Communicating Effectively

This week I learned that effective communication is vital between team players in order for a project to be successful. I watched a video of a message conveyed in three different modalities: email, voicemail, and face-to-face, I realized that it is not only how you communicate, but what you communicate to others is just as important.

Email: The email wasn’t very personal. There was no feeling of urgency. The grammar didn’t flow for me. I had to read it twice to get to the main point.

Voicemail: In the voicemail, hearing a name directly being spoken made it feel personal. The message was more direct and the tone made it more urgent. Hearing the words spoken after the email made it feel more urgent.

Face-to-Face: This way of communication is always more personal than any form of communication. The tone of voice sets the mood. I always feel more obligated to do something when someone takes the time to tell me. Yet during the face-to-face conversation, I felt the urgency of the matter immediately because this person is depending on me to get her job done.

Which form of communication best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the message?

The form of communication that best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the message to me was the face-to-face conversation.

      I learned from this exercise that best way to communicate effectively is face-to-face first. I think that emails are for updating information and sending other important data. Emails are more like reminders from a calendar. You send them just to give members a heads up on something. A voicemail is a backup to a face-to-face. It is a more direct way of sending a message because the tone sets the mood. A voicemail however doesn’t take the place of a face-to-face conversation. When a deadline is about to come up and data is missing the best form of communication would be to address this person directly, especially if emails and voicemails failed to send the message. 

Learning from a Project “ Post-mortem”

The joy of teaching fifth grade was being able to perfect a lesson by the end of the day. I can recall working on a district mandated project with a group of fifth graders one year. I planned out a great lesson on Egypt. As a team of four, we identified objectives and goals, and created an outline with deadlines. We gathered materials such as resource books, online websites, videos, and Ancient Egyptian artifacts. We planned activities like designing a mummy, creating a power-point with important information, creating diorama of a bird’s eye view of Memphis, Egypt. Students also compared Memphis, Egypt to Memphis, TN. The planning phase was smooth and thought provoking. Each teacher shared insight and ideas about the process of the project and its outcome.

         We never had the opportunity to stick to the project plan step-by-step. With the daily routines and schedule already established teachers didn’t have the opportunity to go in depth with the information. I felt as though we rushed through the projects and the students didn’t have enough opportunity to gain enough knowledge about the topic. The projects were ok only because the teacher had to guide and instruct each group too much. Students were not as independent with their final project.

        

The following is a list provided by Michael Greer (2010):

The Nuts and Bolts: 10 Steps to Project Success

This part of the book will help you perform these essential PM steps:

Step 1: Define the project concept, then get support and approval.

Step 2: Get your team together and start the project.

Step 3: Figure out exactly what the finished work products will be.

Step 4: Figure out what you need to do to complete the work products. (Identify

tasks and phases.)

Step 5: Estimate time, effort, and resources.

Step 6: Build a schedule.

Step 7: Estimate the costs.

Step 8: Keep the project moving.

Step 9: Handle scope changes.

Step 10: Close out phases, close out the project.

         If my team had more time with steps 5, 6, 9 then the success of this project would have been more effective and efficient. The students did enough to pass but not enough to build in-depth knowledge.

Greer, M. 2010. The Project Management Minimalist: Just Enough PM to Rock Your Projects! Laureate Education, Ed. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/USW1/201320_04/   MS_INDT/EDUC_6145/Week%202/Resources/Week%202%20Resour      ces/embedded/pm-minimalist-ver-3-laureate.pdf

Where is Distance Learning Headed?

What do you think the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future (in 5–10 years; 10–20 years)?

In five to ten years the perception of D.L. will continue to rise. People will still choose the traditional route, but I believe older students will choose online learning to meet their lifestyles. We must look at where technology will be in the near future and then we can see where education is heading. According to Dr. Siemens, distance education will be impacted by new communication technologies, contribution by experts around the world, and increased use of multimedia, games, and simulations.

In ten to twenty years, distance learning will be succeeding. Distance learning will impact universities, but also the K-12 settings. Many corporate companies provide employees with the opportunity to go back to school with little to no tuition. In the future, companies will be looking for employees that have postsecondary education. Imagine companies providing their employees an hour a day to take an online course. Employees will be knowledgeable and equipped with the necessary skills to get the job done. In the K-12 setting, more online home schooling will be available across the country. Students in 9th -12th will be provided with more online courses to take outside of the traditional classes.

How can you as an instructional designer be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning?

As an instructional designer I can be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning by providing learners with the opportunity to the currency of instructional content and effective delivery of material. As an I.D., I will have the knowledge and skills of a broad variety of technologies. I will provide learners with the opportunity to take charge of their learning with my assistance and guidance. I will continue to research the value of education, new technologies, and instructional opportunities that will allow me to improve developmental skills for an online environment.

How will you be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education?

I will be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education because I will utilize the skills and knowledge I have acquired at Walden. I will be an advocate for online instructors in the field of distance education. I will seek guidance from professionals that provide quality-learning experiences and continuously improve my skills.

Reference: Laureate Education Inc. (2009). The Future of Distance Education [video]. George Siemens.

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

As our classroom are being transformed by technology, so is the way we teach. Imagine taking a traditional classroom or training workshop and converting all online. Where would you start? The following is a manual to give anyone simple steps and tips to consider when switching practices from a traditional setting to a modern setting.

Converting to Distance Learning Manual

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The Impact of Open Source

Before this week, I never heard of Open Course offerings. This is a great way for people who want to acquire new skills or knowledge but don't have the funds to get it! I have wanted to take some college level math courses to refresh my skills and knowledge, mostly because I have taught primary grades for the past six years. I don't want the credits, I just need some refreshers.

As I was skimming through all of the resources, I chose openculture.com. There is a plethora of options available for a wide range of subjects. I was excited just looking at the choices. This is even great for homeschooled children especially if he or she is advanced in an area. This site offers free courses, as well as, free audio books, movies, textbooks, and language lessons.

Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance-learning environment? How so?

I chose an open course on World War II History: An Open Harvard Course. This course was carefully planned and designed for traditional learning then made into an online learning experience. The learner has the option of watching videos or listening to an audio. Once the video popped up a list of Table of Contents were presented, as well as, a document of the course description.

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook? This course followed recommendations to an extent for online instruction because the professor reads his objectives, goals, and requirements for this course. The student has the opportunity to move at his or her own pace and access available resources. But there were many elements missing for an effective online course. Compared to my courses at Walden, this course would be more effective in the traditional classroom it was set-up as. Basically, the class was videotaped and posted for review by others for free.

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?

The course designer did a great job providing videos and audio of the lecture to maximize student learning. The designer provided visuals of maps and images on a side panel view that was accessible during the video. The course was user friendly, which allowed student learning. However, my concern would be when does the interaction occur. What about discussions and questions, who will give those responses? There would be no feedback, so how would it work in a math class, as well?

Scenario

This week in Distance Learning, I had to pick a scenario and choose which technology to use in order to provide the best learning experience for learners. As an instructional designer, I would be in charge of helping educators create and modify lessons that incorporate distant learning technologies.

Scenario 2: Interactive Tours 
A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the artwork on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district's instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?

I would suggest that the teacher use two resources: one a podcast that allows students to take a virtual tour of each museum, two a blog. Each resource will allow collaboration between students and teacher. Since students are still attending traditional classrooms, a blog is good for a blended learning environment.

Why a Podcast? According to Laureate Education (2012) podcasts allow instructors to create files with images (audio or non-audio), and videos. Research shows that use of visual and verbal modes of learning together significantly increase learning. What a great way for the instructor to present information and hold students accountable for their own learning.

A major benefit of Podcasts is that they enable you to listen to what you want, when you want. Podcasts have many benefits such as building relationships with listeners, highlighting your authority, response to student feedback, and reaching a new audience.

Why a blog? According to Laureate Education (2012), blogs or web blogs are online journals sites where individuals, called bloggers, post their entries to express their views. The intent of a blog is to build an online community of interest around a blogger's writings. Since blogs can include images, audio, videos, and other web page this would be perfect to attach pictures of artwork for students to view, reflect, and comment onto the blog.

Blogger is a site that allows you to create a blog for free. Instructors can setup and design the layout of the blog. The instructor has the choice of monitoring how students respond and post to the blog. Students can collaborate together and comment on one another's posts. Edmodo.com is a great site for setting up a blog.

Laureate Education (2012). The Technology of Distance Education. [video]

"What are the benefits of podcasting?" (2008) Retrieved March 22, 2012, from http://socialmediatrader.com/what-are-the-benefits-of-podcasting/