Analyzing Scope Creep

“Scope Creep: the natural tendency of the client, as well as project team members, to try to improve the project’s output as the project progresses
(Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008).

 

At the end of my senior year, I was in charge of the thesis reception hall. We had $800 to buy food and hire a band. The music professor had already offered the services of two junior music students to play for four hours with a fee of $100. We quickly and gratefully accepted. We also had to follow the university’s contract by purchasing a particular brand of beverages that could only be offered on campus. I had five team members including myself.  In our initial meeting, everyone was given their duties and the time frame to respond back to me if any problem arises. Set up was two hours before opening.

On the day I was supposed to pick up the funds to distribute to everyone, as I was walking towards the office, Monica was walking out. She had already taken it upon herself to sign for the $800 and distribute it to the others. (I guess I wasn’t moving fast enough for her). I cordially took the envelope and distributed her portion and another team member who she would be celebrating with that evening. I advised, I would handle it from here and email the team later that evening.

The second issue was that one of the team members (Cathy) was developing a critical health issue that required a heart monitor. No one new about this until she showed up with the heart monitor strapped around her shoulder on thesis opening day.  Since she didn’t respond to any of our emails throughout the whole process, I distributed her duties between myself and another member. My strategy was to keep everyone focused and communicating. “Communicate accepted changes to all concerned parties.” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). I emailed everyone every day and they did the same except Cathy.

The reception turned out beautiful and we had extra food to distribute to the elderly in the community afterward.

Looking back, I’m glad I made the decision to redistribute Cathy’s tasks because I really wouldn’t have wanted to cause her more stress.  I had just assumed she was not participating. Our project completion time was about two weeks so thinking fast and improvising was a must.

 

Reference:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 

Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

Resource #1: Instruction Matters: Instruction Matters to Hollis-And we Hope it Matters to You.   http://instructionmatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/estimating-costs-and-allocating.html

Great article for new, inexperienced Instructional designers’ that need help planning their project budget or allocation plan. Various articles on Instructional Design training cost, estimating time, allocating funds, distance learning etc. This is a great blog site to gain insightful information on a variety of aspects in project management. I also like that the author “Hollis” gives other links in his article to other IDs who are more experienced.

Resource #2: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/creating-your-project-budget-where-to-begin/1045600.

The article gives step-by-step information and the ideas behind why you are doing it this way or that.  There are other articles on budgeting, and even where to get free budgeting demos. Also a tab for question and answers where you can post questions and get a response from some one more experienced.

I needed this article “Creating your Budget: Where to Begin?” by Shelley Doll this week. I wasn’t sure what else to include in the budget and how to categorize the items. I had a general ideal but it was too vague. It’s hard to create a budget for a project when you work in a different field and want to transition into Instructional Design.  I can appreciate internships and volunteer work more now.

Resources:

Instruction Matters: Instruction Matters to Hollis-And we Hope it Matters to You.   Retrieved on June 9, 2013 from: http://instructionmatters.blogspot.com/2011/03/estimating-costs-and-allocating.html

Www.techrepublic.com. Retrieved on June 9, 2013 from: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/creating-your-project-budget-where-to-begin/1045600.

Communicating Effectively

Project Managers need to communicate effectively especially when dealing with different team members on a project. This week we were given and example of communicating with a team member in three different forms: email, voicemail and face-to-face.

My interpretations of the message changed drastically from one modality to the next. After reading the email, I re-read to see if I could sense any type of negativity such as anger or irritation. I also checked for signs of shouting like the use of capital letters or the “use of technical jargons and acronyms” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). I found none but I did get the feeling of urgency from the email. Besides the lack of date and time, I felt the email was formal

Listening to the voice mail was much more pleasant being that I could detect the pleasant, business tone of the caller.  The face-to-face presentation gave me the best sense of communication even viewing the example on the computer because I found myself trying to make eye-to eye contact with the presenter. She was warm, pleasant gave a sense of good body language and delivered her message in a professional business manner.

My interpretations of the three modalities:

Email: serious matter

Voicemail: reminder (although mentioned in the voice mail, I still sensed that the information wasn’t needed immediately.

Face-to-face: cordial reminder

 

In this example, I felt that the email communicated the true meaning and intent of the message because it conveyed a sense of urgency and seriousness of the matter at hand. It was to the point and the reader was left wondering. In my case, I would have forwarded the missing information immediately.

What I have learned from this communication example is that Project Managers need to “choose the appropriate type of communication for sharing different messages” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). When using informal communication (voicemail or face-to-face) the Project Manager should follow up with some form of formal (writing or email) communication of what was said. Knowing when and how to use each communication takes ability and talent that Project Managers must have.

References:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Art of Effective Communication. Retrieved on May 23, 2013 from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html.

Learning from a Project “ Post-mortem”: Green Means Clean.

I have always wanted to write a children’s book so when my undergraduate class was assigned to write a children’s book, I took it a step further. In 2012, I submitted a revised version of the script and published a children’s book called Green Means Clean. I love nature and taking steps to use eco friendly products and encourage others to do so also. My book is about a turtle that wakes up one day and realizes all the pollution in the river is growing out of control and he has to do something about it. So he decides tell his friends to spread the news about recycling and keeping the earth clean.

I consider this book a personal success but business wise, a failure. I had an idea and I wrote what I knew but I didn’t research the writing or marketing part of the book. What is expected, the literacy language and research what other children’s writers are doing to promote their self published books. Another factor that I didn’t know about was the EBook industry where I could have converted the book and have it available for electronic book readers for a lower price.

Using the “Post Mortem” Phases, I think I would have benefited from all the phases but especially Phases IV and V. Create Deliverables and Test and Implement Deliverables. One question asks, “ How could we have improved our work process for creating deliverables?” (Greer, 2010) By understanding each phase of the publishing process and how to market the book. Also doing research and finding someone locally who self-published a book and getting advise.

In Phase V, a question was asked, “Were the members of our test audience truly representative of our target audience?”  (Greer, 2010) The answer to that would be, no. I felt that the members of the publishing company were there to publish the book and transfer me over to the marketing department who wanted to sell me a marketing plan and in the process; hopefully the book would make money. I wish I had a consultant or a mentor so that I had the guidance I needed throughout the complete writing and publishing process.

In the end, I did a few readings at public elementary schools and the children enjoyed the book and the idea of a turtle spreading the message to recycle. I also conducted a class for home school students in the local library who were also working on creating their own books. It was a great experience because I was able to advise them on what not to do and various processes in publishing. I am currently working on my next children’s book but believe me, I am taking my time and doing my research.

 

Reference

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

 

Reflection in Distance Learning

When I first starting this distance learning graduate degree I was skeptical about the publics’ perception of obtaining a degree online. Today and especially after taking this distance learning class, I am quite comfortable with my decision and my progress. This decision came about for two reasons: online leaning is just as effective as traditional education and more universities are incorporating distance education.

First As Dr. Simonson stated, “Distance education is not identical to face-to-face education but it is equivalent” (Simonson, & Saba, 2010).  Distance learning is just as educational as a traditional classroom and there are added benefits such as studying at your convenience, no travel to classrooms and access to the educational information 24 hours a day. Secondly, more universities are incorporating distance education in their curriculums and “60% of institutions indicated that online instruction was critical to their long-term plans” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). Not to mention that these are accredited.  In the future, I believe that more online courses will become available in majors that I thought would never work on line such as Fine Art (Full Sail University, 2012) and Midwifery (Philadelphia University, 2012), which I researched in this class.  As technology continue to change and become readily available, I look forward to seeing more are degrees become available online.

My job as an Instructional Designer is to develop effective and engaging online distance courses so that learners will have confidence that they are learning educational information just as well or batter than learners in the traditional classroom. I will be and advocate for online learning by being an example and completing my degree online. I will also try to “bridge the gap of comfort” (Siemens, 2013) of those learners that not taken and online course to allow them to see how effective and resourceful online learning can be. As stated previously, I wasn’t comfortable in the beginning of my course with online education. I was getting information from traditional students like myself you believed online degrees were fake and not taken seriously. Now with the “growing acceptance in online and corporate environments” (Siemens, 2013) even corporate, government and the majority of universities are pushing of more online education and training.

To be a positive force continuous education, research and staying updated on various educational theories, course management systems, technologies and issues that concern distance learning are important. Gaining new ideas and ways of thinking is important in delivering a successful online program. “Also the inclusion of technology often requires new skill sets, new ways of thinking, new time and resource management skills, new ways of communicating and new communication boundaries…”  (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008). For me to advocate and be a positive force in the online distance education field, my mindset has to change and adjust accordingly in order to promote, develop and teach distance learning. I can no longer promote traditional education as the only way to learn nor would I stick with one way of delivering that education. I have to be flexible, always learning and ready to try now software and technologies. Imagining how distance learning would be twenty years form now is impossible with technology changing and improving drastically every year. For example storing your files on a thump drive was important a year ago now you can store your files on the “Cloud.” Who knows, twenty years from now we might be able to speak into our watches or just turn on the TV and think about our information and access it that way.  So, with distance learning I cannot begin to image what platform we might be using.

After review the job description presented for an Instructional Designer (See below) I came to this conclusion at this present time I would not be able to apply for this position for the following reasons:

The position requires

• “Three years of extensive experience consulting with faculty in course design, designing faculty and staff training and professional development programming in a university setting or other related experience required”
• “Experience teaching in a higher education setting also preferred”.

I currently do not have any experience in the higher educational field or in consulting. In order for me to apply for this position, I would have to start gaining experience now by either volunteering or obtaining an entry-level position in Instructional Design. I am happy to say though that I can meet the other qualifications easily thanks to taking current and prior courses at Walden University. Currently, I see myself applying for this position in about two years after gaining the necessary experience needed.

References:

Full Sail University. (2102), Retrieved on April 28, 2013 from http://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/online/media-design-mfa.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., Huett, J.,  2008. The Evolution of Distance Education: Implications for Instructional Design on the Potential of the Web. TechTrends, 52, 4, 66-70.

Philadelphia University, (2012). Retrieved on April  28, 2013 from http://www.philau.edu/midwifery/.

Siemens, G, 2013.  Retrieved on April 28, 2013 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2650920_1%26url%3D.

Simonson, M., & Saba, F., 2010. “Theory and Distance Learning”

Retrieved on March 13, 2013, from     https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_2650920_1%26url%3D.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5^th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

 Instructional Design Position

XXX University has an Instructional Design Specialist position open and we invite qualified applicants who would want to join a small but dynamic instructional support team who work closely with faculty in six colleges with traditional, hybrid and online course design.

Job Title: Specialist – Instructional Design

Job Description:  Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Academic and Instructional Technologies, the Instructional Design Specialist will: serve as a consultant to assist faculty to create high quality learning opportunities; provide guidance for developing hybrid and online courses; assist faculty and academic divisions with revisions and updates to existing courses, adapting courses from one delivery method to another and developing new courses. The Specialist will apply and modify various instructional design models and components to develop high quality teaching and learning environments; assist to develop and deliver training and professional development programs and resources designed for new, full-time, and adjunct faculty, i.e. email circulations, seminars, forums, round-tables, etc.; assess faculty and staff needs for professional development and training; consult with academic divisions, faculty and other content experts to assure the design and development of instructional applications are pedagogically sound; advise faculty in the selection and use of effective instructional development tools and activities; collaborate with Academic and Instructional Technology Services and Information Technology staff, Academic Affairs, University College, and the Library to support faculty development initiatives throughout the campus; monitor and research new instructional methodologies and technologies applicable to instruction; facilitates the implementation of instructional innovations; assist in planning and publishing marketing materials, i.e. newsletters, web site, flyers, etc. and perform other related duties or special projects as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in instructional design, instructional technology (with emphasis on design), Learning/Educational Psychology, or a related field and three years of extensive experience consulting with faculty in course design, designing faculty and staff training and professional development programming in a university setting or other related experience required. 

Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in instructional design, instructional technology (with emphasis on design), Learning/Educational Psychology, or a related field preferred. Experience teaching in a higher education setting also preferred.

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

Scenario: A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.

Here are some pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program:

• Consider which Distance Learning Theory the trainer will be applying throughout the course. For adults, I would consider: Andragogy-Malcolm Knowles because its geared towards the adult learner.
• Research to find out a CMS (Course Management System) will be best suited for these training modules.
• Know the various technologies that can be used in distance learning and that are effective in engaging the learners.
• Know who the learners are, the amount of learners in the class, age range, cultural background, “social and economic background” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).
• Incorporate ways for the learners to communicate such as including blogs or a threaded discussion in the blended course.
• Know the time frame of the modules, when they will be delivered and when the classes will end.
• Consider the training environment; where will the learning take place? In a corporate office or will the learners be able to access the learning modules from their personal computers.
• Are the basic technologies available to all the students such as Internet and a computer, smartphone or laptop?
• Does any student require and special assistance like close captioning or language translations?
• Create a syllabus with the deadlines and requirements clearly stated. Objectives and goals should be included. The learners should know exactly where to locate and learning materials and resources.

What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance-learning format? This is a great opportunity to enhance the training materials that will be used as resources and assignments. The trainer can use visuals such as: diagrams, media, charts and animation make difficult ideas and information easy to understand. “Visuals also help learners by simplifying information” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).

How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment? The role of the trainer will change in a distance learning environment because he will now act as a facilitator making sure the learners understand the assignments and complete them in a timely manner.  He must also:

• Monitor the discussion thread making sure the learners stay focus on the discussion topic while using proper online etiquette.

• Know how to use the various soft wares before hand so that he can assist students if needed.

• The facilitator must provide contact information for the learners such as office hours, email address and phone numbers in case the learner has a question. There should also be a set time allotted so that learners will get feedback/response if contacting the trainer. For example: if emailing the professor, the professor will contact the learner within 24-48 hours.

What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

The facilitator should incorporate a discussion thread on each module. “One of the most effective techniques to promote interaction in distance education is the threaded discussion” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). He has to set the requirements for the thread beforehand regarding the deadline for the initial post and the amount of responses to other learners’ posts. If the class is large, the discussion should be broken up into groups of ten to twelve learners.

References:

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5^th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson

 

The Impact of Open Source

I chose “African American History: From the Emancipation to the Present” as my open course this week from Yale University. After reading my assignment and reviewing this course and the various lectures, I have come to the conclusion that I am behind times and need to catch up.

This course was carefully pre-planned and designed regarding how the lectures are being presented to the students. The initial course site gives information about the course, the structure of the course, information on the professor teaching the course and an option to download the file. This satisfies the three types of contexts: orienting, instructional and transfer. “When the learners have an understanding of the reasons why they are participating in a particular type of instructional activity, they are better able to use that experience to expedite their own learning” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012).

However, besides the option to download the lectures, no other interactivity was designed in this open course. “One of the most effective techniques to promote interaction in distance education is the threaded discussion” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). This course does not provide interactivity between the learner and instructor or the learner and other students.

Regarding the course activities, there is an option to purchase the textbook and reading assignments listed. One recommendation that the course did not follow was “Instructor comments on discussions as part of threaded discussion board” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). The sight does not offer a link to have a discussion about the various modules being given. This is the only setback with this online open course. I would have liked to have discussion thread or a blog on each module in case I had a question or to further my learning experience. This would have been a great way to communicate with other learners also.

This African American History course does mostly follow the recommendations of online instruction mention in the textbook except learner inactivity as stated previously. Each module is less than 50 minutes. There are twenty-five (25) lectures for this course broken down in various topics. There are no topics under the modules.

Besides a survey, there are no assessments given for this course. “Assessment is defined as the determination and measurement of learning” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). Each module however has an overview, resource link, and options to view the lecture in one of the following file formats: .mov, . Mp3 or .html. The movie option has an option of low or high bandwidth. Also listed is a PDF link where the learner can reference the credit lists for each module.

This open course is great but more work needs to be incorporated to make it an exceptional online distance course. Currently it emphasizes an “instructor-centered approach” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012) and oppose to the “facilitator of learning by guiding, rather than directing” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). Various interactive technologies needs to be incorporated in this course also for example videos on The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow from the www.PBS.org website or from YouTube regarding African American History. Finally incorporating a Web 2.0 tool that integrates a discussion thread for learners to interact with each other.

References:

(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012)

Open Yale Courses: A free open website offering a number of introductory courses taught by Yale University professors.
http://oyc.yale.edu/ . http://oyc.yale.edu/african-american-studies/afam-162#overview.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5^th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. (2002). Retrieved on April 7, 2013 from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_depression.html.

Selecting Distance Learning Technologies- Asynchronous Training Example

Example: Asynchronous Training

In an effort to improve its poor safety record, a biodiesel manufacturing plant needs a series of safety training modules. These stand-alone modules must illustrate best practices on how to safely operate the many pieces of heavy machinery on the plant floor. The modules should involve step-by-step processes and the method of delivery needs to be available to all shifts at the plant. As well, the shift supervisors want to be sure the employees are engaged and can demonstrate their learning from the modules.

Asynchronous distance learning approach is when “web-based coursed have been offered to learners anywhere they have access and whenever they choose” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). For this biodiesel manufacturing safety-training modules I would design a distance-learning course using a technology like http://www.edu20.org. This course would allow the employees to access the training wherever and whenever they have the time and access to a computer with Internet connection. The only restraint would come from the company, which would probably issue a deadline for the modules to be completed.

In the course I would develop a blog where employees could collaborate with each other on various safety issues on the job. For example, set a scenario of how someone could be injured and assign teams. Each member of the team would have to help develop safety protocols for the scenario by posting to the blog after watching the safety training module. A great example of using blogs would be www.wordpress.com. Aviation School Online has a great website for finding aviation schools and they have a Flight training blog. Another example a training blog a can be found at http://safety1training.wordpress.com which also directs the learner to safety training videos.

To incorporate video safety modules, I would use a technology like www.youtube.com or http://www.digital-2000.com, which would give me an opportunity to include step-by-step training modules in consecutive order. The employees would have an opportunity to watch the modules at his /her convenience and after which a brief assessment would be completed or they may be required to blog about the module.  There is a great example of a back training video on YouTube at this link http://youtu.be/E8w6_-uPDqw.  To incorporate hands on experience on the job, the supervisor would have a training area setup where each employee would briefly display facts/techniques learned during the module by preventing safety issues.

 

References

Aviation Schools Online. (2013) Retrieved on march 24, 2013 from http://www.aviationschoolsonline.com/blog/category/aircraft-mechanic-training

Edu 2.0 (2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://www.edu20.org.

Facebook. (2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://www.facebook.com.

Saftey Training Videos by Digital 2000 Inc. (2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://www.digital-2000.com.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5^th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

WordPress.com (2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://wordpress.com

The Composition of Safety Training. (2013). Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://safety1training.wordpress.com.

Hinesley, Susan (2013). Back Safety Free Streaming Safety Training Video. Retrieved on March 24, 2013 from http://youtu.be/E8w6_-uPDqw.

 

Various Definitions of Distance Learning

 

 

Defining Distance Learning

When I first heard of distance learning, I thought of a correspondence school. You know, the ones where you fill out the postcard and send it back in the mail. The school sends you the books, workbooks and payment plan. You complete the assignments and mail them back in the preaddressed envelopes for correction. The corrected assignment is returned to you with your next assignment. You repeat this method until the course is completed and you get a certificate or a diploma.

Today, my understanding of distance learning has changed. “Distance education is an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). In other words, I can now take a class at an accredited university while at home, work or anywhere and during anytime of the day. The teacher has uses some sort of telecommunication system to deliver the lesson. “Telecommunications systems implies electronic media, such as television, telephone, and the Internet, but this term need not be limited to only electronic media” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). Also during this distance course, I have to interact with other students in the class, have access to the resources and learning materials and the instructor.

Distance learning has evolved over the years so has its definition. As more people want to acquire the skills necessary to compete for higher paying positions, they will seek education that is flexible to their needs. Different terminologies are being used for distance learning. There is E-Learning and “Open learning to describe a new way of looking at education in a quickly changing diverse world” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). The definition of distance learning will always change because the delivery system is always evolving.  Not only can you access the Internet; but you can stream videos, watch YouTube, share files, join a social media and even sign up for a live webinar. These technologies are always being updated and new ones created.

Some of the factors that affect distance learning are the corporate world. Businesses all over the world are requiring training for various job functions and distance learning is the most economical way to deliver some training. I say some because not all training can be completed using distance learning. “E-learning is instantly available, providing timely and on-demand learning access impossible in a traditional training center. Finally, e-learning is scalable: Once developed, tens of thousands of employees or customers can use it immediately” (Moller, Foshay, & Huett, 2008).

I believe that e-learning will continue to evolve no matter what profession or how much technological knowledge he/she has. For example, I couldn’t see how e-learning could work for a student artist such as a painter, sculptor or graphic designer. After reviewing information on the web, universities are now offering online degrees in the fine arts. The work is completed; you can scan or take a picture of your completed work and submit the assignment for critique just like a traditional fine art class. You can also view short videos on YouTube on how buy, handle and use various art mediums and equipment. As e-learning and technology evolve, so do the users.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

*Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

                       *Distance Learning

Distance Learning

Started a new class this week: Distance Learning. Looking forward to learning newest technologies.