Elevator Speech on Training

We had to write a 90 second "Elevator Speech" in class to persuade someone to see the importance of training in any organization. This is my speech:

My Elevator Speech 


I can understand where you are coming from when you say that you feel that training is unnecessary, a lot of people feel the way you do. And with the economy the way it is right now it can really seem unneeded. But actually there are big changes happening all over because of new technologies, rapid development of knowledge, globalization and e-commerce (Noe, 2010). Training prepares employees for these changes and without it there will be a performance gap in any organization. In this competitive job market workers want to stay relevant and training not only makes them equipped, but it makes them feel appreciated. 

When asked more than a third of employees said they "would like proper training for new duties and responsibilities" (Bradley, 2010).  

Training does not just add much needed skills and knowledge to your workforce it also stimulates employee engagement. This is important because "disengaged employees influence the overall health of an organization" (Bradley, 2010). It is estimated that in the near future 85% of the jobs in this country will require extensive use of knowledge. So employees will be required to understand the development systems of their product or service, be able to share this knowledge, and use it to tailor their organization's offerings to meet individual customer's needs (Noe, 2010). You cannot possibly do this without training. So basically, training should be viewed as a mandatory element of every company as opposed to a luxury. 

References

Bradley, A. (2010). Shifting away from an employer’s market. Training and Development, 64(7), 16–17. 

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Scope Creep

When I was given the assignment to discuss a time when a project I was working on fell to the pressures of scope creep I just stared at the screen and felt my frustrations rise. My limited exposure to this field was once again proving to make my assignments far more difficult than need be. So I offer the caveat that if you are purusing this blog to gain a wealth of knowledge about this problem I will not guarantee that this is the spot for you. But I will do my best in the following lines to offer you some real life perspective on scope creep...

Let me start by explaining that scope creep is the "natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve the project's output as the project progresses" (Portny, 2008).

I am at heart a minimalist. I like to keep things neat, clean, simple and yet beautiful. When I was early in my teaching career I took on the challenge of putting together a prom on a shoestring budget in the rundown gymnasium of a nonpublic special education school. 

The scope creep came from me. As I worked on the project I was flooded with more and more ideas that would make the prom even better. I was constantly thinking about the undeniable fact that this would be the pinnacle of social situations for many of the kids. With all of my changes I also adopted "an informal process of handling requests for change" (Portny, 2008). What I could have used aside from a calming dose of reality was a change control system, which is a "well controlled, formal process whereby changes can be introduces and accomplished with as little distress as possible" (Portny, 2008).

Now don't get me wrong, the prom was a huge success. The Secret Garden theme brought tears to the eyes of several parents.  But by the end of the process I was completely burnt out because I had to take on the majority of the changes on my own. By taking a few simple steps a lot of the stress and strain of those couple of months could have been far less stressful. 

Resources

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.

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

This week I was assigned the task of finding some sites that would offer help in Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources for an instructional design project. "Various tools and strategies can help project managers improve the accuracy of budget estimates," (Portny, 2008), and I found a few that have already started to help me.  I can honestly say that this project management thing is not (yet) my strong suit. So I was eager to find some sites that could actually help me gain a better understanding while actually becoming a resource I could have for future endeavors. 


The first site I found, Project Management Tips, was a great starting point because it gave me some real understanding. With its brief synopsis of project management and very informative links (located at the bottom) I was able to see a full picture of the processes and figure out where my project time and money would go. The site offered simple and helpful statements  like: "In order to run the project you first need to know how long things take, how much they will cost, and what kind of resources will be required. The only way you can get this data is by doing good estimates. Without good estimates you really have no way of knowing where you are at any point in the project, and you have no way of predicting how much the project will cost or how long it is going to take to do it" 


Another great site was the Life By Design blog post, Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources in Instructional Design. This blog offers links to sites that will do the math for calculating project costs. It also has some formulas for calculating additional project expenses and figuring out how much time different projects, or portions of a project, will take. Deborah, the author, gives step by step understanding of the different links on the page. The blog is a great resource for all things in project management and instructional design. She also blogs about scope creep, communication and other topics I have been exposed to in this course. 


If you can ignore the very busy ads, and other visuals on my final choice, Big Dog and Little Dog Site, you will see that this site is laced with all types of formulas and equations for finding out costs, time estimations and a plethora of other details for managing instructional design projects. The site has sections on budgeting, training costs, estimating development hours, and a host of other topics. 


I am not saying that these are the best sites out there for an instructional design professional. But as the self proclaimed novice that I am, these 3 sites offer me a deeper understanding of the profession. "Whatever the chosen method, being able to accurately estimate costs is a critical project manager responsibility" (Portny, 2008). Good luck!!!


References 
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. 

http://pmtips.net/estimating-project-effort-cost/

http://instructionaldesignvillage.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/estimating-costs-and-allocating-resources-in-instructional-design/

http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/hrd/costs.html 

Communicating Effectively

My textbook states that communication is "sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner" (Portny, 2008). So the assignment this week was to look at the same message being presented in three different way; email, voicemail and in person. Of course without even looking at the presentation I knew that face-to-face was going to be the best answer. After reading a bunch of different articles this week that talked about communication, face-to-face with a follow up email is the safest bet. But this little module really sent the message home!

The site took the same message and gave it to you in an email, voicemail and with a video of someone saying it right to you. When I first read the email it started off with a nice tone checking to see if the recipient was still in a meeting and quickly shifted gears to an aggressive manner with full disregard to the well being of the recipient. (This is why I always tell people to be careful what you text, because tone is very hard to read).
The voicemail sounded much more pleasant than the email read. But it still came across a little hard towards the end. But the major difference was that the last line of the voicemail said "I really appreciate your help." Now when I read the 9 line email I didn't even notice this last sentence, and looking back it had its own line and everything. I think I was too frustrated by reading the intense message that I didn't even read the final line, it just looked like a closing remark. It made me reflect on all the times I have written a hard to swallow message and ended with a kind remark to soften the blow, and wonder how many people actually read the last line.
I was so blown away by my new discovery with the voicemail I felt there could not possibly be that big of a difference with the in person message. Wrong again! People's mannerism speak volumes, many more volumes than their words or tone of voice. After listening to the woman speak the lines I have just read and heard mere second before, I have a completely different feeling about the message. Her stance, smile and casual eye contact made all the difference in the world.  It didn't feel aggressive at all, in fact had I really been the fictitious recipient I would have happily finished up my portion of the project.

Communication is not just words, it is also spirit and attitude, tonality and body language, timing and consideration of the personality of the recipient (Stolovitch, n.d.). The importance of these different elements of communication were definitely displayed in this exercise. This 5 minute module really brought the true value of communication to light. In a similar situation I would have quickly shot out an email to get my person back on task and not thought for a minute to communicate my needs in a different way. But I now know that a little leg work and a smile can go a much longer way.

References

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. Stolovitch, Harold. (n.d.). Communicating with Stakeholders. Retrieved on September 21, 2011 at http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5693702&Survey=1&47=7412221&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1Co

Project Post Mortem

I was asked this week to discuss a past project that I was a part of that failed or did not reach the expected outcomes. It took me a while to think of an example, and as I type these words I am silently praying for a better example than the one I am most likely about to give. But as the beginning of the school year, with so many changes, the brain can only do so much. So my example will have to be as follows.

Last year I went to a training on a website that teachers in my city were able to find their testing statistics and scores. At the actual training I learned that the site could generate worksheets, additional tests and other items based on individual scores. I was very interested in the program and could see how it could benefit our school (the lowest in the district) and teachers in raising test scores. After talking with the principal (whom I has a less than desirable relationship with) I was given one week to develop a training to present to the staff.

With this limited timeline to develop a training about a product I was excited about but had only had 2 hours of training on and limited usage, I was frantic to try and piece something together. My presentation ended up being a simple power point that I hardly used because of the uncomfortable space and slow computer that I was given for my trainings. I was also only given 25 minutes to share this information with each grade level, so that students were not left for long periods of time with a substitute. "Because employees' training time causes managers to be shorthanded during the training period, it is important that the project team focus on what employees need to know versus what would be nice to know. So the training ended up focusing on the basics of the program instead of the "bells and whistles" that set it apart from other data driven websites.

Because I was so intrigued by the massive abilities of the program I was able to convey this excitement in the trainings. Teachers were interested in using the program to push their test scores and use the offerings as supplements to their lessons. I ended up having private lessons with those teachers who were really interested in the additional aspects of the program so they could fully understand how to work the site.
I really believe that if I had been given more than a week to plan and more than 25 minutes to share the training would have been more of a success. Even with the limitations several teachers were able to use the program to help them move their students academically.

References
Murphy, C. (1994). Utilizing project management techniques in the design of instructional materials. Performance & Instruction, 33(3), 9–11.

The future of Distance Learning

As my course in Distance Learning draws to a close I am asked to reflect on the future of this technology based education option and my role in the improvement of the perception of it and the actual field itself. When I stop and think about the future of distance learning I wonder if I will have children, and their role in the future that I will be helping to create. I see a growing acceptance of the idea of online education. I think in the next 5-10 years education over the internet will finally be a common option that is not even looked at as an alternative to traditional face-to-face studies, but just a general offering that is selected or passed up like you would a professor you do or do not like. Because technology is moving and growing at such a rapid rate, the time it takes for people to become comfortable with a new creating based on these advances is shortened ever so slightly with each new product.

In 10-20 years I cannot even imagine what distance learning will look like. The world is a global playground to any new technology. Students may have a simulation option in the future where their comments are collected and transmitted to one another in a virtual classroom that is tapped into with goggles and headphones. Synchronous chats may then look like actual classroom chats with avatars or holographic images of classmates and teachers. I could let my imagination continue to run rampant, but I am simply saying that the picture of distance learning in the future will be painted with an array of colors we have yet to see or even envision.

As a distance learner all any of us will have to do to generate and maintain a positive perception of online education is to ensure that what we are creating is quality. We have to always remember that the technology is not the reason for the course we create, but merely a conduit for the information to flow through. As the cyber world grows more intricate and the contributions become more and more interesting, we must keep a level head and not let the technology be what drives our courses. People will continue to base their decisions of school selection on things like price, name, accreditation, and so on, but how the school uses technology will soon become a regular on that list. If the online options that we create produce high quality students then the public will see that and our products will be what fuels the positive perception of online learning.

AS an instructional designer I will always want more for and from the students that my course designs will touch. For this to happen I will have to stay aware of the lasts technologies, so that when developing a class I can focus on how to convey the information and not be bogged down with trying to learn a new program while in the development stages. I will also continue to take classes myself to be familiar with the latest findings in learning theories, the new minds of future generations and the advancements of my field. By keeping my knowledge base current as well as my skill set I will be a viable resource in the future of distance education.

Regardless of how individuals feel about online learning, it has thus far withstood the test of time. Even though this window of time has been shortened by the speed of the evolution of technology, it has still withstood all of its tests. So in my eyes distance education is here to stay, now it may look completely different in the next few decades, but what we commonly refer to right now as “distance learning” looks nothing like the correspondences courses of yesteryear. So with that said, I see I bright future for this educational option, which in turn offers a bright future for me as well. 

Best Practices Assignment

So this week I was supposed to create a best practices document for a trainer that decided to make his face to face class a blended class. In my mind this was a one page resource to keep him focused on the transition. I also envisioned it being used in a informational packet (with a few tweaks).  Some of the information that I was required to embed into this document is as follows:
- pre-planning strategies
- what can be enhanced by the distance learning format
- how does the trainers role change in a distance learning environment
- what steps can he take to encourage the trainees to communicate online

Attached you will find the actual document. feel free to look over it and let me know how you feel about it!!

Best Practices Document