Instructional Design

Many years ago, I was involved with a project to upgrade the heating and air-conditioning systems in our older schools. The school did not have air conditioning and was heated by an old boiler system. The stakeholders decided that they would like to move toward heat pumps and condensing units. In addition to this they made the decision to replace windows with more efficient ones that were inoperable. New thermostats would be installed and controlled by a computer operated climate control software system.

The stakeholders consisted of the Director of Maintenance, the school board members, the Superintendent, and the Principal. The project was designed by an architect with the mechanical engineer designing and specifying the HVAC units necessary to serve the size of the facility. Looking back, it is easy to identify the stakeholder who was not consulted and who would be the source of the scope creep.

The project was completed over the summer and remained on schedule so the facility would be prepared for the new school year. It was obvious during the first week that changes would need to be made. Many of the teachers were angry that they could no longer open their windows and there were many complaints that they were not able to control their heaters either. You see the administration had made the decision to secure windows and thermostats as a means of controlling utility costs. However, the teacher’s union had not been involved or aware of the changes that would be occurring. “Project managers need to identify, understand, and engage each project’s diverse audience and stakeholders in order to lead everyone toward a successful project completion.” (Portny et al., 2008).

A meeting was held to discuss the issues and come to resolution. The windows had already been replaced and it would be too costly to change them out. However, a compromise was made where the teachers were given a 4 degree variance on the thermostat, although it still also be controlled by the computer control system. There would of course be an additional cost for the HVAC company to reprogram the thermostats. The work would need to be performed around the school schedule which would mean additional labor costs for weekends and evenings. The Director of Maintenance had insisted on contingency funds being set aside for the project and they were sufficient to cover the additional costs.

The scope creep could have been prevented.  According to our textbook, “Getting the right people on board the project team and aligning the right project stakeholders provide critical resources and support during the course of the project.” (Portny et al., 2008, p. 108). It was a valuable lesson in project management.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Project management concerns: ‘Scope creep’ [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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.

There are many tools and tips on project estimation in blogs and articles. These are especially helpful to novice project managers who are looking for a place to begin.

The Dark Art of Project Estimation by Brett Harned (https://www.teamgantt.com/guide-to-project-management/how-to-estimate-projects) provides a step by step guide to developing an estimate for a project. It covers the following 8 steps:

• Understand your team’s expertise & job responsibilities
• Become the go-to expert of your company’s project process
• Broaden your PM skill set
• Study estimation history
• Ask more of the right questions
• Apply a work breakdown structure
• Estimating projects with TeamGantt
• Get to planning and estimation

It includes information on estimating projects with TeamGantt which is an inexpensive cloud based, collaborative tool for project management.

12 TIPS FOR ACCURATE PROJECT ESTIMATING by Adele Sommers (https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/12-tips-for-accurate-project-estimating.php) has tips for managing your budget throughout the project. It also provides planning tips to assist the project in staying on track and on budget.

Capterra (https://www.capterra.com/sem-compare/project-management-software?headline=Project%20Management%20Software&gclid

provides a list of the different project management software packages and their product features. It can be very time consuming to research every software package that is available. This assists you in determining if the product has the feature you need to assist you in management.

References

Harned, B. (n.d.). The Dark Art of Project Estimation. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.teamgantt.com/guide-to-project-management/how-to-estimate-projects

Project Management Software. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.capterra.com/sem-compare/project-management-software?headline=Project Management

Sommers, A. (n.d.). 12 Tips for Accurate Project Estimating. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/12-tips-for-accurate-project-estimating.php

While working on my project schedule and budget, I researched tools to assist me in estimating and scheduling the work. Elearningindustry.com is a reference that has provided me information on all aspects of instructional design.

https://elearningindustry.com/5-important-factors-for-estimating-an-elearning-course-development-time

Elearningindustry.com linked me to a site that has estimation criteria that can be utilized when developing a project budget.

https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/Learning-Circuits/Learning-Circuits-Archives/2009/08/Time-to-Develop-One-Hour-of-Training?

When communicating in the workplace it is important to consider the process by which your message will be received and understood correctly. Email, voicemail and face to face communication all have their place, but the communicator must remember the benefits and limitations of each one. During a project, it is critical that messages are received and understood in a timely manner. The project manager will develop and review the communication plan during the initial project meeting where the guidelines for communication will be agreed upon.

EMAIL

Email has its advantages when on the go. It is convenient, fast and allows the project manager to document the information that has been transmitted. However, when using email to communicate in the workplace it is critical to remember that the receiver is only reading your words. which is 7% of the message. You must choose your words carefully to ensure the message is not misunderstood. If there is any question about how your message will be received you should either forego the email for a phone call or do both to reinforce the tone of the message.

VOICEMAIL

Voicemail also has its place in a communication plan. It is convenient and can be completed while on the go. However, since the information cannot be easily reviewed messages cannot contain project details but instead should be a way of conveying basic information. By using voicemail to convey the same message as email you are providing them with the words (which is 7% of communication) and the vocal qualities of communication (which is another 38%). The pitch, volume, rate of speech and vocal quality all provide clues to how a message should be perceived by the receiver.

FACE to FACE

By communicating in a face to face manner you can ensure that 100% of your intended message is being communicated. As much as 55% of communication is gestures, body language, posture and facial expressions. The disadvantages of course are that it is time consuming to meet with each person every time you have a question or need to convey project information. However, if it is a critical discussion it is important to remember that it would benefit the project to communicate in this manner.

CONCLUSION

Communication is critical to the success of all projects and can prevent unnecessary rework and changes to the project. It is important that the project manager be able to effectively communicate with other stakeholders and SMEs. In addition to this the project manager may find that certain individuals require face to face communication because they prefer it or if their perception of his emails or voicemails are misunderstood. By carefully choosing the form of communication to use and being aware of the limitations of each, the project manager should be able to accurately communicate the intended message.

Reference

 [Author removed at request of original publisher]. (2016, September 29). Communication in the Real World: An Introduction to Communication Studies. Retrieved November 16, 2017, from http://open.lib.umn.edu/communication/chapter/4-2-types-of-nonverbal-communication/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

Laureate Media (no date) Educ-6145. Available at: http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html.

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.

Several years ago, our local school district passed a bond to build a new high school. Prior to campaigning for the bond our architect had designed the project after consulting with a few of the driver stakeholders including the school board, the superintendent, the administrator who would be taking responsibility for the facility, the IT administrator and a few select teachers in each department. The team believed that they had involved the necessary individuals during the fact-finding portion of the project. “Getting the right people on board the project team and aligning the right project stakeholders provide critical resources and support during the course of the project” (Portny et al., 2008, p. 108).

A pre-construction meeting was held and construction on the project began on-time. It wasn’t long before the project began to have issues, mainly due to the design and requests for change orders. The original design was for 16 unassigned classrooms and 4 teacher workrooms in the main wing. These classrooms would be flexible and available for whatever subject was needed at the time. During the design process, the stakeholders who were consulted were very excited about the flexible classrooms and maximum use of the square footage. However, this would also mean that the teachers would not be able to develop their own classroom environment as they would be sharing with other teachers. Suddenly the teachers’ association became involved in the matter and insisted that changes be made to the design. “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!” (Greer, 2010, p. 11). The project had already been set in motion with all the classrooms designed in this manner, so it was unable to be changed. Changes to the work rooms were made to make them more functional and inviting to the teachers while continuing with the original classroom design.

The project was severely over-budget due to unanticipated problems with the irrigation district since the project interfered with their weir. The stakeholders were forced to identify areas where costs could be cut. The design called for two gymnasiums, however the budget did not afford for both to be built. The design called for an extended parking lot that had to be reduced. The completed project was greatly reduced from the original conception.

The building was built 20 years ago and the classrooms have not been used as designed at any time. Each classroom is occupied by one teacher and empty during planning periods during the day. The maximum use of the square footage was lost, resulting in the loss of classrooms needed for additional subjects offered in high school. In addition to this, the loss of the competition gym resulted in the inability to host high school sporting events. The school board was forced to make a decision and chose to designate the new facility as a junior high. Since that time the school district has run a bond every few years in an attempt to gather funding to expand the facility to make it a high school. The public is very resistant to this idea as they believe they were lied to because it was “supposed to be a high school”.

“It’s important for project managers and team members to take stock at the end of a project and develop a list of lessons learned so that they don’t repeat their mistakes in the next project” (Greer, 2010, p. 43). By conducting a project post-mortem, it is obvious that many of the errors occurred in the initial phase of the project. The fact-finding process and design did not include many of the main players who could have expressed concern over the classroom design. The irrigation district was not contacted prior to construction either and contingency funds were not adequate to cover this unexpected expense. “Before planning projects, project managers need to clearly define several aspects of projects, including project needs, strategy, and objectives. Limitations and needs act as boundaries for projects, while unknowns need to be anticipated, evaluated, and planned for” Portny et al., 2008. p. 30). In addition to this the budget was not developed in a manner to cover unexpected expenditures. Ultimately, it all comes down to communication and the need to be very diligent in developing a well-rounded fact-finding committee. In doing so, you could experience project success rather than project failure.

References
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

Pinegar, B. (2009) Post-Mortem vs. After action review |. Available at: http://brettpinegar.com/post-mortem-vs-after-action-review/

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.

Project Management Institute (2000) A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). 3rd edn. United States: Project Management Institute.

The future of distance education is to continue to push the limits. “For instructional design and technology, this is “stand and deliver” time. Professionals in the field are finally getting their chance to make good on the visions of learning transformed by technology (Moller, Foshay, Huett and Coleman).” As Dr. Seigel explained, the field of distance learning is only limited by the technology to further improve communication. As communication technology continues to develop so will the distance learning world.

MOOCs
In the next 5-10 years part of the evolution will be a movement toward the MOOCS (Massive Open Online Course). “The evolution of MOOCs-as-processes and MOOCs-in-the-large—coupled with advances in social media tools and virtual/physical meetup groups—will help MOOC faculty and staff communicate with students in ways similar in quality and quantity to those found in large lecture courses at many universities (Dasarathy et al., 2014).” In a MOOC, the course information is accessible and free to all and therefore promotes collaboration among a variety of people world-wide. In this type of setting the learner will have full-control over their education and the direction they would like to go with it. “Learners will create their own learning agendas, which reflect their own career, personal and lifelong learning goals (Hannay and Newvine, 2006).” If you look further to 10 to 20 years I believe that very few individuals will be able to afford or attend a traditional university. The online option will be well-respected and utilized more readily as students can continue to work and attend school around their schedule. It may be that tuition is much lower on the web due to MOOCs.

In Business
The distance learning market for business will continue to grow as well. The ability to conduct training and meetings in an online fashion can save the employer money by reducing down-time in the work setting. The need for travel will be reduced as well because with the aid of technology we can all be in the same classroom. In addition to this the use of MOOCs might reduce this cost even further. Whatever the challenge is instructional designers will continue to attack it. “To keep up with the demand for rigorous and quality online learning experiences, instructional designers benefit from a variety of materials, communities, and support systems (Intentional Futures, LLC, 2016).”

“The challenge for instructional design professionals is to not only evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise (Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J., 2008).” Instructional designers will need to keep up with the technology and continue to envision the future. To imagine and appreciate innovation within the field. Ultimately it will be our responsibility to maintain the focus on the providing quality education and training products in this changing world.

Best Practices-sm0ba1

Distance learning continues to become more popular and is respect among employers. The challenge is to provide the same learning experience at a distance as a student would receive in a classroom. The ID is tasked with developing training that is accessible and accommodates all learners. Per our Laureate video this week, “Distance Education can be defined as formal education in which the learning group (teachers, students, resources) are separated by distance and sometimes, by time”. (Laureate, n.d.). This definition is a broad definition that reminded me of several experiences I have had with distance learning throughout my life.

My earliest memory of distance education occurred when my grandmother, who had a fifth-grade education, participated in correspondence courses to improve her writing and vocabulary skills. She was very self-conscious and embarrassed that she had not completed school, so this provided her with a confidential way to continue her education. Several years later, while working on my undergraduate degree, I also took a few correspondence courses. The classes were presented on a cd and had accompanying coursework and test materials that I mailed in. These classes were convenient because I could complete them at my own pace, but without feedback or classroom interaction I don’t feel that I benefited from them.

About 5 years ago, my son had some medical problems that led us to enroll him in online public school. I was amazed by the improvement in technology and his ability to interact in a classroom with other students by using microphones and video. The negative aspect of our experience was that we were not provided with a comprehensive orientation in the beginning of the school year and we had to work to catch up on some of the requirements. I was shocked by the number of students in the online public school program which is growing at a surprising rate.

More recently I have had experiences with blackboard based education which provided a means for me to complete my undergraduate degree and now my master’s degree. It also can utilize a variety of modes of instruction. Interaction between students and instructors is the most difficult aspect to overcome in distance learning. The learning that occurs during this process is significant and necessary. Discussions are used to simulate this process, but still are not the same as an in-class discussion.

Distance education involves communication between instructor and student who are in separate locations. The advantage to online learning is that is allows almost immediate communication between students and instructor. The online discussion provides a means by which each student can communicate their thoughts and provide feedback for other students. Old fashioned correspondence courses and video instruction provide one way communication where the student didn’t have contact with the instructor. “Effective teaching and learning at a distance depends upon the nature of an interaction and how interaction is facilitated through a technological medium.” (Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2010).

For me, distance learning is the ability to communicate and participate in a learning experience without regard to time or place. Distance education has changed significantly over the last twenty years and I expect that the technology will continue to do so. I believe that instructional design techniques will continue to progress and ensure that distance learning is accessible and beneficial to all learners. “The challenge for ID professionals is not only to evolve the field, but also to assure that the products of sound professional design practice lead the e-learning enterprise.” (Moller, Foshay and Huett, p. 66) As an instructional designer I hope to address the issues and provide access and adequate training materials for all.

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). TechTrends, 52(5), 636 7.

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Distance education: The next generation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

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), 7075.

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.

Moore, M., & Kearsley, G. (2005). Distance education: A systems view. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.

Rockinson-Szapkiw, A. (2010) Module 1: An overview of distance education. Available at: http://amandaszapkiw.com/elearning/principles-of-design/module-1/Module1_Instructional_Unit_Notes.pdf (Accessed: 30 June 2016).

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education

I am back at it again. I hope you will enjoy my upcoming posts!

At the beginning of our Learning Theories and Instruction class we were asked to describe what kind of learner we are and the learning theory that best suits us. I had been told that I was a very visual learner and I knew that the classes in which I had exceled presented the material in a variety of ways. I chose Robert Gagne’s Events of Instruction as a example of the behavioral theory that I thought would be appropriate for me in the classroom. However, having covered the behaviorist theory, cognitive theory, constructivist theory, social learning theory and connectivism I feel that I can accurately answer the question. 

All the learning theories are important in my education. They are represented in the variety of activities that have allowed me to learn the information necessary for my career. The theories crossover and when applied together provide an ideal learning environment. As an adult learner, it is my responsibility to ensure that I am getting what I need to be successful. I feel that much of my success has been through the utilization of elaboration, comprehension monitoring and mnemonics when necessary. However, as an instructional designer it will be important to know the learning theories and how best to design the program for the information being taught.

When I first attended college, computers were just being implemented on campus. At that time, I heard about the world-wide web and couldn’t fathom the amount of information that would soon be available. The web continues to grow and so does the abundance of information with the most current information usually found on the web. I use it in my day to day life to remain current on education, my social relationships and information necessary for my work. As an instructional designer, it will also be important to keep current on technology and the different modes of delivery of information.