Communicating Effectively
Communication is important when working with a project team. When I first read the assignment, I thought that the face-to-face communication would be the most effective. And from the reading, I have learned that most people think the same, because “telephone and email communication lacks important nonverbal cues to help us understand the message” (People Communicating, 2010). However, I think differently after reviewing all three modalities, and here is why.
I think that although face-to-face communication is effective because you can read body language, in this instance Jane is not very convincing in her approach. I understand that this scenario was prompted, but I feel that there was no conviction in what she was saying. Body language plays a role in communication (Types of Communication, 2012), and Jane’s body language in this passage is very blasé, and does not communicate to Mark the seriousness of the matter.
The voicemail had the same kind of tone and voice inflection. I did not hear the urgency in the voicemail, as it seems very nonchalant and nice. I don’t think that being nice is necessarily a bad thing, but being too nice leads to people not understanding the urgency in what you are saying. If I my deadline was threatened because of another individuals delay, I would make sure that he understood how important it was to me. She could have been a bit sterner in her voicemail.
As for the email, I think that this was the best approach to get this message across. When dealing with email, there is more room for interpretation, and in this instance I think that was probably a good thing. Another good thing is that an email can always be retrieved at a later time, which is not true at all of face-to-face conversations, and only partly true of voicemails. I have learned in my professional capacity, that there should always be a paper trail, or something you can track. You never know when things can come back to bite you, and definitely this could be one of those instances, so I truly think that the email was the best approach for this situation.
Through this exercise, I was able to gain a deeper perspective of the different modalities of communication. It helped me to see how each approach has its place and time. I truly think that communication is essential when working on a project team, but I think that the approach you take in communication is even more important. It was nice to see these in action, and the weekly resources also helped to convey the need for communication.
Resources
People Communicating (2010). Face to Face Communication, Retrieved From: http://www.people-communicating.com/face-to-face-communication.html
Types of Communication (2012) Communication through Body Language, Retrieved from: http://www.typesofcommunication.org/communication/nonverbal-communication/communication-through-body-language/
March 15, 2012
March 8, 2012
A Project "Post-Mortem"
In addition to my teaching duties, I am also the advisor of a club known as the Renaissance Club. The purpose of this club is recognize and reward students and staff, and to boost school spirit and morale. As part of this club, we do many activities and events to raise money for this club to allow us to do things for the teachers, staff, and students.
At the beginning of this school year, our big fundraiser was a Students vs. Staff Flag Football game. This event should have raised enough money for us for most of the year. However, we encountered many problems leading up to, and also the night of the game. First, the t-shirts cost more money than originally anticipated. Normally, the Graphic Arts students design and screen print any t-shirts that we need for events. Unfortunately, we found out only two weeks before the event that they would not be able to do the shirts for us because they were not at that point in their curriculum yet that they were working on printing. This caused us to have to order shirts from a company, and also put a rush on them because we had less than two weeks to get them back. This cost the club more than $400 extra in unnecessary fees.
The second major roadblock that we hit was after the game when several of our staff members filed Workman’s Compensation lawsuits for injuries they sustained during the game. There were three teachers who missed a lot of school, and the administration ultimately blamed the club for not taking the proper precautions and for not having faculty members sign waivers to play. This was never communicated to us, so I feel it was not completely our fault.
Overall, this project could have been more of a success had we had better planning, and had the administration conveyed their expectations a little more effectively. In looking back, we should have known way ahead of time that the t-shirts were going to have to be ordered, so that is something that we should have checked on well ahead of time. Also, since this game, the district has had all employees sign a waiver that states that we waive liability if we get hurt on school grounds doing anything not related to our teaching duties. If this waiver had been in place prior to the game, we could have prevented a lot of issues.
However, with all of that said, the club still made a lot of money on the night, and the students had a lot of fun, which is ultimately why we did it. If we are to do it again, which we probably will, better planning will be in place, and the success will not hinder of t-shirts and injured staff members.
Post-mortem Questions:
1. Are you proud of our finished deliverables (project work products)? If yes, what's so good about them? If no, what's wrong with them?
I am proud that the game itself was a success, and it ran smoothly and people had fun. I am also proud of my club for all their hard work.
2. What was the single most frustrating part of our project?
The single most frustrating part was the rushing around at the last minute to get the shirts done, because of poor planning and making assumptions. In addition, they didn't arrive until the day before, and that in itself was extremely stressful for me.
3. How would you do things differently next time to avoid this frustration?
I would make sure ahead of time that the graphic arts students could print our shirts so that we didn't have to put out extra money to have them rushed from a printing company. Another thing I would do differently next time is to have teachers sign waivers, so that in the event of an injury, then cannot sue the school district.
4. What was the most gratifying or professionally satisfying part of the project?
Students and staff having fun, walking away with smiles and new t-shirts was gratifying for me and balanced out all of the other frustrating parts of the project.
5. Which of our methods or processes worked particularly well?
Every other aspect of the game worked extremely well. The club ran a successful concession stand, there was a large group of spectators, and overall we made money on the event. Many administrators attended the event, and praised us for a successful night.
6. Which of our methods or processes were difficult or frustrating to use?
The whole process of making the t-shirts was frustrating. Being that the students were playing against the staff, it was almost essential to have them wear t-shirts. I do think that the Graphic Arts class teacher could have been a little bit more flexible in helping us, being that he knew what he was doing and could help the advanced students along. Also, after the fact, the administration blamed us for all of the teachers who filed for workman's compensation. One teacher even sued the district, which ultimately they blamed us for.
7. If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about the project, what would you change?
I would have not relied on the graphic arts students to screen print our shirts. I would have gone with a reputable company well in advance, as to not incur rush fees, and to ensure the shirts arrived sooner than they did. It was stressful not knowing if they would arrive on time.
8. Did our stakeholders, senior managers, customers, and sponsor(s) participate effectively? If not, how could we improve their participation?
Yes, I do believe that all the stakeholders, advisors, and customers did their parts to make it a successful endeavor.
Reflection Questions:
1. What contributed to the project’s success or failure?
Poor planning, and blame from the administration contributed to the not-so-succesful part of the event. All stakeholders contributed to its success.
2.Which parts of the PM process, if included, would have made the project more successful? Why?
Of the parts of the PM process, I believe that objective and scope made it more successful. We still met the ultimate goal, and that was to bring teachers and students together to engage in a friendly-fire football game. This increased camaraderie and morale. The scope creep was probably the t-shirts, but despite that, we were still able to make the event a success.
In addition to my teaching duties, I am also the advisor of a club known as the Renaissance Club. The purpose of this club is recognize and reward students and staff, and to boost school spirit and morale. As part of this club, we do many activities and events to raise money for this club to allow us to do things for the teachers, staff, and students.
At the beginning of this school year, our big fundraiser was a Students vs. Staff Flag Football game. This event should have raised enough money for us for most of the year. However, we encountered many problems leading up to, and also the night of the game. First, the t-shirts cost more money than originally anticipated. Normally, the Graphic Arts students design and screen print any t-shirts that we need for events. Unfortunately, we found out only two weeks before the event that they would not be able to do the shirts for us because they were not at that point in their curriculum yet that they were working on printing. This caused us to have to order shirts from a company, and also put a rush on them because we had less than two weeks to get them back. This cost the club more than $400 extra in unnecessary fees.
The second major roadblock that we hit was after the game when several of our staff members filed Workman’s Compensation lawsuits for injuries they sustained during the game. There were three teachers who missed a lot of school, and the administration ultimately blamed the club for not taking the proper precautions and for not having faculty members sign waivers to play. This was never communicated to us, so I feel it was not completely our fault.
Overall, this project could have been more of a success had we had better planning, and had the administration conveyed their expectations a little more effectively. In looking back, we should have known way ahead of time that the t-shirts were going to have to be ordered, so that is something that we should have checked on well ahead of time. Also, since this game, the district has had all employees sign a waiver that states that we waive liability if we get hurt on school grounds doing anything not related to our teaching duties. If this waiver had been in place prior to the game, we could have prevented a lot of issues.
However, with all of that said, the club still made a lot of money on the night, and the students had a lot of fun, which is ultimately why we did it. If we are to do it again, which we probably will, better planning will be in place, and the success will not hinder of t-shirts and injured staff members.
Post-mortem Questions:
1. Are you proud of our finished deliverables (project work products)? If yes, what's so good about them? If no, what's wrong with them?
I am proud that the game itself was a success, and it ran smoothly and people had fun. I am also proud of my club for all their hard work.
2. What was the single most frustrating part of our project?
The single most frustrating part was the rushing around at the last minute to get the shirts done, because of poor planning and making assumptions. In addition, they didn't arrive until the day before, and that in itself was extremely stressful for me.
3. How would you do things differently next time to avoid this frustration?
I would make sure ahead of time that the graphic arts students could print our shirts so that we didn't have to put out extra money to have them rushed from a printing company. Another thing I would do differently next time is to have teachers sign waivers, so that in the event of an injury, then cannot sue the school district.
4. What was the most gratifying or professionally satisfying part of the project?
Students and staff having fun, walking away with smiles and new t-shirts was gratifying for me and balanced out all of the other frustrating parts of the project.
5. Which of our methods or processes worked particularly well?
Every other aspect of the game worked extremely well. The club ran a successful concession stand, there was a large group of spectators, and overall we made money on the event. Many administrators attended the event, and praised us for a successful night.
6. Which of our methods or processes were difficult or frustrating to use?
The whole process of making the t-shirts was frustrating. Being that the students were playing against the staff, it was almost essential to have them wear t-shirts. I do think that the Graphic Arts class teacher could have been a little bit more flexible in helping us, being that he knew what he was doing and could help the advanced students along. Also, after the fact, the administration blamed us for all of the teachers who filed for workman's compensation. One teacher even sued the district, which ultimately they blamed us for.
7. If you could wave a magic wand and change anything about the project, what would you change?
I would have not relied on the graphic arts students to screen print our shirts. I would have gone with a reputable company well in advance, as to not incur rush fees, and to ensure the shirts arrived sooner than they did. It was stressful not knowing if they would arrive on time.
8. Did our stakeholders, senior managers, customers, and sponsor(s) participate effectively? If not, how could we improve their participation?
Yes, I do believe that all the stakeholders, advisors, and customers did their parts to make it a successful endeavor.
Reflection Questions:
1. What contributed to the project’s success or failure?
Poor planning, and blame from the administration contributed to the not-so-succesful part of the event. All stakeholders contributed to its success.
2.Which parts of the PM process, if included, would have made the project more successful? Why?
Of the parts of the PM process, I believe that objective and scope made it more successful. We still met the ultimate goal, and that was to bring teachers and students together to engage in a friendly-fire football game. This increased camaraderie and morale. The scope creep was probably the t-shirts, but despite that, we were still able to make the event a success.
February 26, 2012
Course Reflection
Throughout this course, we have worked on our Online Orientation program. For some reason, I have had problems grasping the full idea and understanding of this assignment. It wasn’t until the final week of this that I started to really understand how to use the CMS that I was using. During my resubmissions, I began understanding more of what I was doing and was able to become more successful. Although I struggled, and did not get the grade I would have expected, I do think I learned a lot about distance learning and have been able to bring many of these resources into my current classroom.
In the last several years, distance learning has evolved so rapidly that I find myself learning new things everyday. I would expect it to continue just as rapidly over the next five to ten years. As a high school teacher, I foresee many of the current classroom courses being converted to online distance learning courses. Although the traditional classroom is still the norm for high school students, more and more students have begun taking their courses online. In the next 10-20 years, as much as I hate to say it, I don’t see much of a need for the classroom anymore. Most resources are available online, not in the classroom, and as we are becoming dependent on technology, the classroom will be the last place learning takes place.
As an instructional designer, I am a strong proponent of distance education. I believe that is as effective, if not more effective, than traditional classrooms. Any chance I get to talk to people about the success I have with online education, I take it. I want my peers, students, and others to understand that distance learning has been extremely beneficial to me and that there are many advantages to it. I am fascinated by the advancements in technology and online education, and I want others to grasp the full potential too.
In closing, I would like to be a positive force for continuous improvement of distance education. I believe that if I keep doing what I am doing, which is learning about the latest distance education technology tools and familiarizing myself with what is effective and what may need some attention. As an instructional designer, it is my responsibility to stay up-to-date on different learning resources and help to bring them into the classrooms of my peers. I want to assist my school in becoming one of the most innovative and technology savvy schools around, and I have already begun relaying what I have learned in this program to my school officials. This is something I strongly believe in and will do what I can to assist in further development.
Throughout this course, we have worked on our Online Orientation program. For some reason, I have had problems grasping the full idea and understanding of this assignment. It wasn’t until the final week of this that I started to really understand how to use the CMS that I was using. During my resubmissions, I began understanding more of what I was doing and was able to become more successful. Although I struggled, and did not get the grade I would have expected, I do think I learned a lot about distance learning and have been able to bring many of these resources into my current classroom.
In the last several years, distance learning has evolved so rapidly that I find myself learning new things everyday. I would expect it to continue just as rapidly over the next five to ten years. As a high school teacher, I foresee many of the current classroom courses being converted to online distance learning courses. Although the traditional classroom is still the norm for high school students, more and more students have begun taking their courses online. In the next 10-20 years, as much as I hate to say it, I don’t see much of a need for the classroom anymore. Most resources are available online, not in the classroom, and as we are becoming dependent on technology, the classroom will be the last place learning takes place.
As an instructional designer, I am a strong proponent of distance education. I believe that is as effective, if not more effective, than traditional classrooms. Any chance I get to talk to people about the success I have with online education, I take it. I want my peers, students, and others to understand that distance learning has been extremely beneficial to me and that there are many advantages to it. I am fascinated by the advancements in technology and online education, and I want others to grasp the full potential too.
In closing, I would like to be a positive force for continuous improvement of distance education. I believe that if I keep doing what I am doing, which is learning about the latest distance education technology tools and familiarizing myself with what is effective and what may need some attention. As an instructional designer, it is my responsibility to stay up-to-date on different learning resources and help to bring them into the classrooms of my peers. I want to assist my school in becoming one of the most innovative and technology savvy schools around, and I have already begun relaying what I have learned in this program to my school officials. This is something I strongly believe in and will do what I can to assist in further development.
A Best Practices Guide to Converting to a Blended Program
The blog assignment for this week was to address the following scenario and follow-up questions:
A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.
1. What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
2. What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
3. How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
4. What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?
In the attached file, I have developed my own Best Practices Guide to successfully converting the course from a traditional program to a blended course program. I have used supplemental resources that I located on the internet and also obtained from our class weekly resources.
Click HERE to view the PDF file.
A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.
1. What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
2. What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
3. How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
4. What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?
In the attached file, I have developed my own Best Practices Guide to successfully converting the course from a traditional program to a blended course program. I have used supplemental resources that I located on the internet and also obtained from our class weekly resources.
Click HERE to view the PDF file.
February 5, 2012
The Impact of Open Source
URL: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/athletics-physical-education-and-recreation/pe-550-designing-your-life-spring-2009/
Massachusetts' Institute of Technology (MIT) offers open courses that anyone can take. They provide over 100 different open courses, in which they offer different supplements and teaching resources for each. MIT has a good reputation, and this is supported with the amount of courses and information that they make available to anyone. From lecture notes, to assignments, to assessments, MIT does not really miss a beat when it comes to designing an open online course. Being that I am a Health & PE teacher by day, I examined a PE course called Designing Your Life. Although the last time this course was updated was 2009, it appears as though a lot of planning went into the design and implementation of this course. The lessons were very thorough, and the assignments seemed relevant to the material, and designed for a distance learner.
A distance learning education program must have several attributes for the learner to be successful. This course follows many of these recommendations. For instance, in the textbook, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2012) stated that the online course must be well organized, containing a syllabus and well mapped out and detailed assignments. This course captured did each of these things in an attempt to make the learners successful. They also must facilitate active learning, because getting students involved and engaged are more likely to learn the content (Simonson et al, 2012). Throughout the assignments, and lectures, the online must get actively involved in order to truly gain anything from the assignments. Also, the use of instructional materials to supplement teaching and learning is another essential element that should be present for students to be successful. The instructional materials that were provided here are the lecture notes, assignments, and the assessments. Finally, the textbook suggests using assessments to measure student learning and understanding is an excellent way to help students be successful in a distance learning program. There are several assessments available in this course to measure student learning and understanding. There are a variety of different types of assignments that all promote and measure learning.
The course designer did an excellent job of choosing assignments that maximized learning for the online student. Some assignments were ongoing, while some were just one time. However, all assignments were thought-provoking and provided students an opportunity to truly delve into and think about aspects of their lives and how to better "design their lives." With all that said though, as a IDT major, I do feel that there could have been more technology tools implemented into this course. It seems as though the assignments were all simply written assignments, and they could have been jazzed up a little bit by implementing more technology.
Overall, this course was very well designed. It possessed many attributes of a successful distance learning course, as well as it was easy for the online learner to navigate through. In closing, if I had more time on my hands, I would most likely take part in this course. At the very least, I will suggest it to my colleagues.
References:
Massachusetts' Institute of technology (2002-2012). http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm, Retrieved February 5, 2012.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
Massachusetts' Institute of Technology (MIT) offers open courses that anyone can take. They provide over 100 different open courses, in which they offer different supplements and teaching resources for each. MIT has a good reputation, and this is supported with the amount of courses and information that they make available to anyone. From lecture notes, to assignments, to assessments, MIT does not really miss a beat when it comes to designing an open online course. Being that I am a Health & PE teacher by day, I examined a PE course called Designing Your Life. Although the last time this course was updated was 2009, it appears as though a lot of planning went into the design and implementation of this course. The lessons were very thorough, and the assignments seemed relevant to the material, and designed for a distance learner.
A distance learning education program must have several attributes for the learner to be successful. This course follows many of these recommendations. For instance, in the textbook, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2012) stated that the online course must be well organized, containing a syllabus and well mapped out and detailed assignments. This course captured did each of these things in an attempt to make the learners successful. They also must facilitate active learning, because getting students involved and engaged are more likely to learn the content (Simonson et al, 2012). Throughout the assignments, and lectures, the online must get actively involved in order to truly gain anything from the assignments. Also, the use of instructional materials to supplement teaching and learning is another essential element that should be present for students to be successful. The instructional materials that were provided here are the lecture notes, assignments, and the assessments. Finally, the textbook suggests using assessments to measure student learning and understanding is an excellent way to help students be successful in a distance learning program. There are several assessments available in this course to measure student learning and understanding. There are a variety of different types of assignments that all promote and measure learning.
The course designer did an excellent job of choosing assignments that maximized learning for the online student. Some assignments were ongoing, while some were just one time. However, all assignments were thought-provoking and provided students an opportunity to truly delve into and think about aspects of their lives and how to better "design their lives." With all that said though, as a IDT major, I do feel that there could have been more technology tools implemented into this course. It seems as though the assignments were all simply written assignments, and they could have been jazzed up a little bit by implementing more technology.
Overall, this course was very well designed. It possessed many attributes of a successful distance learning course, as well as it was easy for the online learner to navigate through. In closing, if I had more time on my hands, I would most likely take part in this course. At the very least, I will suggest it to my colleagues.
References:
Massachusetts' Institute of technology (2002-2012). http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm, Retrieved February 5, 2012.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.
January 22, 2012
Selecting Distance Learning Technologies
As the hypothetical instructional designer for a corporation that has recently purchased a new automated staff information system, there are several distance learning technologies that I could employ to train my staff in the use of this new system. My staff is located in six different regions, so there is the issue of getting them all together at the same time for training. It is for this reason that online distance learning technologies will need to be utilized.
A course management system, or CMS, would be the best distance learning tool to use in this case. A CMS is beneficial in this case because it allows students, or in this case, employees to use screen captures, online documents, discussion boards, and virtual classrooms. Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2012) stated that CMS's offer structure that students need to stay organized and focused. They also are versatile enough that learners can log on at their own convenience and do the necessary work and participate in discussions, which adds to learning.
The first distance learning technology that I would www.blackboard.com. Blackboard is a CMS that allows you to stay connected and share information on any device. It is an enhanced educational experience, one in which learners can use at any time. Therefore, the training workshop could be set up on Blackboard, and at their convenience, employees can log into the online classroom and take the training course. Also, they can post their own documents and can participate in online collaboration. Even social media can be utilized using this website. Virtual classrooms can be created, as well as discussion boards, which would make it easy to participate in classroom discussions, and maybe use a Q&A activity to check for understanding.
Another distance learning tool to use in this instance is a wiki. Using a wiki, employees will be able to post screen shots, upload documents, add and edit content to the corporation wiki. A wiki is not a CMS, which is why I would use it as a secondary tool. There are no virtual classrooms, however, it is still very useful and effective to use as a training tool. Discussions can take place, and the training workshop can be uploaded to the wiki where the employees may view it, again at their convenience.
Both of these tools can be effective in training employees to use the new automated staff information system. They each are unique in what they offer, but both allow the employee to be trained at a time that works for them, which solves the problem of all the employees being in different regions. The CMS can offer many additional things to the training, while the wiki will just simply get the job done. In my opinion, they would be most effective if used together.
Blackboard. (21, January 2012). Retrieved from http://www.blackboard.com.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. (5th Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.