Ebony's Instructional Design Blog

Analyzing Scope Creep

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:13:00 +0000

This week in my EDUC 6145 Course, we have been discussing scope creep and how it can heavily affect a project.

Describe a project, either personal or professional, that experienced issues related to scope creep.

The project was helping my cousin getting ready for her ready and setting up for the ceremony. My cousin and I both live in Atlanta, Georgia, and she was planning a wedding in Destin, Florida, I was her maid of honor. It was a small intimate wedding on the beach. On the morning of the wedding is when scope creep began to make its way in. Early that morning, we thought that we were getting an early start, but later realized that we didn’t wake up early enough. We woke up around 6:00 a.m., for a 10:00 a.m. wedding. We began getting ready around 6:00 by taking showers and doing our hair. Eight o’clock a.m. soon rolled around, so we decided to grab a quick breakfast. Eight thirty soon approach and so we headed back to the room to get ready. We soon became overwhelmed.

What specific scope creep issues occurred?

The time began to get the best of us causing us to run behind. It was nearing 9:00 a.m., when we realized that my cousin’s hair was not finished and we still needed to get her in her gown. Not to mention that we were supposed to leave the hotel by 9:30 to make it down to the beach. To much of my surprise, all of a sudden I hear my other cousin who was a bridesmaid began arguing with the bride about how they aren’t as close as they used to be. You can only imagine how the bride began to feel. Dr. Stolovitch said that everything will demand your attention and there will always be conflicts (Laureate Education Inc., n.d.)This entire ordeal had to be dealt with, in addition to finishing my cousin’s hair and putting her in her gown. Long story short, we didn’t leave the hotel until 10:30.

How did you or other stakeholders deal with those issues at the time?

I have a personality that is carefree and I don’t like when things are in disarray and people are upset. In order to allow the bride to regain composure I spoke to my other cousin (bridesmaid) and told her that this is not the appropriate time to bring up this issue. In addition to speaking with her, I made a joke which made my cousin (the bride) laugh and she started feeling much better. It took the bride a minute to recover, but she began feeling much better. I also communicated with the groom about our estimated time of arrival so that he could communicate that with the preacher.

Looking back on the experience now, had you been in the position of managing the project, what could you have done to better manage these issues and control the scope of the project?

I think that I would have better managed by setting a schedule for things. I would have sat down and generated times for each task that I needed to complete on my wedding day. I would have tasked people for the set-up and possible made an agenda for the big day. Dr. Stolovitch states that you should draw from your team and turn to them and talk with them about your problems (Laureate Education Inc., n.d.). I know that some people say that bride-zillas are horrible, but at the end of the day everyone wants their fairy tale wedding. I think there are right and wrong ways to go about managing things. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail. Another preventative measure would have been to hold a team meeting to share progress and issues and to sustain productive and trusting relationships (Portny et al., 2008). Since it was such a small wedding that was dependent upon everyone’s help, things should have been better managed.

References

Laureate Education Inc. (n.d.). Monitoring Projects. Video presentation.

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.

Communicating Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 04:11:00 +0000

We were asked to observe a piece of communication in three different modalities: as written text, as audio, and as video. Pause after receiving the communication in each modality, and reflect upon what you interpret the message to mean.

Here is what I observed from each communication modality.

Email:

Through an email, the message can come off a little rude. Instead of saying that you need that person to send you the report a.s.a.p., she went on in saying that the receiver is going to make her run behind if they haven’t done your work. She went further on, saying that if you haven’t finished your work; just send me what you have. This could come off as you saying that the receiver is not doing their work at all.

Voicemail:

This message wasn’t taken as being so rude because you could hear the tone of voice from the source. She sounded a little more relaxed in this setting.

Face-to-Face:

The smile at the end made her seem really friendly. I guess I could sense more concern in her voice because of the face-to-face environment. It also made me feel more sympathetic and would possibly make me want to get those documents to her sooner.

• How did your interpretation of the message change from one modality to the next?

Starting off with the email I felt as though the message could be interpreted in any way, which could possibly leave the receiver upset. The voicemail was able to give me a sense of how that person felt by hearing the tone of their voice in the message left. The face-to-face message seemed to be the most effective because the body language and tone of voice brought clarity to the sender’s message.

• What factors influenced how you perceived the message?

The tone of voice, written language, and body language were all key factors that influenced the way that I interpreted the message. According to Portny, et al. (2008), another way to avoid messages being perceived the wrong way is to avoid having an informal discussion with only some of the people who are affected by or involved directly with the specific topic.

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

I would prefer a face-to-face meeting on any occasion or at least Skype. The reason being because there is less chance that someone will interpret what you are saying negatively if they could see and hear how you are delivering the message. There is little room for misunderstandings when someone is delivering a message in person. Although there may still be some confusion, it is easier cleared up through a face-to-face communication rather than voicemail or written communication.

• What are the implications of what you learned from this exercise for communicating effectively with members of a project team?

These activities made me realize that words are not always expressed effectively and can be taken in multiple different ways. The best way to communicate with a project team would be a face-to-face meeting if time permits. Dr. Stolovitch (n.d.) stated that there are two big things to remember about communication. He said remember to avoid ambiguity and document everything. Throughout working on a project a relationship with the stakeholders and team members over time, and they will learn what you can or cannot say to one another.

References

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project management planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Stolovitch, H. (Performer) (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_2652514_1&url=

Learning from a Project "Post-Mortem"

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 03:02:00 +0000

Project: Operation Donation for Adairsville

This project was one that I guided my students through in my classroom. We were talking about the characteristics of a great citizen and one of the words was compassionate. The day before, a tornado hit North Georgia and destroyed the city of Adairsville. I asked the students what was a way that we could show or compassion toward Adairsville’s tornado victims. They began discussing multiple ways that we could show our compassion and soon decided on a food, clothing, and shoe drive.

Phase I: Determine Need and Feasibility

How could we have improved our need-feasibility or analysis phase?

Success: We were able to collect a bulk of items that we donated to the tornado victims in Adairsville.

Failure: We should have communicated with the donation centers prior to deciding on how we wanted to help Adairsville tornado victims. By communicating with the donations centers, we could have raised money or had our school donate the items that they needed the most.

Phase II: Create Project Plan

How accurate were our original estimates of the size and effort of our project? What did we over or under estimate?

Success: We ended up having enough space to drop off all of the donations that were sent in by parents and students alike. All of my students worked well together to accomplish the same goal, which made it easy to do. My students were so excited about the good deeds that they were doing, that they all wanted to ride to Adairsville to give the donations to the victims themselves. The IB coordinator at my school assisted my students and I with this action plan, just like Portny, et al (2008) insisted that you consult with upper management about limitations regarding desired outcomes.

Failure: Next time I would plan ahead, and ask multiple parents in other classrooms to drive to Adairsville to ensure that we will have enough space. We should have planned where we were going to keep all of the donations, prior to the kick-off of the event. We ended up having to put accepted donations in any rooms that we could find. Early in the production portion we realized that we would not have enough time to construct an event, because we wanted to be immediate help for Adairsville.

Phase III: Create Specifications for Deliverables

Did all the important project players have creative input into the creation of the design specifications?

Success: I was extremely proud of the posters, flyers, and videos that my students made. They were really creative and informative at the same time. We made sure that each flyer, poster, and speech informed our audience of the name of our project, what we were doing, where we were doing it, when we were doing it, and the time.

Failure: I had some students who did not participate in this entire process, which was upsetting to me. I would have liked to give them a specific job, like a monitor. The monitor could have walked around and helped other groups with spelling and neatness on their portion of the project. However over time, team members will become more familiar with each other’s skills, knowledge, and operating style (Portny, et al., 2008).

Phase IV: Create Deliverables

Did all the important project players have creative input into the creation of the deliverables?

Success: I was proud that my students were able to come together on a collective goal. The deliverables were prepared and completed in a timely manner.

Failure: I wish we had time for the students to switch roles within the project. I think that some of my students would have done a great job in multiple roles. Because the project was time sensitive there wasn’t much time to allow students to explore the different roles of the project. We could have also improved the look and neatness of the deliverables improved if I would have allowed students to take the deliverables home to make. To ensure student involvement next time we could allow students do whatever is comfortable to them.

Phase V: Test and Implement Deliverables

Was our implementation strategy accurate and effective?

Success: The speech and video that my students made was a successful medium of delivery that informed the entire school of our project. I called multiple donation agencies to make sure they were accepting donations before we drove to Adairsville and set up a time for the volunteers to meet up and load the vehicles.

Failure: We put the posters and flyers up a couple of days before the event. However, we could have received more donations if we put the information up for a longer period of time. The donations were kept in many different places and were not organized properly.

Project managers usually write a statement of work before starting on a project. If I would have written a statement of work for this project, students would have been more organized, and would have felt a sense of responsibility if they each had to sign the statement of work. According to Portny, et al. (2008), many successful project managers think of Statements of Work as binding agreements in which project managers and their teams should commit to producing certain results. The purpose was to help the tornado victims of Adairsville by hosting a donation drive. The objectives were that the tornado victims would have a temporary relief of needed items. The constraints written would have been pertaining to our time sensitive project and assumptions were that we thought we knew what the tornado victims needed. In reality we should have investigated and found out what they needed.

References

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project management planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

EDUC 6145

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:33:00 +0000

I will be using this page to blog about my project management course. I look forward to learning a lot throughout this course.

My Reflection on Distance Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 20:42:00 +0000

Currently there are still employers, teachers, students, and parents who are skeptical of distance learning. The reason being is because successful conversion of course delivery method is not always guaranteed (Schmidt & Gallegos, 2001). Thus, consumers need to continue to be aware and research the distance learning programs that they are interested in. Make sure that the organization is accredited, look up the yearly costs, and graduation rate. A helpful tool to use would be the College Scorecard, which is an interactive tool the government developed to help inform potential college students about our nation’s colleges (The White House, 2013).

In 5-10 years…

The future of technology is very promising for all degrees of educations. I believe that online learning will become mainstream. The delivery and the interface of distance learning will continue to be enhanced which will attract more people. People will start to realize that the geographic distance is no longer a factor. The use of more multimedia will began alleviating those feelings of not having a physical instructor present. According to Dr. Siemens, distance education benefit corporations by allowing them to interact with different offices around the world. They will also become more susceptible to distance education if we continue to bridge the gap of comfort in online courses (Siemens).

In 10-20 years…

Distance education will become more prominent in traditional universities and I think more blended course will arise. This will also help the traditional university by allowing them to accept more students by implementing blended courses. I would like to think that this would lower the cost of education in America, but for some reason I think the cost of education will continue to increase because we will be paying for the convenience. However, people will become better educated because of the growing diversity that is occurring in online courses. I have learned the majority of what I know through course readings, and peer interaction. Distance learners must remain open-minded; there are many people in the world who have valuable opinions that could potentially change our way of thinking.

As I continue on to graduate from an online program, I can exhibit the skills that I have learned through my job opportunities. Showing the employer how well trained I am, being a graduate of an online university, will positively change their perspective on online degree programs. As an instructional designer, I will be introducing the potential of distance learning and how it can positively affect their company. Not only will it save them money, but also it is a better and faster means of communication.

I will continue to look for ways to improve distance education, by using best practices in my training courses. By loosely following ADDIE process to build my training courses, and conversing with the SME will help me create effective training courses. According to Schmidt and Gallegos (2001), providing the student with the best possible scenario where learning outcome will be maximized is the goal of course development. As I continue to develop my skills and implement them into my job field effectively, I will have an everlasting effect on those familiar and unfamiliar with distance education. Hopefully persuading them to use it once again.

References

Schmidt, E., & Gallegos, A. (2001). Distance learning: Issues and concerns of distance learners. Journal of Industrial Technology, 17(31), Retrieved from http://atmae.org/jit/Articles/schmidt041801.pdf

Siemens, G. (Performer) (n.d.). The future of distance education. [Video podcast].

The White House (2013). College scorecard. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/higher-education/college-score-card

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 06:02:00 +0000

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

If you are planning to convert a traditional course to a blended learning course, there are a few things that you need to take into consideration. The first thing that you need to do is evaluate your lesson plans and course goals. The next thing would be to navigate and research the best course management system for your online course. Be sure to know how to use this CMS prior to the beginning of the course. Lastly, after beginning your course, you will need to know how to keep your learners engaged and how to communicate effectively with them. To find out more about converting to a traditional course into an online course, continue reading.

You need to review the lesson plan to make sure you can incorporate all elements in a blended course. You should know that each learner learns differently and be willing to accommodate all learning styles. As the trainer you need to first formulate all of the course goals, and then create learning objectives from the goals, which turn into learning outcomes (Assignments, Projects, and Presentations). The example below is a representation of how your course goals should be broken down.

The next step would be for you to decide on a course management system to assist in the management of this course, and other web 2.0 tools that will benefit his specific course. You need to become familiar with the software that he will be using in the course.

This specific trainer should practice just-in-time learning, which provides instruction in the form of online modules specific to the content (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). These modules can be easily accessed and are available at all times which would greatly enhance the learning. The trainer and trainee interaction can be enhanced as well through online discussion boards. Creating a learning community involves both the instructor and the students (Palloff & Pratt, 2007). Protocols on how to effectively communicate in an online discussion forum need to be taught to the learners.

“Oblinger (1999) viewed the transformation between teacher-centered and student-centered as switching:

· From lecturing to coaching

· From taking attendance to logging on

· From distribution of requirements to connected learning

· From credit hours to performance standards

· From competing to collaborating

· From library collections to network connections

· From passive to active learning”

It is more difficult to make communication happen in an online environment, and feedback from the learner may be limited. Activities and applications are the heart of learning in an online environment (Piskurich). Make sure the learners understand how to complete assignments online. Be sure to respond to learner question in a timely manner and be prepared to expect a higher volume of questions via email. Make sure that feedback given is specific and constructive for the learner.

Having the trainees respond to discussion questions by a certain day every week would create a community online. You will need to monitor discussion forums, and maintain communication with each of your trainees. The students need to know that you want them to learn the content. “Flexibility is critical to successful distance educational experiences, for both the instructor and the learner (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012).” Having a strong learner participation rate will drastically enhance the content being delivered in class and in online discussions.

References

Oblinger, D. G, (1999). Hype, hierarchy, and higher education. Business Officer, 33(44), 22-24, 27-31.

Piskurich, G. (Performer) (n.d.). Facilitating online learning. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id= _2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_2095 296_1&url=

Collaborative Training Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 02:52:00 +0000

Challenge

Example 1: Collaborative Training Environment  

A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an instructional designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.  

Instructional Needs

After reviewing the challenge, I have identified the following needs:

1.) The instructional designer needs to simultaneous connect the six regional offices.

2.) The instructional designer needs to implement the training workshop to each office.

3.) Employees need to be able to share information, in the form of screen captures and documents.

4.) Employees need to be able to participate in ongoing collaboration.

Technology Tools

Course Management Systems

A Course Management System (CMS) would be very beneficial to this company because of its abilities to connect learners from various parts of the world. Course Management Systems are used to assist instructors with their course delivery. Instructors can manage assessments, resources, discussion boards, assignments, and activities through a CMS. This company would benefit from an open-source course management system which is a free educational software that is maintained by users who implement, modify, and ultimately support their system to meet local, specific needs (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). The offices could use group project spaces to share information in the form of screen captures and documents, which can be easily uploaded. Employees can also use the discussion board or personal blogs to maintain ongoing collaboration. Content presentation for trainings can be in the form of audio, video, graphics, and Power Point presentations. “Certainly, a CMS is an essential tool of the distance educator. More generally, the CMS may be one of the most important technological tools now available to education and training (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012).”

Adobe Connect is a web conferencing platform that can be used for web meetings, eLearning, and webinars. It can be used on multiple devices, from the traditional computer to a tablet, and possibly your phone. Adobe Connect enables you to screen share and collaborate in a far more effective way. Each meeting can be recorded and can be easily access at a later date in a content library for widespread access. According to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek (2012), channels of communication that connect the teacher and the distant learner, should be appropriate for the learner and the instruction. The six regional offices would have no problem having synchronous communication using Adobe Connect. This would make the meetings much easier for the trainer and for the learners. If learners are unable to attend meetings there will always be a recorded version for the absent learner to refer to. Adobe Connect can be used for the sharing of documents, screen shots, and collaboration as well which were vital needs of the trainer.

Case Studies

TheXerox Company that is known as the document technology leader started using Adobe Connect and had much success. Whereas the years prior, they spent lots of money on out-of-office training for travel experiences. Since switching to Adobe Connect they have achieved 100% ROI (Return On Investments) in just one quarter. According to Halle (2012) they were also able to enable customer support staff to interact with customers remotely, which accelerated problem resolution.

TheUniversity of Wisconsin System, which consists of 11 different universities, have all attempted to use CMSs. The universities were able to choose between CMSs and amongst the ones chosen were LearningSpace, WebCT, Web Course in a Box, Blackboard, and Prometheus (Morgan, 2003). According to Morgan (2003), the faculty of the various Wisconsin Universities mentioned that they used a CMS to enable online discussion or increase communication with students, provide students with additional course materials, and addressed more complex pedagogical issues such as different learning styles among students. The benefits of CMSs that the universities recognized would benefit this company in the same ways.

References
Halle, J. (2012). Xerox case study highlight. Retrieved from http://www.getconnect.com/resources/conferencing- solutions/xerox-case-study-highlight/

Morgan, G. (2003). Faculty use of course management systems. Educause Center for Applied Research, 2, Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ers0302/rs/ers0302w.pdf

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

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 01:58:00 +0000

The Future of Distance Learning Mind Map

Before starting this course, I only thought about distance learning as online learning. Cell phones and Internet have been around since I was a child and are the only new advances of technology that I can think of. The usual mail, telephone, television have just been something that was always there. This is the reason why I have only thought of online learning as the only form of distance learning.

I feel the definition of distance learning is always changing because of the needs of learners that continue to change. As I look back on my life as a student and as a teacher, I have realized how much has changed in education. As a student, I do not recall the gap between students so large and the content in my courses weren’t as demanding. As a teacher, I have noticed the gap between students on the same grade level grow larger and larger. I have also noticed that with Common CORE Standards, the students are supposed to know much more content at a younger age.

If you look back in time the communication to bridge the distance gap has changed from generation to generation. According to Dr. Simonson, in 1833, the best way to bridge the gap was by mail correspondence. In 1906, the Calvert School of Baltimore was the first primary school to offer correspondence courses by mail. During 1922, distance learning was offered via radio broadcast. Pennsylvania State College and the State of Iowa were the first to use radio to broadcast courses. Based upon this information it seems that the best form of communication in that era is what has trended the new way of delivering instruction.

My new definition of distance learning is formal education in which the students are separated by distance, and achieve their academics through a form of technology/communication.

I think that distance learning can change by a person’s profession however, I think that for the majority the newest technology affects he entire world for the most part. However, professionals whose lives are changed constantly by growing technology are most affected by it. For instance, a graphic designer would have to be in the know constantly about new technology, whereas, a teacher would only know about the new technology that affects their job.

My vision for the future of distance learning is that it becomes a form of education that everyone can use and not feel intimidated by. Well-designed programs could also bridge intellectual, cultural, and social differences between students (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2009). My hope is that as it evolves the variations of deliverance changes also. I have noticed in my own experience with online learning that there is a lot of reading and writing required. My thought is, not everyone is a good reader, or a good writer for that matter and could possibly be struggling with that aspect of online learning, no matter what their major is. I would like to see online learning become more diversified in allowing students to express what they have learned in their students. Rice (2006) suggested that the effectiveness of distance education has more to do with who is teaching, who is learning, and how that learning is accomplished and less to do with the medium.

References

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). Tech Trends, 52(5), 63-67

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

Video Program: “Distance Education: The Next Generation”

Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 01:49:00 +0000

Hello!

My name is Ebony Gaubault, and I am currently a second grade teacher in Smyrna, GA. I am currently enrolled at Walden University as an Instructional Design and Technology graduate student. I am really excited about becoming an instructional designer and the many job opportunities that I will be enabled to fulfill. I have a 4 year old daughter who continues to surprise me with her technological abilities. I have a passion for teaching, and I love when students have their "aha" moment. Teaching has always been a passion of mine and will continue to be, so I don't think you can ever have too many skills on your tool belt. I hope you enjoy my blog as we learn new and insightful information together!

- Ebony Gaubault

Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 04:02:00 +0000

One of the most surprising things that I realized this semester was that all this time I thought that believed in the behaviorist theory above all. After completing the learning theory matrix I realized that my own learning experience matched that of connectivism and constructivism. I had also realized that the first time I learned these theories, I really didn’t learn them. Now I know, constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience, and connectivism views learning as a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources. Finding out this information has changed my entire outlook on the way I teach as well. I have now found multiple ways to reach my students, ways that I have not used before.

I now have the keys ways that I need to enhance the way I learn, and when I find information hard to ingest that I will tweak it into a different format that I know I can understand. Learning will become much easier now that I know my personal combination of learning patterns. I am always trying to connect what I am learning to my everyday life and now I know why. I believe that my retention level will increase as a result of realizing this. There have been many times that I learn information temporarily so that I am able to pass a test, and then right after the test I completely forget the information. It is like I always had the keys to success, but never realized it.

I have learned that learning theories give different views on how learners construct meaning during the learning process. Learning style is the type of method that a student uses to learn. Educational technology gives students a variety of ways to learn, and are not secluded to one style of teaching. Motivation is highly important in a classroom or online setting, and is the key to the success of a student. If the right amount of motivation is given, the learning environment will completely change in a positive way.

The most important things that I will take with me from this course were the learning strategies that we discussed. Learning strategies have nothing to do with each individuals learning style, so they can use they to digest any information. Knowing that you can teach someone an effective way to learn will improve their skill of learning and my ability to deliver information adequately. Along with teaching students proper learning strategies, the combination of motivation will improve the confidence beyond belief. If most students had the right tools to be successful, the world as a whole would be a better place.

New Thoughts on Learning Theories

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:18:00 +0000

I have completely changed my view on learning theories and have realized that you can learn adequately through multiple. However, I believe that the social learning theory, connectivism, and constructivist theory suit me best now. I learn best when I connect new knowledge to old knowledge and through discussions. I learned in depth what each theory has to offer, that I did not know previously. Completing the learning theory matrix has really helped me differentiate the learning theories and styles. I have also learned different ways to integrate technology into my classroom. I have also realized that I do not believe in the behaviorist theory like I had before.

Earlier on in this semester I stated, “Dr. Ormrod also stated that when you get information in two different ways it becomes much more memorable. I have always learned best when I am given a visual and verbal message to go along with what I am learning, and that is probably the reason why I retain the majority of what I learn. When I am learning something in class, I have to take down notes as well as write a diagram or picture to go along with their words.” This confirms my new learning theory choices of connectivism and constructivism. Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience. Connectivism views learning as a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.

I am always trying to connect what I am learning to my everyday life. This helps me maintain a connection to the new material and my retention level becomes higher. Technology is most important in my learning process because I use it to research information, write my assignments, blog, and to discuss various educational ideas. I also use technology as a reference for any research that I may have to do which makes collaboration must easier to do.

Researching the multiple learning theories has made me realize my own and has assisted me in understanding why others think certain ways or learn in other ways. It has also given me a guide as to how to instruct learners of other learning styles.

References

Connectivism. (2011, August 2). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connectivism

Connectivism

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Connectivism Concept Map

My learning environment was hard to construct because I never think about the different ways that I learn new things. I suppose I looked first toward my education and the courses that I have taken throughout my educational career, not realizing the many other ways I have learned. I have learned various information through media sources such as You Tube, my television, the internet, other classmate's blogs, and one of my favorite blogs sites E-Learning Heros. The internet has been a vital source in my learning especially when having to research new information or terms that I am not familiar with. Although we cannot believe everything that we read on the internet, there are still many reliable sources out there.

Another way I have learned would be through human interactions. I have learned through relationships, and conversations with relatives, colleagues, colleagues, professors, past mentors, acquaintances, academic coaches, and through journeys that I have taken in my life. The most effective of all of them would have to be the conversations with professors and colleagues because they have similar views to mine. However, I truly value those opinions from relatives and acquaintances who may have separates views from mine.

Lastly, my personal experiences have sculpted the way that I learn and what I have learned. I have learned through many educational workshops, college courses that I have taken, and through my being a mentor teacher. Being a mentor teacher has taught me how to view situations in another light versus the one way that I am used to thinking. I have become more sympathetic to struggles or concepts that are not easily understood by others.

Making a concept map to represent my learning environment was a good way to visualize the many influences that structure the way that I think and learn.

Selective Attention in Vision

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:22:00 +0000

Selective Attention in Vision

One thing that can really affect the way a person learns would be their attention span.

Attention is the main topic of this study. It is not difficult to introduce this topic, because everyone knows what attention is. It is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought Focalization, concentration, of consciousness are of its essence. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others,… (James, 1890/1950, pp. 403– 4)

Some of us can sit down and watch a movie or multiple movies while others are ready to get up and move around after an hour. I think that in order to truly judge how well someone is processing information, you must first have their full attention to make sure that they understand what we will be talking about.

In this study that I read about the information that was study was that that was observably being input and then also they focused on the outputs that had to be observable. This article infers my belief is true in which we have to be able to see what someone is learning and monitoring what is being put into their minds in order to figure the true processing of information. In addition to that we all still have an uphill battle with mere attention spans in order to ingest new information and regurgitate it.

References:

Van der Heijden, A. (1991). Selective attention in vision.

Information Processing

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:56:00 +0000

Information Processing

I completely agree with Piaget’s theories. As stated in this journal article, “Piaget made it clear that children learn through direct experiences and social interaction with peers. (Tracey, Morrow & Mandel, 2006)” I believe that this is how the majority of children learn successfully. Although we think that many times children learn from things they see, I think that it sticks in their memory more often than not if they are able to use or manipulate an object while learning new subject matter.

I have a couple of students in my class now whom have a hard time sitting still in the classroom and always need to be moving in order to stay focused on the information that we are learning. When I was growing up and still even now days teachers tend to assume that children need to be put on medication in order to keep their mind focused. However, what I have learned over the past year is that some people need something in their hands to play with in order to keep their minds off moving their bodies. I have allowed a couple of my students to have some sort of trinket that can stay in their hand or at their desk, which keeps their hands occupied, but they stay continuously focused on what I am teaching.

References:

Tracey. , Morrow , D., & Mandel, L. (2006). Lenses on reading : An introduction to theories and models.

Supplemental Resources for Instructional Design

noreply@blogger.com (Ebony Gaubault) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 04:13:00 +0000

E Learning Heros
This is a website that primarily focuses on giving advice and sharing ideas about e Learning. This website provides forums which allows e Learning professionals to discuss new ideas and techniques that are being used in the field of technology. E Learning Heros also provides tutorials on practical techniques and strategies, and product specific tricks and know-how. They also provide pro-grade downloads that e-learning professionals often use for free.
Blog: http://community.articulate.com/

Langevin Learning Services

This website offers training workshops for new and improving instructional designers, instructors, and managers. They also provide training for instructors to become more dynamic instructors.They provide three levels of certification for trainers. They also have a blog on the website that provides various topics regarding the instructional technology and design field. One of the most recent post was how to manage client expectations. You can post blogs in a specific section as well.You can post your thoughts in the instructor, designer, or manager discussion forum. Which makes it easier for someone to receive adequate feedback.

Website: http://www.langevin.com/

Instructional Design Central

This website gives a listing of other blogs and websites that are related to the instructional design field. This website is useful for both students learning about the field of instructional design and for working professionals. The website also features job opportunities, where you can obtain an instructional design degree, instructional design conferences, and a forum for professionals alike. It also gives history on the profession of Instructional Design and how it began.

Website: http://www.instructionaldesigncentral.com/