Adding additional features and functions can really affect the scope of a project.  It can be costly and time consuming to deal with but if major players within the project are adamant on including a certain element into the project, then it typically has to be done. Too many changes without formal analysis can lead to gross overestimations of benefits, delays, greater costs, management difficulties, and negative unintended consequences (Roy, Searle, 2020).  Most of the time when it comes to scope creep members of a team are working on elements that were not authorized and therefore delaying what should be doing.  

A team of us teachers who are qualified to teach financial literacy were tasked with creating a new financial literacy course for the new state requirement that all students graduate with a credit of financial literacy.  When it comes to planning a course like financial literacy the possibilities are endless.  We have state approved standards to follow, however those state standards can be interpreted in many different ways.  We had many stakeholders involved in what should be included in the course giving opinions and suggestions before we began planning.  We had multiple meetings to decide what everyone thought should be covered in the course.  However, there were multiple times throughout the creation of the course that these stakeholders wanted to add something or change something.  This was likely due to the fact that the standards could be interpreted differently; they continued to come up with ideas of what should be added.  Each time something was added, the budget changed and so did the completion time of the course.  

There were stakeholders that did not want to change the content because they could see the delays it was causing every time something needed to be changed.  We did allocate time for this to happen however, it seems it was happening multiple times a week.  Some of the other stakeholders did voice their concerns with the amount of changes that were happening and how that affected how we were designing the course.  

After all was said and done, I think that having more meetings held face to face when the scope continually changed would have helped.  We could have met to discuss why the new material needed to be added when we already finalized what was going to be taught during the course.  I think that if we all communicated a little more, the scope creep would have been stopped and the project timeline and budget would have been spared.  

Roy, S., & Searle, M. (2020). Scope Creep and Purposeful Pivots in Developmental Evaluation. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 35(1), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.56898

https://www.wrike.com/vag/

The first tool that I have found is Wrike.  This is usually used for large groups of people and larger projects.  It has many features and tools available to use from the roll out of the project to the completion.  I really enjoyed seeing how the Gantt Chart feature works.  You are able to create a visual timeline of the project so that you can track your team’s progress at every stage of the project.  You can customize groups and workflows that work best for you and your project.  This tool also has options for project resource planning so that you can plan and allocate resources so that items can be completed on time.  I also think it is very important that they offer both desktop and mobile versions in case some people are working on the go, they can still access Wrike to continue project planning.  You can use this site for free if you are a small group just starting out, however they do have different rates and prices so that you are able to access more of their tools.  They also offer tools like webinars and blogs to collaborate with other instructional designers.  

https://trello.com/

Trello is a project management tool that allows the user a very user friendly drag and drop tool.  I really like the features that this tool has to offer.  They have many different project management templates to choose from that would best suit your project.  They also have a teams feature where you can assign teams and each team has a name to make finding which person belongs to what team much easier.  They have things like task management to make sure each person is doing their part on the project.  This helps to keep your project organized and on task to reach the deadline that was set.  

With the email I think it is very straightforward and to the point of what the person needs to have sent over to them.  The email is clear and concise and describes exactly what that person needs to happen in order for them to meet their deadline.  In an email messages could get mixed up because you can’t see the person or hear the tone of their voice, however the message in the email is very clear.

After listening to the voicemail message, you can hear the tone of the person’s voice trying to be very polite about asking for the data needed to finish the report.  She even started off by letting him know that she understands he might have been in an all day meeting as to why she hasn’t received the data so that she did not seem to come off pushy.  So in this context it was nice to hear that she was asking very politely, but also stressing the importance of the information that was needed to make her deadline.  

Person to person you are not only able to hear tone of voice but you are able to see body language.  She had a very nice tone, but the look on her face definitely was that of seriousness because she wanted to make her deadline.  She confirmed that she knew he was in an all day meeting but her facial expressions that were presented stated that he needed to still get the data to her.  

Interpretations always change based on the mode of communication.  With email there are times that things can be taken out of context, so being able to hear the person’s tone of voice always helps clarify the message that is being conveyed.  How your voice sounds can mean a lot when trying to communicate with someone.  When we hear a message and see a person face to face we can really decipher the meaning of a conversation much better than just the written word of someone.  

I really believe that the person to person conversation conveyed the best message.  In the person to person interaction, the tone was very nice, but the facial expressions really portrayed the importance of what needed to happen.  In the voicemail, she stated the importance but you don’t get the true meaning of how someone feels unless you are looking at them and hearing them at the same time.  

I really believe for a team project it is very important to have those face to face meetings with one another.  It might not be every time you meet, but even every once in a while it helps to see one another.  I know I have been in many situations where we have been emailing prior to meeting with one another and after meeting the context of the conversation is completely different than it was when it was just an email.  Having personal interactions when it comes to any project I believe is very important.  

Walden University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://waldenu.instructure.com

As a teacher at a high school I was on the Building Leadership Team (BLT).  We were divided into different committees and each committee was responsible for some type of school improvement project.  I was the head of the Transitions team and we were tasked with creating a freshman transition program making the transition easier from 8th grade to 9th grade.  We created a multifaceted program that each freshman would have to go through.  We started off the year with what we called Freshman Transitions Day.  This was the first day of school for freshman only and their upperclassmen mentors.  Each student was assigned a group and a mentor that they would be with for that day.  They would also meet with their mentor once a month for the first semester.  The day consisted of icebreaker activities, mock schedule walk through, picnic lunch, and an afternoon full of station activities that revolved around team building activities that could help them get through high school.  At the end of the day all students tie dyed their class shirts and learned the alma mater.  The freshman also had to take a course that I taught called High School 101.  It was a semester-long course that every freshman had.  In this course they would connect with their mentors once a month.  

There were many pieces of this project that were very successful.  Alleviating the stress of having to come the first day of high school with everyone in the building was something the freshmen really enjoyed.  They said they felt that doing that the next day with everyone there, they felt much more comfortable.  The freshmen also had an upperclassmen mentor that they could connect with if they had any questions.  Having that contact person was very important to the freshmen.  Since there were so many moving parts to this project we had to have staff buy in because we needed everyone’s help on Transitions Day to make it successful and we really did have that buy in.  The staff saw the need of a program like this to help make such a hard transition that much easier.  There were also many stakeholders in the community that bought into this program as well.  Community members donated the class shirts, we had our local grocery store donate all the food for the picnic lunch, and the superintendent was there to support and be helpful as well.  The students really enjoy the day.  When it came to the High School 101 course that was mandatory for all freshmen to take, some found it to be helpful and others thought it was a waste of time so we were constantly trying to tweak that class to make sure that it was something they enjoyed coming to each day.  We covered things like communication skills, getting to know your learning style, study skill strategies, organizational skills, and the requirements that they needed to do in order to graduate high school.  

Our struggles came into play and I feel like this would be a failure of the program, is that once the semester was over, they could no longer meet with their mentor that they met with every month because they did not have a class like High School 101 after the first semester.  So we were able to help them build these relationships, but maintaining them is what we could not accomplish.  Another struggle that we encountered was the prep work that went into putting this together.  Even though we did have a lot of staff buy-in for the day of the event, we did not have many staff members that were willing to help set the day up.  We really needed more help from the staff and delegate certain jobs to others in order to take some of the stress off of the Transitions team.  

I believe taking on less as a staff and having one main focus would have helped a lot.  Instead of having many committees on the BLT, having the transition piece be the focus and having committees based on that would really help the planning process.  I think if there would have been more organization involved with that at the planning level we could have overcome that issue.  Communicating those issues and having those collaboration skills really help when it comes to a project like this (Walden University, n.d.).

References:

Walden University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Practitioner voices: Barriers to project success [Video file]. Retrieved from https://waldenu.instructure.com

Reflection

Introduction

Throughout this course we have really come to a greater understanding of how to provide quality distance learning.  This is very important to the future of where distance learning is going.  In order for distance learning continue to be successful, it is important to promote the many positive aspects of what distance learning is and how it can be beneficial to many learners who wish to continue their education.  There are always going to be improvements and new ways to create distance learning content so that it can be engaging and meaningful.  Many people that thought maybe distance learning was not as meaningful as face-to-face learning however, the concept of online learning and the acceptance has changed drastically (Walden University, LLC, n.d.).

Future Perception of Distance Learning

The model of teaching has been changing drastically over the past few years from a teacher centered classroom to a student-centered classroom.  This change is in perfect timing for the amount of distance learning happening today.  So going forward in the future as educators we need to keep of that student-centered them for the aspects of distance learning.  I believe that people will see how beneficial it has been for distance learning to have become such a big aspect of how learning happens to day and in the future.  Since distance learning offers such flexibility, allows for customized learning, and the easy accessibility, I believe this will be the way learners are choosing to learn.

Improving Societal Perceptions

            At the start of this huge distance learning shift, society was not all on board with this model of learning.  Most thought the learning should take place within the classroom, however that is not as realistic as it once was.  According to Naidu (2014), “Among these are the pressures that are at the heart of its funding model and the increasing availability of information and communications technologies that are opening up educational opportunities.”  Having the statistics and proof that students are learning and engage in the content will be significantly important to showing that even though students are not in a classroom there are many productive and meaningful ways to learn online.

Positive Force for Continuous Improvement

            The world of education is continuously transforming and there will always be room for improvement when it comes to offering instruction online.  The open lines of communication between instructor and students is a way to ensure students are understanding the material.  Having a distance learning option is also a very positive aspect for someone who is working full time, but would like to try to continue their education but does not have the time to attend class.  There can also continue to be participatory action research which is a methodology in which educators and learners can work together to understand the teaching process and the learning process (Wang, Torrisi‐Steele, 2015).

References

Naidu, S. (2014). Looking back, looking forward: the invention and reinvention of distance education

Distance Education, 35(3), 263-270.

Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (n.d.).

Wang, V. C., & Torrisi‐Steele, G. (2015). Online Teaching, Change, and Critical Theory. New    

Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 27(3), 18-26.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/5dc93c3549ac-leadership-style If you are an instructor interested in going from an in person learning model to a blended learning classroom, I have created some tips for you to follow as you start to set up your new ” classroom.”  Follow the link below for more information.

Distance learning is a type of education that is done in an online setting where you collaborate with an instructor and others about a specific content area.  It includes online tools that allow instructions and students to work together to achieve the objectives set forth in the course.  When it comes to distance learning it involves organization, time management and good communication skills to work with others.  Distance learning can open up many opportunities of engagement from people in the course to others from around the world.  Students utilizing distance learning will experience more freedom and aspects of learning than anyone could ever have imagined given the access to technology resources. 

I feel that what I have learned so far has made me realize that distance learning involves more than just the world of education.  Distance learning is happening and has been happening for a very long time in the business world.  According to Moller et al. (2008), e learning has been happening for many years in the corporate world.  There would be no other way to perform some of the learning tasks that need to be performed if distance learning did not exist in the business world.  Having the opportunity to work together within the same company and complete training from instructional designers is an integral part in some companies that have many offices, possibly all of the country or world.  

Having had my eyes opened to the amount of information that distance learning provides, I think that I would not concentrate so much on just the educational world in my original definition, but most definitely include the corporate world as well.  Something else I would add into my original definition is how learners are learning content through distance learning.  According to Huett et al. (2008), “Learning theories are focusing on instruction that prepares learners to solve ill structured problems through transformative or generative processes.”  So in order for distance learning to be successful, learning theories need to be addressed.  Making sure we have a successful transition is key.   

I have been amazed as to what takes place now in education and other sectors when it comes to how distance learning is utilized.  There are so many different types of technology that can be utilized in order to teach material and these types of technology will bring the learning closer to the student and also be a more personalized learning experience.  With just the area of virtual reality and what that can bring to the education of individuals is just one major way that the content can be more intimate now more than ever.  My fear of distance learning in the future though is that the content remains rigorous and you do not have instructional designers creating content as fast as they can to get it out there, but the rigor and meaningfulness disappears.

Distance learning in the future needs to incorporate collaboration, growing technological trends, and rigorous content.  The future of distance learning can look very bright depending on who is creating the content and how the content is being delivered.  Students will be able to get a more up close and personal view of what they are learning now more than ever if the course is designed with the student in mind.

Mind map linked below

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.

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

Distance Learning Vision

I feel that I had a very good understanding of how I learn best, but learning about all the different learning theories helped me to understand why I learn the way I do better.  I think that it is very important as a lifelong learner and as a teacher to always stay up-to-date on how learning best occurs for me and my students.  I need to be aware of the way I learn so that I can better help them understand how they will learn.  By looking at all of these styles and theories I was able to take some types and tricks to help me be a better learner.  I was able to see why I teach and learn the way that I do and why the social learning theory and connectivism really describes who I am as a learner and a teacher.  I think it is very important to be able to talk, see, and do while learning something new.  

By looking at the theories it also solidifies how I learn best and how I need to be up and moving when I learn because my attention span can be very short.  I need something that will help me stick to the task at hand and being able to connect to the learning really helps with this.  I think I have really learned what styles work best for me and what styles I should steer away from.  I don’t believe the cognitive learning theory would be a way I would ever want to learn.  I need someone to trigger the thoughts that I need to have while learning, not necessarily come up with those thoughts on my own.  I believe that the behaviorist learning theory has some merit behind it for myself and probably most people.  If you get positive feedback and results, you are most likely going to continue with the behavior that got you those results.  Most of us thrive off of positive reinforcement.  When it comes to learning as an adult, I think it is very important to stay informed and engaged because adult learning at times can be more challenging especially if you have taken some time off from learning and engaging with others.  

Technology plays a huge role in how I learn.  There are so many different opportunities out there using technology.  One of my favorites is collaborating with other educators using different social media sites to share ideas of what is working and what is not working in the classroom.  I have learned so much from other educators when it comes to the use of technology and how to create meaningful engaging lessons that students will enjoy doing.

Orey, M. (2010). Emerging Perspectives on Learning, Teaching, and Technology.

Ormrod, J., Schunk, D., & Gredler, M. (2009). Learning theories and instruction. New York, NY: Pearson. 

Leaning in the 21st century has so many interesting and positive perks.  Being able to use so many tools to my advantage when it comes to designing instruction and being a teacher is such a great way to help students achieve their highest potential.  I have been able to connect with many other Family and Consumer Sciences teachers all over the country and we have been able to pass ideas and instruction by one another.  Being able to get ideas from others and share ideas is so important in the world of education.  Having all of these networks at my fingertips has made planning instruction so fun.  There are so many fun, creative lessons that FCS teachers are teaching and being able to connect with others and get those ideas to tweak them to my own classroom has been wonderful.  

There are so many digital tools that are available right now.  At times it can be overwhelming to learn them all and to see which ones are best for me and my classroom.  There are many tools that I use each day but the use of Google Classroom is probably my number one go-to tool.  I can post my lesson plans for my students to see what we are doing each day, have them do bellwork in Google classroom each day that I can then quickly go in and respond to their entries, post videos and resources that we will use in the classroom, and communicate with them as we are learning.  

By asking questions is the number one way in which we can learn new content.  That is something I like to do because if I need clarification in an area, I am able to ask questions to my network of teachers that will be able to help me and I will probably learn something new from asking those important questions.  

My personal learning network very much supports the theory of connectivism.  Being able to connect and learn from others is so very important and having the technology to reach even more people and connect with those people is very important for what I do in the classroom.  According to Davis, Edmonds, and Kelly-Bateman (2008), “Connectivism is at the intersection of prior knowledge, experience, perception, reality, comprehension, and flexibility that learning occurs.”  With all of this in mind it can connect people to new learning experiences and gain a greater understanding of the world around them.  

Davis, C., Edmunds, E., & Kelly-Bateman, V. (2008). Connectivism. In M. Orey (Ed.), 

Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. 

The first resource that I came across this week while I was researching is Frontiers For Young Minds.  This site has four different authors with various backgrounds that make them experts in the field of how your brain works while learning.  I really enjoyed looking through this site because it takes that topic of how our brains work, which to me can be very complicated, and really puts it into terms that I am even better able to understand.  This site has very good descriptions on what our brain is doing while we are learning and some very nice graphics that help out as well.  This site also focuses heavily on what learning strategies are compatible with our brain and how our brain works.  

The second resource I explored about how our brain works while learning is Brain Basics through the University of Washington.  I really enjoyed this site as well.  There are many interactive aspects of this site that break down what the brain is doing while we learn.  It includes videos, Google forms to check your knowledge and understanding while you are learning about the brain through their site, and a share out section to have dialogue with others that are interested in this topic.