Effective Communication

         This week, I examined the effectiveness of a message that was presented  by “Art of Effective communication “using three various modes of communication such as email, phone, and face to face. As Dr. Stolovitch states, project managers are diplomats. Communication is not just words, it also the way we choose to communicate.  Effective communication includes positive attitude, tonality and body language and timing as well as it focus on the recipient.  When communication is clear, concise, and focus, it allows for all team member to stay on target.

In the message in the Art of Effective Communication” multimedia video they presented one message using three different modes communication. The message was sent via an email, phone call, and face to face. Below I have included my interpretation of each modes of communication of the message

Email

The message sent in an email seems to be more informal than the other methods. Without having the ability to have tonality or body language to help with the delivery of the message it wasn’t an effective mode of communication.  Even though it stated facts, it would have been more effective if the recipient was able to hear the urgency or the importance of receiving the information in a timely manner.

Phone

In the phone message, I could hear the sense of urgency to receive the data that is needed immediately.  The phones message was clear and concise.

Face to Face

The face to face mode of communication seem to be the most effective way to communicate this message. Her tone of voice was pleasant, calm, and clear, she used great body language with a positive attitude as she delivery her message. She acknowledge his busy schedule which shown him she was caring without coming off too aggressive and blaming him for not sending the data. By using effective communication skills, I believe she received the data very soon.

All three modalities of communication can be effective. As Dr. Budrovich stated in the video, tailoring your communication to the individual’s needs and preferences will improve team members’ communication relationship.  Communication can be formal or informal. Any meeting or conversation should be documented and send copy of the key points address to the client or team member.

 

 Stolovitch. (2014). (Video Program): "Communicating with Stakeholders"

Achong, Troy & Budrovich, Vince (2014). (Video Program) "Practitioner Voices: Strategies for Working with Stakeholders"

Week 2: Post Mortem

Last year, I was in charge of my school wide annual Science Fair.  There were four members including myself that worked on this project. We began to meet to discuss our expectations, roles, and responsibilities of all members. Afterwards, we agreed to meet again to follow up with all members and the progress of the project. We met again to design a project rubric to use for scoring students’ projects, confirming judges, and final details.

What processes, project artifacts, or activities did you include in the project that contributed to its success?

 The Science Fair Project was a success because we were able to communicate and work well together. We used our school email as way to communicate with administration and faculty. When there was someone not taking care of their responsibilities, it was always someone picking up the slack. All of the students was very engaged and excited to be part of the Science fair. Students were are able to compete on regional level which some of them won awards.

However, there were too many grade levels waiting to present their projects to the judges which was a waste of valuable time. There were students not being properly monitor that caused a couple of the projects to be damaged.

What processes, project artifacts, or activities did you not include in the project that might have made the project more successful?

After the Science Fair, I thought of ways it could have been more of successful. There are a few things I would like to implement this year for the Science fair such as…

·         To be more organize and planning

·         More teamwork

·         A complete time schedule of when each grade level should present their project to save instructional time.

·         Commitment to personal promises made in the plans.

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

The PM process that could have made a difference in the project is planning and organizing. According to Portny et al. (2008), "Project managers can increase a project's chance for success by planning and guiding based on understanding specific project life cycle phases" (p. 108). If this project was organized better, there could have been a chance to save some instructional times.  Each grade level would have a specific time to arrive in the Science Fair to present their project and then go back to class. Also, the project manager could ensure all members are held accountable for their performance. So that all members will be able to share important information with all members.

Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M. (2008). Project Management. John Wiley & Sons.

 

 

EDUC 6145- Project Managment in Education & Training

Greeting to All,

I look forward to start another course that will be filled with many insightful learning experiences. Also, I look for to reading your comments and post from you.

EDUC 6135-Distane Learnng: Reflecton

 The Future of Distance Learning

I have gained an abundance of insightful information about distance learning. Although, I have had many challenges, it was a major learning experience. Each week I have learned or clarified any of misconceptions I thought about distance learning. As Dr. Siemens stated in this week video, many people believe the distance learning was mainly due to the separation by geographical location, but through the use of online communication tools and practical use of these tools we are closer than we ever thought. Distance learning is a field that has many areas that will always grow because technology is always being innovative. In this paper, I am going to address the current and future understanding of distance learning in our society by answering the three questions. First, what do I think the perceptions of distance learning will be in the future (in 5–10 years; 10–20 years)? Secondly, how can I as an instructional designer be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning? Lastly, how will I be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education?

I perceive distance learning will be steady growing and changing in the future. Distance learning is predicted to increase by more than three hundred percent in the next five years which universities and colleges are joining in by offering online degree programs (Moller, L., Foshay, W. R, . & Huett, J. 2008). Technological fluency is becoming a common expectation. The perception of distance learning will continue to be more accepting as people continue to become comfortable using the latest technologies such as new online communication tools to increase interaction between student-student and student-instructors (Siemens, 2014). Furthermore, I believe as people have more personal experience and practice using new technologies such as wireless, mobile laptop computer, personal digital assistance, video conferencing, video streaming, and gaming environment enhance distributed learning, they will gravitate towards distance learning. Learners will have a desire to learn through distance education. Also, in the future, there will be a contribution by experts around the world and increase of multimedia games and simulations. There will be more universities and corporate organization working together as they communicate with people all over the world. As technology advancing to be stronger as computers double in speed while decreasing in cost, and high-speed network connections continue to expand (Howell, S., Williams, P., & Lindsay, N., n.d.).

As a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance education, I will make every effort to improve distance education by supporting faculty, designing effective courses and methods to effectively evaluate distance learners experiences. Instructional designers should increase all manner of interactions, to provide appropriate student activities and, consequently, to eliminate some of the course development and workload concerns of faculty (Moller, L., Foshay, W. R,. & Huett, J,., 2008). The instructional approaches will be learner-centered which would encourage learners to become self-directed and actively participated in the learning process. This will allow the learner to be responsible for their own learning. The course content will be dictated more by what learners need, want and expect to learn.

I will strive to be a positive force for continuous improvement by creating sound instructional design regardless of the medium of delivery or the theoretical framework. As a lifelong learner, I will continue to stay up to date with the latest technology advances and be able to apply them in distance learning environment when it is appropriate. Instructional designers must stay on top of the current research and be able to defend decisions regarding who should and should not enroll in the available distance education offerings and promote designs that have the capability to serve the targeted student population (Huett. J., Moller, L,.Foshay, W.R., & Coleman, C., 2008). Instructional designers are protecting students by promoting solid distance learning practices based on research and theory.

Overall, distance learning is steadily growing at a fast rate. The keys to successful distance education are in the design, development and delivery of instructions and are not related to geography location (Simonson, M., Smaldino, S.,Albright, Micheal., & Zvacek, S., 2012). As technology advance and students are expected to be technology fluent, the more they will be comfortable using these same technology tools to further their education.

References
Howell, S., Williams, P., & Lindsay,N. (n.d.). Thirty-two Trends Affecting Distance Education: An Informed Foundation for Strategic Planning. Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/howell63.html

Huett. J., Moller,L,.Foshay, W.R., & Coleman,C. (2008). Implications for instructional design on the potenial of the web(Part 3: K12). TechTrends, 52(5), 63-67.

Moller,L., Foshay, W. R,. & Huett, J,. (2008). The Evolution of distance education:Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2:Higher Education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.

Siemens, G. (2014). The Future of Distance Education. Laurete Education. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4198205_1%26url%3D

Simonson,M., Smaldino, S.,Albright,Micheal., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundation of Distance Education (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.