A Case of the Heart

I remember working a project for an organization that wanted to start an international school. The concept was to bring in student for other nation and provide training for them in certain areas. In turn, the student s would be able to return to their homes and implement what they had learned. My task would be to create the course material based on the documentation provided by the client. One of the main courses was leadership. The objectives of the course were provided with a request to review and provide feedback. In reading the objectives I notice the terms, concepts and activities were all from an American view point. This was would be a problem if the student didn’t have an understanding of the American culture. The client didn’t think this would be a problem, (They’re the client). The budget of the project was small in terms of what needed to be completed. The client believed that a normal developed course would provide what they desired. The statement of work was drafted and accepted by all parties but stated that special concerns were provided by the developing agency.

The development of the first project would take about 9 months. The project was completed and tested with American students. It went off without a problem. The client asked if I would make myself available for the first class, which was not a problem. I made sure to place myself in a seat t6o witness the instructor and the students. After the first day the client asked if I would sit in on a review with the instructor. The instructor didn’t feel that the class was connecting with the material. The client wanted my thoughts on the matter. I agreed with the instructor. At this point the client wanted to know how to correct this and keep it from being a total lost. I asked the client if my team and I could teach the remainder of the course and edit the material as we teach. This was a working solution for the client. The three of us had worked in the native country of the students. This gave us some insight into their culture and helped us teach the course to them.

The client asked if we could meet and discuss what it would cost to re-work the course. The reply was this; the only way to re-work the course is for us to be allowed to conduct research into each nation you want to bring into the classroom. The problem was simple to correct. We just needed to make it an international course. The team understood that leadership can have many views. When developing course for other nations, it is good to under the culture of that nation. This establishes the communication lines that we need to operate with understanding. The course didn’t match the audience. The client was looking at the budget and did not understand the impact of course in relationship to culture. In this case it was a desire of the heart over what it takes to develop a great course.

Reflection on Distance Learning

Distance learning has evolved greatly over the past 10 to 20 years. I remember early in my military career the correspondence courses that were offered to us. It seems like a memory from my childhood. When I consider the progress that has been made over the last ten years, it seems as if we are moving at light speed. As I review the steps being taken today within the realm of development and design, there seems to be no limit to what can be achieved in the near future. Today we are using avatars with voice to carry a message between the presenter and the learner. The aspects of making the avatar more interactive are progress. The details of how to make it acceptable in the market are underway.

I think within the next five years we will see the use of these types of feature being used not only on campus but deeply with the realm of distance learning. Much of the population entering the education arena grew up with interactive video games. These games have become larger than life for some. Today you can log on to an account online and create an avatar to represent you in the game and become so involved that you may forget it’s just a game. Take this same technology and input a learner in an interactive classroom. The student is given the role to play out the will achieve a goal set in motion by the teacher. As the student walk the process out they see the process in motion. They can understand the steps they are taking. This type of environment can be helpful to those that need to see other individuals in the classroom. They will know that the avatars represent other students.

As distance learning continues to evolve within the next ten years we can easily see the interaction of a smart board being used for online instructions. A smart board is an interactive whiteboard system, like a touch screen. However, a smart board will allow you to do more interactive learning and interface. In this setting the instructor and the learner could interact together on a problem. This type of interaction makes it a real classroom. Technology is not the bottle neck in online education and learning. The growth of the acceptable individuals with the technology may be a factor. The fear or concerns of many about online learning must become a focus of the educational system online. The instructor and the designers must begin to put to rest these concerns by embracing these concerns and addressing them with that part of the population. Instead of just walking away from these individuals we should take the time to discuss the improvements made over the years. During this course I was placed in an environment where online learning wasn’t an acceptable venue for education. In listening to the concerns I was able to explain the improvement of validating the institution before becoming part of a diploma mill. In discussing the types of environment being setup for distance learning and the technology such as the CMS. A foundation was developed to bring enlightenment and awareness to the great improvements that have taken place.

Keeping this type of thinking in the forefront my future as a designer, I need to constantly think about designing material that will reach out to everyone. Often I classes that appeal to those of us that work with technology or we are involved with technology through education. I must keep in mind those that may not have embraced technology to that level. In like mind I must create education that will keep both types of individual engaged in the learning process. I must keep in mind that in twenty years distance learning more than likely will involve 3D images on a holographic table. As instructional designers we must keep in mind that technology is evolving and the education process must evolve with it. We are forced by future events to create more interactive education because the students in distance learning need to be more interactive with the learning process. Creating better process in our CMS through the creation of better tools is a plus for the ID person.

Best Practice Guide for Course Conversion

Converting a face to face course to an online course is not a cut and paste scenario. Although this process has been seen it is not a good method to knowledge transfer. The process of educating students online can be difficult if not well planned. Planning within the face to face preparation may be increased for the online development. Therefore planning a strategy should be well thought out before development begins. In this step you will want to answer the questions; what do you what to discontinue in the classroom and place online. In identifying this information you will need to ask you yourself the questions; what will work better online? What is the method of instruction I want to use; synchronous, asynchronous? This is based on the characteristics of the teacher, students, content, and delivery system (Herring& Smaldino 2001). In this process you will need to understand a large responsibility is placed on the student. So taking the slide show from the classroom directly to the internet is not best idea. However, some of the techniques being utilized in the classroom will work online.

You will want to select an array of techniques to create an environment of interest for your online learners. In this facet you want to keep your learner engaged in an active learning experience. Involvement is a key process for the online learner. In a classroom setting a student may be passive however online that isn’t the best course of action. Be creative in your online techniques, as long as you are keeping the students engaged in learning. As you look at the online development, think about improving the aspect of the class that will work better online. What activities can be created that will improve the learners ability to communicate? This would be a good time to review the treaded discussion component of your CMS. Is it presented with ease of use? You want to ensure that your CMS has a treaded discussion that your learners will have no problems navigating. Introduce topics that will simulate the communication between the learners and help guide the discussion by asking questions that will have the learner communicating back and forth with each other.

Checklist on developing Blended Education:

1. A blended course is portion of the face-to-face class time is placed online. The classroom time is reduced by 30% to 70% by online activities and identified in the course description. Identified what portion of the course you want to convert to online instruction.

2. After identifying what portion will be converted, identify what aspect within it can be improved online. Course content must demonstrate integrity. What is the background of the designer? Are they qualified in this area?

3. To ensure you are creating a better environment for your learners, you will need to select a course management system (CMS). You can easily check online and find some examples by reviewing free CMS, before investing in one.

4. You will want a treaded discussion within the CMS. Make sure it is easy to navigate for the learner.

5. You will need to build a list of required items the online learner will need to participate in the course. As well as identify the type of server you will need to provide access to the learners at all time. (Equipment and software etc.)

6. How will you structure your course? You have identified the CMS you will use; now you need to develop a plan. This based on the following:

a. Understanding who your learners are is critical. You will need to assess their background, general characteristics, and learning needs.

b. You will need to know, how many learners you are working with, are they located at different site or how many site.

c. Knowing what technologies are available to the learners is a must to the planning.

d. If this training is for the work place environment, how much time will the learner be involved.

e. Online development must take into consideration the cultural, social, and economic background of the learner. You can obtain this from the personnel records.

f. Identify the teaching strategies and media assets you will use to enhance the learning environment. Identify what worked in the class and what didn’t, what are the best processes, what needs to be revitalized.

g. Assessment is a must in the learning environment. It should be developed before the course is implemented. What steps will you take with the shy students; those that don’t are disinclined to engage in the discussion. What type of feedback will you provide to the student during the course to keep them producing and engaged?

h. You will need to develop a syllabus. This establishes the primary communication with the learner. It must contain enough information to provide understanding of the course to the learners. It must contain the frame work of the expectation of the course with clear instructions.

7. Activities are a must in online learning. You will want to build activities around communication to build better skills in this area.

a. You may want to develop a self-assessment quiz and have the learners discuss their thoughts through the discussion component. Here you will want to guide the learners to ensure tactful and diplomatic discussion is maintained.

b. You can also develop a lesson on verbal communication; highlighting variations in the pitch of your voice, how to use tone to your advantage and the speed of your speech.

8. You knowing the content and design of what the course contains are a must. However you will need to develop training for other trainers to understand and instruct this course. The skills needed to lead online instruction can be much harder than face to face. Keeping the students engaged in the learning process can prove to be challenging.

Following these step will help to develop the basic standards required for an online course. This is just a guide to help you get started in this process. Other resources are listed below that will provide you further knowledge in this process.

References:

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.

Herring, M., & Smaldino, S. (2001). Planning for interactive distance education: A handbook (2^nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: AECT Publications.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Simonson, M. (2007). Institutional policy issues. In M. Moore (Ed.), Handbook of distance education (2^nd ed.). Mahwah. NJ: Erlbaum.

Related Resources:

http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer62/schott62.html

http://www.cdlponline.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=whatis&pg=5

http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/codeofpractice/distancelearning/

http://www.materials.ac.uk/guides/distance.asp

A Review of Open Source

I choose to review Yale’s open course on Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics. An analysis of the course revealed the following findings. Keeping in mind that these classes are older and it appears that no one is taking these classes in the same manner as distance learning. The content of the class originated from a face to face lecture by Professor Charles Bailyn.

The design of a distance learning environment should be developed with the student’s perception in mind. In other words will the message being produced provided the learner with the information to transfer the required knowledge to the learner? When planning the course this should be taken into consideration. Will the learner have access to the materials need to enhance the learning process? Will the learner comprehend information being provided within the media?

The learning environment of this course was set for the face to face class room. There was no textual information provide to the students except for the information gathered provided by the professor. The professor did provide some text by way of the internet. However the most important information was being provided by Professor Bailyn. The classes were presented through recorded lecture. The lecture was truly a recording of the classroom presentation. This would be like taking a PowerPoint presentation placing it online and calling it e-learning. There was no transformation into the distance learning environment. This course didn’t make the grade in pre-planning. Although the information provided would enhance the knowledge of a beginner. The course didn’t provide the learner with an environment to ask questions and receive feedback. There was no true visual information for the learner. An overhead with transparences was used to aid in the delivery of the lecture. This did not provide adequate visual presentation for an online learning environment. Therefore there was no way for the learner to ensure they understood the transfer of information.

The design of the course site was limited as far as information provided to the learner. Nor were there any resources referenced on the site for the learner. The classes within the course were on video, mp3 audio and transcript. This was the only access to the course material within the website. Our text recommended a 3 to 5 month preparation time for planning for teaching on the World Wide Web. It is easy to see that these classes didn’t go through the planning process for online environment.

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students? There were no active learning activities noted with the courses contain on this site. The learners that use this site must be self-motivated. There needs to be a deep desire to learn truly independently within this site.

Open Yale Courses: http://oyc.yale.edu/astronomy/frontiers-and-controversies-in-astrophysics

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

Example 3: Asynchronous Training

In an effort to improve the safety record of this manufacturing company, I would as the ID recommend a CMS be developed with prerecorded media. This media could be over laid with course objectives and goals. I would set the modules with embedded quizzes to re-enforce the learning process. Step by step procedures could be illustrated within media so the trainees could see the correct steps as they need to be completed. The important facts of the process could be highlighted before proceeding to the next step. After each goal is completed the trainees are quizzed, at the completion of the course the trainees are tested by the system. The results are provided to them and recorded for the supervisor to view. A notice of completion could appear on the screen for all the trainees that completed the process without failure. A note would also appear advising the trainee to contact their supervisor for the final step. The supervisor could present a certificate after reviewing the results and observing the trainee complete the procedures as required.

There are several examples of safety training being completed in this manner. I have highlighted two of these for review. The first is Safety Skill (http://www.safetyskills.com/) a CMS that provides safety training in 300 plus safety courses. In reviewing these courses, I found them to be informative and easy to follow. Safety Skills is produced by noodleStream.com. This company has designed training for the for the US military for over 18 years. It has worked with over 2,000 companies many of them fortune 500. I would call that success. The second company that I reviewed was Vocam (http://www.safety-tv.com/). Vocam is a safety training company that has a 20 year history in developing training. They are the producer of Safety-TV online training library, which has produced over 600 hundred video e-learning courses. Their materials were easy to follow and well supported. Some of the media could be hard on the eyes but I understood the message within the media, it was to the point. These programs are good examples to support the idea of prerecorded media and the skills that can be obtained when used in distance education. Prerecorded media has proven to be a reliable source of training over the years. In our text there is a brief history on the use of it over the years and the improvements it has taken on. The development of training online has taken it to an even higher use over the years. Its flexibility makes it easy to incorporate into the education process.

References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

Karl's Revised Mind Map

Defining Distance Learning

The definition of distance learning changes because education is always evolving. The context of distance learning is the force behind these changes. The present course within these changes is stemmed by the technological growth in communication. The students of today are no longer held to the standards of textbooks being mail to their homes. Students today are able to communicate within environments that didn’t exist twenty five years ago. The student and the instructor are still separated but no longer over great distances. Today a distance learner can be located a few miles from the institution of learning. They simple may not be able to attend class on the campus for some reason. The learners today are presented with greater choices than in the past. Therefore the learner is now challenged to more independent and in tune with the atmosphere of learning. The distractions are far greater than the past.

The factors today behind and within education are not what the past presented. Today we can be separated from the institution and still have face to face conversation with our instructor. The dynamics of the student instructor interaction has truly changed for the better. As stated in our reading online, “The growth of online distance learning (e learning) is explosive”. Moller L., Foshay W., and Huett J. 2008. With this explosion technologies with the environment of the internet are exploding. This enables the instructional designer to explore new theories and greater innovation within the field. Which provides new methods and styles for the learning today. The ID can now explore styles of learning that were just theory a few years ago.

As technology grows this gives the instructional designer great ranges to push the learning environment. This also causes the designer to be more aware of the capabilities within the technology today. If there are products available to the instructional designer and they are not aware of them, a step toward progression may be missed. Therefore the Instructional designer needs to stay abreast of what the field has available to enhance their creations. To aid the ID in this process a technical advisor could help them stay up to date with what’s available to them. Many of the products available today could easily be learned by the ID and passed on to the learner.

I have watch distance learning since the early nineties. I entered the field of development in the late eighties. This has given me a unique seat of observation. Before beginning this course, I had been involved in distance learning while serving on active duty. My definition had been formed by my involvement with it over the years. I noted since starting this course and reading the material within this class that much has taken place since I first got involved. The evolution of distance learning has helped me over the years but it has advanced my learning because of its’ flexibilities. As I watch the future unfolds before me. I see the distance learning changing even more over years to come.

Technology is constantly growing, with new ideas and better methods to get to help the learner understand information today. The methods that we used yesterday are expanding into new realms of learning that could be seen in the past. Learners today are not learning better, they are just learning differently. The military is recruiting young people with great motor skills and training them to do jobs that once took years of training. Now with technology these jobs no longer need college educated individuals and very expensive war machines. This is why instructional designer need to keep up with what is happening in the field today. The future will see simulations within the classroom of the future that we dream of now. The learner will step into virtual 3D classroom and never level their home.

Reference

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.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66–70.

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