Staff Development Improvements

       
                   To describe my ideal personal development plan it would ultimately be designed for my advancement within a five year span. I guess you could say that it would be apart of my 5 year plan as well. I have always been in favor of the advancement for workers through a process of training and assessment. Health benefits, Workplace compassion, and Professional Career Development programs that are all based on levels of rewards over time. I think that it would be the ideal package for anyone.

                 The types of development, from the Resources, that I will advocate for my potential employer would be to provide all staff with a path to advancement. In the presentation, I advocate for Career Development Opportunities, which would be optional for each employee to choose. The presence of Positive Meaning is very important to me, because I want to make sure that everyday is building towards a better tommorow. Positive Meaning has been described as "… a universal human need, and well-established relationships that exist between engaging in meaningful work and positive outcomes..." (Pace, 2010). I also like to remind the employer of the importance of employer relationships. In the presentation, the U.S Steele organization is shown as an example of how not to deal with employees. When a pleasant environment is presented, the workers should have a form of kinship. I also advocate for the ascending level of health benefits by year. When workers have the time to spend with their families then they can feel better about the work that they do. I would appreciate the time off in my professional development plan. Workplace compassion is rare in the workplace. I would love to work in an atmosphere where co-workers can give me days of their vacation for my maternity or bereavement is a great atmosphere! If someone were to lose a loved one, they could be given some days from co-workers and the days would be matched by the employer is an atmosphere that says they care more about the people than the profit.

High Tech Training Trends

With all of the choices out there, which technological training resource should your company be using?

                   High tech training has become the  norm for the world of training. The more that technology advances it has given companies new options for bringing technology to their employees. The traditional setting for training is no longer traditional at all. There are several options for instructional designers to use for implementing training, while utilizing the innovations of technology. The innovations in technology that are being utilized for training are Computer Based Training (CBT), Webcasts/Webinars, Blended Learning, Blogs, and other technological approaches in higher education. The technology introduced to the training setting should be appropriate to the content being taught now we will look at the appropriate use of each technological innovation. 

                

             Computer-based Training is becoming one of the most used formats for training, also known by several other names such as: eLearning, Online Learning, or Web-Based Training. Training delivered using a computer or the web (Noe, 2013). The impact of this form of training is that it has given instructional designers the opportunity to implement training that people can receive without having to be there physically. Learners have access to information at all times, no matter the location or time zone, known as Asynchronous learning. It has been known to cut down on training costs for employers as well, which is why it's quickly becoming a contender for becoming the leader in training technology. Computer-based training will continue to have an impact on how people learn and interact in training and development environments, due to its accessibility to the learners. The implications of this for training is that the traditional face-to-face setting will become less utilized in a global setting.

 Webcasts/Webinars are quickly becoming the alternative for reaching groups of people in a virtual classroom setting that gives them the chance to interact. Gathering people at the same time in different places to learn, known as Synchronous learning , has been used in several other technological training settings as well. The impact  that webcasts and webinars are having on training is that people will have the opportunity to receive information in real time, with other participants/colleagues like the face-to-face setting. This technology also allows companies to reduce training costs on travel, meeting venues, materials, and refreshments.  It will continue to have an impact on how people learn and interact in training and development environments, especially with the creation of more tools. The implications of this for training is that we may see less face-to-face classrooms and more webinars instead. It can also be used in combination with the traditional face-to face setting, known as Blended Learning.

             Blended Learning, as mentioned above, is the use of technology with the face-to-face setting. Training is delivered using a combined technology and face-to-face instructional delivery approach, such as classroom and WBT (web-based training (Noe, 2013). This is a great technology to use in order to demonstrate some hands on training for employees. The impact that this type of technology is having on training is that it allows learners to have a hands on approach  and then work alone to apply the techniques that were taught. It will continue to have an influence on how  people learn and interact in training and development environments, because it's a new version of the traditional classroom. The implications of blended learning for training is that it utilizes technology, while still using the traditional methods of face-to-face learning.

                                     

            Blogs A webpage where an author posts entries and readers can comment (Noe, 2013).  

Blogs are fast becoming the a way to communicate to the masses, especially with the rise of social media blogs. The impact that  blogs have had on technology is distributing information consistently to the masses. It can be used as a tool giving information. Blogs will continue to have an affect on how people learn and interact in training and development environments. Because Blogs allow information to be shared and 

 allows people to interact when they post comments to the blogs an author the implications of this for training. 

               With all of the new advances in technology training can take so many forms in the future. For Instructional Designers it will give them the opportunity to use more resources. In higher education there have been developments in using technology as well http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED498562  Having all of these options available will definitely, help to make training experiences more interactive and engaging to learners. Which new technology do you think will help your organization to train smarter? 

References:

Noe, R. A. (2013). Employee training and development (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED498562

The Truth About Training

             

           If I had just 2 minutes or so to give someone an "elevator speech" regarding the "truth" about training it would sound something like this and don't worry It only lasts for approximately 90 seconds!

     
           

           Eventhough you may be a person that does not believe that training is important, will start listening when you start talking about money. For some employers who think that training is hard to get employees engaged in, think it too complicated or even unnecessary I have news for you! Training is well worth the investment in the long run. Primarily because, according to the Internal Revenue Service Publication 970 states that:

       "employees can deduct training costs if the workshops, seminars or course allow individuals to improve and develop their job related skills, especially if the employees require the training to remain in their roles" (IRS, 970). 
           
         So if you don't think that you can motivate your staff to participate in staff training, maybe a refund for their effort on their tax returns will help some. For those employers that don't see training as necessary, they should consider the fact that when they invest into their employees that they are also investing into the company. Training is the best way introduce the proper Customer Service standards that a company requires of their staff. Also, when companies are investing in training they are also tapping into an asset called Employee Engagement. Employee engagement is what keeps your employees motivated to stay with your company and retain capable employees.

       But what if I'm self-employed? For the self employed workers there is also a benefit for you! The IRS allows you to deduct training costs as well. Self employed workers, such as freelance Instructional Designers may find it helpful to know that attending a Learning Solutions Conference can be an investment in their skill set as well as a tax deduction. You may also be able to deduct some transportation fees occurred when transporting for the training. You may find surprising and/or interesting that a  flight for the trip to Las Vegas for the Learning Solutions Conference is deductible as well. So what's your excuse for not retaining training today?

Training and Development

Welcome to my Blog Page!

                            Welcome classmates of  Walden University's course EIDT 6501 Training and Development! Here I will be discussing the important aspects of Training and Development. Here we will discuss issues that concern the competency of individuals who work for businesses, as well as issues concerning productivity, and the effectiveness of employee training. I look forward to discussing the most effective training designs for Instructional designers. I will discuss the trends in training as well as highlight the advantages of distance learning programs, in the self-paced asynchronous format and interactive setting! So welcome, welcome, welcome to my page!

Scope Creep Campaign

Project Scope Creep 

  

     

        I once worked on a project, where the scope creep was an ongoing problem lurking around the corner. The initial scope for the project consisted of creating educational webinars that inform the group members about mentoring opportunities and scholarship program qualifications. Then as time went on, the discussion from the stakeholders became more about adding videos of the mentors to be included in the newly added virtual classrooms.  

     

           The client in this scenario gives many requests for additions to be added to the original project plan, which was to create webinars. While the project did have a budget that could absorb the duties that were being added the project, the timeline didn't change. The project manager was constantly giving deadline reminders to use at weekly meetings and emails. The extra requests were addressed by the stakeholders and Scope of Change documents were signed off on, but remained the timeline remained the same. The client was animate that July 5th was the live date and wouldn't bend on this date, though we only had nine months to create, change or rewrite the entire project.  

    

       I wished that the project leader wasn't such a pushover and was regarded as a friend of the team. But instead, the P.M was overpromising to the client and stakeholders, and under delivering on quality. In the end, the client wasn't concerned much with the lack of deliverables as much as he was excited about meeting the deadline that never moved. If the PM would have not agreed to so many additions that weren't going to get timeline consideration, then the project would have been much simpler.  

Post-Mortem

    In my past experience, there can be many aspects that go into planning a project that can go wrong due to a break down communication. When working with others on a project, it is valuable to have the entire team on the same page. If all of the team members have the same goal, then the project should meet the proposed objectives set forth. Once I worked with a group of teachers, on a grade level, for choosing which curriculum that we would vote to implement in our district for the following year. It was the longest two weeks of my professional career!

    When dealing with a grade level leader, that relinquishes her authority to whoever challenges ideas, is a step in the wrong direction for any project. The grade level chairperson/ project leader didn't realize her role as a leader or driver " Drivers are people who have some say in defining the results that a project is to achieve" (Portny et.al, 2008).  So since the grade level leader wasn't assuming control, the project became harder to follow the guidelines that we were given by the administration. Eventhough we were given clear instructions to view the content and rate it accordingly it wasn't getting accomplished as a team.

    Finally, the group decided,  that we would split up content. This conclusion only came when the team realized that we had reached the timeline and had to do something and fast. The things that did work were realization of a timeline and delegating work in increments to others in the group.

References:
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.

Reflection

Reflections

      As I reflect, considering my learning in this course and the presentation this week by Dr. Siemens, I think that the perceptions on distance learning are changing. In general, people fear they don't understand. The emergence of online learning has become a familiar presence for many due to the emergence of social media like Facebook , Instagram, and Twitter. As Dr. Siemens states "The increase in online communication" has become as advertisement for what online learning will become in the future. The emergence of using the internet to do shopping for clothes and now food via companies like Grub Hub, have made the concept of distance learning a familiar phenomenon. 

     Although distance learning may seem relatively new to many, the benefits of distance learning have appealed to many and will eventually win over the skeptics. The accessibility of distance learning for people who are raising young families and may not have time to have the face-to-face experiences, distance learning becomes the only alternative. For small businesses that don't have the resources for implementing training, distance learning alternatives via online learning modules, become the only alternative for distributing information to groups of employees. The growth of online education has impacted education in such a way that more institutions of higher education have even implemented blended course in the healthcare profession, “We are changing the way we offer this program to keep up with current trends in education for registered nurses and to make our course offerings more accessible to professionals in the field,” said (Dillard School of Nursing Chairperson Sharon) Hutchinson. “Blended delivery affords the professional RN both the flexibility of online learning and the personal interactions of face-to-face learning." (www.hbcudigest.com) Now with the emergence of distance learning in education, the perceptions of distance learning, the negative perception of distance education should be gone within the next 20 years.

     The perceptions of distance learning in the future will surely change the next 5–10 years. I predict that in the next 10–20 years that it will be the main way to offer courses to students in the future. With the emergence of blended programs in the medical profession, starting with nursing above, distance learning will surely be implemented into other academic programs as well. I'm not saying that there will be no need for college campuses or dorm rooms. I believe that young adults ages 18-24 still need the social interactions that make up the "college experience". But I do believe that the emergence of distance education will do away with the 300 plus students in a lecture hall listening to lectures twice a week. I believe that distance education will give more student to facilitator experiences rather than the traditional approach.

     I think that by creating learning experiences that make a learner feel more comfortable or at ease would be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning. As an Instructional Designer, I do think that there will be a responsibility for creating learning experiences that would make the learner feel more comfortable with an unfamiliar environment. The course should definitely give a similar experience that the classroom would give " This high level feature is realized when....... online degree program courses use “the same” curriculum and learner objectives as the “traditional” or onground courses" Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). In any situation, people will change their perception once they become comfortable in a situation. The more ease in which a learner navigates through a learning environment, the more likely they will succeed. In return, they will tell others and the stigma of distance learning should be diminished.

    I plan on being a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education by doing just that. I plan on implementing into all of my future online modules, Orientation guides, such as the project that we worked on in this course. I also plan on making activities and scaffolding that will give the learners an opportunity to practice and apply the objectives that are outlined for the course content. I know that it wouldn't be possible without the resources that I have gained from taking part in this course. I thank you for your time and attention that has been shown in this course. 

References: Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The future of distance education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu http://www.hbcudigest.com/articles/0215/dillard-introduces-blended-degree-program-for-registerednurses.html Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

The Impact of Open Source Courses: Harvard Open Courses: Open Learning Initiative www.extension.harvard.edu/open-learning/initiative This site is an example of a well-planned open course. The website gives assignment details and expectations. The site gives users access to course websites and the syllabus for the course. The course also gives many options for learning in the form of Web Conference for Synchronous learners and Video Conferencing for Asynchronous learning. These courses are definitely designed for a distance learning environment. The learner is given several choices for distance learning, Online-Only courses and Online Option in on-campus. The Online Only option consists of video-taped lectures online that the student can watch at any time. The Online Option in on campus courses features the option to watch the lecture in person at any time or attend the lecture on campus during the class time. In the on-line course demo, pictured below, you can see the professor lecturing to the left and the instructors power point presentation was to the right of the screen. This approach gives the learner a visual and a audio to help in their understanding of the content. Image This approach also gives the learner the chance to stop and start at a particular point. The sections of the lecture are synchronized with the slides and can be accessed easily. The courses on this site, I believe are following the recommendations of for online instruction as listed in the course textbook. The course does follow the recommendations of the textbook that highlight the important aspects of the planning process for distance learning. In the textbook, these aspects are highlighted by Dick, Carey & Carey, 2009 as the learners, the content, methods and materials used, as well as the technology (Simonson, 2012). The learners, who are clearly students at Harvard are given opportunities to access the course and opportunities to access help from the instructor. The learners are given access to the content of the course through the syllabus as well as access to course evaluations from past students. The methods for accessing the course lectures are through Online only course or Online option in on-campus, everything else is accessible on the web site. Other materials are easily accessible on the site as well. As far as the course designer, I believe that they did not implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students. The courses that I saw consisted of activities such as papers, no activities that are interactive were listed. There should be an honorable mention for the MIT Open Course Site page. There are clear expectations presented for paper requirements along with examples of acceptable forms in pdf. downloads.The course website presents the learner with access to readings in the form of a link to Amazon.com to purchase the textbooks. The learner is given links to resources Writing services and examples of acceptable submissions. A scoring rubric is also given to the learner as well for guidelines. The topics for the course are given in table format with readings and assignments.

Asynchronous Safety Training

Example #3 Asynchronous Safety Training 

The learning objective for this module is to train the employees on how to safely operate the pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor. Since the training has to be accessible to the entire staff, regardless of their shift, asynchronous training with the use of an Web 2.0 tool like Matrix, formerly edu2.0.org from this weeks resources. The Matrix (LMS) will serve as a way to receive presentations, resources, assessments, and scores. Once the learner is given the username and passcodes they are free to move about the training course on safety.  

The beginning for the model would be titled The Introduction: Safety, what does it look like when operating the pieces of heavy machinery.The introduction would inform and question the learner during instruction whether or not if their current technique was safe. I would also include the information on what the state standards for safety were. There would be a link under the web resources, on the Matrix (LMS) that sends the employee to the states website on safety guidelines. It would also have a link for the Poison and Control Centers. On the Survey section under Assessments I would give the employees a quick 3 question survey. This would be another way to understand the barriers from safety in the plant and allow guidance for future instruction or evaluation. I would ask is my current procedure safe enough, what concerns are there currently about safety conditions, and what would they like to improve on for their safety techniques they currently practice. 

The next module would be titled Module #2: The Safety Zones. The goal of this module is to inform the learner of the areas that are assigned in the plant and can find safety supplies.There will be pictures and maps showing the Safety zone areas mentioned with the use of  media graphics. In the resources area of the module, there will also be quick 4-5 minute movie content on the Safety Process showing employees practicing these techniques. The movie will consist with the Segmenting Principle instruction that shows employees displaying the safety precautions, then pauses with audio that verbalizes and highlights what was seen in the movie. In the Matrix (LMS), the employees also have a choice in whether to use the course wiki, blog, discussion board or chat to discuss and get feedback from their coworkers on their thoughts of the areas that they considered to be safety zones or what areas they think should not be considered as safety zones 

Then the third module would be titled Displaying Safety Procedures. This module would include the present actual workers practicing the safety procedures that were displayed in the module #2 short film. As a way to keep employees engaged in the training process, per the management, and demonstrating the safety techniques that were covered in this training. This module would include information on how to obtain  free giftcards for practicing safety in a "Show Safety" campaign at the plant. The winner of the $50 giftcards show level one safety practices, then level 2 practices get $100 gift cards and so on. The winners would be awarded at the once a month Shift meetings held in the break room, with the winners picture on the employee info wall. Also for each module that is taken and completed by an employee by the due date will be entered in the drawing for a $500 giftcard. Hopefully this works!  

Defining Distance Learning

                      The advancements in technology are the main factor for driving changes to the definition of Distance Learning. In the beginning, Correspondence Study was the term being used to describe methods for learning from afar, which were also based on the technology available for delivering instruction. Another factor that drives the change of the definition for distance learning are the same in any industry which is time. Time drives development of new technology and the need to disperse information quickly. My personal definition for distance learning before reviewing the resources for this week was "learning that can take place from any location through correspondence of a teacher and a student".

                      My personal observations of distance learning come from being a student and as an instructor. As a student first at Northcentral University and then here at Walden working towards a Master's Degree in Education I have experience the student side of distance learning. Then working as an online instructor for grades K-6, I have experienced the role of instructor in online learning as well. I have relied on the usage of web-based technology in both positions and I have realized that geography and time are surpassed by the advancements in technology. Throughout history, due to influences like industrialization and societal changes, the methods for delivering instruction have been evolving. I can attest that when teaching I use a different web 2.0 learning environment, which is considered "same time, different place education (ST-DP) (p.9,Simonson et. al., 2012).

                    The revised definition of distance learning that I have come up with has become " the process of teaching and learning through correspondence between the instructor and the learner in different times and places, through a combination of interactions". My previous definition doesn't acknowledge the many forms of distance learning environments that are possible to apply to the definition of distance learning. I can appreciate the many benefits of an asynchronous learning environment, such as that of Walden University, which may be considered "different-time, different -place education (DT-DP)",(p.9,Simonson et. al., 2012).

                    My previous thoughts were that only through the use of web-based learning was communication made, but it has been revealed that it comes in many forms. In the earliest history of distance learning the method for correspondence between the instructor and learner was mail. In recent times there are several methods such as the internet through web-based learning, satellite compressed video recorded in real time, and blended/hybrid classes that allow for a dual learning experience that mixes both distance and a face-face experience. Due to the innovations in distance learning there have been benefits in the field of training and development as well, "e-learning is instantly available, providing timely on-demand learning access impossible in a training center" (Moller et. al, 2008). So it appears as though the innovations of distance learning will flow over into the training and developmenSimonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson. Chapter 2, "Definitions, History, and Theories of Distance Education" (pp. 32–41 only)t arena as well.
                   
                    A vision for the future of distance learning that I would conceive would be centered around the possibilities for projections of 3-Dimensional visuals, like holograms, to accompany recording of the voice. I think that it would be another form of presenting information to help instructors to have more control of engaging students when presenting visual information from a distance. Holograms have been used in several theatrical performances. Frequently the importance has been placed on what's considered accessible to all learners and with the importance that has been placed on HD "High Definition" televisions tells us that people are interested in seeing the full picture. Learning has been attempted in many forms to achieve the goal of transferring information that needs to be distributed faster through paper correspondence, over radios, over televisions, through compressed satellite video and maybe through holograms next!

                   In the future, I hope that the challenge in defining distance learning is that it is an ongoing progression of technology that challenges a permanent definition. The It would be like trying to build a cage for a baby lion when you know that it will grow. All you can do is give it space to grow and hope for a positive outcome for the challenge. So giving a precise term for distance learning is ongoing and so is the process of learning.

References:
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson. 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.