My journey in EDU625- Integrating Technology intoLearning was been a very exciting and challenging one. The course provided me with some great opportunities to explore new technologies, build upon knowledge acquired from the previous courses, and improve my overall technological skills.
Out of the many technologies explored throughout the course, I have to say that mobile technology was the one that impressed me the most. Working in online higher education I see great potential in integrating mobile technologies into online courses in a more robust manner. This will allow learners to fully access, participate, and successfully complete their online courses from any mobile device. Continue reading →
In the past two weeks I was introduced to the virtual environment and experienced what it was like to create a learning activity appropriate for mobile learning.
Creating an avatar in Second Life and exploring some destinations that caught my interest was an exciting experience. It was impressive to see the level of details from these images, the different ways to interact with the objects, and the social aspect of the virtual world. I also experienced a few limitations, I felt lost at times. Flexibility and freedom does a great job in fostering curiosity, but it can also feel as if there is a lack of direction. Additionally, the appropriateness of this virtual environment for younger players can be debated. However, during one of my “walks” I heard the voices of two kids speaking to each other. They sounded utterly impressed with everything they encountered and seemed to be having a great time and I asked myself, what are the pros and cons of introducing kids to this virtual world and/or denying them of it? Continue reading →
The past two weeks have been quite interesting and exciting. I had the opportunity to explore a number of tools to present information and content, in addition to learn more about the use of games in the learning environment, and even create my first game. Actually, it was more like the draft to what could be developed into a game, but we have to start somewhere.
When it comes to presentations, it was fascinating to experience how much it has changed since the old PowerPoint days with slides inundated with text and busy borders with flashy effects to showcase the content. The modern presentations from the resources I explored had something in common, the use of only a few words per slide and captivating images. From the readings, I learned that taking a close look at the message one wishes to deliver and determining what is truly important is essential, otherwise the attention from the audience will go elsewhere (Mandel Communications, 2009). To my surprise, this turn out to be more challenging than I expected. I decided to use Slideshare for my presentation as I have never used this tool before. Continue reading →
The concept of integrating technology into the learning environment is one that has gotten a lot of attention in recent years. What I have discovered in the past few weeks is that although technology offers a myriad of possibilities to learners and educators, knowing how to properly use technology for learning purposes is essential. As noted by Young (2010), “technology does not equal learning”. Taking a moment to consider what learning means to me helped me pinpoint what I think is most important about the learning process: 1) that it comes in various forms and from different sources, 2) that it can take place in many settings, 3) that it is unique to each individual, and 4) that a it results in a higher level of knowledge and skills.
When discussing concerns on the use of social media as a learning tool, privacy creeped up to the number one spot on the list. For educators who use Facebook as a learning platform, the suggestion to create an account separate from their personal one was a popular advice (Edudemic Staff, 2015). I failed to see Facebook as a pedagogical tool initially, but experience can be the greatest of teachers sometimes. While exploring different survey tools to gather information from my social community, I surveyed my Facebook friends on their opinion about the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. One of the respondents turned out to be a university professor currently teaching a technology integration class. I was able to pick her brain about different technologies discussed in her class, her take on advantages and disadvantages, as well as feedback from her students. Having this interaction helped me gain a deeper insight on this topic and so indeed, Facebook turned out to serve me as a valuable educational avenue.
I am excited to say that my EDU627 final project is now finished!! What a rewarding learning experience. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoyed developing it.
This is the last blog of my Project Management for Instructional Designers series. My first blog of the series was a brief introduction to Project Management (PM), and I then adventured to highlight the differences between PM and Instructional Design (ID) in my second blog. As I learned more about PM, my third blog was an exploration of Project Management Plan and Project Communication. Now it is time to take a look at what goes on when carrying out a project through Executing the Project and Monitoring and Controlling.
Executing the Project. There are four activities that are part this phase: 1) Acquiring and Developing the Project Team, 2) Distributing Information, 3) Procurement, 4) Monitoring the Project System (Cox, 2010). At this stage, the PM will put together a team of individuals indispensable to complete the project work and assign each of them roles based on their capabilities and the tasks needed for the project. You are creating your support system, and therefore it is necessary to take an honest look at the team’s strengths and opportunities for development so that any additional training needed can be properly budgeted within the project. A positive working relationship with the Stakeholders is critical to project success, and thus, ensuring that all individuals or groups who have an interest in the project are included in the communication is absolutely essential. There are many avenues to communicate with stakeholders and also different types of communication can be employed. Information can be “pushed” or sent directly to the stakeholders, or it can be “pulled”, in other words, made available so that stakeholders can access it as needed (Project Management Institute, n.d). Here PM also acquires the resources needed to complete the project and make deals with several vendors which require careful attention when establishing the terms of the contracts. Staying on top of the project is key to stay within the parameters established early on and to ensure timely completion. Continue reading →
In the first blog post of this series, I briefly introduced Project Management (PM) and its three key elements: Time, Cost, and Scope. As I continued to explore PM, the second blog post discussed the difference between PM and Instructional Design (ID), and also presented an overview of Task Analysis and Sequencing. Now, in the third part of this Project Management series I will talk about Project management Plan and Project Communication.
What is a Project management Plan? According to Cox (2010), a “project plan describes the overall approach used to plan and manage a project” (p. 63). This collection of various documents helps define the project and helps make PM more manageable. They are referred to as “living documents” because they are constantly being updated as the project develops (Cox, 2010). One of the key elements in Project Planning is outlining the purpose of the project as this helps everyone work together towards the same goal. There are eight elements included in the Project Plan: Project Charter summary, Scope, Schedule, Budget, Resource Plan, Communication Plan, Risk Management Plan, and Quality Management Plan (Cox, 2010). Continue reading →
In the first part of this Project Management blog series, I presented a Project Management overview. In this post I will discuss the differences between Project Management (PM) and Instructional Design (ID), describe Task Analysis and define sequencing, as well as share with you one of the helpful resources I came across this week.
What is the difference between PM and ID? Project Management focuses on what is needed for the instructional event to take place, while ID focuses on the learning activity itself (Cox, 2010). According to Van Rooij(2010), there are three factors that govern PM which are “time, money, and stakeholder acceptance” (p.855). Although both PM and ID make use a procedural process, the main focus of PM is to oversee the ISD, and therefore managing the available resources in order to complete the project becomes an integral responsibility in PM (Pan, 2012). When it comes to integrating PM methodologies into ISD, there seems to be some controversy due to the fact that current ISD curriculums do not spend time teaching students PM knowledge and skills. This highly differs to what takes place in practice as the reality is that an ID will spend a great deal of time in PM activities (Van Rooij, 2010). It is believed that the reason for this disconnect may stem from fear that the line that divides instructional design and project management may become too blurry to differentiate between them too, ultimately affecting the professional identity of ID as a result of merging philosophies from these two disciplines into the ID curriculum (Pan, 2012). Continue reading →
Welcome to the Project Management for Instructional Designers blog series! In the upcoming weeks I will be exploring Project Management concepts and principles, and reflect on how these techniques apply to my world. This is the first of a four-part blog series. I look forward to sharing my journey with you!
As I prepare myself to act as a project manager, I found that the video below presents a great overview on what actions to take from the start in efforts to successfully manage a project, as well as the importance of taking ownership of the process.
Project Management Overview. In essence, Project Management is a group of individuals coming together to accomplish a specific assignment or endeavor within an organization (Haughey, 2011). It requires leadership, team work, coordination, and communication across different departments in order to succeed (Haughey, 2011). A key differentiating characteristic when defining a project is that it is “temporary”, in other words, it is organized in such a way that it has a starting point as well as an ending point (Cox, 2010). According to Cox (2010), a project aims to “create a unique product or service” (p. 2). Additionally, all the details pertaining to a project are not revealed at once, they get discovered throughout the process, and are added on as the project unfolds (Cox, 2010). There are three key elements in project management: time, cost, and scope (Haughey, 2011). Each of these elements executes a level of control within the project and serves as parameters to its development (Haughey, 2011). According to Haughey (2011) the six stages in project management include the Definition, Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Control, and Closure of a project Continue reading →
Out of the many technologies explored throughout the course, I have to say that mobile technology was the one that impressed me the most. Working in online higher education I see great potential in integrating mobile technologies into online courses in a more robust manner. This will allow learners to fully access, participate, and successfully complete their online courses from any mobile device. Continue reading 
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