Last Blog

1. “Distributed learning is any educational or training experience that uses a variety of means, including technology to enable learning.” As technology evolves, distributed learning is becoming an everyday possibility in the classroom. There are many examples of distributed learning, one being corporate distributed learning. Corporations are using distributed learning in online training courses. Using these types of trainings bring the cost way down, since traveling and substitutes to replace employees while they train are no longer necessary. Web-based training can track who has taken what, and how long they spent on each objective.
Another example is academic distributed learning. More and more classes are going online in the higher education sector. With the economy lagging, many people are choosing to return to school to improve their job attainability. Online courses are so convenient, especially for older students with families.
On that same note, virtual institutions are cropping up all over America. These universities are completely online. Registration, classes, student support, and even libraries and bookstores make up the “campus”. This makes it even more convenient for students; they never have to leave their home!
Not all classes in the universities must be completely online. Some are hybrids, requiring some onsite meetings to supplement their online coursework. This would be necessary in courses requiring hands-on training, such as nursing.
Finally virtual classes are being offered at the secondary level for students who need to make up missing credits.
2. Reusability is the ability to use the same resource multiple times in multiple ways and contexts. I couldn’t think of any of my coursework that didn’t teach me many things useful in the classroom. However, I have been to many trainings and professional developments that have poor reusability characteristics. The issues are mainly that the presentors have a power point, they hand out a copy of the slides, then proceed to spend hours upon hours reading the slides aloud. The power point includes no ideas for use in the classroom setting, or do not relate to my class. For a training to be successful, I need real examples that can be used in my curriculum.

3.
This was created with Voki and is the prologue to Romeo and Juliet. I thought the heart was a good representation of the story and wanted something to grab my students’ attention. It allows them to hear the prologue read aloud, and gives them an interesting preview of the play. My students really enjoyed this.
4. Nanotechnology is based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex, atomic specifications. The example in the book explains “smart paper”. I think this could be used in lieu of regular paper in a classroom setting that is virtual.
5. The goals of both the strait and narrow and the broad and inclusive are the same: designing and using technology/resources to improve learning and performance. However, when it comes to the characteristics of each, I tend to follow the broad and inclusive road. The main reason is that this road allows for change, much more than the strait and narrow. This makes it easier to adapt when the technology being used is not working in the way it was expected. I think being open to change is extremely important. Also, using a full range of reasoned inquiry make it easier to search for options needed.

Last Blog!

1. “Distributed learning is any educational or training experience that uses a variety of means, including technology to enable learning.” As technology evolves, distributed learning is becoming an everyday possibility in the classroom. There are many examples of distributed learning, one being corporate distributed learning. Corporations are using distributed learning in online training courses. Using these types of trainings bring the cost way down, since traveling and substitutes to replace employees while they train are no longer necessary. Web-based training can track who has taken what, and how long they spent on each objective.
Another example is academic distributed learning. More and more classes are going online in the higher education sector. With the economy lagging, many people are choosing to return to school to improve their job attainability. Online courses are so convenient, especially for older students with families.
On that same note, virtual institutions are cropping up all over America. These universities are completely online. Registration, classes, student support, and even libraries and bookstores make up the “campus”. This makes it even more convenient for students; they never have to leave their home!
Not all classes in the universities must be completely online. Some are hybrids, requiring some onsite meetings to supplement their online coursework. This would be necessary in courses requiring hands-on training, such as nursing.
Finally virtual classes are being offered at the secondary level for students who need to make up missing credits.
2. Reusability is the ability to use the same resource multiple times in multiple ways and contexts. I couldn’t think of any of my coursework that didn’t teach me many things useful in the classroom. However, I have been to many trainings and professional developments that have poor reusability characteristics. The issues are mainly that the presentors have a power point, they hand out a copy of the slides, then proceed to spend hours upon hours reading the slides aloud. The power point includes no ideas for use in the classroom setting, or do not relate to my class. For a training to be successful, I need real examples that can be used in my curriculum.

3.
This was created with Voki and is the prologue to Romeo and Juliet. I thought the heart was a good representation of the story and wanted something to grab my students’ attention. It allows them to hear the prologue read aloud, and gives them an interesting preview of the play. My students really enjoyed this.
4. Nanotechnology is based on the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules to build structures to complex, atomic specifications. The example in the book explains “smart paper”. I think this could be used in lieu of regular paper in a classroom setting that is virtual.
5. The goals of both the strait and narrow and the broad and inclusive are the same: designing and using technology/resources to improve learning and performance. However, when it comes to the characteristics of each, I tend to follow the broad and inclusive road. The main reason is that this road allows for change, much more than the strait and narrow. This makes it easier to adapt when the technology being used is not working in the way it was expected. I think being open to change is extremely important. Also, using a full range of reasoned inquiry make it easier to search for options needed.

Blog 6

The University of New Haven seeks a talented and experienced Instructional Designer to provide effective pedagogical consulting and design assistance to faculty developing and revising online courses. The Instructional Designer will work in a team and project based environment with faculty as subject matter experts providing pedagogical, instructional design and development consultation and assistance related to courses, modules and whole curriculum activities for eLearning projects. The candidate selected will have a demonstrated progression of challenging instructional design assignments and expertise in designing and producing effective online learning environments and instructional materials and will have a strong commitment to quality standards and service.

Required Qualifications and Skills:
• Master’s degree in, or related to, instructional design, curriculum and instruction, learning systems, adult learning or related field
• Three years of experience with eLearning/online pedagogy and application of instructional design theory, adult learning theory principles and practices for the development of eLearning courses and programs in higher education
• Demonstrated experience assisting faculty with design and redesign of courses for online and hybrid delivery modes, including the incorporation of Web 2.0 tools for instruction and communication
• Demonstrated progression of challenging instructional design assignments and expertise in designing and producing effective online learning environments and instructional materials
• Awareness of accessibility issues and use of assistive technologies in course design
• Demonstrated project management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written and teaming skills
• Strong commitment to quality customer service
• Proven ability to work as a contributing and collegial member of a team and to communicate proactively within the team environment
• Ability to work with multiple deadlines and multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Ability to adapt and to solve problems proactively and creatively
• Experience conducting training sessions for both small and large groups
• Demonstrated commitment to quality and innovation in course design
• Experience with Blackboard or similar learning management systems
• Knowledge of best practices and innovations in instructional design and instructional technology



INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER
Rivier College, Nashua, NH, seeks an Instructional Designer who will be the primary support for faculty in creating high-quality online and hybrid courses.
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES/QUALIFICATIONS
• Knowledge: Work with web-based course management systems (specifically Blackboard)
• Knowledge: Produce and implement streaming audio and video tools
• Knowledge: Employ current instructional practices for collaborative learning with web-based tools Skill: Interpret faculty and student needs and produce instructional materials accordingly
• Skill: Communicate proactively, collaboratively, and professionally
• Skill: Work comfortably in a fast-pace, changing environment
• Skill: Analyze problems, identify solutions, project consequences of proposed actions, and implement recommendations
• Ability: Work on multiple projects simultaneously and adjust priorities as needed
• Ability: Train and support faculty and students in the use of learning technologies
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
• Education: Bachelor's degree (preferably in instructional design or related field)
• Experience: Three years in instructional technology support
• Experience: Higher education, online teaching, and the Blackboard Learning Management System
• Experience: Design and development of faculty development programs, including evaluation of instructional technologies
Job Description:
The Graduate School of Education at the American University in Cairo welcomes applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant/Associate Professor in Curriculum Design and Instruction, with particular emphasis in one of the following areas: action research, educational measurement, cognition, mathematics education, science education, social studies education, literacy education, or arts education. Regardless of emphasis, candidates should have enough flexibility to teach courses that may be applicable to students in a variety of subject areas. Responsibilities for this position include teaching graduate level coursework, advising master’s theses, advising students, and conducting/publishing research that is relevant to educational reform in the Middle East, as well as relevant to the educational literature on a global level. Additionally, a core responsibility for this position is to work with a small team of faculty members in the continued development of the relatively new Graduate School of Education.

Requirements:
Candidates must have a completed, earned doctorate and should have a strong teaching and research record in accordance with prior experience. Ideally, candidates should have teaching experience also at the K-12 level, preferably in diverse environments. A successful candidate will have a strong related or cognate interest in pedagogical content knowledge, curriculum theory, and/or instructional research methods, applied to the subject area emphases previously described.


1. These jobs are waaaay out of my league! All three are at a higher education level, with two requiring doctorate degrees. I have only taught in secondary schools, so I do not have the experience required. Also, my desire is to stay in public education K-12. I do not, at this time, seek an administrative type position. All three of these jobs were located on the jobtarget website.
2. I researched many of these websites, but was unable to find an assessment that was useful. The Work Matrix did not calculate the jobs for me. The O*NET assessments seemed interesting, but were only available at a cost.

3. Professional Organization: American Educational Research Organization (AERA)
Mission: The American Educational Research Association (AERA), a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.
Cost: Regular $150, Graduate Student $40.00

Publications: American Educational Research Journal, Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Researcher, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, Review of Education Research, Review of Research in Education

Conferences: The 2011 AERA Annual Meeting will take place Friday, April 8 – Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in New Orleans, LA.
The Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research is designed to feature the important role of research in advancing understanding of equality and equity in education. The Lectureship was inaugurated in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took into account scientific research in issuing this landmark ruling. Each year a distinguished scholar notable for producing significant research related to equality in education is invited to give a public lecture in Washington, D.C.

Opportunities for professional development: AERA invites fellowship applications for an Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop to be held at the 2012 Annual Meeting in Vancouver (April 13-15).

Professional Organization: Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)

Mission: The Educational Communications and Technology (ect) Foundation is a non-profit organization for charitable and educational purposes that has made a substantial commitment in support of AECT. These purposes reflect the belief that instruction can be improved with new systems for learning and with assessment of techniques for the communication of information. In addition to awarding scholarships, internships, and fellowships, the Foundation funds leadership-training programs for AECT.

Cost: Corporate membership $400, New regular membership $125, New student membership $75

Publications: ETR&D (Educational Technology Research and Development), TechTrends, The International Journal of Designs for Learning, and Journal of Applied Instructional Design

Conferences: 2012 Research Symposia will the held in Louisville, Kentucky, July 18-20 in conjunction with the AECT Leadership Meetings.

Opportunities for professional development: AECT holds webinars for its members. A conversation with the Eminent Scholar about the Secrets of Designing Games for Learning is available Thursday December 8, 2011.

Professional Publication: The International Journal of Educational Technology (IJET) is an international refereed journal in the field of educational technology, sponsored by faculty, staff, and students at The Graduate School of Education at the University of Western Australia and the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Focus/Goals: IJET is committed to providing access to quality research articles in the area of educational technology for all interested readers.
Submission guidelines: The International Journal of Educational Technology (IJET) currently is not accepting new article submissions. We are attempting to process and publish those articles currently in our possession. Once this is completed, we intend to accept additional articles once again.
Is this a peer reviewed journal: IJET is a refereed online journal.
Is the journal online: Yes

Professional Publication: Educational Technology and Society
Focus/Goals: Educational Technology & Society seeks academic articles on the issues affecting the developers of educational systems and educators who implement and manage such systems. The articles should discuss the perspectives of both communities and their relation to each other:
• Educators aim to use technology to enhance individual learning as well as to achieve widespread education and expect the technology to blend with their individual approach to instruction. However, most educators are not fully aware of the benefits that may be obtained by proactively harnessing the available technologies and how they might be able to influence further developments through systematic feedback and suggestions.
• Educational system developers and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers are sometimes unaware of the needs and requirements of typical teachers, with a possible exception of those in the computer science domain. In transferring the notion of a 'user' from the human-computer interaction studies and assigning it to the 'student', the educator's role as the 'implementer/ manager/ user' of the technology has been forgotten.
Submission guidelines: Authors, submitting articles for a particular special issue, should send their submissions directly to the appropriate Guest Editor. Guest Editors will advise the authors regarding submission procedure for the final version. All submissions should be in electronic form. The editors will acknowledge the receipt of submission as soon as possible. Submission must be in editable format. Preferred formats are Word document and RTF, but editors will try their best for other formats too. Submissions in PDF and other non-editable formats are not acceptable.
Is this a peer reviewed journal: Yes
Is the journal online: Yes

4. Reading publications in educational technology is very important for a teacher. Staying up-to-date with the newest technology gives teachers an advantage on using new ways of teaching students. I had not heard of these organization, nor journals before, but found them very interesting. I am always looking for the latest information, and these sites provided ways to help me find it.

5. A performance technologist is an important position because they can improve performance through training. The standards necessary for this position are a set of principles that focus on outcomes, add value, and facilitate partnership perspectives. A performance technologist would focus on results and help clients focus on results. Figuring out the problem, and then designing a solution.

Blog 6

The University of New Haven seeks a talented and experienced Instructional Designer to provide effective pedagogical consulting and design assistance to faculty developing and revising online courses. The Instructional Designer will work in a team and project based environment with faculty as subject matter experts providing pedagogical, instructional design and development consultation and assistance related to courses, modules and whole curriculum activities for eLearning projects. The candidate selected will have a demonstrated progression of challenging instructional design assignments and expertise in designing and producing effective online learning environments and instructional materials and will have a strong commitment to quality standards and service.

Required Qualifications and Skills:
• Master’s degree in, or related to, instructional design, curriculum and instruction, learning systems, adult learning or related field
• Three years of experience with eLearning/online pedagogy and application of instructional design theory, adult learning theory principles and practices for the development of eLearning courses and programs in higher education
• Demonstrated experience assisting faculty with design and redesign of courses for online and hybrid delivery modes, including the incorporation of Web 2.0 tools for instruction and communication
• Demonstrated progression of challenging instructional design assignments and expertise in designing and producing effective online learning environments and instructional materials
• Awareness of accessibility issues and use of assistive technologies in course design
• Demonstrated project management skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal, written and teaming skills
• Strong commitment to quality customer service
• Proven ability to work as a contributing and collegial member of a team and to communicate proactively within the team environment
• Ability to work with multiple deadlines and multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Ability to adapt and to solve problems proactively and creatively
• Experience conducting training sessions for both small and large groups
• Demonstrated commitment to quality and innovation in course design
• Experience with Blackboard or similar learning management systems
• Knowledge of best practices and innovations in instructional design and instructional technology



INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGNER
Rivier College, Nashua, NH, seeks an Instructional Designer who will be the primary support for faculty in creating high-quality online and hybrid courses.
KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES/QUALIFICATIONS
• Knowledge: Work with web-based course management systems (specifically Blackboard)
• Knowledge: Produce and implement streaming audio and video tools
• Knowledge: Employ current instructional practices for collaborative learning with web-based tools Skill: Interpret faculty and student needs and produce instructional materials accordingly
• Skill: Communicate proactively, collaboratively, and professionally
• Skill: Work comfortably in a fast-pace, changing environment
• Skill: Analyze problems, identify solutions, project consequences of proposed actions, and implement recommendations
• Ability: Work on multiple projects simultaneously and adjust priorities as needed
• Ability: Train and support faculty and students in the use of learning technologies
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
• Education: Bachelor's degree (preferably in instructional design or related field)
• Experience: Three years in instructional technology support
• Experience: Higher education, online teaching, and the Blackboard Learning Management System
• Experience: Design and development of faculty development programs, including evaluation of instructional technologies
Job Description:
The Graduate School of Education at the American University in Cairo welcomes applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant/Associate Professor in Curriculum Design and Instruction, with particular emphasis in one of the following areas: action research, educational measurement, cognition, mathematics education, science education, social studies education, literacy education, or arts education. Regardless of emphasis, candidates should have enough flexibility to teach courses that may be applicable to students in a variety of subject areas. Responsibilities for this position include teaching graduate level coursework, advising master’s theses, advising students, and conducting/publishing research that is relevant to educational reform in the Middle East, as well as relevant to the educational literature on a global level. Additionally, a core responsibility for this position is to work with a small team of faculty members in the continued development of the relatively new Graduate School of Education.

Requirements:
Candidates must have a completed, earned doctorate and should have a strong teaching and research record in accordance with prior experience. Ideally, candidates should have teaching experience also at the K-12 level, preferably in diverse environments. A successful candidate will have a strong related or cognate interest in pedagogical content knowledge, curriculum theory, and/or instructional research methods, applied to the subject area emphases previously described.


1. These jobs are waaaay out of my league! All three are at a higher education level, with two requiring doctorate degrees. I have only taught in secondary schools, so I do not have the experience required. Also, my desire is to stay in public education K-12. I do not, at this time, seek an administrative type position. All three of these jobs were located on the jobtarget website.
2. I researched many of these websites, but was unable to find an assessment that was useful. The Work Matrix did not calculate the jobs for me. The O*NET assessments seemed interesting, but were only available at a cost.

3. Professional Organization: American Educational Research Organization (AERA)
Mission: The American Educational Research Association (AERA), a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.
Cost: Regular $150, Graduate Student $40.00

Publications: American Educational Research Journal, Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Researcher, Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, Review of Education Research, Review of Research in Education

Conferences: The 2011 AERA Annual Meeting will take place Friday, April 8 – Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in New Orleans, LA.
The Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research is designed to feature the important role of research in advancing understanding of equality and equity in education. The Lectureship was inaugurated in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, in which the U.S. Supreme Court took into account scientific research in issuing this landmark ruling. Each year a distinguished scholar notable for producing significant research related to equality in education is invited to give a public lecture in Washington, D.C.

Opportunities for professional development: AERA invites fellowship applications for an Undergraduate Student Education Research Training Workshop to be held at the 2012 Annual Meeting in Vancouver (April 13-15).

Professional Organization: Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)

Mission: The Educational Communications and Technology (ect) Foundation is a non-profit organization for charitable and educational purposes that has made a substantial commitment in support of AECT. These purposes reflect the belief that instruction can be improved with new systems for learning and with assessment of techniques for the communication of information. In addition to awarding scholarships, internships, and fellowships, the Foundation funds leadership-training programs for AECT.

Cost: Corporate membership $400, New regular membership $125, New student membership $75

Publications: ETR&D (Educational Technology Research and Development), TechTrends, The International Journal of Designs for Learning, and Journal of Applied Instructional Design

Conferences: 2012 Research Symposia will the held in Louisville, Kentucky, July 18-20 in conjunction with the AECT Leadership Meetings.

Opportunities for professional development: AECT holds webinars for its members. A conversation with the Eminent Scholar about the Secrets of Designing Games for Learning is available Thursday December 8, 2011.

Professional Publication: The International Journal of Educational Technology (IJET) is an international refereed journal in the field of educational technology, sponsored by faculty, staff, and students at The Graduate School of Education at the University of Western Australia and the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Focus/Goals: IJET is committed to providing access to quality research articles in the area of educational technology for all interested readers.
Submission guidelines: The International Journal of Educational Technology (IJET) currently is not accepting new article submissions. We are attempting to process and publish those articles currently in our possession. Once this is completed, we intend to accept additional articles once again.
Is this a peer reviewed journal: IJET is a refereed online journal.
Is the journal online: Yes

Professional Publication: Educational Technology and Society
Focus/Goals: Educational Technology & Society seeks academic articles on the issues affecting the developers of educational systems and educators who implement and manage such systems. The articles should discuss the perspectives of both communities and their relation to each other:
• Educators aim to use technology to enhance individual learning as well as to achieve widespread education and expect the technology to blend with their individual approach to instruction. However, most educators are not fully aware of the benefits that may be obtained by proactively harnessing the available technologies and how they might be able to influence further developments through systematic feedback and suggestions.
• Educational system developers and artificial intelligence (AI) researchers are sometimes unaware of the needs and requirements of typical teachers, with a possible exception of those in the computer science domain. In transferring the notion of a 'user' from the human-computer interaction studies and assigning it to the 'student', the educator's role as the 'implementer/ manager/ user' of the technology has been forgotten.
Submission guidelines: Authors, submitting articles for a particular special issue, should send their submissions directly to the appropriate Guest Editor. Guest Editors will advise the authors regarding submission procedure for the final version. All submissions should be in electronic form. The editors will acknowledge the receipt of submission as soon as possible. Submission must be in editable format. Preferred formats are Word document and RTF, but editors will try their best for other formats too. Submissions in PDF and other non-editable formats are not acceptable.
Is this a peer reviewed journal: Yes
Is the journal online: Yes

4. Reading publications in educational technology is very important for a teacher. Staying up-to-date with the newest technology gives teachers an advantage on using new ways of teaching students. I had not heard of these organization, nor journals before, but found them very interesting. I am always looking for the latest information, and these sites provided ways to help me find it.

5. A performance technologist is an important position because they can improve performance through training. The standards necessary for this position are a set of principles that focus on outcomes, add value, and facilitate partnership perspectives. A performance technologist would focus on results and help clients focus on results. Figuring out the problem, and then designing a solution.

What I feel like today...

1. Rapid prototyping allows students to create a virtual model from a digital design. Using rapid prototyping, students can bring ideas into reality. However, the computer systems needed for rapid prototyping are not always available at the high school level. One idea I had for using this in my classroom, was to have students create a 3-D model of the neighborhood from The House on Mango Street. Students would put the neighborhood together, using the descriptions from the book.
2. The biggest alternative I would suggest is to keep everything in one location. The book suggests a mobile unit with a server, network switch, printer, and twenty laptops. I would make sure to include activities that are not dependent on network activity. Many programs can be installed on the laptops, which would allow them to be used at any time. Being prepared for these circumstances would make the program successful.
3. The Step-Up-To-Excellence methodology is a complete transformation of an entire school district. Since SUTE is a three-step process, with a Pre-Launch Preparation phase, I would divide the staff into 4 groups. Each group would be assigned a step in the cycle to explain to the entire group. Broken down, it would be easier for each group to understand. The explanations would be in a language everyone would be able to grasp.





The Guidance System for Transforming Education is a process model for facilitating systematic change. To help my staff understand this methodology, I would have them list problems that need to be addressed within the school. Groups would then work with the GSTE to find solutions to these problems.
4. The University of North Texas, located in Denton, Texas has a Training and Development department for faculty. It is under the human resources division. The Training and Development staff focuses on working with department leaders to predict and develop strategies/approaches that continue to build a workforce capable of accomplishing UNT’s strategic goals. The BSC Training Catalog provides a list and description of all the courses offered by the Business Service Center Staff. The UNT Training Curriculum includes Certification Programs representing different training needs on campus. The first of these certification programs developed are the Supervisory Skills Certification and the Manager Skills Certification. These programs have a curriculum designed to provide a blueprint for a supervisory position. In order to receive the certification, fill out the participation form below and send it to Human Resources. Once all the necessary trainings have been completed, the tracking form should be sent to Human Resources for verification and to receive a certificate of completion. The Human Resources staff has compiled and archived the training videos for sessions facilitated via videoconference for the convenience of staff and faculty members.

Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches has a Teaching Excellence Center. The Teaching Excellence Center of Stephen F. Austin State University's mission is to support the faculty, teaching assistants and instructional units in their dedicated efforts to enhance teaching effectiveness and student learning. Through its services and programs, the Teaching Excellence Center works collaboratively to create a campus community that values and recognizes teaching excellence and innovation. One interesting program offered through SFA is teaching circles. Teaching Circles help instructors (and other interested parties) share ideas about teaching. They are groups of 5-10 individuals who meet regularly (once a month for one hour) to discuss topics related to teaching. The individuals do not need to be from the same area. In fact, a broader range of ideas can be generated when members come from a variety of backgrounds. Teaching Circles allow more extended discussion than do traditional workshops. These meetings can incorporate recent articles or books on a topic, or solely reflect the individuals' knowledge and experience. They should not be a gripe session. The object is to share ideas and strategies to improve teaching effectiveness. The Teaching Excellence Award recognizes faculty for their excellence in classroom teaching. Each year, six faculty receive college awards, one faculty member per college, and recognition from the university.

Eastfield College in Mesquite, Texas has an Office of Organizational and Staff Development which is committed to improving and providing quality learning opportunities to employee to meet the changing needs of Eastfield.

Blog 4

1. As teachers, we are preparing students for life beyond the classroom. We are hopeful that our students will become productive members of society. HPI is a movement that focuses on valued accomplishments through people. A teacher is always looking for ways to have students achieve goals, and this is an outside of the box path. I was interested in the findings of Gilbert (1978, 1996). He focused on variables that affect the workplace performance. These can easOnily be translated to a classroom. For example, it is important that students know what is expected. Effective communication is so important in a classroom, with a clear statement of purpose and expectations. Appropriate feedback is also necessary for students, feedback in a consistent and immediate manner.
I think it is always important for a teacher to assess their classroom and look for ways to improve. The concept of human performance improvement has lots of ideas on running a successful classroom, with only a few adaptations needed.
2. One definition I located from Dictionary.com: “A system that provides electronic task guidance and support to the user at the moment of need. EPSS can provide application　help, reference information, guided instructions and/or tutorials, subject matter expert advice and hints on how to perform a task more efficiently. An EPSS can combine various technologies to present the desired information. The information can be in the form of text, graphical displays, sound, and video　presentations.”
Another, Electronic Performance Support Systems (Gery, 1991)"an integrated electronic environment that is available to and easily accessible by each employee and is structured to provide immediate, individualized on-line access to the full range of information, software, guidance, advice and assistance, data, images, tools, and assessment and monitoring systems to permit job performance with minimal support and intervention by others." An electronic performance support system can also be described as any computer software program or component that improves employee performance by:
1. reducing the complexity or number of steps required to perform a task,
2. providing the performance information an employee needs to perform a task, or
3. providing a decision support system that enables an employee to identify the action that is appropriate for a particular set of conditions.
The first definition is easy to understand. The second give more details.
I think the biggest reason EPSS is not utilized more in schools is the cost. Even though the benefit outweighs the cost, it is still expensive to start a program such as this. Training would need to take place and trainers would need to stay on hand to help with problems that might arise. There is a big risk in purchasing these tools, with many teachers not willing to use them.
4. The first thing that came to mind when reading about knowledge management was standardized tests. Looking at the results and analyzing the scores is important in understanding how to raise those scores. Codification is important so the data is easily accessible to teachers. Collaboration with others is the best way to figure out how to help students in their area of need.
“The learning needs of people only increase as they apply to their jobs what they’ve been taught in a formal training session.” Application is an extremely important part of the learning process. Having students create something with their new knowledge is the only way we can know for certain they understood.
5. My favorite type of informal learning comes from inside my classroom, but is beyond my control. When students offer up ideas, thoughts, and answers to my questions that I had never thought of, I learn something new. English literature is a subjective class. Many answers can be correct, as long as students prove what they have to say. This often happens in class discussions and I am always amazed that my students grasp a concept I had missed.
Using my Iphone has also been another great way of informal learning. Answers to questions are now available at my fingertips. Whenever I am curious about a topic, I pull out my phone and look it up. Playing Words With Friends has helped my spelling and vocabulary. Runkeeper has helped my track my runs and figure out minutes per mile. My daughter practices her ABCs. The learning is endless!