn’t as effective. Despite their attitudes, it is my belief that as more programs are offered in an online format, and as more universities begin to adopt these programs, this perception will improve. “If we look at past patterns in educational technology, we can expect exponential growth of distance education to continue” (Simonson, 2010). Because the technology is becoming more readily available and programs are becoming better, it seems as though the sky’s the limit when it comes to online learning.

In 5-10 years, we will see more and more universities adopting an online version of their programs. “The growing prominence of networked technologies for formal and informal learning suggests substantial pressures for education institutions to adapt their models to better suit the interests and digital literacy skills of a growing percentage of the learner population” (Siemens, 2008). As more non-traditional students enter the workforce, they will demand programs, which allow them to work around the demands of family and life in general. Online programs allow students to work when they have time without requiring them to show up to a traditional class. Also, more hybrid models will be adopted for programs that require hands-on training, such as nursing or speech therapy. More people will begin to perceive these models as valuable, but there will probably still be some prejudice towards them.

There should be a large shift in the perceptions of distance education in 10-20 years. It takes time for any new way of doing things to be accepted, and there will still be some people that will never accept distance learning, but the majority will acknowledge that it is valuable and most universities will have an online component of some sort. The true test will be in the acceptance of online education for K-12 students. In his video on higher education and K-12 distance education, Dr. Simonson states that higher education will start to adopt distance education but will not abandon traditional classrooms. He believes that a hybrid model will be used instead. Many high schools are already using online education for independent study, and many charter schools have adopted a hybrid model that gives the students some classroom time. Future classrooms will expand that even future and will incorporate the use of this into classrooms. This will allow individual teachers to spend more time with groups of students and will allow them to each work at their own ability level. The reason I feel that this will take 10-20 years is because of a lack of technology and money in many schools and because of the difficulty it takes to make large changes in public education.

As an instructional designer, it will be my job to change societal perceptions of distance education. One way I can do this is by designing quality online programs and incorporating them in a way that shows their value. I would start by creating an independent study program for the school district in which I teach. Our district loses many students to charter schools because we don’t have enough teachers to teach independent study. It is an hourly stipend position, and each teacher services 1-3 students. The creation of an online program would allow one teacher to service 30 students instead and would retain the students in our district. “Distance education is becoming a good way to acquire knowledge separate from the traditional method of attending the classroom” (Schmidt, 2001). Showing the district administrators that distance education is an excellent alternative to independent study would improve our enrollment and would help to change perceptions of the value of this type of learning.

In order to be a positive force for distance education, I must take every opportunity that I can to incorporate it into the learning of my students and my fellow teachers. I will sing its praises and present convincing evidence of its merits to any critics. George Siemens states, “Growing acceptance of distance education is fueled by 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” (Siemens, 2010). By designing courses in my district and giving people the opportunity to participate in this new technology, I will become a positive force. It only takes one person to make a difference, and as an instructional designer, I have been given the opportunity to do just that.

Schmidt, E., & Gallegos, A. (2001). Distance learning: Issues and concerns of distance
learners. Journal of Industrial Technology, 17(3). Retrieved from
http://atmae.org/jit/Articles/schmidt041801.pdf

Siemens, G. (2010): The future of distance education [Video]. Laureate Education, Inc.

Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators
and designers. ITForum. Retrieved from
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf

Simonson, M. (2010): Distance Education [Video]. Laureate Education, Inc.

Simonson, M. (2010): Distance Education: Higher Education, K–12, and the Corporate
World [Video]. Laureate Education, Inc.

Converting to Hybrid

In my application assignment I give "Joe Trainer" tips on how he should convert his current face-to-face training program to a hybrid course. My recommendation is that most of his reading, discussions, and virtual practice take place online. The only face-to-face training should be in a hands-on situation where the employees are learning the skills on the job. I used a scenario where the employees are office personnel is a medical office where they are being trained in better customer service and medical charts. The advantage to completing most of this online is that it wouldn't take employees away from work, and they would be able to work on the classwork in their free time.

My recommendations involved pre-planning through the use of storyboards and the ADDIE model. Once the course was designed it should be tested and then implemented. I also discussed the importance of ensuring that guidelines are set through the use of a syllabus and that feedback is given through assessment and discussion responses.

The main concern was to improve discussion amongst students and with the instructor. I suggested a threaded discussion or blog that would require students to interact with one another and with the instructor as well. One of the improvements that online learning would make to this program would be that of allowing for virtual simulations of the skills that could then incorporate both assessment and discussion. If he follows my recommendations, then the program will succeed.

Here is my pdf.

Week 7 Application

Angela

Open Source Learning

The Open Source website that I chose was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Open Course: A free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world. http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html

Within the website, I looked at a few of the courses in the literature and theatre arts department but finally settle on a course titled, “Computer Games and Simulations for Investigation and Education.” What drew me to this course was the fact that not only am I a 6th grade teacher, but I am also the mother of a 6-year old video game addict. If he had his way, he would play his Wii or DS from morning to night. I try and counter this addiction by purchasing active games like Wii Fit and educational games like Learn to Spell. Naturally, he prefers any game with “Mario” in the title. So, the challenge becomes making the games he would rather play educational. That’s where this course comes in handy by offering tips and resources for doing just that.

The course seems to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment. The home page describes the course and includes links to the syllabus, resources, assignments, readings, and projects. All the materials are easy to access by clicking on a link to either go to a website or download a pdf file. The articles and video links that I looked at were interesting and fun to watch. I watched a YouTube video that discussed “Tangential Learning,” which was incorporating learning into fun video games with pop-up encyclopedias and wikipedia pop-ups. It was in cartoon format but very informative at the same time. “Taking the time to develop good visual media will enhance the quality of the learning experience” (Simonson, 2009). This definitely enhanced the content for me, and even though it wasn’t a video I was required to watch, I viewed the entire 7 minutes and 40 seconds. The only thing that was missing for me was the interaction component. I know that this is because of its solitary and independent nature. If it was offered at a cost, then a facilitator would be used and discussions could take place. As a free course though, this is not available.

Many of the recommendations for online instruction are followed in this course. The ones that are not being followed have to do with collaboration, which isn’t available because of the fact that the course is an independent study type course. The text gives several recommendations in chapter 5 on teaching an online course. One recommendation is to make sure that all materials are available before the course begins so that students don’t have to wait for them. This course has a readings tab and a related resources tab that provides all the materials. The second recommendation related to the communication framework and is irrelevant for this course. The only communication available is a feedback form about the quality of the course and not to offer support for the students. Recommendation number three relates to developing a calendar to let students know when assignments are due and rubrics to show students how grading will be conducted. The assignments are listed with the general timeline of the week that they are due and instructions for how to do them, but there aren’t any rubrics available. Finally, the instructor should advise students on setting aside specific times to complete assignments and should check in with them if the students are falling behind. Again, since this course is independent study, there isn’t any instructor interaction. There also aren’t any recommendations or guidelines for setting a pace and completing assignments. It just has a general timeline for assignment completion. I assume that if a student enrolled in the official “paid” course, these recommendations would be met.

The course designer definitely incorporated active course activities to maximize learning. The projects in the course have the students designing an educational board game from the planning stage to the final presentation and evaluation stage. “The key to active learning is to keep the learners involved in their own learning, not just keeping them busy” (Simonson, 2009). The learners doing the research, creating the game, deciding on a target audience for the game, and finally developing it, accomplish this. “Activities should provide ample opportunities for online learners to explore on their own” (Piskurich, ND). Because of the independent nature of the course and the activity, that is definitely achieved. The videos and resources are interesting and fun to read and watch. There are games and simulations students can access as examples, which helps to further assist them in creating their own games.

In summary, this seems to be a very enjoyable and engaging course. Although it is solitary in nature and lacks the ability to interact with others, it would provide learners with great information and resources for improving learning by students in a classroom setting. As a 6th grade English/History teacher, I would gain a great deal of knowledge on how to improve the learning of my students with fun, interactive activities and educational games if I chose to take this course.

Piskurich, G. (ND): Planning and Designing Online Courses. Laureate Online Education. (Video)

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 2: An Art Museum Tour

In the case of the high school teacher who wants to take his students on a virtual tour of 2 New York art museums, the distance technologies that would work the best would be a combination of a videoconferencing (Synchronous) system for the interaction with the museum curator and a course management system (Asynchronous) such as a Web 2.0 for attaching the virtual tour and creating a blog to discuss the works of art. The Web 2.0 could be any of the CMS’ we discussed this week such as Edu 2.0, Blackboard, School Rack, etc. The teacher would be able to use this to set up the assignments of critiquing the artwork and the threaded discussions or blogs for the groups to collaborate. "The Internet promotes active learning and facilitates student's intellectual involvement with the course content" (Simonson, 2009). The videoconferencing session would take place in a group session with the students all interacting with the curator. Ideally, they would have taken the virtual tour first and could then ask the curator questions based on their observations. The curator might also walk through the museum with a video camera discussing the works and answering questions as he goes along. This week's video titled "The Technology of Distance Eduation" discusses some of the methods needed for conducting courses. "Research shows that use of visual and verbal modes of learning together significantly increases learning." If students are given the visual opportunity to see the parts of the museum and the verbal presentation by the curator, then learning will increase. Ideally, the students would each have a laptop computer and could access the tour while the videoconferencing session was being broadcast on a screen at the front of the class.

There are a multitude of possibilities for making this assignment work, and the following are some of the technologies that I discovered for creating the virtual tour and some examples of virtual tours of other museums.

For fun, I spent some time on The Louvre’s website. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en
Since it might be a while before I am able to travel to France and take the tour myself, this was a fun way to see what the museum has to offer. The 360-degree tours of the different galleries were wonderful, and each one was described in detail as to what it contained and its historical relevance. I was also able to look at several works of art close up in order to examine them in detail. This would be very helpful in this scenario for the teacher to have his students examine the works up close.

I found a sample virtual tour that a company called Virtual Tours uses to show the services they provide. They create virtual museum tours for museums and other events for a small, unlisted price.

Sample Virtual Tour
http://www.virtualgallerytours.com/Sample-Gallery/index.html

In this tour, I was able to view the gallery from a 360-degree rotation. When I wanted to look at a picture up close, I was able to click on it and pull it off the wall. It was presented in front of me with the name of the painting and the artist. This would have allowed me, had I been assigned to critique a painting, the opportunity to view it up close and evaluate its different features.

They don’t tell us what software they use, but in my research, I believe it might be Tourweaver 6.0. http://tourweaver.en.softonic.com/

This Tourweaver software allows the user to create virtual tours which include, according to the website, “Spherical panoramas, cylindrical panoramas, still images, sound, URL, hotspots, interactive map/floor plan, slideshows, and text.” The virtual tour could then be placed in a flash box somewhere on the web page and viewed in Quick Time, or a similar program.

The other site I found allows customers to subscribe to a virtual tour engine ranging from $15/month to $200/month. It is user friendly and merely requires the user to paste the URL of the finished tour onto his/her website. Instead of hiring a company to create this tour, I could create it myself. It is called Virtual Tours. http://www.virtualtourengine.com/default.aspx
Both these products are easy to use and would work well with any of the CMS’ that we have reviewed in this course. By merely pasting the URL onto Edu 2.0, Blackboard, School Rack, etc., the instructor would have a virtual museum tour available for his students whenever they wanted to view it.

There are a great many advantages to using virtual learning in the classroom. The Internet and online courses open up educational opportunities in a way that can not be addressed in a four-walled, self-contained classroom. "Virtual worlds appear to have exciting potential for placing students in real-life applications of course content, for example, in problem-solving situations, and especially experiences in other places and times that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as visiting Mars, traveling through the human body's circulation system, or witnessing rituals at Stonehenge" (Simonson, 2009). If we embrace this technology and incorporate it into our classrooms, then the possibilities for student growth are endless.

Louvre http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en

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 technology of distance education." (ND): Laureate Online Education.

Tourweaver 6.0. http://tourweaver.en.softonic.com/

Virtual Tours. http://www.virtualtourengine.com/default.aspx

Definition of Distance Education Mindmap

Here is my mindmap.

Defining Distance Learning

The Evolution of Distance Learning

My definition of distance learning before entering this course was similar to that of Dr. Michael Simonson’s. “Distance education can be defined as formal education in which the learning group (teacher, students, resources) are separated by geography and, sometimes by time” (Simonson, ND). This is my second Master’s program, but it is the first one that is exclusively online. My first program was through California State University and was only partially online. We were required to report to a classroom on campus every other week for 4 hours in order to have a live lecture/discussion with a professor. The coursework was similar to these courses where there was a threaded discussion and 1-2 posts per week. I never took into account any of the actual instructional design involved and only now can I alter my definition of distance learning. This was of course in contrast to my profession as a 6th grade teacher where there is a lack of distance between my students and myself.

This week, what I have learned about distance education is that there is a lot more involved than just creating a lesson and teaching it online. The most important thing I learned is that what works in the classroom does not always translate to an online situation. There has to be specific methodologies involved in designing something that works well when you don’t have a face-to-face situation. It seemed to me that online learning would be an ideal method for teaching programs such as independent study where students could learn at their own pace. What I didn’t realize though is that part of the success of these programs is the ability and opportunity to interact in a social learning situation. “Meaningful learning is more likely to occur when learners have access to a supportive community that encourages knowledge building and social reinforcement” (Moller, 2008). This has changed my definition somewhat to reflect the social aspect. My new definition for distance learning is, “Distance learning is learning that takes place in an environment that separates students from instructors by time and distance. This learning is most effective in online learning communities where students are able to collaborate among themselves and with instructors.”

Distance learning has a great future that will continue to grow and evolve with time. This type of learning could revolutionize the future of education. I currently teach 6th grade English/History in a small town that has a large percentage of students living below the poverty line. 46% of our students speak English as a second language, and many of them have parents at home that don’t speak any English. As a result, the ability levels in my class range from kids who read at a 3rd grade level to kids who read at a 12th grade level. I try and teach somewhere in the middle hoping not to lose the low kids and bore the high ones. If I could incorporate distance learning in my own classroom, it might help to close that gap.

If in addition to teaching in the traditional classroom, I could set up an online learning situation I might be able to reach more of my students. I could group them and work with each group at the level they need. The remaining students would be able to access the online community and work in discussion groups while assisting and collaborating on an assignment. “Learners benefit by having access to all the tools for success available in one setting, being able to review and practice as needed, and going at their own pace” (Huett, 2008). This would also help them to have homework help at home. The complaint I get from a lot of my students’ parents is that they don’t understand the work and are unable to help their kids. If all the information, descriptions, and examples were published in an online community, then the parents and students both could access it and find success in completing the assignment. They could also communicate with other students through the blog and assist one another in that way.

Online learning will continue to grow by leaps and bounds. It will not replace the traditional classroom, as Dr. Simonson states, but will be incorporated into it instead. Colleges will continue to offer these courses, and more and more students will enroll in them. High schools will develop independent study courses and credit retrieval type courses online. Instructional designers will be in great demand (hopefully) as schools begin to acknowledge the benefits and necessity of well-designed and executed distance learning programs. The sky’s the limit, and we are at the forefront of what could be a revolution that will change the face of education forever.

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part
3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education:
Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training
and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Simonson, M. (ND): Distance education: The next generation. Laureate Online
Education.

Final Course Reflection

I came into this course eight weeks ago with a completely different view of not only how people learn, but also my own learning process. I said in week one that I am a visual and kinesthetic learner, but by week seven I posted on my blog that I am a learner that benefits from most learning styles. It has really opened my eyes to the different ways that I can motivate my students in my classroom and how I can better learn myself. If I take the knowledge I have gained throughout this course and apply it to both situations, then learning should definitely improve for both my students and myself. There has been much knowledge gained in this course, and I will most definitely use it as I continue to grow in my educational field.
The thing that I found the most striking as I explored the many different ways that people learn was the concept that one person can benefit from a multitude of different theories and learning styles. I was under the impression before now that a person learns best in one particular way or another but not in a variety of ways. In order to be a more effective teacher, I must understand these different styles and apply them to the best of my ability into my classroom lessons. “A teacher well versed in the various theories of learning, with a thorough knowledge of his or her students and a high level of competence in using and applying a range of educational technologies, will create appropriate learning environments” (Semple, 2000). Applying Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and teaching with social learning theory, cognitive theory, etc. will improve the way that my students process the information that I am presenting and hopefully help to better commit it to long-term memory.
There is definitely a connection between learning theories, learning styles, educational technology, and motivation. An understanding of all of these will result in the best possible success for students in the classroom whether traditional or online. If an educator in well-versed in learning styles such as visual or auditory learning and theories such as multiple intelligences or cognitive theory, for example, then he/she can create a learning environment using these methods along with educational technology to best motivate students to learn. “Educators can manage learning environments to stimulate and sustain motivation, even though they cannot control it” (Keller, 1999). As an educator, I can set up online learning in a way that speaks to the many learning styles and theories but also motivates students to learn by evaluating motivation, using methods such as ARCS.
My motivation for taking this course was to give me the skills and knowledge to teach a computer elective class at the middle school where I presently teach 6th grade. The knowledge I have gained throughout this course on the importance of teaching to different learning styles through the use of educational technology will make me a more effective teacher of this subject. I will be able to motivate my students to learn in a variety of ways and will be able to constantly evaluate motivational levels and adapt to the changing needs of my students. It has been a great class, and I look forward to applying many of these principles in the upcoming school year.

My Learning Styles Revisited

In week 1 I described myself as a visual and kinesthetic learner because I learn best by seeing and doing. After 7 weeks of learning about learning theory, I can definitely expand my description of how I see myself learning best. When I explored Edutopia.com for this week’s post, I decided to take “My Learning Style” quiz to see where I scored according to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Instead of putting me solidly into one or two categories, I was 50% or above in 6 categories and 33% in each of the remaining 2 categories. My strongest were musical and intrapersonal at 63% each. I was very surprised to see musical as being so strong since I haven’t picked up a clarinet since the 12th grade, but can possibly attribute it to the fact that I am a dancer. It made me evaluate my learning in a whole new way and changed my perception of how I learn best.

The readings that we have been doing over the last several weeks have opened my eyes to the fact that there are many different ways to learn, and calling myself a visual learner is only the tip of the iceberg. The truth is that I personally benefit from many different learning theories and can take bits and pieces out of each one to enhance my personal learning. I am an adult learner because I am self-motivated. Behaviorist theory works too because I always learn from my mistakes and will respond to reinforcement and punishment. Cognitive theory describes me because of the connections I make in my mind when learning a new concept. I am a constructivist when I apply new learning to previous experience and ideas. In my dance classes I observe the steps being taught and imitate them, which allows me to benefit from social learning theory. And finally, we are all connectivists in this class because of our network of online learners. So, I’ve gone from saying that I have a preference for visual and kinesthetic learning to saying that I am a learner who learns best from all methods presented. It really changes the way I evaluate my own teaching and the needs of my students.

I use technology to a great degree in my own learning. I am constantly researching information that I need on the Internet, and am unsure how I survived the days of card catalogs and the Dewey Decimal System. When I create anything from a simple memo to a research paper, Microsoft Word is that tool that I utilize. Power Point presentations are another favorite tool for organizing and presenting information. I even used Garage Band to create my own Podcast for a class I took a few years ago. Technology plays an enormous role in my learning, teaching, and networking. Even though I didn’t use a computer for the first time until I was in the 5th grade, and my mom sent me to the mall with a quarter for the pay phone, I can’t imagine my life today without computers and cell phones. Technology has truly changed our world.

Connectivism

I have to start out by saying that I’m experiencing technical difficulties and wasn’t able to convert my mind map to jpeg format. I created a blog that showed my network of educator resources on the Internet. I broke it into 3 categories with the first being “Teaching Ideas,” then “Social Networking,” and finally “Educational Resources.” I referenced websites that gave access to lesson plans such as “Thinkfinity,” websites with teacher blogs such as “Teachers.net,” and resources with scholarly articles such as “ERIC.”

I have used some of the networks that I referenced in this assignment but not all of them. “Thinkfinity” has been a website specifically that has improved the way I teach because of the vast number of lesson plans and teaching ideas. I have learned a great deal about improving my own teaching through access to these websites.

The digital tools that are most helpful to my own learning are search engines, which allow me to find what I am looking for whether it is lesson plan ideas, or a scholarly article needed for a class assignment. I also enjoy using Power Point in order to create presentations for classes or to present to my students on a particular topic that I am teaching.

When I have questions, I use the Internet to find answers. We are so fortunate to be living in a digital age where information is accessible with the click of a button. If I have a question on any topic I can find websites and articles that will answer my questions quickly and effectively. I also use my coworkers as tools of reference because they have so many ideas and suggestions that come from experience and education.

Because I haven’t used all the resources on my learning network, it has only partially supported connectivism for me. This assignment has shown me that there are resources our there that I should be using to connect to other educators and professionals in this field in order to better my own teaching and learning. Through creating this network, I feel that I will begin to use these tools. Connectivism uses the vast network of resources and technology to improve connections within an organization. I also mean to use these resources in order to improve my connections to my profession. It might also help me to better network with the people I work with by exposing them to the tools and learning theories gained in this class.

Week 2 Application Assignment

For the purpose of this blog, I am critiquing websites related to brain theory and learning.

1. This website entitled "The Information Processing Approach to Cognition" and is an article written for Educational Psychology Interactive. It discusses the different approaches to making learning and information become a part of long-term memory. The final part of the article is a chart that instructs on how to use the information processing approach in the classroom and gives suggestions for how to gain students' attention, relate new information to prior learning, etc. This is an informative article that offers helpful suggestions and breaks down the different parts and types of memory.

2. The topic of this website is also Information Processing, and it is titled "Developmental Theory: Cognitive and Information Processing." The author(s) states that "Information processing is not a theory of cognition but rather a general framework that comprises a family of theories sharing certain core assumptions." They also go on to discuss how this relates to the education of children and the approaches that should be taken in order for students to learn best. This is important to me as an educator to understand how to best teach my students.

3. This website specifically targets teachers and discusses how children learn and information processing theory as it relates to them. It is titled "The Information Processing Theory and its Effect on Children and Learning." The article discussed how children learn from a young age and talks about how if teachers understand learning processing theory they will be better able to meet the needs of their learners. Since I am a teacher, I was very interested in the information presented in this article. The only thing that was frustrating about this website was the overabundance of advertising.

The Blogs I'm Interested in Sharing!

For the purpose of this first assignment, here are 3 blogs that I am interested in sharing because they are relevant to this program and cover topics that I think will be helpful.

Blog #1-This blog by Cathy Moore talks about the different scenarios you can create as an instructional designer. She created a simulation where Army personnel learned strategies on how to be more culturally conscious. She also goes on to talk about different strategies for making e-learning more user friendly. I think that as I advance in this course I will be able to use this blog as a reference for improving my own curriculum. Making Change: Ideas for lively elearning

Blog #2-Jeremy Hiebert discusses Instructional Design in his blog, but the emphasis is on teaching technology. This blog appeals to me because I want to teach a middle school computer class. The ideas he presents would be very helpful to me once I start this new curriculum. One of his posts has to do with an article about Bill Gates trying to get students ready for entering the workforce and needing technology training to do so. He also talks about project based learning and a virtual field trip. It is very relevant to what I want to do. HeadspaceJ

Blog #3-In Christy Tucker's blog, she breaks down the field of Instructional Design. She talks about what an Instructional Designer does as well as how to get into the field and the role technology plays in developing a program. It is informative for those of us just getting started out in this field. Experiencing E-Learning