Analyzing Scope Creep

First, we should define what the "Scope" of an Instructional Design Project is. The scope of a project refers to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the project. What are the major things that have to be done? The who, when, where, what and why of the project. Next, these items must be broken down into smaller manageable parts (Laureate Ed., Inc., n.d.).

Scope creep in project management refers to uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a project's scope (Wikipedia, n.d.). Typically, the scope increase consists of either new products or new features of already approved product designs, without corresponding increases in resources, schedule, or budget. As a result, the project team risks drifting away from its original purpose and scope into unplanned additions/changes. Accordingly, scope creep can result in a project team overrunning its original schedule, budget or any other WBS activity. Scope Creep is not necessarily a negative in a project, it can sometimes be beneficial. The best way for a Project Manager (PM) to handle Scope Creep is to set up a Change Control System. The purpose of this system is to: review the change, identify the impacts of the change, translate the impact into the performance, evaluate the advantages, or disadvantages, communicate the changes to concerned staff, and ensure the changes are implemented (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and  Kramer, 2008).  If the budget and schedule are increased along with the scope, the change is usually considered an acceptable addition to the project, and the term “Scope Creep” is not used.

Looking back, a few years ago, before attending Walden University and learning about Project Management, I experienced Scope Creep in a group project at work. One of my duties was to serve on the Staff Development Team. One of the team's assignments was to figure out a way to effectively handle unruly customers who visited our government facility for services. Once management approved of our suggestion, we were to develop a training for all staff employees, including supervisors and management.  

The Staff Development Team was granted an amount of training dollars that would handle all of  the Conflict Resolution Training needs. Originally, we planned on hiring an expert from law enforcement who would serve as SME in our training to handle the public. Yes, sometimes the situations became dangerous enough that we could have used this type of training. The team planned all the activities, set the date, sent out the memos and a pre-survey for the staff to complete. 

About two weeks before the training was to take place, our site manager told us that leadership had to withdraw monies from our annual training budget. We could not spend the amount of money on our Conflict Resolution training as originally planned. We were shocked. Of course, we considered ourselves professionals and did not want to look ineffective in front of the other staff members.  So, we cancelled the SME that was scheduled, and decided to conduct the training ourselves to save money. Much research was conducted, and plenty of overtime was volunteered to design and develop the staff training. The team successfully facilitated the staff training and received many compliments and high evaluations. Out of this training, it was decided that we should have a Security Guard who sat at the door during customer sign in.

Scope Creep is common in the workplace, where uncontrolled changes affect the schedule, budget, resources, or any other activities of a planned project. Scope Creep is inevitable during a project's completion. The type of Scope Creep that happened to my Staff Development Team was out of our control.

When negotiating the planning phase of the project, extra time and money should be built in if possible. It is better to deliver the project earlier than the client expects, rather than to be late. It is important to keep the project moving toward completion (Greer, 2010).  To handle other  types of Scope Creep, repeatedly check the WBS to refer to the project’s goals and boundaries. Keep a clear picture of what the desired results should be at different points relative to deliverables, schedule, costs, and quality (Greer, 2010).

Finally, don't forget to formally close out all activities and sign off on deliverables. Make special notations of how activities were handled from Scope Creep and any lessons learned from modifications (Greer, 2010). File all closeout activities with the official project in case they can be used for future projects.

References:

Greer, M. (2010).The Project Management Minimalist: Just Enough PM to Rock Your Projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). Defining the scope of an ID project).  In EDUC 6145 Project Management in Education and Training. Baltimore, MD: Simonson, M. and Saba.

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.

Wikipedia. Project Management. (n.d.). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management

 

The Art of Effective Communication

Various communication styles can have implications for the way our messages are received. As Project Managers, it is detrimental to the success of the project's completion to communicate effectively with everyone involved in the project audience.

For this week's blog assignment, we were given three different message styles to interpret. Each was the same message, just delivered in a different style.  Jane, a team member sent a message to Mark, another team member,  to ask him for data that she needed to get her report  finished.  Mark never responded.

This is the message that was communicated in several different styles by Jane:

Hi Mark,

I know you have been busy and possibly in that all day meeting today, but I really need an ETA on the missing report.  Because your report contains data I need to finish my report, I might miss my own deadline if I don't get your report soon.  Please let me know when you think you can get your report sent over to me, or even if you can send the data I need in a separate  email.

I really appreciate your help.

Jane

Below follows my interpretations of the following styles used to communicate this message:

1. email

Jane used an informal style to communicate with Mark regarding the needed report.  However, the message lacked clarity.  Jane did not name the report that she needed from Mark. When communicating via a written document, the purpose of the communication should have be included in the first sentence of the document (1. Laureate Ed. Inc. , n.d.). Jane assumed that Mark was busy, and possibly in an all day meeting.  Jane then gave Mark an alternative. She decided that he could send her the data in a separate email.  However,  Jane never told Mark exactly what data she needed.  If Mark is really a busy person, then , he will have to spend more time by calling Jane to clarify what information she needs from his report.  Now,  Jane will have to wait until Mark finds time to call her. The extra waiting period could have been avoided if Jane would  have confirmed in her email what was needed from him.

Email can be an effective means of communicating, if done properly. Begin email requests with a clear concise purpose. State the situation and give a date for when the response is needed (1. Laureate Ed., Inc. , n.d.). 

2. Voicemail

Again this same scenario is replayed, but this time Jane left the message on Mark's telephone.  If this is an ongoing communication regarding work,  from Jane to Mark, then using the telephone's voicemail to leave a message  is acceptable.  However, Jane began the communication assuming that Mark was very busy and in an all day meeting.  Jane's assumption gave Mark an excuse for the report to be late. Project Managers should never assume anything about the status of the project  information. T

he voicemail does not relay urgency, and makes the situation less important than when it was written.  The use of the acronym, ETA, allowed for ambiguity.  What if Mark did not know what ETA meant?  When communicating it is unacceptable to use acronyms unless you know the receiver of the message is familiar with what you are saying.  Again,  more time can be wasted figuring out what Jane meant. needed. Rather than asking for an ETA, Jane should have asked him if he could have the report by a certain date.  Again she should have told Mark exactly what data she needed, rather than assuming he knew.  We should not make assumptions in an important situation.

3. Face-to-Face

Face-to-Face is probably the best form of communication for most people.  This formal mode of communication allows the message to be defined, if unclear. The Project Manager can view the team member's body language and attitude. When people communicate with me, I notice everything about them. I not only hear their words, I listen for the tone of their voice, body language, eye contact and anything else that will give me a clue about the sincerity of this person's message.

While Jane communicated to Mark that she needed the report from him, her style and body language said something different.  Rather than Jane hanging over the cubicle wall to talk to Mark, she should have stepped into Mark's cubicle so that she would have been able to look him in the eyes when she relayed the importance of receiving his report.  Hanging over the wall seemed like such a childlike action while talking about an important issue. The fact that "she might miss her deadline" lets Mark know that he may even have more time to deliver  the report to her. After all, she may not miss her deadline. 

Although it is important to be friendly and diplomatic, our body language and tonality can communicate volumes of information about us to the receiver of the message.  Lastly, Jane's enormously friendly smile says that it is alright if Mark is late with the report.  Her huge smile said that she would handle any trouble that would come to her if her report would be late. 

Dr. Stolovich talked about the importance of effective communication by engaging the audience in his video (Laureate Ed., Inc. , n.d.).  The communicator's style, spirit and attitude makes a great difference in how people perceive the message.  The project audience should have a business friendly respectful tone through the project's  completion. It is a great idea for Project managers to take notes documenting any project issues or concerns that come up in conversations. Later, the notes can be re-circulated, asking for understanding and modifications from the team members. If possible, perhaps the communicator can ask for a return response by a certain date making sure all team members are on the same page.  Dr. Stolovich recommends keeping a daily journal when working on a project.  That way the PM will not forget that he said something.

As we have seen from Jane's communication to Mark, if there is any ambiguity then mistakes can be expected (1. Laureate Ed., Inc. , n.d.).  When the Project Manager  is unclear in his directions, the team members are  left to guess on the project's direction. It is a waste of time if the work has to be done over because it was delivered incorrect due to the lack of clarity.  

Troy Achong, Project Director,  advises that everyone has their own agenda which is important to them.  She says that communicating is an art.  If anyone is unable to communicate with a key person,  they can collaborate with team members that the key person frequents with. These team members may be able to communicate for you on your behalf (2. Laureate Ed., Inc. , n.d.). 

Last but not least, if  communication problems or concerns still exist, Dr. Stolovich advises that a team member that can be trusted may be able to give advice to the Project Manager (3. Laureate Ed., Inc. , n.d.).  Look for commonalities, study the organization's culture, or any other venue where acceptance may take place.  If all else fails, the Project Manager can call a meeting to let the team know that he feels uncomfortable in communicating with them.  It is okay to explain to the team that the easier the communications are the more effective the team's work will be.  The Project Manager should document the outcome of the meeting and circulate the results back to the team . Give the team members a date to respond by, and ask them for any modifications that are necessary for the improvement of communication. 

After all, effective communication, whether it is verbal or nonverbal  is key to the Project Manager's  successful  project completion.  Start smiling, and happy communicating.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d).(1). "Communicating with Stakeholders"
[DVD]. In EDUC 6145 Project Management in Education and Training.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). (2).  "Practitioner Voices: Strategies for Working With Stakeholders"[DVD]. In EDUC 6145 Project Management in Education and Training.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). (3). Project Management Concerns: Communication Strategies and Organizational Culture [DVD]. In EDUC 6145 Project Management in Education and Training.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d). "The Art of Effective Communication". Multimedia Program. In EDUC 6145 Project Management in Education and Training.

 

 

 

 

Post-mortem Project

Had I taken this class before I was hired as a monitor/coordinator for a local company, maybe I would have stayed in the position longer. However, I learned a lot through the process.

I was hired to implement programs, coordinate activities and contracts from grant money for four different social service agencies.  I was the first person in this position, and this was the first time the company I worked for won the RFP (Request for Proposal) for this type of contract work.  As the monitor and coordinator, I was to perform many various duties, implement projects, and manage directors, supervisors, and their staff.  The directors did not want me to come into their agencies and make changes to their method of performing the contract work, even though they agreed to do so in their proposals. But, it was my job to assist them in modifying their programs to adhere to the federal regulations.  The job was super stressful and because I was out of the office most of the week, I put in many extra hours. But as we all know, you don't get paid overtime on salaried jobs, and of course, the money did not equate to the duties. Needless to say, I didn't have that job very long.

While working with this company, I created tools that helped keep me organized and contributed to the success of the program.  Each agency was responsible for submitting many reports that was submitted in various formats.  I held a meeting with each agency director, to teach them how I wanted  information submitted.  I purged forms that held duplicate information when possible.  I worked with the IT department to develop a program that would be useful for information gathering for the contracting agencies.  Finally, I was able to get the agencies to function  universally.  By that time, I was pretty burned out.

One of the missing parts in this one-man show was help from other people. The only assistance that I had was for someone to take telephone messages for me when I was out of the office. I asked for help, but was told money wasn't available for additional staff.  

According to Greer 2008, a Project Plan should have been created. The plan would have shown my director the work efforts necessary in order to produce the deliverables required of the position. Most likely, there wasn't any type of  needs analysis completed by anyone once the RFP was awarded.  At least one more person was necessary to complete administrative roles while I was out of the office. If I wouldn't have been in a hurry every time I visited the agencies, I could have developed better working relationships which would have helped to make the project more successful. 

Here We Are Again...

Welcome to my blogg! As the changing weather beckons some of us to put away summer clothes and scatter for warmer items, another Instructional Design Course is beginning at Walden University. When I returned from a leave of absence to rejoin my fellow classmates, I discovered that our school had changed its' learning system to Blackboard. There is one thing that we can count on: there will always be technology changes in work, education and life. I look forward to learning from and with all of you in our Project Management in Education & Training course.

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Consider the following scenario: A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.

Pre-planning Strategies

The training manager should first get a clear picture of the content and learning goals from the subject matter experts and the stakeholders (Laureate Education a., n.d.).  Next, the ADDIE system can be used to determine if the subject content is one that can be fruitful in an online environment. Not all learner content is good for online learning. Project restraints should be applied to the learning format, if it is found that the constraints cannot be eliminated using the chosen type of learning format, then the training manager should move forward until there is a learning format that would be conducive to his learning content.  The ADDIE System can also be used to determine if the instructional format would be good for the types of learners, and the backgrounds of the trainees.

Picking out a course management system that meets the needs of the learning objectives will require a little research.  Price, instructor ability, learner ability, and technical requirements all play a significant role in choosing this very important system. The training manager will have to determine whether the current staff will be able to handle possible technical problems with the site, or will additional staff have to be hired. The training manager will need to ensure that the facilitators and trainers are trained on the software program that they will use to deliver the course.

Before beginning to design the course, the training manager should get the SME involved in the design process. The SME will be a good person to ask for advice on activities, objectives and interesting ideas. Scheduling meeting with the trainers who will facilitate the course, or scheduling train-the-trainer group meetings can help to gather ideas and feedback on the course design. An alpha or beta training can be given to this group to gain information on whether the course design meets the set objectives (Laureate Education, b., n.d.).  After all, the trainers and facilitators are the people who will use the training format, so they would be the best people to try it out for performance.  

Transferring Enhancing Original Training into Distance Learning

Since the training manager formerly used a face-to-face  learning format, he should be able to salvage some of the materials previously used. The training manager could use anywhere from 29-80% of his previous face-to-face learning format.  Some of the course objectives should be designed for classroom use and some of the objectives should be designed for the online learning environment. Since the training manger is concerned with learner interaction, the use of a discussion board designed into the course management software could be useful.  The discussion board would give the facilitator a chance to monitor and participate in the trainee's learning. The discussion board would also give the trainees an opportunity to connect with each other, away from the face-to-face learning time.

Since facilitators have to engage learners, whether in face-to-face or distance learning, to make the learning happen, they have to open up the lines of communication between themselves and the learners. PowerPoint presentations should be used sparingly, because they are an un-engaging way to deliver content. Each learner learns at their own pace, doing things differently (Laureate, Education, b. n.d.).  Visual presentations and activities that encourage interactivity should be designed into the distance learning portion of the course Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek, 2012).  It would be a good idea to incorporate plenty of various activities, small group activities, and polls, to maintain the learner's interest. The trainer should make sure they don't go longer than 10 minutes of lecturing the learners.  The facilitators and trainers can help to design activities for the course. The chosen course management software program should have icons that are used by the learners to note that they do or don't understand, or to answer the facilitator's questions. If the facilitator will be in front of the group, then he should involve the learners by asking questions, asking for examples and creatively involving the learners in the course.

To determine if the transfer of the course materials is successful for the learners, the training manager should keep in touch with the facilitators and the learners by monitoring the classes. An evaluation system should be completed by the learner to determine the quality of the instruction (Simonson, et al., 2012, p. 164). A good instructor will always be interested in improving his work to meet the learning goals of the learners.

Will the Instructor's Role Change in Distance Learning?

In both face-to-face and distance learning, the facilitator's role should be to provide quality instruction that meets the course objectives. In both learning scenarios, the facilitator is responsible for keeping learners engaged in the learning. The facilitator's role will change slightly in the distance learning environment. The facilitator will need to be comfortable with using the technology, and being able to apply learning in a variety of formats.  He will need to be responsible for monitoring the learners when they participate in the distance learning format. The facilitator will need to keep up with what is posted online to determine if the learners are on the right track of learning, it is not a good idea for the facilitator to become involved in the learning near the completion of the course. Mostly, the facilitator will need to monitor if the learners are actually using the software to complete their learning content.

Simonson, et al. p. 198, (2012) contends that good instructional practice principles provide guidelines that involve the learners in quality learning experiences. These are a few practice principles that should be provided:

1. Communication with students,   

2. Collaboration among students,

3. Active learning experiences,

4. Prompt feedback,

5. High expectations, and

6. Respecting diversity.

Encouraging Trainees to Communicate Online

To encourage communication between learners and facilitators, a syllabus should be prepared. The syllabus is the primary communication with the learners. It should contain the structure of the course, expectations, assignments, and the assessment process. The syllabus should also provide contact information for the learners to contact the facilitator when necessary. For communication to be encouraged between the learners, small group activities can be designed, requiring learners to interact with each other. Course Management systems usually have discussion boards, wikis, blogs, or an avenue of communication for the learners.  Requiring certain amounts of posts and responses to the discussion boards can also encourage the learners to communicate with each other. 

References:

Laureate Education, Inc.  (Producer). (n.d.)  "Planning and Designing Online Courses" (Video Webcast a.).  Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290464&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=6926731&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1.

Laureate Education. (Producer).  (n.d.). "Delivery Analysis" (Video Webcast b.). Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290464&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=6926731&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1.

Laureate Education. (Producer).  (n.d.).  "Facilitating Online Learning" (Video Webcast c.). Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290464&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=6926731&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

The Impact of an Open Course Website

Open Course (free) websites are an emerging trend in education.  In this week's assignment we were charged with choosing one of the open course websites to evaluate and to compare with our learning resources used for our Distance Learning course. I  chose Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (MIT) Open Course: A free and open educational resource for educators, students, and self-learners around the world.  http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm  As I explored the website, I immediately noticed that the layout of the website was easy to follow. The color scheme softly invited users to learn more about MIT.

Course Offerings

Over 2000 courses are offered to the public on a variety of subjects that are appealing to all levels of learners. Global testimonials from educators and some of the Fortune 500 companies exist to validate the quality of the free courses, giving credibility to the new distance learner. Graphics, links, and photos are used to create an engaging experience (Laureate Education n.d.) and to compel interest in the MIT courses. Once each of the tabs were clicked upon, information was obtained about the MIT Open Courseware site. When the user was satisfied with the chosen information, it was easy to get back to the home page, or any desired page when ready. The left sidebar made it easy to choose a course, a syllabus, calendar, readings, assignments, and other related information. After all,  the eye is automatically drawn to the left side for reading. 

Translation

Translations are an option to invite global students who are interested in learning through MIT. The highlight of the course and a course description appear in the middle of the page, with links that lead to more information about the courses. Technology requirements are listed under the help tab, if needed. Archived courses and a curriculum guide is featured in case the current course does not offer the information that the user seeks. 

Site Map

The site map is located at the bottom of the page, but opens up to a page featuring most possibilities that a distance learner may need.  Questions and Answers for possible problems, directions on how to get started, and the technical requirements are  given  for learner success. A place to evaluate and cite the website is located on the first page, in open view for everyone to see.

Management Course

The course that I chose to further explore is from the Sloan School of Management. Amazingly, a learner can study the same courses required for an undergraduate or graduate degree in management. The course is also set up so that the learner can take any class that he would desire without taking all the classes in the program.  The website and the learner led asynchronous course appear to be carefully preplanned, and designed for a successful learner environment. The course objectives were posted on the first page, enabling the student to decide whether this would be a class that he would be further interested in.

Syllabus

The syllabus ensures communication at a distance between the learner and the website.  It is a very important document that will provide the learner with direction  (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek 2012). Without the syllabus the distance learner will not know what to do, when to do it, or who to contact when he is having difficulty. It is suggested that an email address or a toll-free phone number is the best avenue to use for communication for the distance learner. A time schedule should be given to let the learner know when it  is appropriate to call for assistance (Simonson, et al. p. 199).

MITs syllabus gives class requirements including descriptions, meeting times, assignments and grading information. Instructional materials that would assist the learners are able to be downloaded. Textbook information is given along with a link to a website that would give proceeds back to MIT, if the learner chose to buy there. A link to a site that gives free and open textbooks is given on the download page.  The courses are carefully laid out in the succession that one would need to complete them, thus allowing the learner plenty of time to plan life activities around distance learning.  A link that would enable learners to receive class updates also exists, retaining learner's interest in the course, even after initial completion.

Evaluation

Learner assessment was taken into account, allowing the students the choice to be honest with themselves. Midterm and final open book examinations are supplied giving the learner an evaluation of his progress. Without knowing how well the learner did in the course would end in a pointless outcome. The examinations make it apparent what knowledge, skills and feelings the instructor wanted the learners to gain from the course (Simonson, et al. p. 135).

Social Networking

In the world of Web 2.0, MIT has recognized that learning can be obtained by social networking. The open courseware site realizes it is certainly nice to have friends, even virtual ones, (Simonson, et al.  p. 131) and  offers learners the opportunity to keep in touch via Twitter and Facebook, which both promote the development of online communities through posting of personal information and similar interests to meet virtually (Simonson, et al. 2012 p. 131). The learners can meet  online to collaborate, communicate with other learners, and share learning experiences.  When learners interact with each other, new information is acquired, interpreted, and made meaningful, forming a community of learners that are separated by time, space and geography (Poe and Stassen n.d.).

Navigation

MIT offers ease of access and usability with easy to find directional tabs, giving accurate learner instructions. Navigation tools are located in easy to find places, and lead to intuitive direction in discovering website information. These website traits, and well-integrated tools make MIT's open courseware worth having the label of "best teaching practices and "quality instruction indicators" (Simonson, et al. 2012 p. 194).

Just-in Time-Learning

The open courseware offers Just-in-Time-Learning geared toward today's current business needs. The information and skills learned could be useful for the learner's success in the workplace, if incorporated into distance learner training. The learning could provide a basis for the person to further his education on one of the chosen topics or to improve work performance.  

Training

Although MIT's open courseware consortium is fairly new to Web 2.0, it appears to be" a great training course that will stand the test of time" (Laureate Education n.d.). The site appears to fulfill the requirements of preparing learners for a successful learning experience across distances. It proved to be in line with what we are studying in our Distance Learning course.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Developing online courses. [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290464&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=6926731&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1.

Poe, M. and Stassen, M. (n.d.).   Teaching and Learning Online. Communication, community, and assessment. Retrieved from http://www.umass.edu/oapa/oapa/publications/online_handbooks/Teaching_and_Learning_Online_Handbook.pdf

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

A Distance Learning Scenario...

Our latest blog assignment in my Distance Learning course was to select a real-world example, which described a unique distance learning technology challenge.  Each student in the class was charged with determining the needs and requirements of the learning context presented, and which technologies could provide solutions in each situation.  I chose the following scenario since this scenario represented a possible problem that might arise for me as an Instructional Designer:

Collaborative Training Environment

A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices.  Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location.  As an instructional designer for the corporation, I have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices.  As part of the training,  I was advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information,  in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.

Wikis

For this scenario, the training department would be assigned to join a Wiki, where everyone would be able to keep in touch and share their online training ideas, problems and  learning experiences, at different times and locations.  I would like to suggest PBWorks.com (http://pbworks.com).  PBWorks.com is a free website that offers a host of online collaboration options for employees. Staff members will be able to document training experiences, upload, download, share documents, screen shots, and keep an ongoing collaboration by logging into the website and using their chosen password. When changes are made, they are documented by PBWorks and automatically emailed to each subscriber keeping everyone in touch with what is happening in their training project.  The site offers excellent project management, and can be used from the computer, Ipad, or mobile telephones.

There are many available Wikis for business to utilize for distance learning training purposes. Wikis help organizations collaborate to share knowledge, give feedback on training, and enhance learning among employees.  Sony Electronics uses SharePoint, a Wiki to improve communication across different sites throughout the globe. The Business Applications Manager wanted to increase communication between the sites and prevent each location from operating independently, without communication. Before using a Wiki, the Sony Manager says he was receiving up 300 emails a day.  Problems were not solved immediately, because it took unnecessary time to get to the original email to view the components of the problem.

Sony also uses the collaboration tool to help attract new young employees.  Whitmoyer says  "Young employees are very excited about social computing because they know they can use it to easily connect with people, at home and at work" (Microsoft Office 2010).

Blogs

An online blog can be used for the purpose of collaborating employees in training also.  I like WordPress (http://wordpress.com), because it has many available options for employee collaboration. This free blog offers assistance 24 hours a day to those who may need it, and has a support page with a variety of self help topics. WordPress can import an existing blog from another source, if needed, in case the employee has something they want to share from another source.  Web pages with links can be created on the sidebar where the employee can provide links to important documents and images for other staff members to view.  Another option is to create a custom home page, which would host screen captures and documents to share with staff members.  WordPress is a secure site that does not permit scam, and is enjoyable to use, while providing an array of options for trainers and trainees.  The employee can utilize this site any time they want to, from any location and by utilizing the electronic device of their choice. 

Online blogs are a great way to train employees on organizational issues.  People can log in at their convenience, and chosen location from a multitude of electronic devices. Blogging gives people the opportunity to collaborate with other employees by sharing, learning and teaching. Many blogs are able to host most electronic forms of communication such as hyperlinks to documents, videos, and screen shots making them ideal for training.  TopRank.com (www.toprank.com) is a blogging website that trains people who are interested in operating small business how to be successful.  The site covers a variety of  topics on marketing  issues geared toward small business success. The free site is easy and fun to read and solicits comments from readers. TopRank is an impressive example of how people collaborate at their convenience on selected topics.

Media Sharing Sites

Joinme.com (https://join.me)  is an instant screen sharing site that could be used when staff members are having technical problems. The users can share screens to help each other with technical problems, questions and training project ideas.  The Joinme site would be easy for the IT staff to intervene because of the screen sharing,  if  necessary.  This open source  meeting site also supports internet calling, chat, audio, presenter swap, scheduling and the ability to send files when needed. The free site enables 250 users to join.  All users have the ability to speak to any staff member in another location when he needs to.  Joinme appears to be a simple website to use with endless possibilities that would enable all six of the regional offices to collaborate on training issues regardless of time, space or geographic location.

Screen sharing is becoming increasingly commonplace.  Screen sharing makes it possible for another user to share or control the other user's screen.  This technique is useful for online meetings, chats, trouble shooting, and telecommuting.  Screen sharing would be a great tool to use when training an employee on a process.  A demonstration could be given showing the employees the steps in the process making it easier to teach from a distance, rather than being present. The demonstration can be recorded, and the video can be viewed at the employee's convenience.  Arrangements can be made to use the audio component, if necessary, allowing the instructor to make clarifications if needed.  With today's modern technology,  it is amazing what we can do at a distance, enabling people to be present with technology. 

Any of these technologies, and many more that were not referenced to, can be used for adult training in organizational settings, removing time, space, and geography.  When selecting the type of technology that will be used for online instruction, four important steps must be considered:

1. Assess available instructional technologies.

  a. choose either instructional or telecommunications technology.

2. Determine the learning outcomes.

 a. observable, measurable behaviors that are a consequence of online instruction.

3. Identify learning experiences and match each to the most appropriate available technology.
4. Preparing the learning experiences for online delivery. (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek 2012)

 References:

A. Zeckman. (2012, March 16).  TopRank: Online Marketing Blog. Retrieved from http://www.toprankblog.com/

Microsoft Office. (2010).  Boosting collaboration with wikis, blogs, my sites, rating, and tags. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-server-help/boosting-collaboration-with-wikis-blogs-my-sites-ratings-and-tags-HA101889364.aspx#_Toc278127828.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., and Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.