For my Applied Research Project (ARP), the theoretical framework that I am interested in exploring and investigating more is the motivational theory. Understanding what drives people towards a particular goal or outcome is relevant, particularly to all businesses. The reason is simple, more motivated employees are more productive, and more productive employees are therefore more profitable. As easy as it seems, understanding the logic behind human motivation is hard to understand, spark, and use effectively. As stated by Keller & Susuki (2004) “overcoming these motivational challenges can be difficult because of the complexity of human motivation and the vast number of motivational concepts and theories that exist”.
The purpose of my ARP is to explore the implementation of e-learning strategies that might be used in the automotive industry to train and prepare its workforce. E-learning is convenient, impactful, and offers many benefits to organizations and their learners. Keller (2008) stated that “e-learning systems are being adopted and developed at ever-increasing rates; they have many potential benefits, but they also have challenges” (para. 1). As I study more about motivational theories, it has become clearer the connection between this framework and my research topic. However, some questions that I look forward to investigating are:
How does motivation affect online learning environments?
What are some of the motivational characteristics of the learners and how to strengthen the areas that are weak?
What are some motivational theories that have been proven effective in achieving success?
References
Keller, J. & Suzuki, K. (2004). Learner motivation and E-learning design: A multinationally validated process, Journal of Educational Media, 29:3, 229-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/1358165042000283084
For my Applied Research Project, and after narrowing things down a little bit, I am interested in exploring how digitization and e-learning within the Automotive Industry can be used for training personnel.
At this early stage, I can think of three different methods for disseminating my research:
First, a brief and concise presentation to upper management with proposed strategies, solutions, and my research findings.
Second, after receiving feedback and authorization from my organization’s upper management I could potentially disseminate my research findings to all staff members from all our locations as a digital publication within our company staff portal.
Lastly, If the results were positive within our organization, I could consider sharing my work and findings with a larger audience by contacting our franchise’s (General Motors) District Manager who may be interested to share the information with other regions at the dealership level or possibly across Canada. I am not sure if this is a route I would like to follow, but as my research evolves, I will adjust and deliver as I see doable, relevant, and appropriate.
For the last few weeks in LRNT 528 I had the opportunity to observe, collaborate and even co-facilitate an entire week of online activities. After revisiting and reflecting on my original 3-2-1 Blog Post I realized that some of my original thoughts and questions have somewhat shifted.
THREE initial thoughts about facilitation in digital environments
I still believe that facilitation in digital environments goes beyond the integration of technologies in training processes or just giving virtual presentations. In fact, for the last four weeks it was clear that we all have different perceptions and chose different delivery methods for our facilitation week activities.
Facilitation in digital environments is challenging and I found very valuable taking the role of a learner to become a better facilitator. It gave me a different perspective and appreciation to the what an online facilitator does.
There are many new tools and platforms available today, while it is hard to keep up with all of them, they give us an opportunity to stay current with new trends and technologies.
TWO questions you have about digital facilitation
As facilitators, how do we measure success in the delivery of an online course? Is it only by grades? Engagement and participation? Attendance to synchronous sessions?
As learners, do we really provide helpful and constructive feedback to improve future deliveries of the course?
ONE metaphor
Digital facilitation is similar to how we choose, drive, and keep our vehicles. They both come with some personal taste and character of course. However, some people choose old and classics while others prefer the latest models with the most technology available. Some people like driving their cars “fast and furious” while others drive them “slow and steady”. Lastly, some like to keep their vehicles shiny and clean while others prefer to keep them a bit messy. As mentioned in my initial post, when you are the facilitator, you are on the driver’s seat; you own it, you maintain it, and you try to keep it in tip-top shape!
This week, we explored the interesting world of Open Education and through some activities, we had some good discussions about Open Educational Practices (OEP) and Open Education Resources (OER), as well as we were tasked with reflecting on the applicability of these concepts in our own contexts.
After completing this week’s readings, one takeaway for me was that Open Education is, at its core, sharing freely and with open access. Free in the sense that OER are offered free of charge, with freedom of use, and open, to a certain degree, allowing everyone to reuse and modify them.
Open learning is changing the way people can access education and training opportunities, whether for professional development or personal interest. I think that it is important that open learning products are designed with good quality, to facilitate a good and effective experience for the learner(s) that strengthens the acquisition of new information and skills while offering different learning paths, according to their interests and needs.
Infographic created using Power Point and Canvaby Rodriguez, 2022 .
For this assignment, we were tasked to create an infographic around the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model along with some strategies to build effective online learning environments in our professional contexts.
After reflecting on my professional experience, I chose a conveyor belt to use as part of my infographic. While I anticipate the spark of a little bit of controversy about this choice, I hope that by sharing a little bit about my context I can help mitigate some of the negative connotations around conveyor belts and education.
As most of you know, I work in the Automotive sector, a fast-paced industry where I provide technical support to a group of businesses in BC (4 car dealerships, a Bodyshop, a Bicycle shop, and a Powersports store). I also make decisions about technological changes and implementations as required by the manufacturers and tackle all the day-to-day support requests. With endless requests from multiple locations, I try to deliver prompt support and implementations in a fast, efficient, and structured manner, thus my connection with the conveyor belt.
Creating Cognitive presence
I strive to always create a positive work atmosphere. While I take care of the technical aspect of things, one strategy to create cognitive presence is to listen actively to our staff members. I consider their input very valuable, at the end of the day, they know better than anyone how to run their department. I am always open to implementing new ideas and I am always happy to accommodate them in order to achieve the expected outcome(s).
Creating Teaching Presence
To establish a teaching presence, when implementing new technologies, the expected outcomes are discussed and staff members are encouraged to participate in the process(es). While I take care of the technical aspect of things, each department is responsible to learn the new processes and utilize proper hardware and software for their daily operation. There has to be a commitment to learning and not debating. I encourage staff members to embrace technology and its benefits even if in the beginning is a little bit challenging, in the long run, it is worth it. In many cases, this embracing is not even optional, it is mandated by our OEM manufacturers.
Creating Social Presence
Having a positive work environment also promotes positive interactions amongst peers. and knowing that ‘the door is always open’ for further communications that could help improve processes within the company is essential. “Facilitating social interaction fosters engagement and a sense of trust, safety, and familiarity such that social presence may emerge” (Vaughan et al., 2013). By allowing everyone the opportunity to speak their mind, share their thoughts, and make suggestions about important changes in the organization we aim to build a community of trust where everyone feels safe and included in the decision-making process.
As facilitators, we can be the conveyor belts, durable and reliable machines whose mission is to move supplies, materials, and any other components in a very efficient way and facilitate the delivery of all these supplies. Conveyor belts also require maintenance and servicing to operate properly. By staying up to date with the new technologies and being lifelong learners, we, as facilitators can ensure the delivery of a positive and engaging educational experience to our learners.
THREE initial thoughts about facilitation in digital environments
I think that facilitation in a digital environment goes beyond the integration of technologies in training processes or just giving virtual presentations.
Digital facilitation comes with its own challenges and concerns that need to be overcome by learners (students) and facilitators to achieve the common goal of collaboration.
Digital learning environments take for granted a certain level of digital literacy and proficiency from both learners and facilitators.
TWO questions you have about digital facilitation
As a facilitator in a digital environment, how can you know if a student has understood the lesson and propose exercises and content that are adapted to their level of understanding?
How can a facilitator encourage individual active participation and group collaboration in digital learning environments?
ONE metaphor
Digital facilitation is like driving a fancy new car. It has all the basic components that older cars have such as the engine, wheels, brakes, and windows but also comes with many more features, bells, and whistles than previous models. Digital facilitation has its foundation and “basic components” in traditional learning and has evolved by adopting new technological “features”. You cannot go back to older models but you can decide how equipped you want your car to be and how fast you want to drive it; as a facilitator, you are in the driver’s seat.
We are in the last week of LRNT 527 and for the last activity, we have been challenged to look in the ‘side-view mirror’ and reflect on our learning journey through this course and on the design thinking process that we engaged to design a digital learning resource in order to solve an identified problem of practice in our work environments. OpenLearn (n.d) suggests that reflection plays a crucial role in our learning and self-development at a Master’s level. It also states that “as with other areas of competence, you need to be actively aware of, to develop, and practice the habit of reflection, until it becomes almost second nature” (OpenLearn, n.d.).
Laurier (n.d.) presented different models of reflection and the one that resonated the most with me was the “What-So What-Now What” model developed by Bruce Borton in 1970. I like to keep things simple and concise in both my personal and professional life, and this model is “a quick and easy way for you to reflect on a situation after it has happened” (Laurier, n.d.). Some questions that came to my mind were What was the goal to create a digital learning resource? What steps did I have to follow to get there? What did I learn from it? So what can be done to make it better? and, now what can I do to improve my digital learning resource? Among many others. I believe that sometimes simple questions help you get the best answers.
Working through this course I also learned a few different things:
The importance of empathizing with your learners. Developing the ability to understand another person’s thoughts in a situation was of great value to come up with a proposed solution. Following a human-centered design and “putting the people you serve at the center of your design process to come up with new answers to difficult problems” (IDEO, 2015).
“Design thinking is not a linear process, some of the steps overlap, and in some cases, these steps can even go in an infinite loop” (Hastings, 2018).
Feedback is effective. Kearney (2012) suggested that students who participated in peer assessment felt that it was challenging, but also helped to develop their critical thinking skills. Feedback comes in different shapes and forms and it helps clarify expectations. I believe that constructive feedback helps you grow and provides you with a sense of engagement and commitment.
Reflective thinking and learning have been consistent elements of each course during the MALAT program, while it continues to be a work in progress for me, I certainly have to admit that reflecting is a powerful tool, and when you learn how to use it, you obtain a greater understanding of yourself and your personal reality, you also give an answer to who you are and what you do in life. I also view reflection as a source of knowledge, as one of many means to learn, help yourself in uncertainty, clear your doubts, find solutions to problems, and grow as people personally, professionally, and socially.
Kearney, S. (2012). Improving engagement: the use of “Authentic self-and peer-assessment for learning” to enhance the student learning experience.https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2012.751963
Team Five, the Jazzy Awesome Legendary Genius Minds (also known as the humble team), chose podcasts as our focus technology. Over the last couple of weeks, we have all been listening to CBC’s The Secret Life of Canada. In our preliminary explorations, we found a plethora of podcasts that piqued our unique interests, but we landed on The Secret Life of Canada because it is comprised of podcasts covering a broad range of topics, so we all found podcast episodes we were interested in both individually and as a group. As well, access was free and did not require logging in to a streaming service.
As we embarked on our listening adventures and began digging into podcast-related literature, we were pleasantly surprised by a number of insights. First, we realized that there are podcasts for everyone; as long as one has access to a device and interests to explore, there are podcasts available that will meet their needs. Second, we discovered that podcasts are highly popular because they are convenient, customizable, provide listeners with the opportunity to “feed their brain” (Perks and Turner, 2019, p. 108) and allow users to timeshift in that they can be listened to anytime, anywhere (McClung and Johnson, 2010). Finally, we became aware of the many critical issues that exist alongside podcasts and in our initial discussions we brainstormed extensive lists of possible issues to explore. The infographic below summarizes the critical issues we each decided to focus on.
It would be prudent to be mindful that podcasts, like any widely accessible technology, bring questions around credible and accurate information to the fore. That being said, however, the most powerful and significant revelation we had, both individually and as a team, is that podcasts are, by nature, stories. Stories about education, lived experiences, culture, politics, marketing, community, tradition, and more; podcasts are a powerful vehicle for diverse voices to be heard by wide audiences. Just like a good book read over and over again feels like an old friend, the stories told through podcasts have the potential to connect listeners to the world and the people, places, and events that matter.
References
Brinson, N. H., & Lemon, L. L. (2022). Investigating the effects of host trust, credibility, and authenticity in podcast advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2022.2054017
Collier, R. (2018). Containing health myths in the age of viral misinformation. Cmaj, 190(19), E578-E578.
Del Vicario, M., Bessi, A., Zollo, F., Petroni, F., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., Stanley, H. E., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2016). The spreading of misinformation online. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(3), 554-559.
Kass-Hout, T. A., & Alhinnawi, H. (2013). Social media in public health. British medical bulletin, 108(1).
McClung, S., & Johnson, K. (2010). Examining the motives of podcast users. Journal of Radio and Audio Media, 17(1), 82–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376521003719391
Merchant, R. M., South, E. C., & Lurie, N. (2021). Public health messaging in an era of social media. Jama, 325(3), 223-224.
Perks, L. G., & Turner, J. S. (2019). Podcasts and productivity: A qualitative uses and gratifications study. Mass Communication and Society, 22(1), 96–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2018.1490434
