Setting Up An Online Learning Experience

From time to time, various classes in the course I am taking at Walden University require me to write blog entries as a way to demonstrate my ability to apply what I am learning to a practical issue. In my current class,” Online Instructional Strategies,” I have been asked to write about setting up an learning online environment.

As a student, when I begin a new course, I want to know what I will be learning, the kinds of activities that learning will involve, and the time I can expect to spend on those activities. I enter an online learning environment with questions like “how can I give myself the best advantage to stay ahead of course expectations?” I look for a course calendar, and I copy deadlines to my personal calendar, and set alarms so my cell phone will remind me of deadlines. I also look at specific activities with a focus on which activities demand an online connection, and which of those activities can be done off-line with some preparation. I download PDF files, convert them to Kindle format, and copy them to my Kindle reader. In an online course, fellow learners are a student’s most valuable resource. Taking an active roll in introducing myself to fellow classmates and making myself available to them as a resource is my next priority as I begin a new course.

In my previous post, I talked about online learning communities. Establishing an online learning environment is primarily about establishing a community of learners by acquainting each member with the tools of the online learning environment, and most importantly, by acquainting the members of the learning community with each other.

“The Online Teaching Survival Guide” (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010) suggests ten tips for setting up a successful online course. The first tip concerns course preparations, beginning with mundane considerations such as knowing who controls course resources and making sure those resources are in place. Beginning with the course syllabus, and following whatever procedural standards are required by the institution, the course designer maps out the evaluation plan and the course schedule, ensuring students will have reasonable time to complete learning activities. (Boettcher & Conrad)

Other tips concern how to make best use of time from the beginning of the course, how to design a syllabus that is appropriate for online learning, with special sections on communicating with fellow students online, understanding and avoiding plagiarism, and what to do when technical problems prevent timely posting of online assignments. (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)


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

Most schools offering online courses provide a course management system (CMS) which functions to standardize course structure and to streamline development. However, most CMSs do not provide tools for generating learning activities such as videos, games, or surveys. It is very important that students are familiarized with forum tools, email, and how to submit assignments using a CMS dropbox. (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)


Why is it essential to communicate clear expectations to learners?

Especially in an online learning context, it is easy for students to be left with unclear understandings of classroom expectations. Misunderstandings of classroom expectations can happen as a result of not fully understanding the tools of the learning environment. Students who have less experience using email and online forums may need instructions in online etiquette to insure the learning community is supportive. Online tools make it easy to cut-and-paste materials from diverse sources. Students need clear direction regarding plagiarism, both to understand what it is, how to avoid inadvertent plagiarism, and how to make use of self-check tools.    (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)


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

Don’t use technology for the sake of using technology, to be flashy, or just to prove you can. Select technological tools based on the learning objectives that are to be accomplished. As in most disciplines, the simplest approach that accomplishes the task is usually the best approach. Focus on facilitating each individual’s construction of their own mental model. Focus on facilitating social interaction that will enhance the number of personal connections students make with the instructional content. People learn socially. Use technology to bring people together, and avoid letting technology separate learners. (Boettcher & Conrad, 2010)


References:

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). Phase one: Tips for course beginnings. In The online teaching survival guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Online Learning Communities

From time to time, various classes in the course I am taking at Walden University require me to write blog entries as a way to demonstrate my ability to apply what I am learning to a practical issue. In my current class,” Online Instructional Strategies,” I have been asked to express my thoughts about the relationship between community building and effective online instruction.

A community is a group of people who come together to pursue a common goal. A community has members who have social relationships with one another. A community may be a neighborhood, a church, or a classroom. Recently the internet has brought about the existence of new kinds of communities that do not necessarily share a common location. Essential elements of a thriving online community are mutual trust and respect based on shared values or at least a shared code of conduct, some degree of personal social interaction, and in my opinion, a willingness to extend oneself to help fellow members of the community in whatever way may be needed. (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)

My daughter, using a cell phone camera, took the photo I have selected to illustrate a community. It was taken on the roof of my house last September. When I discovered I had a leak in my roof, I posted a plea to my friends on Facebook. A contractor who goes to my church replied that he would organize the work if I could find enough volunteers. He also helped me to select the best materials at the best price. A next-door neighbor, the husband of a coworker from my former job, a complete stranger who heard we needed help, and several Facebook friends from my church are among the people pictured. I was grateful and a bit overwhelmed by the reaction to my request for help. Together (my leg is visible in the gap under the arm of the unidentified man in the white sweatshirt) we stripped the shingles off the roof and loaded them onto a trailer to be hauled away, all in a single Friday. The next day, a somewhat different group of men began nailing shingles. With all the volunteer help, the job was finished within 36 hours. 

How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?

Online learning communities help each other to learn, by interactively sharing experiences, and filling in each other’s experiential “gaps,” enabling each member of the group to construct their own understanding in less time and with less effort than any of them could have learned on their own. Vygotsky (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004) described the difference between what individuals can learn on their own and what individuals can learn with the help of peers the “zone of proximal development.”

What are the essential elements of online community building?

The essential elements of online-learning community-building are the same as those of any community as mentioned above (mutual trust, shared values, social interaction, and helping one another). An online learning community potentially consists of students from many countries with potentially different cultural values, but the common learning goals and the structure of an online learning course provides common rules of conduct and mutual respect. In an online course, helping one another takes the form of discussion of ideas and mutual encouragement. Instructional designers must provide the necessary structure that will encourage students to collaborate, by creating appropriate rules of conduct and learning activities, including well-designed questions that encourage interactive creativity on the part of the community of learners. Such questions should focus not only on the immediate learning objectives, but should also encourage students to consider how they will use what they are learning in the future. (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)

How can online communities be sustained?

Although it may not always seem obvious to students, facilitators of online courses are constantly involved in various activities designed to support the online social learning dynamic. Especially at the beginning of a course, facilitators are continuously measuring levels of participation, and in recognizing when a student suddenly withdraws, possibly signaling a need to slow down and fill in gaps in the individual student’s conceptual background. Facilitators make comments that guide discussions and model profitable online behavior. Facilitators can strengthen the learning community as needed by scheduling live chat or conference calls over telephone or internet phone (Skype). Instructional designers can insure that the structure of a course supports the health of the online community. (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)

What is the relationship between community building and effective online instruction?

The online learning community is the primary means of providing effective online instruction. Books and videos can present information, but group interaction builds connections between course content and prior knowledge. Building and maintaining a learning community is more important to an online course than any other activity a facilitator undertakes. (Palloff & Pratt, 2011)

References:

Conrad, R., & Donaldson, J. A. (2004). Engaged learning in an online environment. 
        In Engaging the online learner: Activties and resources for creative instruction.
        San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Palloff, Rena, and Pratt, Keith. (2011). “Online Learning Communities” [Video file].
        Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com

Welcome fellow EIDT-6510 students!

This is an introductory (and temporary) blog post for EIDT-6510-2 Online Instructional Strategies.

Reflection on EIDT-6130 Program Evaluation

At the conclusion of each course I am taking at Walden University, I am required to write a brief reflection on the course. This reflection was written on the “Program Evaluation” class I just completed.

Eight weeks ago, I started another course in the Master’s program I am pursuing. At first impression, I figured I would be learning some new jargon for old concepts I have employed for years. I was mistaken. I was also intrigued. 

The characteristic that separates evaluation from other research disciplines is the assignment of value, and the process of judging between what is mediocre and what is worthwhile. Evaluation also distinguishes itself from other forms of research through its function of initiating change, not only through criticism, but even more through its effect of changing the way we think about change. The process of evaluation creates a dynamic mindset of continual improvement. Improvements frequently happen before an evaluation is completed, just because questions were asked that prompt a response. If evaluation’s goal was the gathering of information, this effect of observation changing what is observed might be considered a problem, but change is the purpose of evaluation. (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2011)

The importance of evaluation as a means to effect change is also a liability. Significant ethical challenges exist because evaluations bring about change. Evaluations are conducted to meet the needs of stakeholders who may have varied and even conflicting interests in the outcome of the evaluation. A balanced view normally requires input from multiple perspectives. Evaluators need to be aware of all stakeholder perspectives in an evaluation, and they need to be aware of their own biases as they design an evaluation, and they need to disclose their biases when reporting their results. Since a balanced view requires multiple perspectives, multiple evaluations are often required. (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2011)

My experience planning an evaluation started with the preparation of a concept map (pictured above). A concept map is a diagram similar to a mind map, but a concept map illustrates relationships between ideas, and particularly, hierarchical relationships between ideas. The hierarchy of these relationships can be represented vertically or horizontally, but the map will generally show a progression of inputs, outputs, and outcomes. A concept map is useful to build an understanding of how an organization works, providing an intuitive view of various stakeholders and their interests in an organization. (Novak & Canas, Revised January 22)

The next step of the evaluation plan was a program analysis report that described the program, its history and stakeholders, contextual factors related to the stakeholders, and potential ethical challenges that would face an evaluation. A logic model was created to follow the activity of the program being evaluated. Like a concept map, a logic model considers the inputs, outputs, and outcomes of the program, and provides a framework for defining the kinds of questions an evaluation must answer to judge the effectiveness of a program. In the course of doing this assignment, I found an excellent template for designing a logic model which I downloaded from http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/docs/WorksheetExcel.xls

The wide variety of applications for evaluation have resulted in the development of a rich and varied set of evaluation models. Several categories of evaluation approaches were investigated, including expertise and consumer-oriented approaches, program-oriented approaches, decision-oriented approaches, and participant-oriented approaches. Strengths and weaknesses of each approach were reviewed, and a mixed approach was chosen that best matched the particular program characteristics and stakeholder interests with my own strengths and the limited resources available for conducting the evaluation. (Fitzpatrick, Sanders, & Worthen, 2011) The results of this investigation were documented in an evaluation model table. An evaluation criteria report more finely tuned the parameters of an evaluation plan and defined stakeholders and their interests, evaluation standards, and questions that the evaluation should seek to answer.

A data collection design and sampling strategy was developed as a PowerPoint presentation which was then recorded with the help of my daughter as an audio presentation in an interview format. The audio presentation discussed how data would be collected, specifically through interviews with various stakeholders, using census data to verify the validity of information obtained through interviews. The presentation discussed how the data collection design will address the evaluation questions. It discussed the need for random selection of stakeholder interviewees, and it discussed potential limitations to the data collection plan that will need attention.

A reporting strategy table was used to plan reporting strategies that will be appropriate to different kinds of stakeholders. In the reporting strategy, consideration was given to values and standards related to fair treatment of stakeholders, with a discussion of ethical policy.

I leave this class with an odd mixture of relief and regret: relief that an intense period of learning has come to a conclusion, (although personal circumstances may have influenced my perception of the intensity of the learning activities) and regret that the eight-week class format did not provide enough time to follow through to conduct the evaluations we planned.

References:

Fitzpatrick, J. L., Sanders, J. R., & Worthen, B. R. (2011). Program evaluation: Alternative approaches and practical guidelines (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Novak, J. D., & Canas, A. J. (Revised January 22, 2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to constuct then [Electronic mailing list message] [Regular]. Technical report IHMC Cmap Tools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008, Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, 2008. Retrieved from http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Reflection on EDUC-6145

(Kelly, 2009)

Reflection on EDUC-6145 Project Management in Education and Training

At the conclusion of each course I am taking at Walden University, I am required to write a brief reflection on the course. This is the reflection I  wrote on the ”Project Management”class I just completed.

Rarely have I completed a course with the same level of enthusiasm for what I have learned. I have informally lead or managed many different kinds of projects over the years, but I have never felt I was good at it. In the past, I have written down my objectives, researched the topics involved, and have borrowed heavily from someone else’s plan, or better yet, found someone else to manage the project!

After taking this course, I’m already looking for ways to exploit and develop my new skills. I’m enthusiastic. I am especially enthusiastic about some of the online project management tools I have encountered over the past few weeks, and of those my greatest enthusiasm is for the tools that leverage online collaboration. My immediate plan is to start employing project management tools for the routine projects I manage all the time. Long-term, I think software tools can be over used. Sometimes a notebook and a pencil is the best tool for the job, but for now, I intend to leverage every project as an opportunity to develop my skills.

In the context of education and instructional design, I see potential for synergy in the similarities and differences between the disciplines of project management and instructional design. Design processes in any context involve iterative cycles of analysis, design, development, testing, and review of test results. Instructional design is no different. The design process involves testing and debugging, or in some contexts, trial and error. Design can be messy, and its results can be unpredictable. The messiness of the design process is where project management can assist. There is a danger that management objectives can stifle the design process, with quality suffering for the sake of a predictable timetable. However, planning of the development process with clearly defined objectives to prevent scope creep, can streamline the process without sacrificing quality. In practice, the structure provided by good management can benefit creativity by allowing the creator freedom to focus on design issues.

I have already used my project management knowledge to help a friend brainstorm an entrepreneurial project. When brain-storming, mind-mapping can be a great way to organize thoughts that seem to defy a standard outline. While there are some great mind-mapping software packages available, a pencil and paper is all it takes to begin a plan. Draw a circle in the center of a page, and put your main idea there. Then let the main idea sprout branches and roots, and see where the idea takes you!

Reference:

Kelly, Will. (2009, December 14). Project Management Tools: Beyond Gantt Charts [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://gigaom.com/collaboration/project-management-tools-beyond-gantt-charts-2/

Scope Creep

youngentrepreneur.com

Scope creep refers to changes to targeted objectives after a project has begun. In my experience it generally results from failure to clearly define objectives initially, although it has also happened after initial prototyping when others begin to see potential applications for the project that are outside the initially planned context. (Portny, et al., 2008)

As a programmer, I encountered scope creep in the form of program changes that really should have been handled as new projects, but were instead added to current or recently completed projects. As with most projects, a programming project has defined users and a defined environment in which the software will be used. Assumptions are made about the equipment that will be operating the software. Assumptions are made about the kind of data that will need to be stored, and whether that data will be stored locally, or on a network.

One extreme example of a programming project that was negatively impacted by scope change began as an unofficial proof of concept program by an engineer who felt software could be written that would save time by assembling a PLC program from a list of standard operations. The initial proof-of-concept was written to program one test machine that was not actually connected to any equipment. The program allowed an engineer to select from a group of pre-defined sets of instructions to create a program to operate automated heavy machinery. Then it read back the program to demonstrate the instructions were sent properly. Next the program was altered so that it could store its instruction sequences to a program file on a laptop. When I thought the project was complete, I was suddenly confronted with several requests that pushed the capabilities of the original test design. Engineers wanted to be able to connect to a variety of machines, including completely different kinds of machines that stored information in different ways. New subroutines had to be written for each kind of machine that the program would interact with.

Some engineers wanted to use the program for troubleshooting a PLC that was off the network. They wanted to be able to connect to PLC’s directly or over the network. Then they wanted security protocols added so that all engineers could see the program code on the PLC, but only certain engineers could alter programs and change them. After network security protocols were added, they wanted to have the same capability whether the computer was connected via the network or when connected directly to the PLC.

Other departments began using the program. Suddenly slow operation of the program (that was designed to test a concept, not to actually run in a production environment) was identified as a cause of production delays. With many more people using the program, there were demands to override security by people who may or may not have understood the safety issues involved in using the program. Meanwhile other departments were demanding to use the program to read parameters from a spec database to standardize machine setups and eliminate the step of having engineers write the PLC programs.

Finally it became necessary to stop all changes to the old program. A new programming project was properly designed to replace the old program, which eliminated many of the conflicting uses of the old program, such as the ability to run on the network and from a laptop. The old program was retained for its ability to display existing programs, but it was no longer used to write and store new PLC programs.

In hindsight, the prototype program should never have been put into use in a production setting. At that point, a new project should have begun, involving all departments that would be using the program, to insure safety and to ensure performance demands for all possible users and environments for the program were considered and planned from the beginning.

References:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Tracking projects and maintaining control. In Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources For Instructional Design Projects

Today’s blog assignment is to search for resources that would be useful in estimating the cost of instructional design projects. I began my search using Google Scholar with keywords like “Costing Instruction.” I found a number of useful resources that discussed the convergence of project management principles with instruction design principles, but nothing that directly discussed cost estimates. I broadened my search to include all web sites, but that search did not provide any useful resources either. Finally I searched specifically for the title of my blog assignment, “Estimating costs and allocating resources.” I got a couple of useful hits:

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources In Instructional Design
December 2nd, 2010
http://www.ablsc.com/distance-education/estimating-costs-and-allocating-resources-in-instructional-design/

This link could easily be another student’s post from a previous session of the same class I am taking. The author discusses two links providing useful information about costing instructional design projects. The first link is a paper describing a step-by-step process to cost development of an instructional web site. The second is a report describing a similar process to cost a software development project.

How to Estimate Training Time and Costs
Posted on May 18, 2010 by Jenise
http://ridgeviewmedia.com/blog/2010/05/how-to-estimate-trainingtime-and-costs/

This link is also a review of other websites that discuss costing of instructional design projects. Its resources include a paper published by the ASTD on the cost of developing one hour of instruction. The next resource is a forum discussion on the time required to develop a course. The last article discusses how to track project hours. 

Then I tried searching the title of the last blog I found, “How to estimate training time and costs.” I found additional useful hits:

Simple Process To Estimate Times and Costs In A Web Project
by Antonio Lupetti
http://woork.blogspot.com/2009/02/simple-process-to-estimate-time-and.html

This link is a nicely illustrated guide to estimating the cost of a web project (not necessarily an instructional design project).

Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html

The last resource may be the most comprehensive resource I found, and it is geared specifically to instructional design projects. It discusses budgets, development costs, and development hours, with a focus on the resources required to develop one hour of training.