Blog #4 week ending Sept. 27, 2007

Entry #1

There are a lot of elements to keep in mind when working on a multimedia project. One area that should always be looked at and updated is the project schedule. Usually there is one person called a project manager that keeps track of the scheduling. However, like the book states most of the time instructional designers or other multimedia team members find themselves serving as project manager without any experience. Not keeping up with the project schedule can result in a number of setbacks which can include overspending, time setback, or even project failure. In the book they list three activities in creating a project schedule:
- Document general project information
- List project deliverables
- Schedule project activities
Documenting what the purpose of the project, obstacles and constraints, etc. helps you begin to think about the route you are going to take when developing the project. Next you want to list the project deliverables. Knowing the project deliverables and milestones let you and the team know what is of the most importance in the project. Finally, scheduling project activities lets everyone know their role in the project, know the timeline, and make sure the deliverables are delivered on time. Making sure everything runs smoothing is important and looking at the schedule and updating it continuously will guarantee a successful project.

Entry #2

We have moved into the next stage of our Wiki project. Last week we were assigned to find five articles dealing with our topic; mine being eLearning 2.0. When I began my search I thought it would be no problem. How hard could it be to find five articles? Well… it took a little more time than I had expected. When I tried to Google and various other search engines I could not find any articles. I could find plenty of blog entries, but those are not considered articles. I soon realized that maybe my topic was too new to write on. After some more time searching for articles I decided to try something new. I used different phrases to try and find more articles. That is when I found success. Using words like advantage and Learning 2.0 I was able to find my five articles and to begin writing my summaries. I have learned a lot about eLearning 2.0 while doing this project. There are a lot of applications and resources out there to help enhance learning. I am interested in how the discussion aspect of this project will turn out.

Blog #3 week ending Sept. 20, 2007

Entry #1

In our book it states that there are five domains in which learning occurs: cognitive, affective, motor, psychomotor, and metacognitive. It has useful information on four of the five, for example, the use of tables to help better understand the domains. However, for metacognitive they state it is least written about and least understood. But why? I do agree with the book that the metacognitive domain is the most important of all the domains. It is a combination of all of the domains. People learn things in different ways and the metacognitive domain focuses on the different ways people learn how to accomplish a number of things; whether it is through repetition, hands-on, etc. Knowing what works best for you when learning and fine tuning it throughout your life you will be able to learn at a much faster rate. I believe in time more people will have a better understanding of why the metacognitive domain is the most important and will be able to help others find their best way to learn.

Entry #2

In class we are at the beginning stages of our design project and when designing a project you need to make sure the learner knows what the objectives are. I found writing objectives to be more difficult than I thought. When writing objectives there are number of things you need to keep in mind. After looking over the material assigned to us for an assignment I believe I am getting a better understanding of how to write good objectives. In the homework we had to supply our own suggestions to writing objectives and I was going to explain why I think these suggestions are important.

1. Make sure the objective states what the learner is to get out of training – when completing the training if the learner doesn’t know what they are there for they won’t be interested in learning the new material.

2. Include the level that the learner will be able to perform at – when writing the objective it is important to let the learner know if what is being taught is too high or to low for them to comprehend.

3. Make sure the learner understands what is being asked from them – it is important to write the objective in a structure the learner will best understand using words or phrases the learner doesn’t understand turns them away from the training.

4. Make sure the objective is something the learner can reach – giving objectives that are too high to reach can tend to make the learner lose interest because it takes too much time

5. Make sure each objective includes a condition, performance, and criterion – when writing objectives make sure the learner knows what materials/tasks they are given, what they need to do with those, and how much needs to be done from them.

I could still use so more helpful information in writing objectives and hopefully we will learn more in class.

Blog #2 week ending Sept 13, 2007

Entry #1

In our text book they break Assessment/analysis phase into two parts, needs analysis and front-end analysis. In our text book for TSTM 444 the assessment phase only consist of needs analysis which is the systematic way of determining the gap that exists between where the organization is where it wishes to be. What is front-end analysis and why does our textbook separate the assessment phase into two parts? In the book front-end analysis is defined as a collection of techniques that can be used in various combinations to help you bridge the gap by determining what solution(s) will be required. Needs analysis and front-end analysis look similar in meaning; however, the book believes front-end analysis will provide more detailed information. We did an exercise in class on Thursday matching the front-end analysis terms of our current textbook to the needs assessment terms from out previous text book and through the exercise it showed that the needs analysis is very similar to front-end analysis. Personally I don’t think the assessment phase needed to be separated. What is to be done in the front-end analysis portion can easily be done in the needs analysis part eliminating an extra step. Therefore it would allow you to help the company/organization with their needs at a faster rate and still be providing them everything they desire from the training. Adding an extra step doesn’t always help with the problem and could contribute to confusion.

Entry #2

In class on Thursday we began looking for topics that we would lead a discussion for our Wiki project. Dr. Keane gave us time in class to brainstorm ideas on what to do research on. There are tons of information about training and ways of acquiring knowledge and learning. Yet somehow I found it difficult to choose a topic. I wanted to find a topic that I could find enough information to lead a successful discussion and find enough information to complete the research aspect of the project. At first the ideas I was considering were either too broad of a topic or I couldn’t find enough information. Others I thought were already being considered as topics so I decided to find a topic that is being introduced. There is a lot going on today dealing with eLearning. Knowing that it was too broad to do research on I tried to find different types of eLearning. After looking on Answers.com and Wikipedia I finally found the topic to do research on, eLearning 2.0. I was able to find enough information to do research and I believe I will have a successful discussion with this topic. The concept of eLearning 2.0 is growing and I am interested in what other types of eLearning I fill find will doing this Wiki project…eLearning 3.0 maybe?

Blog #1 week ending Sept 6, 2007

Entry #1

The book defines needs assessment as the systematic process of determining goals, identifying discrepancies between actual and desired conditions, and establishing priorities for action. The book list a number of data-collection techniques.

Which technique do you like most? the least?

The data-collection technique I like the most is e-mail. I like the e-mail approach because you will be able to reach a large number of people and expect a nice return. People check their e-mail multiple times a day. Conducting an e-mail survey is an easy and inexpensive way to gather information.

The data-collection technique I am least in favor of is the phone interview. Phone interviews seem to happen at the wrong moments (i.e. phone call at dinner time). Most of the time you end up hanging up on the interviewer because the interview takes too long. Phone interviews take time to conduct and can be difficult to get the right number of responses to make a good enough conclusion.

Entry #2

Question: Why is the most common delivery system still the physical classroom?

The physical classroom is the most common delivery system for many reasons which include:

- cost effective because technology can be expensive and there could be a lack of funding

- resistance to change because some people have a fear of technology

- face-to-face communication because people enjoy the community aspect of getting to "know" everyone

Overall the classroom delivery system is more common because you can pull in the best aspects of different teaching styles i.e face-to-face, web, etc.