scope creep

Scope Creep

My best example for the budget and productivity chapters and scope creep is saving money for my family. I currently have 2 small children and my husband works in construction. I am a teacher. We have a starter farm (52 chickens, discussing the option for 2 pigs, and our immediate family garden (grandpa and grandma)). We also have the start of a Christmas tree farm.

After breaking down our budget, I was shocked to find how much money we were spending on items I could buy once and reuse as well as other house hold goods I could buy. I consider this my pre planning activity (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer & Sutton 2008
). While pregnant last summer, I decided to make our laundry detergent as a try. I had already jumped onto the cloth diapering bandwagon earlier in the year and was loving the savings, so I figured next step. Our garden was starting to grow and chickens were providing eggs, so next step is something else.
I calculated the ingredients and time it took me to make it and I came out with $6.97 for ingredients plus the one time cost of $4 for the bucket. I had a little over $10 in items which was a laundry detergent for the week for me. These were my direct costs and the cost does vary slightly from store to store (Portny et al p 125).
After spending the 30 minutes to make the detergent, (5 gallon bucket worth) I still came out ahead and I haven't looked back. With two small children laundry is never ending as well as a husband who is outside multiple times a day with different dirty clothes items. I found that I could make powder detergent as well as our cloth diaper detergent. The duration of the process was 30-45 minutes and then the next day a stir so it wasn't labor intensive.
My estimation is the cost of the 5 gallons of detergent is about 3 to 5 cents a load depending on the detergent products I need to buy when its time to make. I counted myself direct cost but as minimum wage so $7.80 in Ohio I believe to add to this figure (Portny et al p 125). The duration of the process was 30-45 minutes and then the next day a stir so it wasn't labor intensive (Greer 2010).
This to me was a great budget considering even the cheapest detergent in dollar stores is $5 for 32 loads. Breakdown is not efficient and most people are not aware over 50% of the detergent is usually water.
Depending on the situation the 5 gallons lasts a while 2-3 months sometimes less. This last batch did not last as long, do to the flu and other illnesses circling my house. This is unforeseen circumstances in which everything in a house gets multiple washes weekly. (Stupid weather in Ohio).

After doing this for over six months now I found that local ads are now advertising the items to make the soap now too. I wasn't doing it to make money or anything, my goal was to save money and also take some chemicals out of our house. With two small boys (2 and 5 months) I know that they can be ornery and I would rather have things out of reach and out of the house sooner than later.

I find myself now, looking for scents and other things that really do not save us money. I also cloth diaper for the money and find myself looking at expensive ones that do not help the money.

The original plan was to save money and now we are veering away from the original problem, money. The scope creep veered quickly away and using the idea of analyzing and other steps of ADDIE, the project went way off (Lynch & Roecker 2007).

Resources:

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

Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J.(2007).Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management. London: Routledge. Copyright by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC via the Copyright Clearance Center

Links to useful sites

When thinking about a budgeting its important to estimate costs a little higher but not a lot higher. Things change rapidly. Generally speaking, the closer you are to your customers or clients, the less you have to estimate” (Clark 2010). Greer explains that time, effort, and cost are all a huge factor as they should be.
Budgeting training is often a difficult chore as plans are often based on training an “average person.” (Clark 2010). Remember that budgeting also needs to include any training as well as paying yourself. I didn't even think of this. I think budget I think of all the materials but I didn't think of direct costs (Portny et al p 125). Direct costs are everything from salary to materials.
Interesting Chart to me:
Retrieved from Clark (2010).
Instructional Designer - $28.00 hour (based on salary of $60,000 per year)

• eLearning designer - $37.00 hour (based on salary of $78,000 per year)
• Organizational Specialist - $38.46 (based on salary of $80,000 per year)
• Outside Consultant - $90.00 hour

I also found Fenton a useful link, not only has she also been a Walden student her insight I also found useful sources. After reading and realizing how much we are linking I found that her one site was one that I already explored. I did also find. http://www.bnhexpertsoft.com/english/products/advent/module4.htm A very detailed table was displayed that allowed me to realize breakdown at a much higher level. I was previously struggling on how much to break down a topic but realized the more the breakdown the better the understanding. Although it may seem simple and over done to me it is important to have this breakdown.

The best site I found was http://www.designingforlearning.info/services/writing/nutshell.htm by Judith Boettcher. She lays out a numbered list of the “steps” of instructional design. We are complex people and budget is just a part of it. Budget is listed in 4 of the 12 steps in the breakdown of the process. I especially loved number 12 on her list of putting instructional design in a simpler form. “Instructional Design is not simple or straightforward” (Boettcher 2010). This is so true!

Resources:

BNH (2012) Advisor Overview retrieved from:http://www.bnhexpertsoft.com/english/products/advent/module4.htm
Boettcher, Judith (2010). Instructional Design in a Nutshell retrieved from:
Clark, Don (2007) Estimating time and cost in instructional design Retrieved from: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html
Fenton, Annilisa (2010). Instructional Design Project BudgetingTools
November 30, 2010 Retrieved from: http://annilisa.wordpress.com/

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

Communicating Effectively-

My first instinct of all communication was, the worst will be email. I hate getting any email because the tone can be misinterpreting.

When first reading the email, I read it for what it was worth, as I would read any email I receive. I first took it as a negative email, urgent and eager. I took time and read again, attempting to read between the lines. I believe it was meant to be sincere but with urgency. I then reread again, and tried to to not read into anything. There is also time difference in email (People Communicating 2010). Although now many people carry smart phones, as I do to keep up with busy lives, it doesn't automatically mean they will answer promptly. A benefit of email is taking an informal meeting and putting into formal communication. I enjoy when my meetings are then given a summary and emailed to me. (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer & Sutton p 357).

The voice mail was very urgent and it sounded it very negative. Communication in a voice mail can be perceived many different ways. Individuals can trying and figure out the tone or take it very negatively. Personally, at the beginning it sounded very negative but then changed to a positive tone. “We compensate for the absence of nonverbal cues by adding more weigh to the words being said and the tone of voice being used” (People Communicating 2010).

Face to face communication was sincere and the tone allowed for the recipient to understand there is acknowledgment of the time restraints the day had but the appreciation to help one another is also there. Body language plays an important role in the face to face communication. The way the posture is, the hands. And facial expressions can make the information instantly positive or negative. “Body language makes it easy to know if someone is nervous, scared, interested, or focused, among many other feelings that could be happening” (Types of Communication 2012).

Communication is always something that can have its own interpretations. If you are a person who like to have face to face, then email is not a way to communicate. You will constantly read to deep into the email, and the blinking voice mail light can make you crazy. The one on one communication reaches you first. “The key to successful project manage is effective communication- sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner” (Portny et al. p 357).

Resources:

People Communicating (2010). Face to Face Communication, Retrieved From: http://www.people-communicating.com/face-to-face-communication.html

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

Types of Communication (2012) Communication through Body Language, Retrieved from: http://www.typesofcommunication.org/communication/nonverbal-communication/communication-through-body-language/

Epic Fail Project

As a teacher, I am constantly attempting to make new assignments that not only have purpose for my students but also reach my curriculum. To meet the needs of my students, I created an assignment for them to research and create a paper as well as a presentation on a career of their choice.

To create this assignment, I taught the students to research, demonstrating and using websites. I included different way to start a paper, add topics, a flow chart, as well as other tools to help students understand paper writing and the reason.

Over a few weeks students researched a few different careers in which they thought were the most interesting and taking notes. As weeks progressed the notes were put into a paragraph flow chart and then papers were able to be typed. The flow charts included: what the job was, high school requirements, college, job growth, and skills. The students then took the papers and created a poster that summarized their findings.

As a teacher, I viewed myself as the project manager. I was over 3 classes of students and illustrating them into become successful researchers for their own destiny.

THE EPIC FAIL

Students were not following directions or refused to work outside of class.

Computer issues at the school or students did not have them available to them.

Outside supports is minimal.

Students were not excited about the topic, for many could care less.

As a project manager, I think I would of walked through the topic with more students. I would also spread out and have more deadlines for students to reach to prevent students from not doing work. This could prevent some students from slipping through the cracks. Although students were monitored for research and their flow chart, the actual typing process could not be as closely monitored due to computer/ lab issues. Next time this will be more closely monitored.  Although I tried to prevent the failure, it didn't seem to matter. My view of failure doesn't fit anyone else's. Looking at the Rules for Failure, from Choo, I have seemed to follow many but not completely. Although I planned, communicated, and did about everything else I could think of it, it still wasn't enough to get to success.

Maybe next year.


Resources:
Choo, Geoff (2012) Don't Try this at home: Seven rules to guarantee project failure. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/seven-rules-to-guarantee-project-failure.html

Reflection

Reflection

Distance learning has evolved in many different ways since I twas first introduced in the early years of education. It will continue to change it is supported and more people utilize the features. “Technology has also changed the face of education” (Galusha 2008).

Like all new things, distance learning has its positive and negative views. The idea of something nontraditional is threatening to individuals who do not like to be out of a comfort zone. As society has change many people are thrust into this new environment for job training or to complete education. “In preparing to enter the next century, educators of adults face the challenge of serving a student population and society that is increasingly diverse” (Galusha 2008). Many adults are choosing this option due to family structure, time, or other needs that cannot be met in a traditional classroom.

With these new individuals entering the world of distance education, a new light is being shined. As each generation is becoming for and more reliant on technology the idea of distance education is slowly becoming a more positive idea. Schools are utilizing website for lesson when class is not in session, students that cannot attend a regular classroom are still having educational needs met. Students are having more opportunity to take classes with a flexible schedule (Usjournal.com 2012). This is not only a plus for working families but also a positive for students who are working or cannot make the transition to a traditional college.

As an instructional designer, I think its important to not only explain distance learning and encourage individuals to use it, but I also think making the experience less threatening will also be a huge benefit to society. The positive of instructing as many people as possible with as much ease as possible can benefit not only the work force but those who experience the work force. Digital technologies for learning, such as self-paced learning modules, multimedia case studies, simulations, video tutorials, and communications and assessment tools, can increase the array of learning opportunities for adult students and their teachers (OVAE 2010).

References

Galusha, Jill (2008) Barriers to Learning in Distance Education. Retrieved from http://www.infrastruction.com/barriers.htm

OVAE (2012) Technology and Distance Learning. Retrieved from: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/tdlearn.html

USjournal.com (2011) The Advantages of Distance learning. Retrieved from: http://www.usjournal.com/en/students/help/distancelearning.html

Based on the: 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.

With this scenario in mind, and taking into consideration your Learning Resources, reflect on the following:

• What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
• What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
• How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
• What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

Based on what you have learned thus far in this course, formulate a best practices guide for this trainer to follow when converting his program to a distance learning format.

After thinking about and reviewing how I set up a CMS, I believe there are many things to consider. First of all, the role of an instructor changes. In face to face instruction, discussion can be changed and utilized a little differently while on line its student lean and motivated to keep the discussion going. If a student isn't motivated there is not a lot for the instructor to do to keep them motivated. 

Once this is considered, its important to pick the right CMS. It all depends on the audience and budget. Money shouldn't be everything but yet it is.  With a company with little budget, or a company with a bigger budget can change the capabilities of a CMS. It also changed the audience. If designing for different types of companies changes the audience as well as the CMS. 

Beyond the CMS is the requirements within, from privacy settings, to accessibility and storage. If a site can't hold project or is not stable its not worth investing time into.  


There are many other things to consider when picking a CMS and creating a blended course.  Be sure to know how to pick what is best for you. 

Open Course - Open Culuture

Open course websites can offer many types of learning. As reviewing, I seemed to have a love hate relationship with the layout of www.openculture.com.

As an avid user of the internet, I would say that my biggest complaint about this site is the forever scrolling of the page. To me, this is a nuisance, and I would rather have separate pages to find things. Many times the information gets lost as its at the bottom of the page and buried withing the site. This is also a problem when learning. The eye has to continue to jump as its reading the page. “Each medium has its own aesthetic” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek 2012 p 172). This can be detrimental to students with learning needs (Simonson, et al 2012 p 174).

There are positives to this page, as colors and the font are eye pleasing. Although these may seem silly positives, its important to have these qualities, for when I stare at a computer for a large amount of time, my eyes tire, the bright colors speed up the process.

I do feel like the site was overwhelming, and I have a feeling that if a teacher can feel this way, I can only imagine what others feel like. I feel like looking through all the different options lacked organization. There was no clear place for communication which Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek suggests is important for students to received feedback. As I navigated the site more and more searching for online courses and other things that might appeal to me I found my eyes wondering toward ads and other distracting things. To me this was part of the disturbance that would occur within the classroom. “Classroom distractions are noise, as is ambiguous or unfamiliar information” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek 2012 p 91).

All these lacks make it less and less appealing for distance education and from a instructional design point of view. I did click on a few different courses and explore the possibilities only to be more drawn away from each site. I chose to look at a few different literature classes. The page was a picture of the professor, a list of resources and a link to join the study group. I didn't see the actual learning modules.

There are many positives to this site. Many of the courses have websites, as well as audio or audio and video presentations. There is also a RSS feed and other social network links available. “The effective use of a variety of media to facilitate communication, combined with criticial quantities of well-structured face to face instruction and learning, have characterized many distance-delivered programs” (Simonson et al 2012 p 175).

This site could be very useful with a better layout. I think that it lacks organization and a well thought out plan. It took planning to collaborate all these parts, but how the site is presented lacks professionalism.

References:

Open Culture (2012) Literature Free Courses. Retrieved from: www.openculture.com

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

Scenario:

Example 2: Interactive Tours

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?

When first approaching this topic the first thought was collaboration. “Students learn best when they are actively involved in the process” (Davis 1993). If students are not involved many do not learn or not engaged in learning.

Thinking of the tools available I came across the mashable website at: http://mashable.com/2007/07/22/online-collaboration/ Collaboration is a great resource and something all students need to experience. The realm in which they experience this is important. Due to the broad amount of tools, I chose just a few for collaboration.

WIKI:

For the group critique, I believe a wiki would make a great tool for these students. “A wiki can be an excellent tool for collaborative online writing assignments and group activities compling information in a single online resource” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). The students could work together to collaboration ideas as well as post their thoughts. Wiki's also allow students to work at different times and also at the same time. As Irina Elgort suggests, wikis can be viewed as social networking but also as a great framework tool.

Live Documents:

After looking at wiki, the best site I viewed was Link Documents at http://www.live-documents.com/ . I was amazed at the simplicity of such a complex site. Documents can be work on simultaneously and then merged. I loved the idea of locking the document but still available for view. This is great for a student project as other groups can see the work but do not have access to changing the document.

To make sure these sites were the best solutions I signed up for accounts with both, as an instructional designer should do before suggesting anything. Both sites would be adequate and I would suggest both but suggest that I would make what it best for the class. Every class dynamic is different and their abilities to work, so I would make sure to emphasize this as well.

SKYPE – Video Conferencing.

Skype is also a great way to take a virtual tour. The students would have the ability to interact with the curator but also still be able to view the surroundings. Other programs besides Skype are available such as Google talk. Any video conferencing program is great.

As Paul Signorelli writes in his article, Skype can benefit not only for instructors in education but also for friends helping each other for an interview. Skype allows individuals that cannot meet face to face interact at a certain time. Video conferencing can enhance learning for distance learning course for students that need to see a demonstration or for one on one communications between students and instructors. “Tools such as Skype create extremely effective opportunities for virtual (and virtually) face-to-face learning if trainer-teacher-learners are willing to experiment and if those we help are willing to reach across the rapidly shrinking digital divide with our own equipment or through libraries and other gateways to Internet access' (Signorelli 2012).

The state of Iowa already promotes the use of video/audio conferencing (Simonson et al 2012). The base of the success is sharing for Iowa as schools can offer new options from other schools. (Simonson et al 2012). This is extremely beneficial for schools that do not have the room or other options for expanding to new classes for students.

As with any video or audio conference is it also important to emphasize that students will be seen and heard. Students need to be aware of this as well, so a practice session could be beneficial. 

References:

Aune, Sean P. (2012) Work together: 60+ collaborate tools for groups. Retrieved from: http://mashable.com/2007/07/22/online-collaboration/

Davis, Barbara Gross (1993) Collaborative Learning: group work and study teams

Retrieved from:http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/collaborative.html

Elgort, Irina (2007) Using wikis as learning tools in higher education. Retrieved from: http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/elgort.pdf

Signorelli, Paul (2012) Skype Me: when learning is just a call away. Retrieved from: http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/636/skype-me-when-learning-is-just-a- call-away

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

 Distance Learning in the words of my students is learning at a distance. Of course this is the obvious definition but when I talk to them about technology, I get obvious answers. I guess I should expect that from seventh and eighth graders who are farther up on the technology pole than I am.

I define distance learning as mobile learning community. Mobile because it doesn't matter where a person is as long as they are connected to the internet they can access the online community of learners.

This has not always been my thought, as my first course was semi-distance learning. It was an course on astronomy. All quizzes were online but it was a classroom course. To me, I thought that was distance learning and it was easy. As my courses continue, I took microeconomics online and realized that not all courses are the same. The entire course was online and the professor set up times when the entire class had to be online. It didn't work well and was hard due to students in different time zones.

My master's degree courses were quite different than my bachelor's as my online courses were a more comfortable setting. Most of the individuals in my course were working parents that didn't have time to set up a video meeting until later at night or a weekend. Many were willing to learn but also were open to suggestions. This was more of a learning community.

After this week, the idea or use of distance learning has changed so much over time. To think at one time distance learning was by mail baffles me. I can't imagine mailing my assignments and waiting weeks to know my grade. Sherry mentions in her blog, her past experience with this and the piles of binders and books she still has. (Gallant 2012).  To think it has come from mail to having the United States Distance Learning Association with the motto of "the history and future of learning" (USDLA 2010).  The USDLA is an association that focus on so many types of learning and has chapters across the nation.  

I automatically thought distance learning was strictly used by school systems. My mind didn't branch out to businesses for training or for intercommunication. Today distance learning can be working on documents across the country, or training for all employees at the same time for all facilities. 

There are so many benefits of distance learning especially with changing society today. Bullying is becoming a problem as well as over crowded classrooms. Huett, Moller Foshay, and Coleman discuss how school systems are using distance learning to reach students in areas where there are teacher shortages and over crowded classrooms. (Huett, Moller, Foshay & Coleman 2008). Although in many states there is an overabundance of teachers the over crowding is still happening.

The future of distance learning is incredible. There could be a time when students will almost completely learn from home. The face to face interaction could be video messaging or video classrooms. There are many opportunities for students to be able to have to sign on when a class starts and not be sitting in the classroom with their bullies.

Gallant, Sherry (January 4, 2012) Retrieved from :http://sherrygallant.wordpress.com/blog/


Huett, J., Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Coleman, C. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 3: K12).TechTrends, 52(5), 63–67.


USDLA (2010) United States Distance Learning Association. Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org/

New blogs

Thanks for Following my blog. I am currently working on my new mind map and distance learning blog.
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New blogs

Thanks for Following my blog. I am currently working on my new mind map and distance learning blog.
Please check back :)