Collecting and Analyzing Data

Lee/Owens says there are five activities required in data collection and analysis: 1) Set up the database, 2) Develop an evaluation plan, 3) Collect and compile the data, 4) Interpret the data, and 5) Document your findings.
In step one, you need to decide what software and/or hardware you will need for your database and set it up. In step two, you need to plan out how you want the evaluation to take place, figure out how many people you think need to be envolved, figure out how to keep confidentiality of your subjects, and figure out how much it will cost to implement. In step three, you start the evaluation and collect and compile the information as subjects finish. In step four, interpret the data to see which or not the goals of the evaluation have been met or not. Next, determine wheither or not the evaluation was a success and should be used again, or if it was a failure and needs to be changed before further implementations are made. In step five, once again always document everything you do and the reasons for why you did what you did.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Measures of Validity

Lee, Roadman, and Mamone (1990) recommend a process from establishing validity that has three activities: 1) Determine the level and type of validity required, 2) Determine when to validate measurement instruments, and 3) Document your decisions.
Different levels of validity include: low, medium, and high. Different types of validity include: face, content, concurrent, construct, test item, predictive, and inter-rater agreement. When determining when to validate measurement instruments you must decide which phase(s) throughout your design process will give you the best results you are looking for, or which phase(s) will show you what changes need to be made the best. Always remember to document when and why you did what you did.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Evaluation Plan

Lee/Owens says that there are five steps for creating an evaluation plan: 1) Complete the problem statement section, 2) Complete the solution section, 3) Complete the objectives section, 4) Complete the components of the evaluation plan for each level at which you will evaluate the project, and 5) Complete the executive summary.
In step one, you want to define what the purpose of this plan is and why it is important to be fixed or discussed. In step two, you want to give some ideas on how to fix the problem. In step three, you want to discussed how you want the outcomes in the end to be and how your suggested ideas will get you to that end goal. In step four, you need to complete the following levels that are appropriate for your plan.
Lee/Owens list these levels and actions for each level:
Level 1: Reaction
-Survey construction -Data collection -Data analysis -Expected results -Reporting results
Level 2: Knowledge
-Test construction -Data collection -Data analysis -Expected results -Reporting results
Level 3: Performance
-Observation study construction -Data collection -Data analysis -Expected results -Reporting results
Level 4: Impact
-Study construction -Data collection -Data analysis -Expected results -Reporting results
In step five, you want to restate your problem and briefly rediscuss the purpose of this plan. Then you want summerize and discuss all of your findings from this plan.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Evaluation Strategy

Lee/Owens says that there are three activities to complete to form an evaluation strategy: 1) Write an introduction, 2) Determine the requirements to evaluate the results, and 3) Determine what your source of information will be from which you draw your strategy.
The introduction of your evaluation should discuss what the evaluation is for and some background information about what happened. When determining your requirements you want to figure out what parts of the event you are evaluating will be evaluated and how to measure the results. You will also need to figure out how you want to collect and analyze the data you want to receive. Finally, in the third activity you know to site the resources that you used during the event you are evaluated and any resources you may have used to create the evaluation process itself.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Purpose of Evaluation

Lee/Owens says that the purpose of evaluation procedure has three steps: 1) Determine whether the measurement variables are organizational or individual, 2) Identify the measurement variables that are individual rather than organizational, and 3) Determine whether the solution will be used commercially.
The purpose of evaluation on the organizational side is to determine if the company is meeting the needs of the people who are buying their products, and to see if their money is being spent in the right way so that they are making the mosy profit and still stay in business.
The purpose of evaluation on the individual side is to determine if that person is doing well at their job, how is he/she compared to others in the company, and where does the boss and that person see he/she in the future (ie. higher job positions or lower job positions).

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Introduction to Multimedia Evaluation

According to Lee/Owens there are four levels of evaluation: Level 1 Reaction, Level 2 Knowledge, Level 3 Performance, and Level 4 Impact.
Reaction measures the response of the trainee based upon how they feel the training will help them be better at their job. Knowledge measures the level of achievement of the course and skills for which the course was for. Performance measures changes in the student as a result of using what was learned in the course on their job over a period of time. Impact measures the businesses return on investments based on the skills that were learned from the training.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Asian professionals prefer training to big bucks

Asian professionals are starting to value training more than money. "With the global war on talent showing no sign of relenting, organisations are striving to balance employee value proposition with more dollars on training and less on base pay to attract, retain and engage employees," Srikanth said.
I wonder how many people sign up for a job just to get expensive training and then leave.


http://in.news.yahoo.com/071102/48/6mqoj.html

General Dynamics Awarded $146 Million U.S. Air Force Simulations, Training and Experimentation Contract

General Dynamics just won another contract with the Air Force worth $146 Million, that is supposed to help them with planning and analysising future war and mobilization planning."Wargames allow the Department of Defense to mitigate possible operational or strategic surprise through comprehensive research, analysis and planning," said Ken Hess, vice president and general manager of Air Force Systems for General Dynamics Information Technology. "General Dynamics will continue to provide the streamlined, responsive support and guidance that enables the Air Force to successfully achieve its critical mission."
This new wargame will be titled, "Unified Enagement". I wish I had that much money to spend on a virtual system to help me make decisions in life.


http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/071105/nem072.html?.v=28

Developing Interactive Distance Broadcast Environments

Lee and Owens says there are four steps in developing an Interactive Distance Broadcast course: 1) Develop script and materials, 2) Shoot and edit video, 3) Rehearse the presentation, and 4) Broadcast the session.


Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Developing Internet, Intranet, Web-Based, and Performance Support Learning Environments

Lee and Owens says that Internet delivery seems to meet many of the requirements of training on demand: It's available at the desktop, it eliminates the need for travel, it's cost-effective compared to conventional delivery media, and text-based web interventions can be developed quickly. They say that most top three reasons for why most educational institutions choose this delivery method is because you have: universal access, its easy to use, and wide-range of multimedia content.
They say that successful web development is based on three things: creativity and skill on the developer, bandwidth, and hardware capabilities. Like most things in life, normally, the ones who have more experience with certain things will be the ones who make the best designs. The more bandwidth and hardware your site needs the more detailed and visual your site can be. If your going to run videos or live feeds from your website your going to need a lot more bandwidth and hardware than if you only used text and pictures.
Lee and Owens says there are five activities in developing web-based products: 1) Determine the type of product and platform, 2) Assemble components, 3) Conduct reviews, 4) Rehearse the presentation, and 5) Conduct the session.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Banning Facebook from the Workplace

Banning Facebook and similar sites in the workplace is a bad idea, says John Wood, spokesman for Britain's Trades Union Congress (TUC). Setting policies or guidelines are a better way to go.http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9033820&pageNumber=2

I believe that this is a good thing. Employers shouldn't be paying their employees to be surfing the internet, chatting, playing games, etc. I believe that blocking sites like facebook or myspace will increase the productivity of the company, because more work is being done and less time is being wasted. If people want to play on websites or surf the web they should do it on their own time or go work for a company that hires people where their only responsiblity is to surf the web and chat online.

Developing Computer-Based Learning Environements

Lee/Owens lists a few things that you can do to help speed up the developement of your project: 1) Screen and lesson shells: to build course content, 2) Skill assessments: at the end of a unit or for pretesting, 3) Proficiency exams: to build and score tests, and 4) Course management system: for tracking students.
The more templates you use their are less pieces of the project that have to be created from scratch. They are also useful because fonts, colors, and other formatting styles are already formatted and easily transferable. This saves time, because you only have to make minor changes instead of formatting everything.
Lee/Owens list the following activities in the procedure to develop a computer-based course: 1)Create storyboards, 2) Create and assemble media elements, 3) Perform online reviews, and 4) Deliver and implement the course.
Once again make sure of have backups of everything. Also plan ahead for how much storage space you think you may need for the project. Another good thing to do is save your data as you go. Don't wait to the right before your done to save. If something unexpected happens you may lost everything if you didnt save along the way. Or if you make a major error you can restart from a couple of minutes ago instead of having to start from scratch.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Common Development Components

Lee/Owens gives a list of jobs positions that a project should have during Preproduction, Production, and Postproduction/Quality Reviews along with an outline of what they may be responsible for doing.
Preproduction: Instructional Designer, Author/Programmer, Art Director, Audio Specialist, Narrators, Video Director, Subject-matter Experts, and Quality-control Representative.
Production: Authors, Graphic Artists, Videographers/Video Team, Set Designers, Costume Designers, Camera Operators, Actors, Lighting Designers, Sound Designers, Instructional Designer, Subject-matter Experts, Art Director, Photographers, Graphic Artist, Animators, and System Engineer/Programmer.
Postproduction/Quality Reviews: Standards review, Editorial review, and Functional review.
It is very important to keep more than one copy of all of the documents created for or by each team member, both hard or soft copy, just incase something bad happens that may destroy important data.
Lee/Owens again reminds readers that it is extremely important that team members remember their roles and are participating fully.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Introduction to Multimedia Development

Lee/Owens says that the development phase is when more people become involved. Storyboards are written; video is shot, edited, and logged; audio is recorded, edited, and logged; graphics are created, edited, and logged; and initial versions of web pages are developed, tested, and reviewed.
I believe that one of the most important thing that could help or hurt a project during this stage is group meetings. If all the players don't know what they are supposed to be doing or how to do it then the project is only going to go downhill.
Lee/Owens list the following basic development principles: 1) First, establish a framework of development tools, development specifications, and standards, 2) Next, develop the media elements that fit into the framwork, 3) Then review and revise the product, and 4) Finally, implement the finished product.
If everyone stays on the same page, and follows the plan for the project then the project should come together nicely. If any unforeseen problems do happen, have more meetings to make sure they are recognized by all of the players and no one is left out of the loop.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Happy Birthday Sputnik

According to Computer World, "Fifty years ago, on Oct. 4, 1957, radio-transmitted beeps from the first man-made object to orbit the Earth stunned and frightened the U.S., and the country's reaction to the "October surprise" changed computing forever."
Licklider wrote "Man-Computer Symbiosis" in 1960, at a time when computing was done by a handful of big, stand-alone batch-processing machines. In addition to predicting "networks of thinking centers," he said man-computer symbiosis would require the following advances:
Indexed databases. "Implicit in the idea of man-computer symbiosis are the requirements that information be retrievable both by name and by pattern and that it be accessible through procedures much faster than serial search."
Machine learning in the form of "self-organizing" programs. "Computers will in due course be able to devise and simplify their own procedures for achieving stated goals."
Dynamic linking of programs and applications, or "real-time concatenation of preprogrammed segments and closed subroutines which the human operator can designate and call into action simply by name."
More and better methods for input and output. "In generally available computers, there is almost no provision for any more effective, immediate man-machine communication than can be achieved with an electric typewriter."
Tablet input and handwriting recognition. "It will be necessary for the man and the computer to draw graphs and pictures and to write notes and equations to each other on the same display surface."
Speech recognition. "The interest stems from realization that one can hardly take a ... corporation president away from his work to teach him to type."
I think that it is very cool that the ideas of people in the past are starting to become reality. This is what makes our species one that will hopefully continue to prosper. We need people with these imaginations to continue to stand up for there believes and ideas so that we can continue to grow and to help us catch up with other nations around the world.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9036482&pageNumber=1

Configuration Control

According to Lee/Owens there is only one step in the configuration control procedure and that is creating the plan. Your plan can be as complicated as you want it to be, but the more complicated it is the slower the project will progress. You should keep both an electronic and hard copy of your plan, so that if one or the other is lost or corrupt then you have a backup.
According to Lee/Owens example of how the plan process should flow: first the plan starts with the author who gives it to the gatekeeper, then the gatekeeper gives it to reviewers to review, then they give it to gatekeeper who returns it to the author, then the author makes changes and gives it back to the gatekeeper to start the cycle over again until no further changes need to be made.

Media Specifications

Lee/Owens says there are four approaches to learning: Visual, Auditory, Olfactory, and Tactile or Kinesthetic.
Visual approaches to learning uses things that the student can look at, video, computer screen, books, etc. Auditory approaches to learning use things that the student can listen to, music, tapes, etc. Olfactory approaches to learning use things that the student can smell or taste, food, spices, burning smell, etc. Tactile or Kinesthetic approaches to learning use things the student can touch or change, models, equipment, etc.
Lee/Owens says there are seven steps in the process of defining media specifications: 1) Define the look and feel of the theme, 2) Define the interface and functionality, 3) Define the interaction and feedback standards, 4) Define the video and audio treatments, 5) Indicate text design standards, 6) Prepare the graphic design standards, and 7) Decide on animation and special effects.
In step one, you want to brainstorm and list all the possiple themes that could fit your specific topic. Then decide on which is the best. In step two, you want to look at your theme, audience, and environment of the class and determine the best way to present your lesson. In step three, you want to figure out how many interaction you want the students to have. Do you want hands on stuff or just asking them questions every now and then. In step four, you want do decide on if your lesson needs extra things like videos, sounds, and pictures to help you get your points across. If you do then determine what you need based off your audience and environment. In step five, you want to determine things like font styles, font sizes, and colors for your presentation. In step six, you want to determine things like file type, file sizes, and naming conventions. In step seven, on want to decide on if animations and special effects will help or take away from your lesson. If it will help you get the points across determine what effects you want to use.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Project Schedule

According to Lee/Owens there are three steps to creating a project schedule: 1) Document general project information, 2) List project deliverables, and 3) Schedule project activities.
In the document general information step, you want to look at what the business is currently doing and the purpose of the project. You also want to figure out the desired outcomes of the project. In the list project deliverables step, you want to consider what milestones or major deadlines that you have in the project. In the schedule project activities step, you need to make sure that all key members know their roles and responsibilities. Also, you need to make sure that you meet all of your deadlines for the project.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Online Learning Changing Education

Beaufort says that in 2002 about 1.6 million students were enrolled in at least one online class, and in 2005 about 3.2 million students were enrolled.
I agree that online classes are a great way of learning and just about anything can be taught electronically. Online classes allow the students to do the classwork on their own time with set time limits instead of having one set time everyday of the week that you have to sit in a classroom.
"More of the professors are starting to realize, 'Hey, I can use animations and illustrations instead of drawing on a blackboard,'" Draper says.
This is another cool thing about online classes for those that know how to use the technology. And it is easier to erase things on a virtual drawing board than the chalk board. Also it doesn't leave the residue behind that you have to write over.
"It usually takes a professor about five months to put together a course manuscript," Draper notes, and an additional five months to seven months are needed to develop and test the course.
This is one of the downsides to using virtual classrooms or online training, but in most cases the benefits outweigh the disadvanages. It may take a long time to make the class from scratch and get it running, but you dont have to do it again once you are finished. You can keep using the same classes over and over again once they are finished and just add in updates as the years go by.

Online Learning Changing Education BYU NewsNet (UT) (08/23/07) ; Beaufort, Kiku

Multimedia Instructional Design

In my opinion the design phase is one of if not the most important parts of the design process. The design phase is the planning phase and is the most fun, because you can let your imagination run wild. Lee/Owens says that planning is the most important factor of a project and projects often founder because of failure to adequately plan.
Lee/Owens says that the outcome of this phase is the course design specification (CDS). CDS contains the following elements: 1) Schedule, 2) Project team, 3) Media specifications, 4) Lesson structure, and 5) Configuration control and review cycles.
The schedule outlines the dates of when current key events are supposed to take place. Project team is the group(s) of people working on the project. Their duties and responsibilities should be outlined. Media specifications includes the document types, presentation styles, text, grammar, graphics, fonts, themes, and editing symbols. Lesson structure describes the flow and structure of the lesson, the tests, and user control. Configuration control and review cycle describes how media is designed and managed and the process for conducting reviews.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Affective Domain

Continuing from class today, I've had my experience with major sleep deprivation while I was in my Officer training courses for the US Army. Candidates undergo lots of sleep deprivation to see how well you react under high levels of stress. You have to learn to adapt and overcome the side effects or you could get someone hurt or killed.

Objective Analysis

Lee/Owens says that there are seven activities involved in performing an objective analysis: 1) Decide on domains, 2) Decide on level, 3) Write a goal statement, 4) Write performance objectives, 5) Engage in a group discussion, 6) Separate terminal objectives from performance objectives, and 7) Seperate lesson objectives from performance objectives.
When deciding on domains there are five demains to consider: 1) Cognitive, 2) Affective, 3) Motor, 4) Psychomotor, and 5) Metacognitive.
Lee/Owens says thats the cognitive domains deal with levels of discriminations, concrete concept, defined concept, rule, problem solving, cognitive strategies, and verbal information. They say that affective domains deal with levels of receiving and responding, valuing, organization, and characterization. They also say that motor and psychomotor domains deal with levels of reflex movements, basic movements, and perceptual.
When writing your goal statement you need to know what overall outcomes you want to achieve and focus your statement on thoses results.
Lee/Owens says that there are five parts to writing a performance objective: 1) Situation, 2) Learned capability, 3) Object, 4) Action verb, 5) Tools, constraints, and conditions.
Next you want to start a group discussion in order to find out what others think about your objectives. This will allow you to find out what areas you need to work on some more or clarify.
Next you want to seperate the different parts of the objective. Lee/Owens says the terminal objective comprises the situation and learned-capability portions of the performance objective. They say you separate lesson objectives from performance objective by removing the learned-capability from the latter.

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Situational Analysis

Lee/Owens says that there are three activities involved in performing a situational analysis: 1) Analyze the job environment, 2) Analyze delivery environment, and 3) Document the results.
Analyzing the job environment is the process where you go to the job site and check out what goes on on an average day. Lee/Owens says you should look for the following factors: Physical and environmental factors, management support, teamwork, empowerment, delegation and control, feedback, work processes and policies, safety issues, and coaching and mentoring.
Analyzing the delivery environment is the process of comparing the training areas to the work areas and determine how the training areas influence transfer of learning. Lee/Owens says you should consider the following factors: Access to training facilities, availability of instructors, coaches, and mentors, and physical and environmental factors.
You should always document your results, so that you can use them for other phases in the needs assessment. They will be a great mind jogger in the future. Lee/Owens says you should, "Be particularly sensitive to employee confidentiality and how results of the analysis are reported."

Lee, W. W., & Owens, D. L. (2004). Multimedia-based instructional design: Computer-based training, web-based training, distance broadcast training, performance-based solutions. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Learning Changes

How does Elliott Masie’s discussion of how learning is changing compare to your beliefs and assumptions about training, learning, and technology?
Elliott Masie discusses some of the ways how learning content/classes are getting shorter and the demand of receiving the information is increasing to want it faster and faster. I agree with him and have experienced this throughout my military career. Most of the training that used to take months of classroom time are now being given in weeks, because of our advancements in technology. Elliott Masie discusses changing learning systems. I believe that this topic is very important because society today is developing more around the new technology and spending less time around older learning styles. A good example of these is in todays world we spend more time finding new ways to upload books on CDs or the internet than people used to spend reading them.

http://www.learning2007.com/l7-blogs/l7-blog/learning-changes-video.html

Assignment 1: Finish That Thought...About Software

1. The first productivity software program I ever used was .... an early education software on an Apple computer that my elementary school gave me in the second grade. I used it to learn different levels of mathematics and English. Prior to this I was using Hooked on Phonics.

2. The software program I use and know the best ... would have to be any of the Microsoft Office suite programs. I have used Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software throughout most of my school years and during many assignments with the military.

3. One software program I would like to learn more about is ... animation development. I have always liked playing around with graphics, but I have never really had the time to sit down and fully understand the process of creating animated graphics. I have tried to few things in my spare time with the old Animation Shop 3 software that used to come with Paint Shop Pro.

Welcome!

Welcome to my TSTM 544 Blog: Training Systems