EDUC 6135 - Task Analysis and Instructional Objectives Matrix

When designing a course, it is important to have a solid plan of action and the Task Analysis and Instructional Objectives Matrix (see below) is a way of organizing thoughts and theories into a cohesive manner that can then translate into course design within the CMS.  In this instance, the matrix relates to the orientation course for the Applied Cryptography course students will be completing.  As you can see from the matrix, in module 1, students will be learning how to navigate within a course in blackboard as well as how to access audacity which they will need to fulfill some assignment requirements within the cryptography course.  Below is the matrix:

Task Analysis and Instructional Objectives Matrix Although none of the scenarios provides exact information to complete each cell of this matrix, you can find enough information to make reasonable, educationally-sound assumptions which you should be able to explain.
Scenario description: Scenario 3A - An online, fully asynchronous upper-level elective course. Students will be expected to regularly view and tangibly interact with multimedia presentations. Additionally, they will need to download and read several articles and eBook chapters. The trainees will also be expected to regularly participate in an asynchronous question and answer forum. To help build confidence and competence, each student will complete an online assessment each week during the course.  Note: The course is a graduate level course in Applied Cryptography which is a part of a Master of Science in Cyber Security and Organizational Leadership.
------------ Course setup and Module 1: Technology Tools Overview ------------
Task Analysis:	Goals & Objectives:	Applied Strategy:
Welcome: Purpose: To allow the students to understand the reason for being in the course, i.e. the “orienting context” as presented in Smaldino, et al. (2015), p. 133. Location: In an announcement link off the landing page. CMS page style used: The page utilizes the “Technology” template and the welcome is located on the “Course Information” content page. Content organization: Content is a narrative text of the welcome message. Content outline: I. Welcome II. What will be in the course III. How to proceed	Welcome: “Aim” or major goal for the Orientation Course: The major goal of the orientation course is to familiarize learners with the various technologies that will be used in the Applied Cryptography course so that they can be successful. Major Instructional Objectives or Learning Outcomes for the Orientation Course: 1. Examine the various technologies that will be employed in the Applied Cryptography Course. 2. Assess the rationale behind the selection of those tools. 3. Apply skills learned in the guided tutorials to access and use the selected technologies.	Welcome: Design considerations: When designing the welcome section, I ensured that the technology was relatively easy to use and navigate as well as the organization and requirements were clear to students. Theory considerations: Equivalency theory – In designing the welcome, I sought to create the equivalent experience a student might have on the first day of an on-ground class, an introduction by the instructor and covering of the expected learning outcomes of the course. References used: Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015.
Overview:: Purpose: The overview of the course is presented in the “Welcome” portion of the course. Location: The overview can be found on the “Course Information” page in the left hand navigation. CMS page style used: The page utilizes the “Technology” template and the welcome is located on the “Course Information” content page. Content organization: Content is a narrative text of the welcome message. Content outline: I. Welcome II. What will be in the course III. How to proceed	Overview: Learning Goal associated with Orientation as a whole: See above in the “Major Goal of the Orientation Course” section. Specific Learning Outcomes for the Orientation as a whole: See “Learning Outcomes for the Orientation Course” above.	Overview: Design considerations: See “Design considerations” above. Theory considerations: See “Theory considerations” above. References used: See “References used” above.
Module 1: Purpose: The purpose of Module 1 of the orientation course is to introduce students to the first four technological tools they will encounter as a part of the Applied Cryptography Course.    Tab design: The Module 1 Tab was designed to try and make it as intuitive as possible for the student.  For ease of use, it says “Module 1 – Start Here.” CMS page style used: Module 1 is designed using the “Content Area” page and uses the “Technology Template” to remain consistent with the rest of the course. Content organization: The heading for the main page of module 1 will be: “Getting Around Your Course.” The content is module 1 is organized in accordance with the guidelines presented in Simonson, et al (2015).  Content is organized following the structure mentioned below. Content outline: 1. Module Overview: What the student can expect to encounter in the module and the desired learning outcomes of the module. 2. Technology Tool #1: This section an introduction to, rationale for and tutorials on how to access modules within the course and the content contained within each module so that they can proceed through the course materials. 3. Technology Tool #2: This section an introduction to, rationale for and tutorials on the “My Instructor” section of the course so students can understand how to reach their instructor with questions. 4. Technology Tool #3: This section an introduction to, rationale for and tutorials on the “My Grades” section of the course so students can see how they are faring in the course. 5. Technology Tool #4: This section an introduction to, rationale for and tutorials on the use of audacity. Students will be required to record and submit answers to some of their questions within the course so this will provide them with some guidance on using it. 6. Module Conclusion: This will provide a wrap up for students highlighting what they learned in this current module, what they can expect in the next module.  It will also provide a link to the next module.	Module 1: Learning Goal associated with Module 1: The learning goal for Module 1 is to have the student become familiar with navigating in blackboard so they do not face challenges when taking the Applied Cryptography Course. Specific Instructional Objectives for Module 1: 1. Learn about how modules work within a blackboard course and how to navigate between and within those module. 2. Understand how to use the “My Instructor” tool to get in touch with the course instructor for help or questions. 3. Employ the “My Grades” tool to assess how you are faring with the course assignments. 4. Learn about audacity, how to download the software and use it for recording.	Module 1: Design considerations: In designing module 1, incorporated content guideline highlighted in Simonson, et al. (2015) who state that videos, visual presentations with accompanying audio are important to a well-designed course. Theory considerations: When designing module 1, I sought to incorporate equivalency theory.  If the students were taking this orientation course in a regular classroom, they would be receiving hands on tutorials on how to use the various tools.  For this online orientation, I have tried to create an equivalent experience. References used: Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek (2015).
Training: Purpose: To provide students with guided tutorials for the 4 technical tools presented in module 1. Location: The training portions for module 1 will be located in the module 1 content area, accessible by clicking on the CMS page style used: To remain consistent with the style of the rest of the course, the page utilizes the “Technology” template. Each technical tool will have its own content folder within the module. Content organization: Within the training content folder, the content will be organized as follows: I. Overview of the tool – What is it? What purpose does it serve? II. Rationale – Why was this tool chosen? Why does it matter? III. Guided Tutorial – Each tool will have a text document and a video tutorial showing how to access and use the tool in blackboard. Content outline: I. Overview II. Rationale III. Guided tutorials	Training: Learning Outcome (expectation) associated with tutorials: By the end of module 1, students will have an understanding of how to access and use the technical tools presented in the module in preparation for them entering the Applied Cryptography course. Specific Instructional Objectives for each tutorial presented: 1. Understand what each tool is and why it was selected and why it is important to success in the class. 2. Learn how to access the presented technical tools. 3. Discover how to use the technical tools by viewing the provided tutorials.	Training: Design considerations: Again, when designing the training portions of each module, I considered Simonson, et al. (2015) in that videos are important to successful course design.  Additionally, in using text documents and videos in conjunction, I am seeking to deliver the material in a variety of means as suggested by Simonson et al. (2015). Theory considerations: Once again, I am seeking to use equivalency theory to create an equivalent experience a student might gain in a classroom orientation program.  In a classroom program, students might be given textual directions and be shown how to use the tools in person.  Since we are working with an asynchronous environment, video presentations seem to be the best way to re-create that kind of interaction. References and cited materials used: Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek (2015).
Invitation: Type of invitation: Steps you follow to create learner access include: 1. Create the course in COURSEsites. 2. Collect email addresses from students in my project links group. 3. Use the “Invite” function contained within the users’ area of the course. 4. Insert all emails into the invite field and customize invitation message. 5. Click submit to send invitations.	Invitation: Steps your students have to follow to gain access: 1. Students must click on the link contained in the invitation. 2. Students must create a username and password (if they haven’t already) to access the course. 3. Once logged into the course, students can access the “Course Information” section to understand what to do next.	Invitation: Rationale for invitation type: Using the invite function within the course users’ area was the most intuitive way for me to invite the needed students to the class and I believe the easiest way for the students to gain access.

As you can see from the matrix, the course is currently broken up into a course information section, where students will find the overview of the orientation course, the overall learning outcomes for the course and then how to proceed.  Within the modules, the students will engage with 4 technical tools.  For each tool, students will view an overview of what the tool is and what it does, examine the rationale for why that tool was selected and why it is important and finally read some textual instructions and view a guided tutorial about how to use the tool when they engage in the actual course.  Finally, a course conclusion will help students reflect on what they learned and how to access the next module of the orientation course.

Reference

Simonson, M., Smladino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

EDUC 6145 - Communicating Effectively

This week we were required to view the delivery of a message in three different ways:  written, audio, and face-to-face verbal communication.  Each of these types of communication play an important role in any project and it is imperative for project managers to understand that interpretation of team members may vary across these different modalities.  For purposes of interpretation, we will discuss each of these three in turn and then discuss what these teach about effective communication for project managers.

Written message (email): Email is quite obviously ubiquitous in nature but can sometimes present problems because it is difficult for readers to pick up non-verbal signals relating to the message (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008).  As a result, email communication can come off a bit cold as in this case.  When reading the email, my interpretation was one of panicked urgency.  Again, because I am left without a reference point for tone or expression, I can only interpret the message based on the words.  In this case, the writer uses language that implies an urgency on her part which therefore implies an urgency on my part: "really need," "ETA," "soon."  These words imply immediacy and my interpretation is that the person's assumption is that I will drop everything I'm doing to get her the needed information.  This manner of communication is also quite formal (or should be) and as Dr. Stolovitch (n.d.) states in one of this week's videos, formal communication may or may not fit well within the culture of the company or cause problems with communication of individuals.

Voicemail message: In this instance, I was able to hear the tone of voice of the person on the other end of the line and, while I still heard the urgency in her voice, I did not feel that the message was as panicked as it was in the email.  As Greer (2010) points out, attitude is a collection of feelings that are brought to a situation or relationship.  This is difficult to discern when reading an email, however, when listening to someone speak on the phone, it is far easier to determine their attitude about the situation because you can hear their tone.  As I mentioned, the tone in the phone call was still urgent, but my overall interpretation was that I didn't have to drop everything I was doing in order to get this completed.

Face-to-Face Message: When "discussing" the issue with the colleague face-to-face, there was an even better understanding on my part of the urgency of the situation.  Quite obviously, face-to-face discussion allows you to see non-verbal cues from the message deliverer that you miss in email or even voicemail.  Seeing the person's face and overall demeanor in person can assist greatly in de-coding the message they are sending, in this case, the level of urgency surrounding the completion of the report.  As with the voicemail message, I did feel as if there was urgency getting my report completed to help my colleague, but hearing her voice and seeing her in person gave me the impression that she was not as panicked as I suspected from the email message, rather she was simply sharing her deadline and hoping I could help.  Because of the face-to-face interaction and the demeanor of my colleague during that interaction, I felt more motivated to help her as soon as possible than I did with the email or voicemail messages.

So what can we learn from all of this as project managers?  Namely that we need to consider the means of communication, not just the message to be effective.  While email is a useful and formal method of communicating, it may not always fit best with the culture of the company or with the communication structure of the individual (Stolovitch, n.d.).  Voicemail can be helpful and useful but again it does not allow the person you are communicating with to pick up on non-verbal cues (Portny, et al., 2008).  Face-to-face communication may in many cases be the best way to communicate with an individual or team, especially if there is some problem or issue that needs addressing, as in the case we viewed.  As a program manager, your attitude about and approach to addressing problems and other issues sets the entire tone for the team (Greer, 2010) so in many cases this would be the best way to send a message and ensure that it was received properly.  Effective communication for project managers depends on the selection of the means of communication just as much, if not more than the message that needs to be communicated.

References

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

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Project manager concerns: Communication strategies and organizational culture. [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.

EDUC 6145 - Project "Post-Mortem" Analysis

The project that comes to mind when thinking about the Project “Post-Mortem” discussion that we find in Greer (2010) is the development of a course that was run in our cybersecurity Master’s program here where I work.

To give a little bit of context and background, the course was entitled “Applied Cryptography” and was the second course developed for our Mater’s program. The course was 7 weeks in length, entirely asynchronous and was planned and later developed by two different people and you can probably already see what problems arose in the course of the development. Additionally, we had a total of 16 weeks to completely develop the course from planning to launch in our LMS. The course ran and we received our student satisfaction surveys as well as feedback from the instructor from which we did our “post-mortem.”

General Questions (found in Greer, 2008, pp. 42-43):

1. Were we proud of the deliverables? In short, yes. Although there were significant challenges, all members of the team felt that the course was the best it could have been given what we had to work with.
2. What was the most frustrating thing? There were 2 actually. First, the person originally involved in the conceive and design phases (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton and Kramer, 2008) left the institution before the project moved to the start and perform phase (Portny, et al., 2008). This led to the fact that we had to find another subject matter expert for development which led to the second frustration, which was that he had very different ideas of what the project deliverables should be.
3. How would I do things differently? Obviously, trying to use the same subject matter expert through the entire development process would alleviate this frustration.
4. What was the most gratifying part of the project? For me it was seeing the course completed and quality checked and then launched live.
5. Which methods or processes worked out well? In hindsight, I believe that the process that worked best was the creation of the project plan, or the conceive and define phase in the course text.
6. Which processes were frustrating? For me personally it was the “perform phase,” (Portny, et al., 2008). This was where we had the most challenge with the new developer. It was difficult to compare performance with the plan because he was constantly desiring to alter the plan or discard it entirely in some cases.
7. If I could wave a wand, what would I change? Keep the same developer through the entire project.
8. Did stakeholders participate effectively? If not, how could we improve their participation? The major stakeholders in the project were the dean of the college and the director of the online development department (my boss). Unfortunately, the two of them didn’t see eye to eye on how the project should be developed and this caused friction between members of the development team about timelines and benchmarks. In terms of how to get them to work more effectively, I believe that allowing the dean to participate more actively in the day to day project work (at least from a high level) would give him better vision into why deadlines are set as they are and why benchmarks need to be met.

Given all of the above, what contributed to the overall success or failure of the project? The persistence of the members involved on the project team is what finally put the project into the successful category. There were many problems that arose that easily could have made the project a failure and it was only through the hard work and dedication of the team that the project succeeded. Though all members had some disagreement throughout the process, the knowledge that the course had to launch on time is what eventually brought the project to fruition. It just goes to prove that often projects, despite extensive conception and definition phases, can often go completely off the rails and it is up to the project manager (in this case, me) to try and pull success from failure.

In thinking about which parts of the PM process would have made the project more successful, again I would say that the project planning and creating specifications for deliverables phases are the most important. In this case, the project would have run smoother and had less challenge if we had gone back and done new project planning and creating specifications for deliverables sessions when the new developer took over. This would have made the project more in line with what he had envisioned and would likely not have been as resistant as he was when working with the original plan. As the major stakeholder in the project (all of the content for the course was of his design) that should have been clear, however, we were directed to stick with the original plan. Ironically, for the next time the course runs, we will be completely scrapping this course we build and starting a new project using the plan of the new developer.

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.

Hello everyone.  Here's my mindmap of the areas in which I see future improvement and development in instructional design:

The Evolution and Future of Distance Education

Prior to this course, I had viewed distance education in a variety of ways.  When I was in graduate school (the first time) I took a course through what was then known as the distance education program.  For this institution, distance education was for the most part correspondence courses.  Granted, at the time, there were no real online learning platforms available.  However, the institution, since it had been running the program for quite some time before I took the course, stressed the individuality of learning and the flexibility of space and time (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).  In the event, the course consisted of audio tapes and several assessments that needed to be completed and then sent in to the institution to be graded.  For many people, this type of experience was the first exposure to distance education, especially since this has been around in some form for 160 years (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015).

Also prior to this course, I have been working as an online course designer and have been a student for a year in this program.  Both of these experiences have given me a greater insight into what is currently possible in distance education.  As a designer, I have had the opportunity to participate in the ID process from the "back end," performing all of the analysis, design and development as courses are created.  I have experienced first hand the need to vary the degree and kind of interactions and feedback based on learner needs and challenges (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008).  As a student consumer, I have experienced how instructional strategies are deployed within a learning management system which has in turn informed my design decisions.

One other area that I have been wrestling with much as a designer and also a student is the area of understanding the learning population.  Because of the nature of distance education (especially online education) I have some concerns that some students could be left behind due to the non-homogeneous nature of the learners (Huett, Moller, Foshay, & Coleman, 2008). As we went through our learning theory course at the beginning of the program, we analyzed many of the different styles that should inform our design but often we are limited by the technology being used (i.e. blackboard, moodle, etc).  While most of these platforms are robust, the concern that some students are being left behind always lurks below the surface.

After, reading the resources for this week, I feel that I have come to know the rich history of distance education and see through it's evolution where we are today.  Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek (2015) provided us with an excellent overview of some of the theories that relate to distance education and as a designer, I believe it behooves me to at least have a cursory knowledge of each of this.  For example, Fordist theory generally adheres to the philosophy that involves mass production of learning materials for mass consumption (Simonson, Smaldino, & Zvacek, 2015). While this theory certainly has some attraction, especially to Dean's and others with an eye on the bottom line, it certainly limits the ability of designers to create meaningful learning experiences for students of diverse learning styles.  After reading through the resources, I believe an ideal position for me as a designer would be one that incorporates some elements of all of the theories and is flexible based on the situation regarding the development.

As for the future of distance education, I believe that as designers we are living in an exciting and innovative time.  Already, there are so many resources available to assist in instructional design that didn't exist 10 or 15 years ago.  For example, where in the past many instructors would have had to settle for a basic narrated Powerpoint as a lecture, we can now film, edit and publish videos to the web with high definition picture and sound.  Additionally, there are more opportunities for synchronous online learning than there were previously (collaborate in Blackboard is one basic example) and I believe these tools will continue to improve in quality and ease of use so that even novice designers can get quickly up to speed with designing effective and quality activities.  Virtual reality is yet another tool that I believe we will see come into play in the education field.  While much of VR technology right now is limited to gaming (the Oculus Rift system comes to mind) the potential for using VR technologies to deliver all manner of education is exciting to consider.  Think of teaching a medical course via distance education using VR technologies.  Indeed, as a designer, it is an exciting time to be part of the field.

References

Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W.R., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for design on the potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 52(5), 63-67.

Moller, L., Foshay, W. R., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for design on the potential of the Web. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 52(4), 66-70.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.

EDUC-6135

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my blog.  My name is David Haigh and I'm an instructional designer at a University here in Southern California.  I work with a variety of different subjects in my course design from Business, Project Management, Cybersecurity, Education and Health Care Informatics.  I'm looking forward to learning with all of you in this course.  Feel free to subscribe to my blog!