Sunday, October 13, 2013

ETEC 561 Capstone video

ETEC 561
Capstone video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2HxVb1RPPk&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Capstone video notes ETEC 561



The purpose of this video is to allow you to reflect on what you have learned over the course of this class and how it applies to your current or future job plans.

The subject matter of curriculum design has become more interesting to me since the start of this class.  How does one take basic knowledge and skills and set them up in a way that allows students to easily learn basic objectives and more.  What are the proper ways of choosing the correct learning outcomes for a class?  Coming from a medical background I don’t have a strong foundation in these principles. To you these are elementary questions you learned long ago.  To me these are completely new concepts. In the last 7 years I have become a clinical instructor for a respiratory therapy medical program at Collin College.  That was the first time I realized being knowledgeable in the field did not mean you could effectively teach.  While I had a strong background in science, it never occurred to me there was a science to teaching.  Actually, once that realization hit home, I felt more comfortable in pursuing the science of teaching and the elements it consists of.  That desire was the initial factor in my seeking a master’s degree.  I did have the opportunity to choose a master’s of health science, health management, or even respiratory therapy.  Management was never my dream, but leadership is.  Then, as time went by and I saw individuals from different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds and career fields turn into health care professionals I got hooked on teaching.  The personal growth I got to take part in and witness in the field of adult education was fantastic.  I wanted to become a better instructor of the subject matter and professional field I loved so much.  One big problem is the limited positions open to advanced respiratory care practitioners, including in the career of education.  A master’s degree in education, global e-learning and leadership may allow me to extend my experience in healthcare to a larger audience.
 
So how do I plan on doing that?  Obviously I have to learn more about the field of adult education. Where did it come from? Where is it going?  This class was a large help to me in understanding how to develop learning material in ways that cross many different careers and industries.  It has given me an opportunity to consider the start of using my talents and experience in other areas besides hospitals.  Perhaps I don’t have to become a professional educational design programmer.  Maybe I can participate as a subject matter expert for on-line respiratory care programs used in various countries.  I have also considered participating in the development of patient education interactive courses. The course would cover disease processes like Asthma, and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and how to properly use medication delivery devices.  These courses would be for patients getting ready to discharge home after being admitted to the hospital for an exacerbation of their condition.

What was the most challenging thing you learned?
Most challenging was sections two and three. Sections two and three concentrated on several different approaches to instructional design and the applicable protocols or outlines.  These sections were more technical than others.  I had to read these sections several times to get an idea of how the theories are applied.  It was in these sections that reading the blogs of other students in the class helped tremendously.  I also read a lot of the inputs from blog responses more in this section than any other.  When I could envision some of these principles from reading the blogs of people currently in the field it helped to solidify areas I was still not sure of.

What was the most interesting thing you learned?

Of course chapter 20 was the most interesting to me.  How IDT comes into play in the industry of healthcare.  It was this chapter that opened the door for me possibly crossing over into IDT and specializing in the field of healthcare.  As any other industry healthcare has its own culture and language.  Understanding the culture, language and traditions that exist in this field would certainly help me to develop training and education programs that others in these professions can identify with.  Another interesting fact for me in this chapter came from learning how healthcare education started as a narrow focused memorization type education and developed into the problem and evidence based educational focus it is today.  From my clinical experience, I completely agree with the findings  of (Norman and Schmidt, 1992)that students who learn to integrate medical facts in problem solving retain the information better and have better self-directed learning skills.  Problem-based learning is the standard in healthcare training.

An equally interesting area for me in chapter 12 was the discussion on management and leadership skill sets and differences.   As I have stated earlier, I don’t have a passion for management.  However, the attitudes and skills required for the sound leadership of a project team and how those skills compare to management requirements was very informative.  Concentrating on management requires plans for goals to be met, and very strict organization.  My personality strengths lie more in vision, finding the right people with the right skills and providing them the help and atmosphere they need to accomplish the goal.  The discussions in this chapter of the book struck a chord where the area of leadership is concerned and helped to make it more interesting to me.   I am especially excited to take courses in connection with leadership requirements at this level.

What was the most useful thing you learned?

Chapter 26 covering the varied professional organizations and publications available in the ID field was fantastic!  What a great idea to help students get an idea of where to start searching for more information about this field.  These organizations allow students to learn what is current in the profession and where it may be going in the future.  Especially helpful were the different websites to investigate all of the diverse areas of the field that you may be interested in.  Within that chapter were literally dozens of varied areas of study.  There was something for everyone to pursue no matter where your interests lie.

List three examples of how you have already implemented or plan to implement things you have learned this semester.

1       As I discussed earlier, I would like to put together small power point presentations about various lung diseases and medications used.  I would incorporate illustrations, short films, questions and scenarios.  The actual exam might consist of the patient teaching the instructor about when and how to use the appropriate medications and when to call the doctor.
However, now when I develop this program I will use the evaluation model at each stage of production.

2      Instructional programing should focus on the learning sciences and be evaluated as to how well the program adheres to that science.  I also want to use problem or evidence based learning in the regards of spurring more individual curiosity and self – learning of the students.

3      There is a strong shift toward performance improvement in the health care industry as well as others mentioned in the book.  I believe the development of training material must keep this in mind as a secondary outcome to a training program.  Ultimately, the end result of training is to improve performance. More importantly, it is imperative to recognize the times that further training is not the answer.  In the future I would hope to be able to acknowledge when training is not the issue and as a leader have non training solutions.  Some of these could be recognition awards, incentive systems etc.  Another area I would like to learn more about is performance improvement.  Our book showed us a few models and suggested some reading which a start is but I would like to understand how to integrate the concept straight into training programs where appropriate.


To bring this video to a close, this class taught me a lot about the science of learning, and producing educational material that motivates and improves student outcomes and performance.  It gives someone like me a place to start in the professional development of curriculum whether it is used for training, continuing education or initial classroom learning.  I believe this class will help me in the leadership skills necessary to produce a useful and interesting product.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

ETEC 561 Section VII



Dawn Burks
ETEC 561
Section VII


This section of the textbook addresses new directions and emerging technologies for IDT. For your final post, reflect on how you might apply each of the following in your current or future position in the IDT field:
  • distributed or e-learning environments
  • reusable design or learning objects
  • rich media
  •  emerging instructional technologies, such as artificial intelligence, cybernetics, Web 2.0, virtual worlds, electronic games, etc.

I will attempt to answer our blog this week considering the area of training for healthcare professionals.  As far as distributed or e-learning environments are involved, I would like to use them for their flexibility.  The flexibility allows students to study and complete training in time periods not normally available with face to face classrooms.  Hospitals are a 24/7 type of industry.  E-learning would allow for shift workers to complete competency and compliance training more easily.  There is no end to possibilities that can be used to enhance ideas or learning environments. 

Currently, more and more continuing training requirements are met with online training classes.  Distributed training or production classes could also work well within a hospital system allowing for multiple class time availability so that employees from different branches may be able to take part in the same class.  In this manner everyone learns a uniform way of completing tasks or can contribute ideas to aid in problem solving.

Reusable design or learning objects may be a more difficult tool to use.  Financially, it is wise to try to use this concept as much as possible.  Being able to use a specific learning tool outline in multiple ways contributes to flexibility as much as e-learning can.  Perhaps simulation scenarios can be used to test several different professional fields in “standard of care” exercises.

Naturally, when you think about simulators the necessity for rich media comes to mind.  It would be fantastic to have an on-line 3D “patient” that allows for clinical assessments of blood pressure, heart and breath sounds etc.  In addition, the simulated “patient” could show changes to patient condition that occur due to inputs made by the students.  Even poor decisions could be allowed to go down a natural course with a real world ending.   These situations could be invaluable learning opportunities for students prior to clinical rotations.  Currently simulators are used in the form of manikins. However if this training could be enhanced and added to by on-line simulators, the expense of these exercises could be reduced significantly. 

Some surgeons and medical physicians are already using cybernetics to assist in microsurgeries today. Just as an example http://www.davincisurgery.com/.  Web 2.0 could allow a surgeon from another country to perform surgery on a patient thousands of miles away.  Again, the possibilities are endless and I am quite excited to be embarking on this extension of my career.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Section 6 ETEC 561




Section 6

ETEC 561

Begin your post for this week with some background: what is your current job, what program are you enrolled in, what brings you to that program, and what do you expect when you graduate (change jobs? obtain a promotion?).

Currently, and for the last 15 years I have been a respiratory care practitioner and for the last 7 years I have expanded into clinical instruction.  I am enrolled in the Global E-learning and Leadership program.  My reason for the choice of program came about by meeting Dr. Waller at a conference.  Dr. Waller told me about a fantastic new master’s program available through A&M Commerce.

Past experiences in healthcare, serving in the military and love for travel promoted a natural curiosity in me regarding various cultures.  I enjoy inspiring others to achieve their dreams.  Global E-learning has taught me to see others in a deeper aspect.  I have learned to consider the needs of other cultures in learning.  My desire is to inspire and instruct.  Learning more about leadership will be important to the realization of that goal.  Graduation expectations consist of changing careers.



Next, describe the kind of work that you want to do and the type of organization or institution in which you want to work. Use the WorkMatrixTM in the chapter titled “Getting a Job in Business and Industry” to help organize your thoughts. Do you most desire first, second, third, or fourth level service? Or would you rather design or develop instruction? What features of work are important to you? What economic sector do you want to work in?
 
An opportunity to improve healthcare training and teambuilding would be a fantastic way to achieve better multi-cultural communication processes in the field.   A secondary interest would consist of teaching on-line didactic classes for expanding respiratory care training taking place in other countries.  I would most likely find these positions available in larger hospitals.  Fourth level service that allows me to work from any location would be optimal.   Another fantastic opportunity would be to find a first or second level position training therapists at hospitals internationally.  Most likely this type of scenario would be in the private sector. 

   

Based on these intentions, explain what you need to learn. What skills and qualifications do you need? Will you obtain the skills you need in the required courses in your program? What electives might you need to take to help you develop skills specific to your aspirations?

I need to learn more concerning leadership, recognizing talents in your team members and motivation.  Most of the skills I need will come from my degree plan.  Additionally, electives in training and instructional development will help me be more rounded professionally.




Finally, what organizations would best support your continued learning after you graduate? Do you think you would benefit from joining those organizations before graduating? Explain why or why not?
 
The organization I feel would support my continued learning would be the American Society for Training and Development.  I’m not sure if I could benefit from joining the organization just yet.  I may decide to branch off into another area of training or instruction before I finish my degree plan.  The closer I get to the finish line, and the more exposed I become to classmates I can learn from, I may go in another direction.  I am still a little flexible at this point.