Two Resources For Planning ID Project Schedules

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Here are two resources I find useful in planning an ID project schedule.

1.    Smartsheet- This software platform offers many tools project managers can use to plan a project’s schedule. I started using this software to manage a software application project. The software is user friendly and customizable. One of my favorite features was the ability to create customized dashboards specific to the needs of each stakeholder.

2.     Microsoft Project- My company uses Microsoft products and software. Microsoft Projects is an additional component we use to manage projects. Microsoft Projects is user friendly and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams.

Communicating Effectively Exercisefe

 

Click here to view the Communicating Effectively Exercise Module

Here is my interpretation of email, voicemail, and face-to-face communication methods.-

Email Communication: 

The email message seems informal. The email in the above example does not convey the sense of urgency needed. Shethna (n.d.) writes, “How effective the written communication is will depend on the style of writing, vocabulary, grammar along with clarity. Written communication is most suitable in cases that require detailed instructions, when something has to be documented or in situations where the person is too far away to speak in person or over the phone.”

 

Voicemail Communication:

The voicemail message seems more formal. I hear the urgency in the caller’s voice. However, the voicemail message seems less professional. Altura Communication Solutions (2016) issued a report that stated, “Today’s emerging employee population sees business voicemail as a redundant, cumbersome time-waster used only by telemarketers or “people I don’t want to talk to anyway.”

 

Face-to-Face Communication:

The conversation seems more formal and professional. The non-verbal communication heightens the sense of urgency. This is usually the preferred method of communication. Videoconferencing has allowed face-to-face meetings to happen globally without leaving your office. The employee was able to demonstrate a calm sense of urgency through their facial and body expressions. “Although there are many other opportunities and tools being used in increased frequency HR Managers still prefer the personal communication with their employees and clients in specific situations of uncertainty and trust” (Arndt, 2011).

 

References

Altura Communication Solutions. 2016. Eliminate Voicemail, Improve Communication: 5-Point Strategy. https://www.alturacs.com/wp-content/uploads/SAM-Eliminate-Voicemail-Whitepaper-Mutare-Altura.pdf

Arndt, C. 2011. The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication in HR Departments: A study in the field of Organizational Communication

Shethna, J. n.d. Different Effective Methods of Communication (Useful). https://www.educba.com/different-methods-of-communication/

Project: Enhance First-Year Experience for Undergraduate Students

       

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Introduction

Bay Crest University (BCU) is seeking a solution to enhance the first-year experience for incoming undergraduate students. Based on recent surveys, first-year students were increasingly feeling “overwhelmed,” and the student emotional health ratings were at their lowest levels. Current students were reportedly spending more hours each week partying than studying. First-year students were increasingly preoccupied with decisions about selecting a major and focusing as quickly as possible on a career specialty.

Background Information

As explained in The ID Casebook: Case Studies in Instructional Design (2013) “First-year Working Group” made up of six key Student Affairs staff and 20 volunteer faculty as well as the associate deans from each of the three undergraduate colleges were unable to reach an agreement in recent semesters. Provost Callahan has requested innovative and creative solutions going forward.

 Current Environment

Provost Callahan has approved additional time. Additional time is necessary to build a program that the larger campus community would see as having added value for incoming students. BCU needs to do a lot more work garnering buy-in from the faculty in all three undergraduate colleges before we can have a successful pilot. Also, BCU needs a shared set of competencies established on campus. Lastly, BCU needs to complete student writing initiatives established on campus.

 Key Stakeholders

Provost Callahan, Client

Melanie Williams, Project Manager

Mark Jones, Co- Project Lead

Sue Gulick, Co- Project Lead

Associate Deans

Peggy Smith, Arts and Sciences

Hank Levitt, Business

Eli Strauss, Engineering

                                                           Goals and Objectives

BCU goals are to enhance the first-year experience for incoming undergraduate students by providing a shared experience that combines both curricular topics and co-curricular topics within the context of an interdisciplinary or theme-oriented academic course. Curricular topics include writing, critical thinking, and information literacy. Co-curricular topics such as planning and preparation, multicultural awareness, leadership, civic responsibility, and wellness/ healthy choices. 

        

         What contributed to the project’s success or failure? 

The teacher's inability to cooperate with the project leaders to develop a curriculum to enhance first-year student experiences and increase the retention rate.

Which parts of the PM process, if included, would have made the project more successful? Why?

The project management process benefits most when the team spends adequate time in the initial phases of planning. In an Chron. article, Smith states, "The planning phase is the most important; time and effort invested in this phase lays a solid foundation for the project. This phase identifies and defines the project's costs, scope, risks, opportunities and constraints. Appropriate stakeholders should be involved in the planning phase to provide feedback."

Resources:

Ertmer, P. 2013. The ID Casebook : Case Studies in Instructional Design 4th. Mark Jones and Sue Gulick: Meeting Challenges in the Design and Delivery of a University-wide First Year Experience Course

Smith, E. n.d. Phases of Project Life Cycles. Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/tasks-five-phases-project-management-52690.html

 

The Future of Distance Learning

People have grown to appreciate distance learning over the past two years due to a pandemic. Educators, students, and parents were forced to transition from face-to-face education and training to online education and training. Before the pandemic, distance learning was an alternative to conventional learning methods and the students were primarily adults.

Generally, distance learning has two parts- distance and technology.

First is the physical separation of the teacher from the learner: the communication between the teacher and the learner becomes indirect, which helps students learn at their own speed, in any place, and at any time that suits their circumstances and needs. Second is the role of effective modern media and communication tools in transferring learning to students using multiple educational media, whether through printed, electronic, recorded, or visual materials. (Hamaidi, 2021)

In the future distance learning will be an intricate part of a student's educational and work career. I think in the next 5-10 years distance learning will be a significant part of elementary age students, but more significant with secondary and post-secondary age students. Academic experience and years of studies are known to “exert an influence on students' attitudes and degree of satisfaction from distance learning” (Baruth, 2021).

As an instructional designer, I can be a visible proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning by creating and designing successful learning experiences. By applying the knowledge and skills I acquired in my training as an instructional designer, I will create successful learning experiences. As we witnessed throughout the past two years, distance learning is a vital component of our educational and training needs. As we improve our distance learning experiences, we will see tremendous growth and acceptance of distance learning.

So as those communication technologies improve in quality, we're going to start to see the educational model around it also ramp up significantly. So distance education then becomes more distributed than it's ever been. Greater contribution from experts around the world, increased use of multimedia, games, simulations-- for example, video work within courses. (Siemens, n.d.)

If I encounter an opponent of distance or online learning, I will simply ask them- “Based on recent events, can you imagine a world without distance learning or instructional designers?” 

I cannot.

References

Baruth, O. 2021. Distance learning perceptions during the coronavirus outbreak: Freshmen versus more advanced students. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. Volume 37, Issue 6 p. 1666-1681

Hamaidi, D. 2021. Parents’ Perceptions of Their Children’s Experiences with Distance Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 22(2), 224–241.

Siemens, G. n.d. Walden University, LLC. (Producer). The future of distance education         [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu