Breeze vs Traditional Presentation (Week #12, Blog #2)

After observing presentations through Breeze and having to conduct my actually face-to-face, I would much rather of done my through Breeze. I noticed that when I was giving my presentation that I stumbled and slurred many words. Overall I felt like if I would of given the presentation virtually, no one could actually see me and I would have been more relaxed and done a better job.

I could see though how Breeze is a great tool to use for conferences. It could connect people from long distances together and save cost. Also the interface is really easy to use and little to no training (I think) would be required.

Collecting Data (Week #12, Blog #1)

In Chaper 32 of your textbook it mentions five steps in data collection and analysis.
These steps are:

1) Set up the database
2) Develop an evaluation plan
3) Collect and compile the data
4) Interpret the data
5) Document your findings

The book also mentioned that you needed a good statistical package to analyze the raw data. SPSS, otherwise known as Statistical Package for Social Sciences, was the program the book mentioned was a good program to use.

Our book closes with a good statement that is if you carefully pay attention to instructional design then your solution solves the problem or issue you are training. I think this is a great ending and one that is true.

Project Update (Week #11, Blog #2)

Today in class we encountered a real-life situation. This situation was a version change with Camtasia. Because of this version change anyone having the older version (4.0) will not be able view any videos created with the latest version (5.0).

This is one of the things our book mentioned in an earlier chapter. It is very important to be prepared for changes like these. It is also a good idea to plan for these changes in your course design specification (CDS). This way your group will have a game plan.

I do believe currently we are unable to find a way to convert version 5 files to version 4. This is a bad technical issue on Tech Smith's part, I believe. Hopefully they will come out soon with a patch or converter to allow this technical issue to be resolved.

Evaluation Strategy (Week #11, Blog #1)

In Chapter 28 of our text it mentions three activities to complete to form an evaluation strategy.
These are:
1) Write an introduction
2) Determine the evaluation requirements
3) Determine sources

Forming a successful strategy allows developers to build evaluation into every solution. After forming the strategy in Chapter 29 it talked about how to make decisions for each solution based on the overall strategy.

The big concept in Chapter 29 was how to develope an evaluation plan. The chapter suggests the following activities when forming your plan:
1) Complete the problem statement section
2) Complete the solution section
3) Complete the objectives section
4) Complete the pertinent components of the evaluation plan
5) Complete the executive summary.

Overall these two chapters are excellent resources when forming our groups evaluation strategy and plan.

Evaluation of Multimedia Projects Part II (Week #10, Blog #2)

In my last blog I talked about what the book stated about multimedia evaluation. After doing some research I found a great evaluation to use. The evaluation can be found at: http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/rub.senst.htm.

It gives a more in-depth analysis than the example in our textbook. I think this would be a great example for us to use when evaluating our projects.

Another evaluation example I found can be found at: http://teacherworld.com/multimediarubric.html. This one would also be a great example to use when evaluating our projects.

I have discovered that there is many great evaluation tools to use when evaulating the overall multimedia project.

Evaluation (Week #10, Blog #1)

The book mentions that evaluation is worth the cost and time. I will have to agree with the book and its' authors. The book mentions two measures you should evaluate multimedia criteria by. These are organizational and individual needs. In Table 27.1 it gives a great example of an evaluation matrix to use to evaluate these criteria.

The book though mentions a great point. This is that too little or too much evaluation are both wasteful. When we start the evaluation process of our project it will be very important to remember this point.

Virtual Training(Week #9, Blog #2)

In my last blog (Week #9, Blog #1) I talked about virtual high schools. Now I would like to talk about virtual training. Should companies conduct training virtually? Well in my opinion it depends on the topic.

If the topic is using software then maybe yes. There are great programs like Sam that can train people to use certain programs. Also a big company that is creating material is VTC. Their website is http://www.vtc.com/. They offer both videos and cd material to walk one through software concepts. If the topic is something non-computer based then it may be hard to conduct training.

If for instance, a company is changing production adding a new process to that production. Then you may want offer face-to-face interaction about why and how to complete this process. This would also give employees time to ask questions so production will not go down.

Virtual High School(Week #9, Blog #1)

I responded to someone's Wiki about Virtual high schools. Recently after I graduated my school district, Lexington 1, implemented a few courses virtual. These courses included:
Algebra 1
English 1
English 3
American Government
EconomicsPhysical Education 1

I believe that if I was going through high-school now I would pick to take a few of these. However based on my learning style and because math is my worse subject I would take Algebra in the traditional classroom setting. The main question that I have for my school district is I see how the curriculum for the Physical Education is setup.

Overall I believe virtual high school courses are great but should not be all virtual. Students need interaction physically.

When buying software(Week #8, Blog #2)

In Chapter 24, our book mentions on pages 204-206, five big things to consider when buying programs like Camtasia.

• Acquisition
• Development
• Implementation
• Support
• Maintenance

I will agree with our book and saying this are important elements. Especially the last two. If a product is constantly failing and no support team can be called then it will delay the schedule. In return the training may not be done properly or could cause a team to not be trusted again when asked to do training.

Experience with Camtasia (Week #8, Blog #1)

Last week in class we started using Camtasia. I have worked with Camtasia before but not to an advanced level. I'm looking forward to learing how to create transition slides because I have only used Camtasia to record PowerPoint lectures for a class. Also I'm looking forward to the other features like creating menus for your presentation.

I have discovered that Camtasia has a quiz feature built into the program. This would be a good idea for the Challenge exercise to make sure our learners are understanding the material. The quiz feature would also be a good idea when conducting other types of training.

Finally, I like that Camtasia allows you to save the presentation as a Flash, Windows Media Player, or podcast format. TechSmith was very smart creating this feature because now you can save to different formats to broaden your audience.

CDS/Planning of the project(Week #7, Blog #2)

This past week in class we completed the CDS. I enjoyed planning out the due dates as a class. This way the whole class knows when everything is due. It also gave us a chance to express our views of when things are due instead of the professor assigning dates.

The CDS also has helped us plan out who is doing what. This way it serves as a contract and a group member can't say they didn't know they were assigned a certain tasks.

The Production Cycle (Week #7, Blog #1)

The production cycle (Figure 22.1 in our text) can be used to help with the development of your project. The cycle includes five areas: preproduction, production, postproduction and quality review, and delivery or implementation.

The cycle stresses regardless of your role you are affected through some phase(s) of this production cycle. Being aware of team member roles, participating fully, and lending your expertise at the team level will help improve your project's quality, effectiveness, and viablity of your project.

This is a great cycle to use. I'm going to suggest that our group implement it in our multimedia project. The figure breaks down the web and video part so regardless of your role, you clearly understand what your function is during the preproduction, production, postproduction and quality review, and delivery or implementation phases.

Social Events (Week #6, Blog #2)

Events like the TSTM meet and greet is a great way to network. Every teacher and/or professor states it is all about networking. Meaning it is who you know that gets you a job or interview.

I'm a believe in this 100%. For an example my cousin is a Youth Pastor at a big church. Recently their IT person has left. Now they are interviewing for the position and I have gotten called in for a interview. This goes back to "networking."

Events like Career Day, Alumni Day, and the meet and greet are ways to network. If students do not network then they are going to have a hard time finding jobs once they graduate from college.

Delivery Strategies(Week #6, Blog #1)

Here are some learning strategies we talked about during class:
—-Lecture and…linear presentation, recitation, interaction, discussion, demonstration
—-Guided learning
—-Open exploration
—-Brainstorming
—-Games
—-Role playing
—-Simulation
—-Performance support

When conducting training I believe that one should try to use some of these. For instance guided learning. You could give them an exercise and product a video walking the trainee through on how to complete the exercise.

Games are a create way as well. You could create a jeopardy game to review concepts. Which strategies you use doesn't matter but one should try to use two to three when designing multimedia based training.

Being a Moderator (Week #5, Blog #2)

In class today I had the opportunity to be a moderator for a discussion. Our discussion involved talking about voice recognition. There are a few skills I would like to recommend people being a moderator of a discussion.

1) Be very familiar with your topic. Having completed TSTM 443 I was knowledgeable with speech recognition. I was able to talk about Dragon, the benefits of using voice recognition, and how it can be helpful with people with disabilities.

2) Be able to communicate effectively. When being a moderator it is important that you asks questions and give responses clearly. Without doing this the discussion might go in a different direction or the participants will be very unclear of what you are trying to ask.

3) Be courteous. We each have our own thoughts and views. For an example some people (dealing with voice recognition) software may think Dragon is the best. Others may think the speech tools built-in with Windows Vista is the best. Whatever the case may be state your views, maybe show an article proving your views, but remember they are views and views can differ from person to person.

Content Structure(Week #5, Blog #1)

Having read Chapter 19, I agree with the authors on content structure. One of the best ways to gain insight and ideas when creating your multimedia project is to check out similar products. To accomplish this you can visit their websites or even download the program and give it a try.

Another method is to use brainstorming in searching for novel approaches to meeting your design goals. When doing this include non-instructional designers and design team members. The point of doing this is to have a flair of creativity and it can provide fresh ideas and approaches. Design sessions, the authors from our text mention, are often some of the most enjoyable and invigorating activites associated with multimedia projects.

Don't forget when designing content structure involving as many team members as possbile. Doing this will boosts morale, builds consensus, and improves the quality of the design.

Writing Modules (Week #4, Blog #2)

I believe that writing modules for the design project is a excellent way to start off our design project. Our group's topic is Expression Web. With Expression Web there are many different design topics that our group can discuss. Having these modules is going to help us narrow done which topics we are going to discuss and which ones are more important to highlight.

The only difficult thing our group is running into is making sure we don't overlap with the other group's material. It is going to be very important as we continue to outline the modules and objectives that we work with the other group in making sure we are not stepping on each other's toes.

Also having the modules will help us then write the objectives. Having to write objectives without any criteria other than then just the Expression Web software would be hard. The modules will serve as a basis of how to construct our objectives.

Project Team (Week #4, Blog #1)

In our text in Chapter 17 it mentions there is three activities in the process of establishing teams. These are: 1)List team roles 2)List project tasks 3)Assign roles and responsibilities

All three of these are really important. It is important to first establish the possible team roles for the project. Such possible roles can include: the team leader and the roles below the team leader. Such roles can include editor, designer, quality reviewer, and many others.

Next I agree that you must list the task in the project. This way everyone can stay on top of things and understand when things are due and deadlines. A great software program to use is Microsoft Project. Project allows you to organize tasks, set milestones, and create reports of where you are on your project.

Finally assign the roles. This is where you actually assign the roles that you established in step #1. Make sure when you assign this role the person understands the responsibility that goes along with it.

If one follows these steps the project should start off (and hopefully) end successfully.

Should Facebook be Banned? (Week #3, Blog #2)

I believe Facebook being banned just depends on the company and/or person. If companies notice that employees are spending more time on social communities and not getting the required work done, then yes as a company, I would block it. If they see that employees use their breaks or down time to look at Facebook, then no, I would not block it.

More and more companies are starting to use Facebook or Myspace to find out information about future employees. This strategy is great because this way companies can know who they may hire without a face-to-face interview. So employees need to watch what they post because your future boss may have looked at your profile before coming to the interview.

My beliefs on cyber slacking is the same if some was slacking in on the job. If an employee is slacking on the job, the employer should pull them aside and give them a warring. If it happens a second time, then the employer, in my opinion, should fire the employee because they have been given a warring. The same thing should apply in cyber slacking. If the employer has given a warring to the employee stating that you are spending too much time on social communities or browsing the internet, then the employer has the right to fire that employee.

Learning Management Systems (Week #3, Blog #1)

In the Chapter 15 reading it talks about LMS's (learning management systems). This is what I'm doing my Wiki on. The book's example of a LMS's is a registrar at your university. This is a great example of how to look at a LMS's.

Our text continues on and mentions e-learning. In e-learning, LMS's are very critical to the learning process. Take for example Blackboard, which is a great example of a LMS. In Blackboard you have your grade book, discussion board, options to take quizzes, announcements, and documents. These are all critical areas when conducting e-learning. As you can see a poorly designed LMS cannot help the e-learning process after all you are learning virtual and tools like discussion boards help aid in the process.

When using LMS's and using them in e-learning design is the key. When designing training systems remember to use the conclusions from your project assessment and analysis phases to build a roadmap for development. The whole point of design is to have the opportunity to design your intervention before beginning development.

Objective Analysis (Week #2, Blog #2)

Our reading for this week dealt with Chapter 10, Objective Analysis.

When I took TSTM 444 (with Dr. Bartlett) we spent a great deal of time writing objectives and how to write effective objectives. Our text does a great job of explaining the parts of the objectives.

These parts are:
situation
learning capability
object
action verb
tools, constriants, and conditions

I believe after conducting your needs analysis, objectives should be the next thing. It is very important to make sure objectives flow out of the needs analysis so these come hand in hand in a way.

In 444 we also learned to make sure your objectives are reachable and do not completely stress out the trainees. You want training to be fun (to a certain degree) and not boring. This is where the tools you use can spice up training (i.e. using podcasts instead of just sitting and lecturing on the topic).

Social Networking Not IT's Problem (Week #2, Blog #1)

I found this article on computer world's website dealing with social networking tools such as blogs and wikis. The url can be found at: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=297531. I have summarized the article below and given my thoughts on what I think whose to blame for Social networking tools.

The article’s main focus is how it is not IT’s responsibility to control social networking tools 100%, instead the administrator or author of the tool should be control the tool, as well. Jim Klein, in the article, states that his school district wanted a blog for teachers and students to use to communicate. However, he did not want to be the “blog police” so he stated that teachers had to approve of posts before students saw the content. He states that “for the tools to be successful, the buck has to stop somewhere other than IT.” This is very true because many want to blame IT for everything. In the article it mentions, very heavily to plan ahead. Many companies integrate social networking, like wikis. The company creates the wiki and something goes wrong. Then the fingers all get pointed to IT. When it all boils down to it social networking tools it is everyone’s responsibility, not just IT’s.

Finally the article mentions that “IT can help curb bad behavior by employing authorization and authentication controls to render social networks privately.” Privately means only members can view entries. Regardless if the tool is private or public, the administrator can control what is posted and can delete postings, as needed. Of course, the article states, if members do not behave then it is the administrators responsibility to either kick the user off or remove posts, not IT’s. It is very important that the organization and/or company help manage technology because IT cannot play the social police while managing other business activities, like servers and web development.

The article is extremely reliable because this is an issue being faced today. With Facebook, MySpace, and other social networks IT is constantly being blamed. Parents are criticizing MySpace for allowing adults to be talking to children. It is not IT’s responsibility to control what your child does that is why they are the parents. The same thing applies in the business world that it is not IT’s job to constantly being the police of social networking.

Beliefs about Training, Learning, and Technology (Week #1 Blog #2)

For this blog entry I would like to expand on my thoughts on the discussion board.

1)I believe that training in organizations should be required by all employees (especially new ones) to learn new methods that could help make the organization better.

New employees coming in need to learn the normal operations of the company and I believe this is what training does. It also shows new employees about the company, how it functions, and the different tools the company offers. Training can also re-enforce old employees of new practices and maybe get them fired up again about the company's operation.


2)I believe that learning in organizations should occur at all levels. Top management all the way down to employees can all learn in organizations.

Yes, even managers, CIOs, CEOs, etc can and need to be trained. No one knows everything. With this said I think we conducting training having everybody together is key. This shows people that even management cares about training and is wanting to learn how to better the company.

3)I believe, related to training and learning in organizations, that technology can dramatically help make an organization a better one. There are so many tools that can make an organization achieve this and they are almost crazy not to use such tools.

There is a bunch of cool software like Camtasia that can make this happen. I'm very excited about learning to work with this program. I hope to become well at it so I maybe can use this when I teach.

Needs Assessment (Week #1 Blog #1)

The book defines needs assessment as "the systematic process of determining goals, identifying discrepancies between actual and desired conditions, and establishing priorities for action."

I believe that needs assessment is very critical for not only the training purpose but for any part of IT. For an example when I go to build a website for someone I conduct a needs assessment to what the need of the website is and what information the client needs on the site. Usually I do this through a direct interview, one of the data-techniques the book mentions.

When we are doing our Group Project is going to be key to make sure we conduct a thrall needs analysis to make sure the training materials we create is exactly what they are looking for. I would imagine that a lot of this information can be gathered through a direct interview, self-completion questionnaire, and observations. The book gives some great tips on conducting a needs assessment and I will make sure that I point this out to my group when we get there.

Software

1. The first productivity software program I ever used was Notepad. I used it to write letters in my second grade computer class. We used it with Windows 3.11

2. The software program I use and know the best is Microsoft Excel. I used to Excel to build many spreadsheets with drop down list, data validation, and micros for my dad's mortgage business.

3. One software program I would like to learn more about is Camtasia. I'm very excited we are going to learn about this program this semester.

First Posting

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Thanks.

~Ryan