Monday, April 25, 2011
CEP812: Wicked Problem Project: Part D - Findings and Implications
My project is to provide a training solution for students who seek individualized online learning. It is focused on adults who have specific questions regarding projects that they are working on at home or at their workplace. A potential customer could be a former student, a small business owner, or a self-payer. The plan is to conduct virtual sessions through the use of a conference tool called WizIq. An instructor will be teaching the course based on the subject matter and the computer skill level of the student in order to accomplish the project-based training.
Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned? The implementation of the project took place as soon as it was approved by the Director. There was a challenge in getting volunteers to attend the free sessions after I posted the invitations on our bulletin board for students who are currently enrolled in our program. But after reinventing my approach to finding students by posting the invitation on Facebook, and by inviting them in person or through email, the online session turned out to be a success and I received positive testimonials.
Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice. To test implement the project, I have conducted a virtual class on “The Practical Use of Excel” through the use of WizIq. I received positive testimonials from the attendees about their learning experience. I also received requests from students to conduct more virtual sessions like this. Because of its success, the tool also became a serendipitous solution to a scheduling problem when not all staff members could make it to a staff meeting. We were able use WizIq to conduct a successful meeting.
During the 1st session, three students attended, 2nd session: six, and 3rd session: two. There were four students who went through the recorded first session, and five students requested to have more sessions. We now use WizIq as a conference tool for our marketing meetings.
Trying to address this problem becomes an opportunity to provide a dedicated service to individuals who need training solutions to their work-related projects and questions. In addition to retaining our former students as customers, this new service might attract a new set of students like small business owners and self-payers who have similar training needs and requirements and who need help with work projects.
How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here? As educators, regardless of what project we have to undertake with regards to integrating technology in education, I have learned that it is always rewarding and worthwhile to initiate ideas and plans to make teaching and learning more meaningful. We could have proposed a well thought out project but we should still prepare ourselves not to expect to have it approved nor implemented right away or maybe not even at all. It could be due to factors like budget cuts, wrong timing, technology issues, and staff issues. What matters most is the never tiring desire to keep on thinking of better solutions for education. Teachers should live out the essential tasks of being the leader and accept the challenge of being sensitive to the ever changing learning needs of our students.
What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about? I have learned that it was not easy to have adult learners get excited about this technology. They immediately were intimidated by the thought of joining a web conference and right away began to think that it was going to be complicated. BUT, after going through even just one short virtual session, their attitudes changed and they became so eager and willing to tell others about their learning experience. Getting volunteers did not work well for me, I had to talk to my students in person and post an invitation on Facebook. Adult learners may include teachers, school administrators, and parents. Therefore, we have to be resourceful when talking to parents like doing a short demo during the parent-teacher conference or an introduction of this tool with written step-by-step instruction included in the parent newsletter. I suggest teacher be innovative when involving other teachers to test this tool out. One teaching strategy is to conduct a short demo on how to use this tool during a staff meeting. Another way is to schedule training in WizIq for professional development, or use it with a small group of teachers when tackling a project. Remember, they will eventually understand and appreciate the value, benefits, and advantages of this technology but we have to be creative in finding an approach to get them try and join a web conference first.
In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do? It requires passion, dedication, and discipline to continuously explore different ways to connect with my students. This project has promising value by using web conferencing for different teaching/learning approaches. Examples on how it can be used are the following:
Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned? The implementation of the project took place as soon as it was approved by the Director. There was a challenge in getting volunteers to attend the free sessions after I posted the invitations on our bulletin board for students who are currently enrolled in our program. But after reinventing my approach to finding students by posting the invitation on Facebook, and by inviting them in person or through email, the online session turned out to be a success and I received positive testimonials.
Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice. To test implement the project, I have conducted a virtual class on “The Practical Use of Excel” through the use of WizIq. I received positive testimonials from the attendees about their learning experience. I also received requests from students to conduct more virtual sessions like this. Because of its success, the tool also became a serendipitous solution to a scheduling problem when not all staff members could make it to a staff meeting. We were able use WizIq to conduct a successful meeting.
During the 1st session, three students attended, 2nd session: six, and 3rd session: two. There were four students who went through the recorded first session, and five students requested to have more sessions. We now use WizIq as a conference tool for our marketing meetings.
Trying to address this problem becomes an opportunity to provide a dedicated service to individuals who need training solutions to their work-related projects and questions. In addition to retaining our former students as customers, this new service might attract a new set of students like small business owners and self-payers who have similar training needs and requirements and who need help with work projects.
How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here? As educators, regardless of what project we have to undertake with regards to integrating technology in education, I have learned that it is always rewarding and worthwhile to initiate ideas and plans to make teaching and learning more meaningful. We could have proposed a well thought out project but we should still prepare ourselves not to expect to have it approved nor implemented right away or maybe not even at all. It could be due to factors like budget cuts, wrong timing, technology issues, and staff issues. What matters most is the never tiring desire to keep on thinking of better solutions for education. Teachers should live out the essential tasks of being the leader and accept the challenge of being sensitive to the ever changing learning needs of our students.
What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about? I have learned that it was not easy to have adult learners get excited about this technology. They immediately were intimidated by the thought of joining a web conference and right away began to think that it was going to be complicated. BUT, after going through even just one short virtual session, their attitudes changed and they became so eager and willing to tell others about their learning experience. Getting volunteers did not work well for me, I had to talk to my students in person and post an invitation on Facebook. Adult learners may include teachers, school administrators, and parents. Therefore, we have to be resourceful when talking to parents like doing a short demo during the parent-teacher conference or an introduction of this tool with written step-by-step instruction included in the parent newsletter. I suggest teacher be innovative when involving other teachers to test this tool out. One teaching strategy is to conduct a short demo on how to use this tool during a staff meeting. Another way is to schedule training in WizIq for professional development, or use it with a small group of teachers when tackling a project. Remember, they will eventually understand and appreciate the value, benefits, and advantages of this technology but we have to be creative in finding an approach to get them try and join a web conference first.
In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do? It requires passion, dedication, and discipline to continuously explore different ways to connect with my students. This project has promising value by using web conferencing for different teaching/learning approaches. Examples on how it can be used are the following:
- An educator can have a one-on-one interaction with a student to discuss a specific question on a topic.
- A teacher can create and assign a session for special interest groups to let members collaborate when working on a project.
- A teacher can make up a missed class though a virtual session.
- A teacher can pre-plan and record a class session which can be viewed by students anytime that fits their schedule.
- A teacher can create online classes that can serve any student from any part of the world.
- An Instructor can incorporate this approach in a hybrid classroom.
If this project will be used again for these purposes, it will be a great idea to have a step-by-step tutorial on how to get started and how to use a web conference tool. Another initiative is to get this project to be compatible for mobile learning.
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