Week 15 Post 2

Last Blog for this semester! I certainly have learned tons of information from this activity!!!

http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/FIS/ResPub/DLC95.html

I reviewed this article while researching information for the final project.

Information Management for the Intelligent Organization: Roles and Implications for the Information Professions

This article was full of useful information and graphics.

I learned that there are three types of organizational knowledge:
1) tacit knowledge which helps with effectiveness. This knowlege resides in the workers and is often intuitive.
2) rule based knowledge which helps to define procedures and consistency among workers
3) background knowledge which is spread among storytelling and helps to instill a sense of common purpose among workers.

There are three types of knowledge experts in the intelligent organization
1)Domain - organization experts that decide what needs to be learned and how users will learn it. They dictate directions to the information and IT experts.
2)Information - traditionally the most supportive and least "in-charge" group. This group needs to embrace its importance and become a full partner.
3) I.T. - the tech guys who take content and deliver to users. Bonding with the content experts will enhance the delivery and understanding of the content to the end users.

It is important for these groups to blend the edges of their expertise and focus and work together to enhance the knowledge of the organization. A "bridge of knowledge" amongst all groups will serve to exponentially increase organizational effectiveness.

The abstract:

The intelligent organization is able to mobilize the different kinds of knowledge that exist in the organization in order to enhance performance. It pursues goals in a changing environment by adapting behavior according to knowledge about itself and the world it thrives in. The intelligent organization is therefore a learning organization that is skilled at creating, acquiring, organizing, and sharing knowledge, and at applying this knowledge to design its behavior. Organizational learning depends critically upon information management -- the capacity to harness the organization's information resources and information capabilities to energize organizational growth. Information management is a cycle of processes that support the organization's learning activities: identifying information needs, acquiring information, organizing and storing information, developing information products and services, distributing information, and using information. An analysis of each of these processes suggests new strategies for maximizing the value of information in organizations, and for a reinvention of the roles of information professionals, be they librarians, information providers, information technologists, or information scientists.

Week 15 Post 1

The Society for Organizational Learning (http://www.solonline.org/) is the professional organization dedicated to the promotion of learning organizations. The web site showcased an upcoming learning seminar which can help organizations learn sustainability. There is a variety of events to choose from around the country. This organization also has resources available and offers consulting services. There is an area for members with close geographical ties or common interests to network. The founding chairman is Peter Senge.

Another organization related to learning organizations is the Global Knowledge Innovation Infrastructure. (http://www.entovation.com/gkii/) This web site is promoting a worldwide collaborative effort for "learning, research, and practical action." There are five levels of membership benefits which relate to the level of participation. The more interaction and input a member contributes, the more they will learn about learning organizations.

Becoming a member of one of these societies makes sense from a collaborative standpoing. According to Senge's 5 component technologies, personal learning is an important part of successful learning organizations. Becoming a member solidifies the committment to personal learning while building a network of like minded individuals who can then build a common vision and and engage in team learning.

Week 14 Post 2

I started to read the assigned article but then did a Google search for "learning organziation" first. I was surprised to see most of the hits were for research done by Senge who is described in the assigned article. As usual Wikipedia had a good, broad overview of the topic. From this page, I learned that companies use this philosophy to weather stormy business times. The example given was Shell during the 1970s oil crisis. These companies coninutally adapt and change based on both the external environment and individual learning. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_organization


http://www.siue.edu/~mthomec/LearnOrg.pdf

A learning organization is "an ideal, ‘towards which organizations have to evolve in order
to be able to respond to the various pressures [they face]. It is characterized by a recognition that ‘individual and collective learning are key’"

This article is a much more indepth but still readable information than the wikipedia site. Much of the information related to organizational culture change and the idea that executives need to be responsible and responsive to the lower level, in-the-trenches workers. Great information!

The next assigned article was Senge's take on the topic. http://www.siue.edu/~mthomec/LearnOrg-Senge.pdf

This article was organized around the five basic components of learning organizations. This is the five along with my one phrase summary of each.
Systems thinking - interrelatedness of the parts of the system
Personal mastery - people within the organization must be interested in thier own learning and personal development
Mental models - gain awareness of the impact of pre-formed internal ideas on change outside the person
Building shared vision - all members of the organization must see a common goal in order for the whole organization to work toward that goal
Team learning - the individuals who have worked on the previous three steps come together and create a more powerful combined effort. Such team effort can be exponential.

A key part of his vision is that all members of the organization take an active role in creating the learning organization. The organizational leader takes on more of a cheerleader role for the teams than the director.

These ideas are very good in theory but so very difficult to put into practice. At my previous employer, these ideas were taught and modeled from above but the ground level workers could not get past the mental models of the past and held on to their ingrained culture.

Week 14 Post 1

http://www.siue.edu/~mthomec/LearnTechCaterpillar.PDF

Beginning the reading assignments, I picket the Caterpillar article first. Caterpillar Decatur has been a huge part of my life as family and friends have worked there in many capacities. I was on the front end of the Six Sigma revolution as well as the Pacific Institute culture initiative which soon spilled over into other community businesses.

When I reviewed the slides, I recalled a conversation I had with a HR exec who had just been on a world-wide training mission to China, Australia, and India among other places. The globalization and need for multiple language and customs is important to a global company such as this.

The idea of CatU is both interesting but logical at the same time. It is to be expected that all learning opportunities be held under the same umbrella however I understand that this is innovative thinking among many companies.

I also love the idea of "blackberries on steroids" as these really are much better for factory and hands-on applications than having to leave the work area to find a large computer to obtain the job aid needed in a different area.

I am glad to see the company streamlining learning and cutting back on costs as other issues are affecting sales in today's economy.

Week 13 Post 2

In preparation for the FINAL(!!!) assignment, I Googled the phase "re-using training materials." The first site I reviewed was a sales pitch for http://www.flextraining.com/. This company has e-learning software for sale that can customize your company's existing training materials for online leaning. The website says this can be done quickly but I don't think it works that way!

The next site http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningcapital/reproduce.aspx, discussed projects that had been funded specifically to re-purpose materials. There were case studies and links to ongoing projects. This site was very interesting and will be a useful resource for my final project.

The final site reviewed this evening was a Blackboard quick start guide. http://www.adelaide.edu.au/myuni/training/documentation/bb7_docs/Quick_Reference_Guide_Reusing_and_Reorganizing_Courses.pdf

This article discussed the use of metadata and learning objects so that specific information within one course can be accessed by other course developers and used within a different course.

This seems like a project I have in my head for my own classes. I teach within a two year long program. The content that is covered in each class must also be reviewed and integrated into all the subsequent classes. I need to think ahead while developing courses and adequately tag the information for quick retrieval in other course development.

Week 13 Post 1

The semester is winding down! I turned in Case Study 4 and have learned so much about performance technology. It is very similar to regular quality assurance programs in the business world that I have used throughout my career. However, with the focus being changed to electronic learning media, performance improvement is a dynamic and changing field. I will need to begin a wrap-up summary of what I have learned and complete before the semester is complete. With the close of the semester, I will need to focus on my portfolio which is a performance technology experiment in itself!

Week 12 Post 2

http://www.siue.edu/~mthomec/LearningObjects.pdf

Another read in preparation for the Case Study assignment. This article was a very helpful layout of how to alter traditional ISD to a Learning Object specific project. There were five "levels" to use: Analyze,Design & Mine, Develop, Repurpose & Reuse, Deliver & Access, and Maintain & Retire. This sequence is a useful way to look at multi-purpose training materials in the meta data tagging world.

Week 12 Post 1

In preparation for the next assignment, I continued with the research. One of the requirements was to find out what other companies are doing to move their training materials online.

The article reviewed began by comparing the evolution of cinematography to the evolution of learning delivery. This was a surprisingly insightful comparison. The authors then differentiated between traditional instructor led learning and e-learning.

The main point of the article is that dumping power point slides or other existing training material is terribly problematic for e-learning goals. The transition of existing materials must also include any background information that the instructor has traditionally provided.

One important quote from the text is, "Consider two basic things: a) What are the crucial elements, concepts, and information that need to be communicated? b) How can the online medium’s capabilities be used to communicate these concepts and information? Doing this well takes a lot of time, expertise, and resources. "

I will ensure that my project includes clear and self-explanatory information along with training materials that can function without the support of an instructor. Content must be complete and accurate.

http://www.abcelearning.com/resources/moving_camera.php

Week 11 Post 2

Time to start a new topic! I began reading for Assignment 4. The powerpoint presentation was a very good review of what Web 2.0 is and how it can affect the training world. It got me thinking about my own online "presence."

I have been a myspace fan for a long while but find more connections with old friends on Facebook. I've branched out beyond a classroom blog to personal blogging on blogger. I can find myself on Twitter, LinkdIn, and even classsmates.com. I use it for diet tracking and exercise tracking with sparkpeople and Nike plus. I am 100% Minty according to an interactive financial site. Another course has us networking on Ning and Huddle. I have used Second Life a bit and am an active participant on professional listservs and discussion boards. I am oddly unnerved at the number of people out there with the same name as me however! I bank online, shop online, and am annoyed when I cannot find the information I need about a local business or event online. When tempted to buy a book on Amazon, I pop over to the library's site and see if they have the book I need. I not only use the internet at home but also at work and for this course. I have internet access on my phone should I need it while away from a full service computer. It is definitely an interactive medium for my life and not simply a one-way connector to information.

The idea of Web 2.0 and performance technology is a natural fit for learners with extensive web experience. These types of users expect to get out of the training what they need. They wish to search. They wish to have "smart" interaction with the system. They wish to have a place to leave feedback and comments.

Week 11 Post 1

I'm running out of ideas for this blog. However I know there is an unlimited amount of information out there on the internet for me to stumble across. So I went back to "performance technology" to see what other terms or ideas I could find. The first result on Google today was a bibliography type list with links. Great! http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~mryder/itc_data/performance.html

The first link I went to was titled "When training doesn't work." http://www.fastrak-consulting.co.uk/tactix/Features/epss/epss.htm This article was about the role of EPSS in a training program. It had a catchy story about a job need then reviewed why an EPSS would work in this situation. The site is a good review of EPSS.

The next link was titled "Human Performance in the Workplace: Aligning People, Processes and Performance." http://www.mnispi.org/meetings/meeting_recaps/2003_JanRecap.pdf. I found that it was simply a bulleted list of points from a meeting. I did enjoy this list:

Ten Things That Top Performers Do
1. Eliminate unnecessary steps.
2. Perform an extra step that is needed but not documented.
3. Use available information and documentation that others do not.
4. Possess information or data that others do not.
5. Create a job aid that others do not have.
6. Possess better tools than others.
7. Have a different motive for performing.
8. Receive different guidance and feedback.
9. Obtain different incentives.
10. Do not succeed as a result of training.

The third link I chose http://www.pcd-innovations.com/piaug2001/around_the_interface.pdf was called "Around the Interface in 80 clicks." It sounded interesting and the layout was visually appealing so I started reading. This article was mostly about interface design and echoed the same points as the Garrett book I read for IT 580. Some of the important points included metadata tagging that was the topic of a previous blog.

As I continue with this blogging project, I am finding much more clarity as I build my knowlege base. Topics and terms are being used in many different ways and I can appreciate the foundation that I have in instructional design theory and can related that now to performance technology and interface design.

Week 10 Post 2

Job Aid Creation:

http://www.webwritingthatworks.com/CGuideJOBAID.htm
This site is very useful and layed out in a step by step format. I would say it is a job aid for creating a job aid! While it is aimed at web-based writing, I was able to take a good deal of information and apply it to my project.


http://www.qaproject.org/jobaids/presentations/Moore%20-%20How%20to%20Write%20a%20Job%20Aid.pdf
This site is a powerpoint type presentation on how to write a useable job aid. Some of the important information I took away was formatting (sequential vs algorithm), use action verb+object, highlight important information, and if you use pictures, use callouts.

files.asme.org/Volunteer/VOLT/13290.doc
This is actually a job aid for writing training materials. It is layed out in a grid fashion with major headings and examples of each.

The output was a fun and motivational job aid that I can hang on my refrigerator and follow on Sunday mornings. The house looks great and it only took a little while! No more wasted time :)

Week 10 Post 1

Today I started the job analysis for my Assignment 3 part 2. To prepare for the data collection phase, I reviewed additional information about job analysis techniques. http://www.job-analysis.net/G013.htm had a lot of useful information. I decided that, based on the following criteria, that my job aid met the requirements for a job analysis.

"The Observation method of Job Analysis is suited for jobs in which the work behaviors are 1) observable involving some degree of movement on the part of the incumbent, or 2) job tasks are short in duration allowing for many observations to be made in a short period of time or a significant part of the job can be observed in a short period of time, or 3) jobs in which the job analyst can learn information about the job through observation. "

From this site, I determined my plan of action would be to "observe" myself doing the tasks required. First, a list of tasks is needed. Then I will complete each task while timing myself. I will then arrange the tasks in a logical arrangement. The website stated that observation allows the job analyst to not only view the job but also the work environment, tools, and barriers to completion. Since I am both the observer and the worker being observed, it is possible that my data collection will interfere with my normal work process. In this case, that is desirable for I already know the normal work process is the undesirable outcome.

A second website, http://www.opm.gov/HiringToolkit/docs/jobanalysis.pdf, had specific steps to conducting a job analysis. The first step is:
•Develop a comprehensive list of the tasks and competencies that define the job

So... I am off and running. I have already done the first step however I may adjust as I go along. The next blog entry for the week will be research on the acutal steps in creating a job aid. But by then I will be enjoying a clean house AND half of my homework done :)

Week 9 - Spring Break

Yeah! Spring Break. I didn't complete any assignments but did review Dreamweaver skills in preparation for my next Jury submission. I made a new personal website and will soon transfer my SIUE content there for permanent placement. www.ginasworld.net

Week 8 Post 2

On a whim tonight I decided to look for jobs as a Human Performance Technologist. Many times I learn as much about the industry from detailed job ads as I do from other sources.

The simply hired site had many openings for a HPT. Most companies required experience with ADDIE as related to performance improvement initiatives. The company L-3 communications has the majority of ads. Locations for the jobs are around the country and seem to involve defense dept. contracts. http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-Human+Performance+Technologist

Another search revealed a position as the Asst Professor of Human Performance at IU. This position required the usual teaching responsibilities in the HPT area but also wanted an experienced consultant to corporations. This is always a plus in an instructor - real world experience can add valuable examples for students.
http://www.indiana.edu/~ist/students/jobs/showjob.phtml?job=1715

Job #3 was found in a Christian company in Nashville (http://jobview.monster.com/GetJob.aspx?JobID=79837460&AVSDM=2009-03-10%2014:32:00&WT.mc_n=RSS2005_JSR). This position required a master's degree and is probably related to designing programs within a learning management system.

The final job reviewed this evening was for a Senior Analyst, Performance Technology. This postition requrired similar training but seemed more targeted to Human Resources management than to design of training systems. This candidate will oversee the broad application of training technology within the company.http://www.empleoscb.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?job_did=J8D55B792P59D380QDD&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=4f0ad99f50a54bebb2125e89cb0b3235-290464125-x6-6

Week 8 Post 1

When reviewing the syllabus for more search ideas I found "meta data tagging" for Assignment 4. I didn't know anything about this term so decided to add to today's blog.
As usual the Wikipedia entry came up first. It defined meta data tag as a descriptor used to find information on web searches. Since I always get a Wikipedia entry when using Google for searches, I am assuming it is well-tagged!

The next two sites listed below were not helpful to my learning. I really wanted to find more information about meta data tagging as related to the assignment so I adjusted my search to also include training materials. The site from noaa was terrific and included many training materials related to writing metadata from courses they had developed. The next site I reviewed was from the national training systems association. This site was really an abstract from an article combining the best of manual and machine tagging of information. It reviewed why tagging was important to the purpose of training and getting timely training material when it is needed.

All in all I feel comfortable after reviewing these sites with what a meta data tag is and why it is used in a training system.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_(metadata)
http://www.seoconsultants.com/meta-tags/
http://blog.madebyderek.com/archives/2007/01/12/as3-projects-and-the-swf-metadata-tag/
http://csc.noaa.gov/metadata/curriculum/modules.html
http://ntsa.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,25,158;journal,3,12;linkingpublicationresults,1:113340,1

Week 7 Post 2

For my second post of the week, I used the EPSS information as a jumping off point and reviewed some real life examples of good systems as found at http://www.pcd-innovations.com/samples.htm.

The first sample I chose was for the IRS. It was very interesting to see that the ASTD Standards were addressed and detailed. Many, many of the other items detailed were also applications that I have seen previously in this course. The template used for all of the EPSS reviews were the same: Product, Product Description, Product Use, Deliverables, What difference does this tool make, and finally, my favorite, What makes this tool EXTRAORDINARY.

The IRS site's reason for extraordinary was a heightened awareness among employees and a forward momentum for agency improvement.

Another site, Auxillium, stated it's extraordinariness was due to sharing and collaboration tools that allowed non-instructional designers to create dynamic learning environments for their learners.

A third site, Knowlege Stream, became interesting as I read the descriptions. I have actually used their Health Risk Assessment product during an employee wellness campaign. This product is an interactive questionnaire that creates a Health Risk score based on the answers. It then can be modified by the learner to see how changing habits can increase or lower their risks. This company had put a lot of extraordinary details on their information. Of interest was that data mining technology is used to develop troubleshooting procedures, improve performance support, and identify customer useage patterns. This could be a very important feature for continually improving and refining the EPSS for its target audience and goals.

This is a terrific resource that ties many concepts that I've been learning about over the past couple of years.

Week 7 Post 1

This week I went back to the suggested topic list and chose electronic performance support systems (EPSS). This is another area that I am not familiar with so I used Google for that phrase. Of course, Wikipedia was high on the list. Several definitions of EPSS were present. The one that was the most helpful to my understanding states that EPSS is "a computer-based system that improves worker productivity by providing on-the-job access to integrated information, advice, and learning experiences." The success of the EPSS is dependent on the knowledge base on which the EPSS is built.

After getting a brief overview from Wikipedia, I went to another entry on my Google list. The MSU site discussed types of EPSS'. This site had a lot more useful information although the date listed on the site is 1993. I am unsure how much these systems have changed in 16 years but I would suspect that the theories are still pertinent while the technology has advanced.

This site shows the "key" charactersistics of an EPSS as

• computer-based
• provide access to the discrete, specific information needed to perform a task at the time the task is to be performed
• used on the job, or in simulations or other practice of the job
• controlled by the user
• reduce the need for prior training in order to accomplish the task

The site then goes on to describe development of an EPSS which is typically a stand alone system, one added onto an existing system, or and entirely new system that is integrated with work processes.

This site was easy to read and comprehensive. The downside is the age of the information so I went back to the Google list and chose a 2004 article from Usability and User Experience. This article title indicated it would concentrate on designing an effective EPSS. However, I found that it was more of a detailed sales brochure that gave screen shots and examples of the product that was being presented. It was interesting to see the application of the design principles I had just read about in the 1993 information used here as the basis of the design. As I had suspected, the principles stood the test of time as the technology advanced. This page also detailed some of the usability features that I have been studying in IT580.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_performance_support_systems
https://www.msu.edu/~sleightd/epss_copy.html
http://www.stcsig.org/usability/newsletter/0401-epss.html

Week 6 Post 2

Now that Assignment 3 part 1 is complete, I decided to research some new topics in HPT that are related to my everyday work in health care and in my specialty research area of medical simulation technologies.

The first page I found was a contest for ISPI members to share their success stories of HPT application to the health care environment. Since only members were eligible to submit, I decided to go to the ispi site and see what there was specifically related to health care but could not find anything. I then refined my search to include both simulation and human performance improvement.

The article reviewed was a research project designed to validate the use of human simulator technology on the performance of a trauma response team. As with previous articles on medical simulation that I have reviewed, this research demonstrated a positive effect of the training on the team's performance. Not only did the team perform better after the training, the effect of the training was reproducible across ten teams. In the health care world, the use of high fidelity patient simulators is spreading like wildfire for obvious reasons. However, the validation research and the instructional design methods are not reaching all facilities that purchase the simulator technology. For me, this is such an interesting and exciting combination of my health care experience and my instuctional design/performance improvement training. As I continue with this course, I am finding more and more applications of HPT in my area of specialization.


http://www.multiview.com/briefs/ispi/ispicontest.pdf
http://hfrp.umm.edu/lsc/trauma/Holcomb%20simulation%20J%20Trauma%202002.pdf

Week 6 Post 1

More research for Assignment 3 - Googled "data collection techniques"

The International Development Research Centre website was the first one on the Google list. It reviewed similar methods as did the assigned class reading. This particular page went over the following types of data collection:

• Using available information
• Observing
• Interviewing (face-to-face)
• Administering written questionnaires
• Focus group discussions
• Projective techniques, mapping, scaling

I am glad to see the first one - using available information. I sometimes forget that in all probability, someone has already researched and solved a problem that I may be wanting to solve. It may only take a short survey to assess a prior solution's application to my environment. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone wanting in-depth explanations of data collection techniques. There are also specific applications to detailed research projects. I was also glad to find this site as it gave me a specific example I needed (and had been searching for) for IT 580.

The second site I reviewed from my Google list was full of useful information but the page was not labeled with any identifying information. The information provided here was similar to the Toolbox articles.

The third site on my Google list was from a research class at the University of Wisconsin. Again, the information presented on this page was similar to the Toolbox article and the previous webpages.

Thinking I should try one more site I clicked on link #4. This one listed services for a company called technometrica. They also provided the standard menu of services that one would expect: telephone interviews, focus groups, and surveys submitted in a variety of ways (electronic, mail, conference, etc.) This site had very little content applicable to my needs.

After four tries, I am confident that the information I read in the Toolbox articles is complete and adequate for my understanding of data collection methods.

http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-56606-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
http://brent.tvu.ac.uk/dissguide/hm1u3/hm1u3text3.htm
http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/ResearchMethods/Data%20collection%20methods/DATA%20COLLECTION%20METHODS.htm
http://www.technometrica.com/collect.htm

Week 5 Post 2

In preparation for assignment 3, I started on the assigned readings. The first link led me to "The Performance Technologist's Toolbox: Surveys." I did note that the author is a CPT. She started right off by relateing the topic of the article to the published industry standards. This led another layer of credibility to the information about to be read.

The survey or questionnaire can be used in many ways. I appreciated the clear examples presented within the article. After presenting the types of surveys available, the author then reviewed the steps of analysis of the data collected from the survey.

The analysis section was comprehensive and clearly written in an easily understandable manner. The types of analysis that can be done on a survey is dependent on the desired outcomes. Potential is present for 7 types of analysis: performance, cause, evaluation, organizational development, multi-rater feedback, benchmarking, and competency modeling. I was able to relate each type to surveys in which I have participated. In particular, the National Board for Respiratory Care administers a survey periodically to update the content for it's credentialing exams. This type of survey is a compentency modeling questionnaire.

Once it is determined that the survey is the appropriate type of data collection, it is important to develop the tool in such a way to get useable data when complete. This is done by 1) Defining the information needeed, 2) Identifying the repondents 3) Planning the Analysis, and 4) Careful development of the survey content including wording and instructions.

This was a great resource for the class. I was able to refresh my memory on some items, solidify concepts, and learn some new tips from the author.

http://www.siue.edu/~mthomec/PTTools1_Survey.pdf