Project Wishes

     A few years ago, I came up with an idea to do something special at my school. I was teaching second grade at a school in Riverside, California and we were noted for being a large elementary school (1,100 students) but low income levels and low test scores. At the time, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Three Wishes” were television programs that were popular. After watching these shows, my idea was to somehow grant wishes to as many students and staff members as possible. The challenge was…well, everything! No one had done anything like this before and there was no money for a project like this either.

     My first step was to talk to my principal. She in essence was the main stakeholder that I needed full support and approval from. I put together an audio “commercial” that introduced the program with music, sound effects and a voice over. I also created “Wish Papers” that the students and staff could write down their wishes. Then I met with my principal, described the project, showed her the “wish” papers and played the commercial. She immediately had buy in and was ready to support and approve the project.
     The next step was to inform and invite the school staff to be part of this project. The principal and I presented the idea at a staff meeting and it was not well received. Many had questions and concerns, but mostly doubts. They thought the project would fail and very few were willing to help us carry out this project, but they all agreed to pass out the wish papers to their students. They were to give the students the wish paper and tell them to write down anything they wished for and not to limit their wishes.

     The students and staff wrote down their wishes and I collected them all in these pre-made envelopes that I put together for each class. Once I collected the envelopes, I went through and read all the wishes. The wishes ranged from simple items such as a toothbrush to the extremes such as a new roof or new car as well as requests for new siblings and even a husband for a mom!
     Since there was no budget for this project I decided to start the wish granting with my own money. I purchased some of the easier requests and started granting them. Slowly word was getting out and more wishes started to get granted. Then our principal talked to a local newspaper reporter and she came and did a story on us. From the moment the story hit the paper the school was inundated with calls and visits from people all over the city. In the end, we granted around 400 actual wishes, were given over $2,000 in cash and were able to give every student some kind of gift. There are so many amazing stories that happened during that school year and how individuals, offices and even another school participated in this project.
     In retrospect, there were parts to this project that were successful and parts that could have been improved. In essence, I was the Program Manager and my principal was the client and key stakeholder. Identifying her as the key supporter and stakeholder was important to this project. My first meeting with her we actually created an “oral” Statement of Work. We discussed the “Purpose, Objectives, Constraints and Assumptions” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton, 2008, p. 43) of the Statement of Work. We should have written it down and signed off on it to make it official, but this project was such uncharted territory and not expected to be so successful that we did not think to do that.
     As the PM, I did fulfill many of the responsibilities of that role. According to the video, “Project Kickoff” (Walden University, 2010), Dr. Stolovich listed nine PM responsibilities. As the PM, I did “Launch the project, managed all the pieces, identified and engaged the stakeholders, allocated the resources and closed out the project.” (2010) However, at one point and for a few months, our principal decided to take on the role as PM and I was unable to “manage the activities” or “plan and execute follow up support” (2010) for some of the wishes. In time, our principal gave back the PM responsibilities to me which is why I was able to close the project, but many of the smaller details and activities were overlooked and not handled properly. It was during this time that my principal even offended a local office group that was heavily supporting our project. If I was taking care of the PM duties at that time, this would have been avoided.
     According to the article, “The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects!” (Greer, 2010) it lists steps to managing a project. The first step, “Define the project concept, then get support and approval” (Greer, 2010) was accomplished. The second step, “Get your team together and start the project” (Greer, 2010) was also met, even though the “team” was really only principal and myself at first. This is where we should have improved the success of the project. We should have gotten more support from other staff members at the very start of the project. As the project gained momentum, the office staff and some of the teachers jumped in to help, but we should have gotten more involved at the beginning. The third step, “Figure out exactly what the finished work products will be” (Greer, 2010) could have been better. We really had no idea where this project would lead us or even if it would grant any wishes, so we did not plan out what we wanted the finished project to look like.
     In the end, hundreds of students were granted their wish, an elementary school was the center of incredible blessings, and the project was not only successful but took on a life of its own. Years later I still run into families and other staff members that remind me of how amazing that year turned out to be.

 References

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

Welcome... Again

As the song goes... we are back in the saddle again! After a whole week off, we are galloping off together on another adventure! Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to reading your comments and reading your posts! See you all on the trails this next 8 weeks!!
Dean

Reflection: Bridging the Gap

In the video “Future of Distance Education,” (2010) Dr. George Siemens stated that we need to “bridge the gap of comfort,” when it comes to online learning. That is the key to gaining more acceptance and participation to all distance learning. People know distance learning exists. They know that people use it. They also know it is different than what they grew up with in terms of a learning environment. However, they don’t always know what it is really like even if they took an online course within the past five years. Distance learning has changed, improved and is bridging that gap of comfort.

There are several factors that will encourage bridging the gap of comfort for the future of distance learning in the next 5 – 10 years and beyond. According to the video, “Distance Education: The Next Generation,” (2010) Dr. Simonson stated that “Today, distance education is widely adopted and approaching critical mass in society.” (2010) In addition to wide spread acceptance and use today, Simonson also believes that, “If we look at past patterns in educational technology, we can expect exponential growth of distance educational schools.” (2010) In addition, there is the emergence of other distance learning opportunities such as virtual schools. Although there is actual learning and teaching occurring in these formats, the term generally refers to an online school for students in the K-12 range. These schools have the benefit of being available to students as long as they have a current computer and internet access. The phase “Any time, any place, any path, any pace,” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009, p.36) from the Florida Virtual School sums up the teaching and learning philosophy of most virtual schools. It is a viable alternative to an in-class school for students with disabilities, students in rural areas or ones that have not been allowed to remain in regular classrooms for behavior issues. As more and more people enroll in these virtual schools, and other distance learning, there will be even more people who are willing to try a similar learning experience. If the economy continues to struggle, then I can foresee even more academic institutes and corporations turning to distance learning to offset the costs of training. The ease of use and costs will continue to shape the quality, quantity and perceptions of distance learning in the coming decade and beyond.

The saying “Success breeds success” is probably the best way to be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning. When others I meet ask where I got my master’s degree, I will be able to say that not only was it through Walden University, but it was an entirely online program. Already I have made connections with others who have done the same and have discussed the program with curious friends and family. They have heard about my experiences and the benefits, and challenges, of a distance learning program. When people hear about the success I have had with earning a master’s degree online, they may not only be interested, but also may commit to a similar program and thus closing the gap of comfort even more.

Secondly, success can improve society’s perception with the incorporation of a distance learning experience within my own class. If I added a distance learning experience along with a regular face-to-face education, then, not only will the students be more comfortable, but so will my colleagues and parents of my students. By getting the students at a young age to become comfortable using a blended online program they will be more open and likely to commit to other distance learning environments either at the high school, college level or even in the corporate world.

There are several ways I can be a positive force for the continuous improvement for distance learning. One way is through the aforementioned example by having a blended program within my own classroom. Secondly, I can continue to use and promote new technologies. My school district is already making the transition from regular text books to providing students with a mini-laptop with all the textbooks on the computer. This is not directly related to distance learning, but it is another use of technology in which students can become more comfortable using which would help when or if the students does indeed take an online course. Third, I could also stay up-to date with the current instructional design programs and research. This will help me to know how to encourage and help others when they enter a distance learning environment.


As with all new concepts or ideas, it takes time for people to become comfortable with its challenges and benefits. My role with all of it is to be the next link in that bridge that closes that gap between those whose level of comfort can be increased by my encouragement and success.

References
Video Program: “Distance Education: The Next Generation” (2010), Walden University

Video Program: “The Future of Distance Education”( 2010), Walden University

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

Best Practice Guide for Distance Education Trainers

Going from a face to face learning environment to a distance learning environment is challenging but very achievable. Keeping in mind what the objectives are, along with the unique aspects of being a distance learner will help the transition of converting from one program to the other. There are many best practices that will help the trainer prepare and implement the conversion of a face to face learning environment to distance learning one.

Click on the link to the Best Practices Guides

https://acrobat.com/app.html#d=rMA-9EDVosERbtzXQIBgeQ

Open Source

Open Yale Courses - http://oyc.yale.edu/

This website is an example of Open Source software that can be used by anyone just for the sake of learning, for free.  This fairly new concept is free in use but there are costs involved with developing and maintain these courses. In the case of Open Yale course, Yale University covers the expenses and posts the course and the material that corresponds with each course. This site offers course in all fields of study and multiple options for each field.

Since my field of interest and undergrad degree is in history, I concentrated my efforts in this subject area.  Each of the courses offer an overview of the class, information about the professor, a syllabus, necessary downloads, a list of class sessions and a survey. These elements generally align with the critical components for a successful learning system, which are “the learners, the content, the method and materials, and the environment, including the technology.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Albright, 2009, p. 127) With the addition of the survey, it also offers an opportunity for evaluation which is also “Another critical part of the (distance learning) process.” (Simonson, et al, 2009, p. 127) These course offer video, audio and lecture transcripts for the learners to absorb the material in various ways that would suit their preferred learning style. This site takes advantage of lectures that were given to a live audience or class and uses that as the basis for the online materials. The content is quality university level with qualified professors giving the lectures. It also uses the most common software to allow the students to view or hear the lectures.

Since these courses do offer those components, it does appear to be pre-planned and designed for distance learning in several ways. Even though the lectures were given to a face to face audience, a distance learner could still get the information from the various sources this site provides. The class sessions are methodically planned out in a logical manner and easy for the distance learner to stay with the natural progression of the course as well as backtrack or advance to other class sessions. The technology used to provide the learners with the lectures is also distance learner friendly since they use the most common formats that most computers can use.

These courses only follow some of the recommendations for online learners.  In the book, Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education, Simonson provides a list of 12 “golden rules” to designing and developing a quality distance learning environment. (Simonson, et al, 2009, p. 147.) Some of the rules such as, “Each medium has its own aesthetic” and “Make all four media available to teachers and learners,” are indeed used. (Simonson, et al, 2009, p. 147) However other rules such as “Good teaching matters,” “Interaction is essential,” and “Student numbers are critical,” are not closely followed.

From the time I spent in this site, I could not find any genuine interaction with the other students as well as the instructor. Some of these class sessions were done many years ago, so these classes are truly for those who just want to learn the material without being actively involved with the class and have a collective learning experience.  There are no learning activities to participate in and the required assignments do not have a place like a “drop box” to submit the student’s work. If someone is just getting some quality information about a certain topic in any field of study without the added requirements of a true distance education, then this specific Open Source site provides that type of experience as and it is easy to use.

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

Blog Entry dated 3/13/2011 6:12 PM

Interactive Tours – Week 3 Application

Example: A high school history teacher, located on the west coast of the United States, wants to showcase to her students new exhibits being held at two prominent New York City museums. The teacher wants her students to take a "tour" of the museums and be able to interact with the museum curators, as well as see the art work on display. Afterward, the teacher would like to choose two pieces of artwork from each exhibit and have the students participate in a group critique of the individual work of art. As a novice of distance learning and distance learning technologies, the teacher turned to the school district’s instructional designer for assistance. In the role of the instructional designer, what distance learning technologies would you suggest the teacher use to provide the best learning experience for her students?

In this scenario, there are many options for the high school teacher. In the multimedia presentation, "The Technology of Distance Education" (2010), it recommends using media sharing sites. These are ‘Web sites that facilitate the sharing of content and artifacts such as text, pictures, videos, presentations and audio files.” (2010) There are several of these sites such as Flickr and YouTube, but there is also one called Microsoft Photosynth. This allows the user to upload a series of images in a place like a museum and allow the viewer to scan the entire area and focus in on any particular spot, or in this case, artwork. Click on this link to see an example of how one museum in Orange County, California used it: http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=884a1845-e29e-4ef5-a4d0-13bdb9d97686.  This type of media website would solve the issue of letting the students see all the artwork in New York.

The second part of this scenario needs an online place to critique two specific art pieces and interact with the curator. The aforementioned multimedia presentation (2010) and the book Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Learning, state that through the use of Blogging, this format could be used for “student reflections about course content or reporting activities in a student teaching experience.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009, p.245) With a blog, the curator could post images of the two pieces of art, write their own thoughts or ask questions about the artwork and then the students could respond to the curator and/or the other students’ critiques. The following link from the Laguna Art Museum in California is an example of this format in use: http://lagunaartmuseum.org/blogs.

In addition to this format posting the specific artwork on a social network could be powerful as well. Using “social networking sites promote the development of online communities through posting of personal information, journals, photos…” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009, p.246) The most popular social network is Facebook, but there are others such as Hitwise and MySpace. The curator could set up a specific account just for the purpose of critiquing these two art pieces and communicate with the students about their critiques.

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

Multimedia Program: "The Technology of Distance Education"
This interactive multimedia introduces the advantages and disadvantages of using the technological innovations that have played a significant role in the evolution of distance learning including podcasts, discussion technologies, blogs, concept maps, and media sharing sites. Walden University (2010)

Distance Education - Week 1

Distance education is an ever evolving definition and field. Just like education in general, it evolves or changes because of those involved with the process. As the people involved and technology change, so does the notion of educating at a distance. The notion that there is a teacher/instructor and student/ learner remains in the equation. The notion that actual teaching and learning is occurring remains constant. The change is content, format, procedure, but educating and being educated continues. The change is also in when and where this education is happening. There cannot be any final definition of distance education, because education itself is in constant flux and being “distant” could mean as far as the computer next to yours.

With that in mind, how did distance education begin? We can research and identify the “origins” of modern day distance education, but the personal origins of distance education are more intriguing. In other words, think about the first time you learned from someone or something that was at a distance. Some of my students think that sitting at the back of the classroom is “distance education” and some of their parents agree. For myself, I can recall learning from two specific “distance” formats. One is through the mail. I remember getting letters from relatives that gave me information and I learned either something about the geography and weather of their area or some family history. I also remember being a pen pal with a woman in Venezuela when I was in fourth grade. We learned from each other about life in the other’s country. Truth be told, I am sure I learned more from her than she from me at that age. I also remember writing to some place and getting stamps for my stamp collection. With the stamps came information about the stamps. The letter correspondence was interactive, but the stamp collecting was not. Of course, there were no assessments to gauge my education; however, learning did occur.

The second of my early days of distance education was from television. True, most of the programs in those days were not designed to be “education” specific, but who among us did not learn from that glowing box? Some obvious avenues of learning happened from the news, but as a child, that bored me. However, on Saturday mornings, I learned from Tom Hatten! Who is Tom Hatten? He was the host of the “Adventures of Popeye” show. Granted, I was not learning about high society affairs or international diplomacy, but I looked forward every Saturday to learning about things about Popeye, the other characters and sometimes he would throw in some extra real academic facts for us to keep. This was distance education for me and many others. The best part was that we could write him with questions of our own if we so chose!

Fast forward to today and distance education is rapidly changing and becoming more sophisticated. One of the most recent definitions of distance education has four components. According to the book, Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Learning, the four components are it must “be institutionally-based, formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2009, p. 32) With the advent and access of the internet, distance education has become a valid and accepted method of education. The added benefit of the internet has been speed. Previous distance education took long periods of time to get the materials, interact with the instructors and to get the final assessments. Distance education today has the advancement of technology to aid its merit and accessibility. Therefore, distance education is no longer just a haphazard and sporadic means of learning through inconsistent and informal organizations, but a very specific and intentional formal method of communicating and interacting with materials, resources and people at a high rate of speed to produce a learning experience with the latest technological products.

The future of distance education is not so future. In the video, “Distance Education: The Next Generation,” Dr. Simonson states, “Today, distance education is widely adopted and approaching critical mass.” (2010) Distance education is being done through universities, high schools, and corporations. It is no longer just for getting a degree but used for training purposes. As the article, “The evolution of distance education: part1” (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, J., 2008) states, distance education has some economic advantages because they are “Letting the electrons do the traveling,” instead of the trainers or trainees. Distance education is not just accessible, but practical with economic benefits.

As more people and organizations see the benefits to distance education, there will be more evidence in the work place and academics. Although distance education will never completely remove a “bricks and mortar” classroom with a live instructor, it will become a viable option. In my field of education, even though there already is a “virtual school” for the K-12 grades, I foresee more and more students and parents using this avenue of instruction. This is a possible option for students on medical leave, behavioral issues that remove them from the school campus, those in rural areas and for those who choose a home school setting. As the budget cuts continue to loom, one possible solution is for an online set up for the students. It would save millions of dollars with overhead and teacher costs. As society becomes more and more adept to the functionality and ease of distance education, it will find its way into more homes, organizations, businesses and schools.

References:

“Distance Education: The Next Generation” (video) 2010

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.

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