EdTech Life
The EdTech Life Blog contains information related to Education with a focus on Instructional Technology. It will include my own personal thoughts, views, and express my creativity as I work towards completing my Master's Degree in Instructional Technology. I may also share some of my course assignments here as well! Please feel free to browse, comment, share, and enjoy!
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Interdepartmental Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion eLearning Training Design Reflection
The process will commence with a Needs Assessment, focusing on employee attitudes, engagement, participation, job satisfaction, and comfort level in sharing opinions, conducted before the Self-Directed DEI Training module. Company Leaders aim to enhance the existing model to better cater to the learning and motivational needs of current and future employees. By incorporating the Online Flipped classroom method and the 5E conceptual framework, learners can engage in activities that promote problem-solving and critical thinking, explore concepts for deeper comprehension, and create a space for open discussion and communication (Hew, K.F., Jia, C., Gonda, D.E. et al., 2020). Utilizing video conferencing applications or Learning Management System (LMS) platforms also allows for sharing content in various formats, such as videos, infographics, presentations, documents, gaming, and competitive quiz tools. Canva.com is a great tool to accomplish this goal.
After the initial testing phase, some of the changes made included adding navigation icons and links, visual formatting and theme design editing. A redesign in the Inclusive Language Activity made the task clearer for participants, resulting in a better understanding of the content. Nearly half of the participants indicated a preference for completing the assignment in a structured group setting rather than individually. Utilizing platforms such as Teams, Zoom, or Loom Video Sharing could improve the Finalized Learning Experience Design.
The training experience was rated a 3 by participants, indicating that it met the company objectives, with room for improvement. Many highlighted engaging videos as a key motivator. Some participants desired more content but preferred concise modules over lengthy ones. Enhancements in navigation and the Inclusive Language Activity Guide addressed concerns and clarified tasks. While the flexibility of self-directed learning and instant feedback in DEI Check-In was appreciated, suggestions were made to include voice narration and classroom training with group assignments instead of individual tasks
Before a full implementation of this DEI Training, additional modules and activities would be added. There are so many sub topics that can be discussed and are important to creating a positively diverse, equitable, and inclusive organizational culture. As recommended in the End User Survey, additional information would include modules on Microaggressions, Unconscious Bias, Disability Awareness, and Mentoring Programs. Additional DEI Check-Ins would be added to keep the attention and interest of the learner, but also to gauge if any information should be omitted or if a different perspective can be included.
Source:
Hew, K.F., Jia, C., Gonda, D.E. et al. (2020). Transitioning to the “new normal” of learning in unpredictable times: pedagogical practices and learning performance in fully online flipped classrooms. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 17;57. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00234-x
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Create an eLearning Module
In this eLearning module, I considered managers who were not familiar with mentoring being used as a tool to increase motivation, and productivity, and set the employees up for success. I chose to use interactive infographics throughout my presentation to represent the empathetic process. Using iSpring Suite, I was able to add quizzes and videos to the module. These were short so as to keep the learner’s attention but were not too overwhelming to be ignored. I was also able to use functions in this app that allowed me to link pictures to slides, which allowed the learner an option to view or proceed with the information being offered. Using Canva, I was able to create infographics that added an outside element and also allowed the student to have a visual of instructions and information provided in the module and video. These elements were chosen to help your users pay attention to the most critical aspects of the learning. I chose to use a great variety of multimedia learning principles to ensure that all learners had the mode and format that would allow them success.
Link to Your eLearning Module: Manager Training for Employee Mentoring
Link to Storyboard: Storyboard Link
Reflection Resources
Brandl, R. 2019. Interactive Elements That Can Increase User Engagement. Campaign Monitor. https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/ecommerce/interactive-elements-that-can-increase-user-engagement/
Hrkač, Z. 2018. 7 Interactive Elements That Will Help You Get Users Attention. BambooLab. https://bamboolab.eu/blog/development/7-interactive-elements-that-will-help-you-get-users-attention#:~:text=Quizzes%2C%20surveys%2C%20and%20polls%20provide,polls%20which%20are%20super%20popular.
eLearning Resources
(2022). 5 Types of Mentoring Companies Use in the Workplace. Chronus LLC. https://chronus.com/how-to-use-mentoring-in-your-workplace
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021). 8 Employee Mentoring Tips to Develop Your Team. Indeed Career Services. https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/employee-mentoring
Miller, C. (2021). Using Mentoring in the Workplace to Improve Employee Retention. BizLibrary. https://www.bizlibrary.com/blog/employee-development/workplace-mentoring/#:~:text=What%20is%20Workplace%20Mentoring%3F,the%20goals%20of%20the%20program.
YouTube Videos Notes
HR360Inc. 7 Steps to Creating a Mentoring Program https://youtu.be/kM3Tr37gNgA
(2022). Workplace Mentoring: Long-Term Benefits of Developing and Mentoring Employees. SkillPath. https://youtu.be/5fx8QGSQhEo
Hoebee, L. (2016). Millennials Need a Mentor in the Workplace | Lauren Hoebee | TEDxTWU. TEDx Talks. https://youtu.be/4kIHR-tkf_g
Morgan, J. (2020). Coaching and Mentoring Different Generations at Work. https://youtu.be/ruz7XdHP0UU
(2015). How to Make Virtual Mentoring Work. Redback Connect. https://youtu.be/Z1jnMIzxjMo
Innovation in Multimedia: Microlearning Asset
Storyboard Explanation
The Desk Chair Yoga Storyboard
provides an outline of the learning objective and how the information being
shared will be organized. I chose to create an Infographic for Office Workers
that may sit often during their workday. This infographic provides the learners
with a digital reference, which can also be provided in a .pdf format, to
perform Yoga in their workspace for just a few minutes in their day. The learners
are expected to see, learn, and perform yoga poses to manage stress and better
physical and mental health performance. This asset provides visual images and
bulleted descriptions of each pose, as well as an embedded video that the
learner can also watch to see how these poses are properly made. Using the
Canva Template allowed me to organize the information effectively. As a result,
creating the actual infographic was much easier and provided a great blueprint
for what is expected and what information the learner should successfully gain.
Microlearning
Asset - Infographic
Effective Microlearning
in Corporate Training meets the learners’ need by stimulating the cognitive
processes need to learn and retain information in short meaning lessons or
informational documents. While job performance is a key focus for most business
and corporate organizations, it is also important to provide the employees with
needed information in a short and effective manner, rather than spending an
excessive amount of time on formal training. When used effectively,
microlearning provides the learner with behavioral or job aids to quickly
recall information. Most importantly, effective microlearning must provide a clear
learning objective, practice, feedback, and reflection.
This Desk Chair Yoga
Infographic includes visual images, text, and an embedded video to provide the
employees with a healthy way to release stress and gain health benefits while
sitting in their workspace from any device, including their phone, laptop, or
tablet. This asset will show them how to correctly perform the poses, which can
enhance knowledge retention and provides an opportunity for active
participation. The multimedia asset also allows for various options to present
and share in another format, such as a printable document or presentation is
needed. The document can also be saved and shared, as well as can be edited by
selected individuals.
As stated in the article,
Using Microlearning Assets to Fuel the Virtual Classroom, “an instructor
creates a tool, uses it in context, teaches learners how to access and use the
tool, and identifies potential moments of learning need when this tool will be
useful. (Hofmann, 2018). This Infographic Multimedia Asset provides the
stressed office worker with a beneficial reference to learn a healthy,
effective way to manage stress and become more productive in the office
environment.
The Learner will perform chair yoga to help reduce stress, improve strength and flexibility, and help focus on job performance.
Storyboard Link
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFKY_olkOg/-03LQ1e7p09cw-Rj8oX6vw/watch?utm_content=DAFKY_olkOg&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton
Multimedia Asset/Infographic Link
Resources
Farzana Rahman. (2018). How to Do Chair Yoga at Work. https://www.happywisewell.com/blog/2018/9/28/how-to-do-chair-yoga-at-work
Hofmann, J. (2018). Using Microlearning Assets to Fuel
the Virtual Classroom. Learning Solutions. https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/use-microlearning-assets-to-fuel-the-virtual-classroom
Katz, H. (2019). Top Five Tips to Ensure Effective
Microlearning. https://www.rti.org/insights/top-five-tips-ensure-effective-microlearning
Professional Supplement Center. (2016). Yoga at Your
Desk, Yoga Poses for Office Workers. https://youtu.be/egRNyK4g8qA
Job Aid Creation Sample
Job Aid Creation
Design and Create a Job Aid
Job aids are resource and reference tools that are provided for employees to teach or reinforce skills and tasks that do not warrant a full training class or session. An effective job aid has clear and concise steps or instructions to perform the skill or task. It does not have an excessive amount of information and may also include visuals, such as pictures, screenshots, web links, and videos. Also, depending on the content, it is important to consider the right means of presentation, whether that be step-by-step instructions, checklists, flowcharts, worksheets, or a formal reference document (Marina, sec. 3). Another way to ensure that your job aid is effective is to provide the resource in a variety of ways to allow all employees various ways to access the content.
When considering the creation of the Creating an Email Signature Job Aid, I took all of these aspects into consideration, as this job aid was created as an infographic that can be printed as a hard copy PDF, and can be presented and shared in and on various social media sites and blog sites. This document also has the ability to be shared with its own View-Only link for mobile and tablet users. As I worked to create this job aid, I found there arose a few instances where I felt too much information was crowding the space. After reading and re-reading each statement, I included only the most important and key steps and also spaced the content over 3 pages. Using a format of one or two pages would not be beneficial for the learner and could lead to cognitive overload. Adding visuals to this reference tool took longer than expected as they had to be edited to prevent page overcrowding and ineffective visuals that are not necessary for the learning. Including an actual video from the Microsoft Outlook page was a challenge because the document would only allow for the video link to be shown rather than the actual video. Unfortunately, employees who receive the paper copy only will not have access to the link, which may cause complications, if not accompanied by the view-only link.
Having some colleagues and friends review the document that primarily work in office-related roles, complimented the accuracy of the document and thought that it was a document actually in use in my current position. One friend who is a Gen Xer appreciated the fonts and color theme. Overall, I received feedback that this document would be beneficial for new office workers or those who are not familiar with the advanced email settings in Microsoft Outlook.
Resources
Marina. (2022). Job Aids – When to Use Them and When Not to Use Them. YourELearningWorld. https://yourelearningworld.com/job-aids-when-to-use-them-and-when-not-to-use-them/
Outlook Email Signature Job Aid Link:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFLkHAqtf0/W8PQwvxBqqMlKbKb1N0W2w/view?utm_content=DAFLkHAqtf0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=homepage_design_menu
Outlook Email Signature Job Aid also available in PDF format
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Sunday, August 12, 2012
How can you use iPads in an elementary classroom?
Technology Infused Presentation
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Reflect on the Idea That Tests are the Only Objective Assessments of Student Learning
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Technology-Infused Classroom
- Becoming more of a facilitator of learning, rather than a teacher presenting information for the student to recite back to me.
- Working along with my students to produce a class website, which would include all the daily events and assignments, blog discussions, educational web links, and even showcase the students’ best work, is also a goal of my future 21st Century classroom.
- Using the Internet in more effective ways will allow me to I plan to use more project-based, collaborative methods to reach the goal of producing a life-long learner. This would include using websites like http://www.filamentality.com/ to create Web Quests for students to become more engaged in their own learning.
- Focusing not only on the state curriculum standards, but also on media and information literacy, to create more critical and analytical thinkers, especially when using various researching methods.
- Allowing the students to more responsible for their role as a student and the information that they produce.
- Planning more virtual field trips when the school budget doesn’t allow for the actual experience, as well as taking advantage of teleconferencing through Skype or Google Hangout to create a dialogue with experts in various areas of life, as well as students all over the world.