Analyzing Scope Creep: Who Keeps Moving the Finish Line?

     A few years ago I was hired to revise the curriculum for my district’s music department. I would be understating things if I were to tell you that this was a very frustrating experience.  At the time, I didn’t know what I’ve recently learned about projects and scope creep.  I only knew that each time I thought I was done, my boss would redefine the project, and send me back to work.  Looking back, I can see that the scope of the project was never defined at all.  I was told what to do (align units with the national standards), and how to do it (backwards design, a la Wiggins and McTighe).  I was also told my hourly wage, and the maximum hours for which I would be paid.  The project actually required more than twice that number of hours, but it was understood that I would only be allowed to bill that number.

     In this project, I was both writer and SME.  I guess you could say that my supervisor, who was not a music educator, acted as the project manager.  Looking back, I can see that a clearly defined Project Charter, WBS, and Scope Statement would have helped both of us to see where this project was going, and what limitations there would be.  If we had calculated the hours of work required to create each unit, we would have been able to prioritize, and select units, or standards, or grade levels on which to focus.  If we had put these things in writing, we could have referred back to these documents periodically, and used them to stay on track.  The additions my supervisor requested were great ideas, but they went beyond what resources covered.  Because we didn’t define the scope, there was creep galore!  Neither of us knew how to define the project, so it went badly out of hand.  Since there were no provisions for increasing the budget, and since I could not get paid until she signed off on my work, I ended up putting in an extra, unpaid 50 hours of work.

     This project was the source of a lot of friction between me and my supervisor.  That could have been avoided, had we both had the sense to define and document the project.  The project charter, WBS, schedule, and scope statement can help keep things efficient, effective, and professional, thus eliminating the sense that the issues involved are personal.

Estimating Work Effort and Cost

     My current assignment in the MS-IDT program is to take the role of Project Manager for the development of interactive, constructivist learning objects, aligned to a school system’s existing bricks and mortar curriculum. I would love to take the role of ID in this case: as a veteran teacher, planning instruction is in my comfort zone.  Managing a project is far less comfortable for me, so I have had to research some of the managerial aspects of this type of project.  I found some resources on line that have helped me to estimate the time and cost involved in such a project.  Here are some of the more helpful sites I found:

 ProjectSmart :  Duncan Haughey offers some sound advice about 3-Point estimating.  Using this system, the PM would factor in the best and worst extremes along with the most commonly expected outcomes, to come up with a budget that would handle unexpected contingencies. Haughey’s formula looks like this:

E = (B + 4 M + W)/6

B = best case (1/6)

M = most likely (4/6)

W = worst case (1/6)

     Haughey also describes common mistakes, and how to avoid them.  Good information for those of us who do not yet have our own experiences to draw on! 

    This tool from Michael Greer is very helpful for a newbie like me, as it gives some guidelines for estimating work effort and cost. This was good, concrete advice, and it helped me to estimate the amount of time the various teams in my project would need to complete their tasks.

     Once I knew how long they’d be working, I still needed to know the going rate for writing, design, and development work.  I turned to Payscale.com.    Good news, boys and girls!  It looks like this degree may lead to a nice paycheck some day!

Effective Communication

This post describes my reactions to three different deliveries of the same request for information (Laureate, 2010).  In this scenario, a Jane seeks overdue information from her colleague, Mark, so that she can use that information to meet her own deadline. Her approach in each scenario (email, voicemail, and face-to-face) is to hand Mark an “out” for his tardiness, by acknowledging that he has been swamped and tied up in meetings. 

I read the email version first, and was bothered by Jane’s “wishy-washy” tone.  She seemed to be apologizing for bothering him with her request that he meet his deadline.   When I heard the exact same words over the phone, the speaker’s tone was firm and professional.  Though she used exactly the same words, Jane’s tone (firm and professional) did not seem to let Mark off the hook.  The third approach was to use the same exact words in an in-person visit to Mark’s cubicle.  In this scenario, Jane is friendly but professional as she points out that Mark’s delay may cause her to be late for her own deadline.

It was interesting that the same words came across so differently in the email version.  I wonder if others who read it may have “felt” it differently than I did.  This is a good illustration of how emails can be misinterpreted.  Having no audio or visual cues can leave the reader wondering what the writer’s intent may have been.  Where professional emails are concerned, I conclude that it may be best to stick to statements of fact, and specific questions or instructions. 

Laureate Media (2010). The art of effective communication [Video podcast]. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Preaching to the Choir: A Cautionary Tale of a Failed Project

     “Find out if anyone else is likely to support your work.” and “Obtain a project champion or sponsor.” (Greer, 2010, p. 10)

     If I had read Greer’s advice two years ago, I might have a happier story to tell you today!  In failing to do these two things, I unknowingly killed a project that meant a lot to me.

     In May of 2009, members of my professional learning community were struggling with our students’ “end of the year” behavior.  Our students (about 600 nine and ten-year olds) were in vacation mode, even though we had several more weeks of school to go.  My team, comprised of the “special area” staff (Music, Art, P.E., Technology, Spanish, Nurse, Counselor, and Child Study Team) agreed that there was a general break-down of behaviors in the cafeteria, on the playground, while waiting for the bus, and while in the hallways.  In general, students were not behaving as well outside their classroom walls as they were inside them.  In brainstorming and sharing our observations, the team concluded that part of the problem was that different teachers had different expectations, and different reactions to behavior issues (including no reaction).  We thought it would help if the entire staff was on the same page regarding expectations for behavior in the “public” areas of the school.  Agreeing on the problem, and with the support of our principal (also a member of our team), we set about the creation of a behavior plan, to be put in place upon our return to school in September.  The team spent the next month on this project, which included defining the expected behaviors and the consequences for inappropriate behaviors.  We developed a “behavior chart”, which would also serve as a weekly report to parents.  Every student would go home each Friday with a snapshot of their behaviors for the whole week, to be signed by their parents.  This would allow staff and parents to see and address emerging problems.  We thought that behavior problems might decrease just because kids knew there would be a report at the end of the week. The team felt that the positive reports would have as big an impact as the negative ones: what kid doesn’t want to start the weekend by giving mom and dad a good report from school?   With the approval of our principal, we put our plan into effect, starting with an introduction at “Back to School” night in September, where I, as project leader, assured parents that they would be seeing this behavior chart every Friday. 

     As noted earlier, my team was comprised of special area teachers, but not homeroom teachers.  Part of the plan called for homeroom teachers to distribute the chart each Friday, and collect it every Monday.  We did not anticipate that this would place a burden on the homeroom teachers, but a few felt very strongly that they could not take on any more paperwork.  Some said they didn’t want to waste paper, so they only sent the form home with students who had misbehaved.  Some felt that they should not be held responsible for their students’ behaviors outside of their own classrooms. Portny et al. (2008) identify failure to involve all key project stakeholders as a reason projects fail. Greer (2010) offers this caution: “If you don’t involve all stakeholders in an active and engaged fashion from the beginning, you are likely to suffer the consequences of rework when they finally figure out what you and your project team are up to…. and they then take action to leave their mark on it!” (p. 10). My team’s failure to invite all stakeholders early on resulted in months spent on a failed project.

     Portny et al. (2008) also cite inconsistent upper-management support as a reason for project failure: “The project manager may be relatively low in the hierarchical chain of command and still have a high level of responsibility for completing a project successfully.  Responsibility without the authority of rank or position is so common in project management that it is the rule, not the exception.”(p. 9). My principal seemed supportive of our team’s efforts, but she distanced herself from the process whenever the full staff was involved.  Twice when the plan was presented to the full faculty, she asked me to take over, and left the room.  Though I was the project leader, I had no authority to insist that the staff implement our plan as intended.  They felt free to change the procedures or ignore them completely. Without the public support of management, the plan could not be enforced.

     Because we missed a few important steps in this project, I’m sorry to say it failed.  I wish it hadn’t.  I still think it would have been a great way to let kids and parents know that everyone in the school had high expectations for good behavior at our school. 

References

Greer M 2010 project minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects!Greer, M. (2010). The project minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! Retrieved from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/56611/CRS-CW-4894953/educ_6145_readings/pm-minimalist-ver-3-laureate.pdf

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

Reflections on Distance Learning

      I have to confess:  I am a true believer.  I am thriving and learning in this virtual classroom in ways that would never have been possible for me in the world of bricks and mortar education.  If everyone was just like me, we wouldn’t need school buildings anymore…just laptops.  For me, everything about distance learning trumps the traditional model, and so I have to really make myself listen when detractors explain why it isn’t ideal for them.

     This week we all interviewed people to learn their perceptions of online learning.  What I heard from my subjects aligned with what I have read.  Success in distance learning may depend quite a bit on the age of the learner.  Learners who are much younger than me may need more structure and supervision to be successful. On the plus side, these younger learners have a decided edge when it comes to their level of comfort with social media.  Most teens spend quite a few hours each day in asynchronous discussion (Facebook) or real time chat (Instant Messenger).  Finding their way around a CMS will be second nature to them.  Older learners may find themselves overwhelmed by the technology requirements of the virtual classroom.  A friend of mine who is a retired school superintendent pointed out that the next decade or so will mark the retirement of a generation of learners who did not grow up immersed in the internet world.  This demographic may be the one most likely to cling to the belief that there can be no substitute for traditional, lecture-style, face-to-face instruction.

     Prior experience also plays a role in peoples’ perceptions of online learning.  Several of the people I interviewed this week could not imagine that an asynchronous discussion could have as much value as a face-to-face one: they were skeptical when I told them that I find a much deeper exchange of ideas in our discussion forum than I ever had in a live classroom.  Those who have taken a course online seem more likely to believe they can learn this way than those who have not tried it. 

     I predict that distance learning’s inroads into the mainstream will begin in the corporate world, where the bottom lines of efficiency and finance make this model very attractive.  If I can train 500 staffers via a well-designed distance course, that’s certainly more efficient and more cost-effective than sending me around the country to train them 20 at a time.  If I can learn from the finest minds in my field without having to fly around the globe to get to them, well, that’s just good business.

     Ironically, it may be educators themselves who will prove the least accepting of distance learning, even though it has been shown to be as effective as the traditional model.  When a teacher says “they can’t learn this way”, he may really mean “I don’t know how to teach this way.”  This will change over time, as instructors become more comfortable with the media, and more adept at designing good instruction. I took it as a sign of things to come when my son, a freshman Education major at The College of New Jersey, found the Adobe Creative Suite on his list of required resources.  We need to train our teachers differently.

     That’s where I come in.  For the past year, as I have studied in this Master’s program, a voice in the back of my head has been asking what difference all of this will make in my career.  It was not until this course on distance learning that things started falling into place for me. I think my contribution will be as a teacher trainer, helping teachers to develop the skills and materials they will need to be effective, whether in a traditional, distance, or blended classroom.  The IT supervisor in my district thinks that I have arrived on the scene at a pivotal moment in time.  He sees my role as bridging the technology gap, by assisting veteran teachers (subject matter experts) who are somewhat challenged by the technical aspects of instructional design.  Ten years from now, that technology gap will be much smaller, and our new teachers will be better prepared to create excellent, effective instruction. As an instructional designer, I am in the right place at the right time.  By helping teachers experience success as distance learners, they may become more comfortable as distance teachers, as well. I just may bring a whole new group of true believers to the virtual classroom!

Transition to Blended Learning

The following is a course assignment in which I was asked to guide a trainer in “best practices” as he converts his training from “bricks and mortar” to a blended delivery.  I decided write as a representative of the ID firm hired to assist in this transition.

 

 

William Carroll

Training Manager, Abel International, Inc.

Dear Mr. Carroll,

     Congratulations on your decision to adopt a blended approach to training for your staff at Carroll International.  Life Long Learners is delighted to assist you in making the transition from face-to-face instruction to a hybrid approach.  Blended delivery offers the best of both worlds. You will be able to provide your trainees with quality online resources while still having opportunities to meet with your learners face-to-face.  Your trainees will appreciate the flexibility of choosing when and where to work in your “virtual training center”.

     Developing effective instruction is a collaborative process between instructional designer (ID) and subject matter expert (SME).  Your input as SME is central to our ability to create a vibrant learning experience for your staff.  We will work together to develop materials, activities and assessments which align to the objectives you have established for your training modules.

     In our initial conversation last month, you indicated a desire to upload content to a server, to be downloaded by your trainees.  As we discussed at that meeting, a Course Management System (CMS) will serve that need and much more. Figure 1, below, outlines some of the instructor capabilities built in to the CMS for your training modules.  Take the time to become proficient and comfortable with the CMS environment. It is a good idea to create a student profile, so that you can view the virtual classroom from the trainee’s point of view. 

 

Getting Your Learners Ready for the Distance Classroom

     Distance learning can be a rewarding experience for your trainees, if you take their individual needs into consideration. Before training begins, make sure that your learners have access to the tools and equipment they will need to work in your virtual classroom.  Take advantage of one of your face-to-face meetings to conduct a learner needs analysis.  A sample survey (figure 2) will give you an idea of some of the questions you should ask.  Based on their responses, you may wish to conduct pre-requisite training for some or all of your learners before you begin job-related training. Feel free to modify the survey questions to reflect the particular training requirements for your course.

     Your trainees will appreciate knowing exactly what you expect.  Life Long Learners will work with you to create a course calendar, syllabus, and Q&A area in your CMS.  Let your learners know exactly when assignments are due.  Provide rubrics, so they understand how your will score their work, and, where possible, provide models or samples of exemplary work.

 

Advantages of Distance Learning

 

     There are several advantages to distance learning, both for you, and for your trainees.  Perhaps the biggest advantage is the flexibility afforded to your adult learners, who must balance training requirements with their work, family and personal responsibilities.  Distance learning has come a long way from the days of correspondence courses.  Far from working in isolation, your trainees will be able to connect with experts, learning resources and a network of learners from all over the world.

     Your virtual classroom can be a window to a wealth of resources.  Resist the temptation to simply reproduce your face-to-face lectures.  Instead of telling your students what you want them to know, show them. Does your team in the South Africa office have a procedure that works well? Invite them to share it with your learners through a video window, or a Skype session.  Is the European division experiencing success with a new training model? Conduct a video interview with their team leader, and ask your learners to compare it to your current procedure.  Distance learning technology enables you to share expertise, information, and materials, without the constraints of geography and time. You will be able to reach more learners, and you will be able to connect them with better resources. Distance learning enhances your ability to meet the varied learning needs and styles of your trainees through the use of text, graphics, video and audio files, and interactive media.    

The Discussion Forum 

     Your trainees will learn best when they have opportunities to interact with the material, and with each other.  We will help you to create opportunities for collaboration, problem solving, and formative assessment.  One very effective learning tool is the discussion forum.

     By providing a forum for asynchronous discussion, you give your trainees an opportunity to learn with and from each other, while still benefitting from your guidance and expertise. You may be pleasantly surprised to find that, given time to consider the discussion prompts and do some research, your trainees will actually give more, and get more from discussions online than they do in the traditional classroom setting.  Remember that the discussion forum is a place for learners to explore and consider course concepts.  Trainees will learn from each other as much or more than they do from you, if you take the time to create effective discussion prompts. By asking the right kinds of questions, an instructor can encourage learners to dig deeper. Avoid yes/no or true/false questions, in favor of open ended questions that can lead to discussion and debate.  Help the learners to relate new content to realistic job-related scenarios. Figure 3, below, taken from the 1000 Advices website (2010) offers an abbreviated sample of Richard Paul’s Taxonomy of Socratic Questions.  You may find these helpful in preparing your responses to learner posts in your class discussion forum. Your active monitoring of the discussion forum is crucial.  Simonson et. al (2009) advise instructors to actively participate in the discussion forum, replying to about one in four learner posts. Your responses to learner posts can provide clarification, motivation and encouragement. Keep in mind that discussions are archived and viewed by the entire class. It is a good idea to keep your responses positive and encouraging. If you determine that a trainee is missing the mark in the discussion forum, you may wish to contact that learner privately, either by phone or email. 

     Finally, keep the lines of communications open with your learners.  Let them know when and how it is best to reach you, and be sure to provide timely responses to their questions and concerns. Learning at a distance need not be an isolating experience.  With the right planning, and your active involvement, this can be a truly connected experience!

 
  

Paul R  Six types of Socratic questionsPaul, R. (n.d.). Six types of Socratic questions. Retrieved from http://www.1000advices.com/guru/communication_questions_socratic.html

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th Ed.). : Allyn & Bacon / Pearson.

Open Course: A Curator, Not a Course

 According to its own mission statement, Open Culture is not a distance learning enterprise, so much as a curator of the wealth of information and materials available online. In the “About Us” section of the Open Culture web site (http://www.openculture.com/faq), Open Culture describes itself this way:

“Web 2.0 has given us great amounts of intelligent audio and video. It’s all free. It’s all enriching. But it’s also scattered across the web, and not easy to find. Our whole mission is to centralize this content, curate it, and give you access to this high quality content whenever and wherever you want it.”

     The result is a wealth of free media, in the form of movies, podcasts, audio books and recorded course lectures from some of the country’s most prestigious universities. There is an incredible amount to hear and see here, with media on hundreds of topics.

     Open Culture offers over 250 free online courses, with materials downloadable to the learner’s home computer or mp3 player.  Again, the sheer amount of media is amazing, but I think it is misleading to call this distance learning. I would call it an exceptionally comprehensive source of distance learning material.

     I found many interesting offerings in Open Culture’s online courses.  One was a course called Listening to Music, which featured an entire semester of lectures by Yale’s Professor Craig Wright (http://oyc.yale.edu/music/listening-to-music/content/downloads).  Each 50-minute lecture is available as a downloadable video podcast.  The course text is available as a free, downloadable PDF file.  Even as a face-to-face lesson, there is not a lot for the learner to do except to listen and take notes.  Occasionally the instructor asks a question.  Unfortunately, at a distance, we are not able to see the responder, nor can we hear the response.

     For the distance learner, there is no opportunity for the kinds of interaction that help a learner to make meaning out of material (Piskurich, 2010)  The learner cannot interact with the material, the instructor, or the other learners.  There is no opportunity for discussion, nor any for collaboration.  The assessments given to the students present at the face-to-face lectures are not provided for the distance learner, so there is no opportunity to evaluate the level of learning. 

     I was surprised and pleased to learn that Open Culture’s creators are open to the use and manipulation of their materials. The music class from Yale includes information about the Creative Commons’ Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license, which permits the “free use or re-purposing of the Open Yale Courses material by others.” (Open Yale Courses, 2011) This opens the door for instructors or instructional designers to make use of these excellent media resources in the creation of quality distance learning.

     Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009) describe a design team approach to instructional design, in which an instructional designer, along with a subject matter expert, a media specialist, and an instructor work together to create effective instruction.  Open Culture is a great source of media, which the team could consider as they design and develop the instruction.

     Once in awhile I have encountered teachers who treat the teacher’s manual or text book as if it is a comprehensive course all on its own.  I would argue that the text book, like the Open Culture’s media offerings, is only a resource, and cannot substitute for sound instructional design.

References

Open Culture 2011 Open culture: the best free cultural and educational media on the webOpen Culture (2011). Open culture: the best free cultural and educational media on the web. Retrieved February 2, 2011, from http://openculture.com

Piskurich, G. (2010). Planning and developing online courses [Video podcast].Laureate, Inc

Simonson M Smaldino S Albright M Zvacek S 2009 Teacing and learning at a distanceSimonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th Ed.). : Allyn & Bacon / Pearson.

Distance Learning Scenario

Scenario 3 (EDUC-6135-1 Distance Learning, Week 3 Application Assignment)
“In an effort to improve its poor safety record, a biodiesel manufacturing plant needs a series of safety training modules. These stand-alone modules must illustrate best practices on how to safely operate the many pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor. The modules should involve step-by-step processes and the method of delivery needs to be available to all shifts at the plant. As well, the shift supervisors want to be sure the employees are engaged and can demonstrate their learning from the modules.”

     The best training choice for this scenario would be a fully distant, asynchronous model, since workers on all shifts need to access the module.  A learner-centered approach, as described by Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009), would allow plant employees to make predictions about safe and unsafe behaviors on the job. It is important that learners be able to apply what they learn to real-life situations. 

          Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008, p. 70) noted that “in many corporate e-learning implementations, effectiveness is either naively assumed or not particularly valued”.  It would be dangerous, in this case, to assume that workers understand safe work practices based only on their ability to answer multiple choice, or true/false questions.

     A problem solving activity, in which the learner would choose the best order of steps to take when operating the machinery, would provide a more authentic assessment.  This could be created with software like Adobe’s Captivate. Adobe’s product site offers a sample of a formative assessment in which, among other activities, the learner must order steps according to their importance.  To see the sample, go to the “What You Can Do” section, and click on “Assessment and Quizzes”.

     This kind of assessment gives the learner an opportunity to apply what was learned to a real life problem.   This is of greater value than traditional types of quizzes, which only require the learner to memorize and regurgitate facts. E-learningtemplates.com sells templates specifically for ordering sequence of events.  The learner drags each item to its correct place in order, receiving encouragement for correct responses, and remediation for incorrect responses. Click HERE to see a sample template. The drag and drop exercise in this week’s resources is another good example of interactivity as formative assessment.  The learner is not graded, but is able to self-check for comprehension.

     The use of a blog, or some other discussion forum, would make it possible for learners share their reactions to a relevant scenario.  Learners could be presented with a scenario of a potentially dangerous work practice.  The scenario could be presented through text, but photos or video might be more effective.  Learners would be able to identify the problem, and share their ideas about solutions or improved safety practice on the job.

References

Moller L Foshay W Huett J 2008 evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web.Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the Web. TechTrends, 52(3), 70-75.

Simonson M Smaldino S Albright M Zvacek S 2009 Teaching and learning at a distanceSimonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance (4th ed.). : Allyn & Bacon/Pearson.

Distance Learning Evolves

     Years ago, when my kids were young, I considered pursuing a graduate degree. As a working mom, the only way I could see to make this work was through distance learning (then called correspondence courses). I did some research, and asked the advice of some colleagues. The general consensus was that a degree obtained through distance learning was not valued by the educational community. Correspondence courses were seen as unregulated diploma mills. Though I did not pursue a degree back then, I did take a distance course on effective teaching strategies. This was a good example of what Dr. Michael Simonson (2010) calls “self-study at a distance”. The materials consisted of a workbook and a series of video-taped simulations. My assignments were recorded in a notebook, which I mailed in when I was done. Months after the course ended, I got my notebook back in the mail, with a grade and some comments about my essay. It was a very isolating experience, which soured me on distance learning for quite a few years. One thing missing in this course, and what Moller, Foshay & Huett (2008) cite as a major flaw in many distance learning experiences, was any attempt to assess whether learning had taken place.
     My current experience in Walden’s MS-IDT program has sold me on the benefits of distance learning, particularly for the adult learner. The big difference here is connectivity: to a cohort of scholars, to the instructional staff, and to the resources the university provides. This ability to access resources and people has made for a vibrant learning experience. An unexpected benefit of distance learning has been the opportunity to collaborate with other learners. Each of us brings a unique skill set to the group, so where one has a need, another has an idea that will help. The very act of conversing with classmates in our discussion groups helps me to make sense of new concepts. Holmberg’s concept of “guided didactic conversation” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009) acknowledges the importance of the interaction between learner and teacher. I would extend this to include the interaction between learners. Though separated in space and time, I can’t overstate the value of the cohort in this learning experience.
     Simonson et al describe the importance of “equivalent, rather than identical” learning experiences and learning outcomes in distance education (2009, p. 51). This aligns with Knowles’ description of Andragogy, including the importance of providing options to the learner, regarding what the learning will be, and how it will occur (2009). Our recent research projects were designed to allow each learner to choose both the topic of research and the means of presentation. The results, ranging from slide shows to movies to web sites, presented research on a variety of topics. The projects were not identical, but the learning processes were equivalent, and each of us was motivated by our interest in a particular topic.
     In his video lecture, Simonson predicts that distance learning will not replace traditional education. I think for adult learners, it may. I think two factors will combine to establish distance learning as an accepted means of learning: access to information, resources and people via the web, and the emergence of a generation of learners who are confident and competent web users. My sons grew up with computers and collaborative video games. They are not intimidated by technology. My undergrad work was written on a typewriter, so the learning curve is a bit steeper for me. For older learners, using technology presents its own set of challenges to be conquered before the actual course content can be mastered. The next generation will use communications technology much more intuitively. Going forward, I predict a substantial increase in learners who opt for distance learning for at least some portion of their secondary education. Learning institutions will embrace the ability to reach greater numbers of students with less duplication of services.
     My perception of distance learning has changed dramatically from that correspondence course back in the 90’s. Today, I would say that distance education must include connectivity between the learner, the teacher, the resources, and other learners, facilitated by ever improving communications media. Courses of study should be developed with careful attention to sequencing, and with options for learners to choose what, when, and how we learn.

Moller, L. F. (2008, May/June). The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. TechTrends 52, 3 , pp. 70 – 75.
Simonson, M. (2010). Distance Education: The Next Generation. Laureate, Inc.

Simonson, M. S. (2009). Teaching and Learning at a Distance. Pearson.

Click on the Mind Map to open a full-sized version.

 

 

Bloodborne Pathogens Discussion Forum

Thank you for participating in LifeLongLearners ID Group’s training on Bloodborne Pathogens. As you read the scenarios that follow, consider which seems most likely or relevant in your job setting. Post a response to share your thoughts regarding that scenario.

Scene 1:

In your science lab, during an experiment with hydrochloric acid, an altercation breaks out between two boys. Acid spills on the floor, and on the boys. In the fray, one of the students cuts his wrist on a glass beaker. Blood is spewing from his injury onto him, the floor, the work area, and the other boy.

What steps would you take? Explain your choices.

Scene 2: You are the only Aide on the blacktop at recess, when Timmy approaches you with another of his famous nosebleeds. You don’t typically keep surgical gloves handy. What should you do?

Scene 3:

Justine feels sick to her stomach, but does not make it to the trash can in time. Vomit is on the floor, on her school work, on her clothes, and on her hands. How do you respond?

Scene 4:

You are the custodian on duty the day that Justine becomes ill in class. Vomit is on the carpet, on the desk, and on a couple of textbooks. What will you need?

Reflection

As teachers, nurses, aides, custodians, etc., we all have “war stories” to share. What kinds of bloodborne encounters can you recall from your work experience? How did you respond? Given what you’ve learned in this training module, is there anything you think you should have done differently?