Personal Learning Plan

Professional Learning Plan on Prezi

This class has surely gone by quickly. I have learned so much during such a short time. Some of the things I learned and I plan to use in my workplace are surveys and polls. Before this class, I have never created a survey or a poll. I was able to survey 129 people and implement a project based on the survey results. The wicked problem project had been a highlight of this class. As a result of this assignment, I was able to implement a training plan that has been on my agenda for two years. I am definitely planning to use the same concept for my future work projects.

The certificate courses have taught me the importance of technology in education, how to use range of technologies in my workplace, helped me discover areas I can apply different technologies and how to improve learning and instruction through technology. I believe I need to continue expanding the skills I acquired in these courses even further. Therefore, I decided to submit my application to a Master’s program in Educational Technology. I was granted admission and I am so excited to continue expanding my knowledge in the field of educational technology. I strongly believe this this program will prepare me to be a better leader and educator in my profession.

I aim to learn more about different technologies I could apply in my professional environment. I hope to create effective professional presentations for department administrators using innovative technologies and e-manuals/tutorials for different visa processes. Presenting statewide and nationally is essential part of my professional development therefore I feel it is necessary to learn the art of instruction and effective means of presenting material that would keep my audience engaged.  Presenting material to international students is sometimes a challenge since English is not their first language. I do believe international students need special instruction. I hope to learn more about effective methods of communication with international students through various means of technology.

I would also like to create a foreign language tutorial for young children. I am a strong believer that with the use of technology young children can be taught numbers, alphabet and basic language skills. I am amazed to see my two-year-old son who has become proficient navigating my iPhone as if it was another toy of his. He’s learned his alphabet, shapes and numbers using my iPhone applications. This encouraged me to further research and learn more about the effect of hand held mobile devises in language learning.  I believe that upon completion of the program I will have skills to implement foreign language-training program.

TPACK framework describes essential qualities in a teacher. I strongly believe that these qualities can be applied to an educator as myself. I am not a teacher but I do educate international students, faculty and department administrators on immigration regulations. I would like to further explore the application of TPACK in my field of profession.

Group Leadership Project - Final

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial?  Why?

Our group used Prezi to deliver PD tutorial. 

We preferred Prezi over Power Point because we could be so much more flexible when preparing our presentation. We could embed videos into our Prezi. From my personal opinion, Prezi is more interesting presentation tool than Power Point. I prepared videos using iMovie and just uploaded them to Prezi without any problems. I prefer Prezi because it so much easier to work on it from the visual perspective. We had our own circles to work on. They were visible to us on one page. I just needed to zoom in to work on my circle. When one group member was done with his/her part, they created a path and let other group members know that he/she was done with his/her part. Then other group member just continued their path. 

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?

I learned not only about the use of iPod touch/iPad applications in the elementary classroom but also enjoyed the process of working on a project with my group remotely. We used web conferencing tool to brainstorm and plan the project. We worked on a group document together. All of the group members submitted their assignments on time or even ahead of schedule! What was difficult throughout the process is to summarize 7-8 minutes of my information into 3.5 minutes. I had to stand back and think what information was really important.


What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?

If I had to develop a similar product again, I would have liked to spend more time talking and navigating through some specific iPod touch/iPad applications. However, because of time constrain I was not able to do that.

Below is our Prezi presentation:

CEP812 Group Presentation on Prezi

PART D - Findings and Implications

•    Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?

Yes, a large portion (about 60%) of the project did get implemented as planned. I was very happy that with the help of this class I was able to implement something that’s been on my agenda for a very long time.

•    Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

I was able to survey my department administrators and determine what kind of training plan I should provide to them – group training, handout, and video tutorials.

I created “Department INSZoom Login Request Form.” The department administrators will submit “Department INSZoom Login Request Form” to the Office for International Students and Scholars in order to gain initial INSZoom access.

I created an email that was sent to 129 department administrators this week.

In the email I attached “Department INSZoom Login Request Form” to request access to the INSZoom system and a training manual that they can refer to when accessing the INSZoom system to track employees, run reports and send emails. In the email I gave departments an option to schedule individual training.

What is left to do:

-       schedule in-person group training (this Fall 2011).

-       create a few video tutorials for navigating the INSZoom system.

-       survey department administrators in a few months to get a feedback and find out whether the training implementation was successful.

•    How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?

I wish I had more time to complete the project. I wish I had sent my survey to departments earlier than I had planned to so I could have received the survey results a little earlier, which would have given me more time to analyze the survey results. I needed more time to create a training manual. At first I thought it would be a very simple task until I actually started preparing a manual. There were so many details I had to include in the training manual. Next time I would like to work on the project more independently and not rely on my supervisors. Since I had to get approvals from my supervisor on everything I was doing, it took a lot of time to complete this project. 

•    What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?

I really enjoyed designing my own survey. I was able to incorporate the survey in my project. I surveyed 129 MSU department administrators. I was able to design my training plan based on the survey results.

I highly recommend of surveying either your colleagues or students before taking on a big project.

In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?

If I were to do the same project again, I definitely would like to spend more time working on it. I would have also liked to have a few department administrators try out the INSZoom system and give me some feedback. I think this would have helped me design my tutorial more effectively. 

Next time I take on a similar project, I plan to survey my audience before implementing it. I plan to use Jing a lot for screencasting for my next projects (for form instruction and for visual instruction). I would like to also learn how to use Camtasia because I think the visual instruction looks more professional on Camtasia than Jing.

Mobile Learning

I joined www.classroom20.com and Cell Phone in Education group. See my response on Cell Phone Use in Education below:

www.classroom20.com

I really enjoyed exploring many mobile technology tools especially the applications for iPod touch and iPad since our group will be presenting on the Use of Mobile Technologies in Elementary Education.

I tried many applications for iPhone and iPod touch for elementary kids. I have downloaded a few of them for my son to play with.

I really liked the Poll Everywhere survey. My supervisor and I were talking of how we could it with our international students or department administrators. I think it could be used to check if they understood the material that was presented to them in a workshop.

In my work environment, if some new technology is implemented, we always see a challenge of enforcing everyone using that technology. 

Poll Everywhere

I really liked the Poll Everywhere survey! I sent the poll to my co-workers and our student workers.  I also posted it on Twitter and Facebook. Total 15 people replied to my poll. A few of my colleagues stopped by my office and asked if the poll was supposed to be longer. Then I had a chance to explain what Poll Everywhere was.
In this particular poll I was asking "How would you prefer to learn a new language?" Since I am planning on creating a language tutorial for small children, it was interesting to know how adults prefer to learn a new language. 40% answered: taking language lessons, and 40% said all of the above which is variety of learning strategies.

Neringa's poll

Group Leadership Project: Part B Story Board and Script

My group's storyboard and script for Mobile Technology: Uses in The Elementary Classroom can be found at. It is complete with visuals and detailed script.
Script and storyboard









We used Google Presentation to create a storyboard and script. We all worked individually on our parts. Colin will be doing the introduction and talk about specific digital storytelling application using iPad. Dessa will be talking about how to use iPod nano in the elementary education (stories, activities and other assignments). And I will be talking about specific applications for elementary school children that will help improve their reading, spelling and writing skills. I will also show short videos of each application I will be talking about.

Our final presentation will be presented using Prezi. Each of us has a section in Prezi therefore we will lay out our final work in our assigned area. We will each record our tutorials and post them on Prezi.

Part C - Implementation - Part 2

Short video showing how to log in to the INSZoom system:
http://www.screencast.com/t/m4aYTLolovk

More pictures:
 

In this screen shot department administrators see how the home page of their INSZoom portal looks like after they log in to the system



To choose any employee, department will click on employee. Here is the screenshot which shows them where to click

This is the screen shot showing the list of all employees. Department administrator will need to click on the name of the employee whose details he/she wishes to view.

Part C - Implementation - Part 1

To listen to podcast about this posting, click here

My goal for the Wicked Problem Project was to implement an effective training plan that will help MSU department administrators to learn to use the INSZoom foreign employee tracking system. One part of my project implementation was to survey all MSU department administrators. The purpose of the survey was to help me find out the preferred methods of learning of surveyed department administrators and to see how many departments are actually interested in learning the system.

I prepared INSZoom survey and emailed it to 129 department administrators. Department administrators had 3 days to respond to the survey. About 26 department administrators responded to the survey the first day. I sent out a reminder email the day the survey was due and total 55 department administrators responded to the INSZoom training survey.

I was very pleased with the survey results:

• From the description of the INSZoom department interface, 76% of departments said they would be interested in learning to use the system.
• 45% of the department administrators thought that this system will make their job easier when preparing H-1B petitions and/or tracking H-1B employees.
• 33% said they would prefer video/audio or screen cast training, another 33% said they would prefer group training and 18% percent would prefer just a handout.
• 53% of the department administrators are actually planning to use the INSZoom interface and 40% are probably going to use the interface. Those 40% are probably employing no international employees or just one international employee and feel there is no need to use the system.

Based on the survey results, my supervisor and I decided to first prepare A Log In Request Form to all department administrators with explanation on how to obtain a log in ID and password from OISS to log in into the INSZoom system.

Since not all MSU departments are employing foreign employees, not everyone will need to use the system. A mass email will be sent this week to all department administrators requesting to fill out “Department INSZoom Authorization Form” and mail or fax it to back to OISS to request log in information.  We will also have this form posted on our website.

Surprises: The planning process turned out to be more detailed than I expected. There are so many details and people involved in the planning process.

I have never thought about how departments were going to request log in information, therefore the first form I had to create was “Department INSZoom Authorization Form”. In this form I also included a paragraph about confidentiality since department will be accessing foreign employees confidential information.

Unexpected Bumps on the Road: I have to get an approval from my supervisor on everything I am doing on this project (sending mass emails, have all the forms checked before posting them on OISS website). Since my supervisor was absent the first two weeks of April, it slowed down my implementation process. I was not able to get approvals for having form proof read and I was not able to email “Access Request Form” to our department administrators. This will be done this week.

Delights: I was very delighted with the survey results. I expected about 30 responses and I was very excited when I received 55.  I have about 50% of all training slides created.

I think I am making a very great progress of preparing a training manual which will be posted on OISS website and it will be emailed to all department administrators who request the log in information.
The in-person training will be scheduled for later in the fall semester. The training will be a part of our annual H-1B visa training workshop.

INSZoom Survey.



INSZoom Log In Request form.

INSZoom Training Slides which will be combined into E-manual
 



INSZoom Log In Page.



Group Leadership Project: Part A - Brainstorm

All group members are present and participating in the session:

Since the first session did not go well as planned, we had to arrange a second meeting (last Wednesday). We decided to use Vyew again.  Everyone used audio to communicate. There was a lot of echo in the background. I found it very frustrating. As I start talking, three seconds later I could hear myself in the background which would make it difficult to finish my thoughts.

A technology chosen to be taught:

As a group we chose to talk about Educational iPod and iPad applications  in the Elementary classroom to further literacy and numeracy learning.

A technology is chosen to facilitate the learning:

We decided to use Prezi to present our tutorial. We will also use Jing for screen casting. We will embed some videos and also screen shots of different apps.

Technical aspects of how the work will be completed is discussed: 


We also have created a Google doc which we used for brainstorming. Collin had started a Prezi presentation. He invited Dessa and I to collaborate. In the Introduction we plan to talk about pros/cons of using iPods/iPads in the elementary classroom. Then the three of us will concentrate on our specific areas that we picked.


A timeline of who will be doing what is created and agreed upon:


We agreed that Collin will talk about the pros of using iPod/iPad in the elementary classroom. He will also concentrate on digital storytelling.

Dessa and I will concentrate on specific applications and will be giving tutorials on how to use these applications. Dessa will talk about the use of iPod Nano in the classroom and I will demonstrate tutorials on vocabulary / reading or language learning.

Screen shot of our web conference

Web Conference Video

Web Conference Video

PART B: Application of TPACK

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

I am planning to use Jing as the technology that will help me best to facilitate the INSZoom system training. I will take screen shots of many different screens of the INSZoom system and write explanations at the bottom of each page. I also plan to do a few screencasts either with or without my voice in the background demonstrating to department administrators how to log in the system or how to run different reports. The training slides and videos will be posted on the Office for International Students and Scholars Website and/or it will be emailed to all department administrators. The use of electronic tutorials will give all of the department administrators access to the information and resources that they need to learn to navigate the INSZoom system on their own and at their own pace.  Having tutorials posted on the website gives an opportunity to all department administrators to go back to the tutorial if they’ve forgotten any information or need to learn something new.  For in-person INSZoom training, I plan to use Prezi to present. Prezi is an effective and dynamic teaching and presentation tool. It is eye catching and grabs and hold viewers attention. I believe that department administrators will retain more information after watching Prezi and not Power Point presentation. How do I know what type of training will work best? I have set up a survey, which was emailed to all department administrators on Tuesday April 5, 2011. I asked everyone to respond by April 8, 2011. In the survey, I provided departments with a brief explanation of the INSZoom department interface and asked them how they preferred to learn to use the INSZoom system. 33% percent said they would prefer to refer to an online manual, video tutorials and other 33% percent said they would prefer to have a group training. Based on the survey results I will most likely start with online tutorial implementation followed by group training where everyone probably had a chance to log in the system and ask more detailed questions at the group training.  INSZoom Survey to Department Administrators

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

The technology I chose for the solution to my wicked problem is Jing (for online manual) and Prezi (for in-person training). I like Jing because I can take very clear screenshots and I can write an explanation on the screen shot. It will be very easy to understand the information when it is visually presented to the learner. There are many tabs and many screens that will need to be navigated through the INSZoom system; therefore having a visual manual with instructions is going to be very helpful. I believe it is very important for the adult learner to have the visual instruction. I will also capture short videos that can be easily be attached to an email or uploaded to OISS website for viewing. The videos will teach department administrators how to log in to the system; how to find an employee and his/her case in INSZoom system and how to run some visa expiry reports.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

Department administrators will learn how to navigate the system either on their own at their own pace or in-person training. When there is a need to access the system, department administrators will be able to read the INSZoom manual online or watch instructional videos to learn to navigate the system. They will also be given a choice to either schedule an individual meeting or attend a group training meeting to learn to navigate the INSZoom system. They will also be provided a handout with detailed instructions about the INSZoom system; log in instructions, how to send/receive emails, check case status, and upload documents. There will not be any planned collaborative learning. Mostly, department administrators will be learning at their own pace individually or during in-person group training.

Web Conferencing - CEP 812 group project

As a group we decided to use Vyew as our web conferencing tool. At first we wanted to use Skype but “Web Conferencing” lecture suggested to use something different than Skype. I tried to log in to try out DimDim but it said they no longer accept new subscriptions and Adobe Connect was not free.

The advantage of using Vyew web conferencing was that we could all chat and talk to each other. I like that we can leave voice messages in the chat room. During our session, Collin and Dessa could talk and I was not able to use my microphone. I tried to use it and after I clicked “Allow” on the box, my computer froze and I had to restart it. We could also type on the board in the chat room but I realized it only after we ended our session. I guess we all had to be moderators in the chat room to be able to type. Collin started a document for brainstorming on Google doc. We all put in our thoughts and we will meet again this Wednesday to finalize our thoughts.

The disadvantage of using this tool was that we were not able to record our session. Again, after the session, I suggested next time to record our session using Jing. However, I am not sure how much time Jing allows us to record.

I would definitely use Vyew next time. At first it looked confusing but it took time to learn to navigate the website and go through tutorials. I would definitely use it for collaboration with my colleagues.

Web Conferencing using Vyew.

CEP 812 PART A - Description of Need or Opportunity

What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address?      

The educational need that I am seeking to address is to establish effective training (tutorial, e-manual, in-person training and/or useful handouts) that will help department administrators to learn to use INSZoom H-1B tracking system. The goal of this training is to have at least 70-80% percent of department administrators using the system. That will reduce the email and phone call traffic to the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS). Department administrators will learn to track the process of pending H-1B case(s) for current or prospective employees in their department, submit forms and fill out questionnaires and run visa expiry report through the INSZoom department interface. There is currently no effective training established. I work mainly with department administrators to process visa paperwork for Michigan State University international faculty and staff. MSU hosts about three hundred international scholars (researchers, tenure-track faculty, and administrative staff). I usually process about 100 (either new or renewal) visas a year. It is very important to keep track of all these individuals and their visa end dates. Department administrators must notify OISS of any title, location or changes in duties or if foreign employee left the university prior to their visa end date.  Before I started the job, there was no tracking system for these employees other then Excel sheet. Office for International Students and Scholars have purchased a system that not only helps track of these international scholars but allows us to fill out different immigrations forms online, save them and run various reports. This system also has a departmental interface. Department have a capability to log in the system and see how many international employees are working in their department; they can also see their visa expiry dates and visa application status. The problem is that department administrators are not trained in using this system and those who were emailed with log in information are not using the system. I would like to create an e-manual or a training program where I would introduce department administrators to the INSzoom departmental interface and convince them to use it by showing its capabilities.

How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?  

I plan to develop an e-manual by creating a slidecast or screencast which will have screen shots of the INSzoom departmental interface and at the top of each screenshot explanations of each page and/or have my voice in the background explaining each slide and how to access and navigate the system. I have designed a survey for all department administrators with the explanation of the INSzoom system and its capabilities. I will then ask them if they think this program may be beneficial to them. I will also survey them to ascertain what they think the best way to learn to use the program. I have just gotten an approval from my supervisor to send out a survey. It will be sent out on Monday, April 4, 2011 and received by department administrators on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. I will ask them to respond to my survey by Friday, April 8, 2011.

Logistics of solution: What is the scope?

Once training is developed, the tool will be used indefinitely. Department administrators will be able to access the system from their offices as well as from any other location. The manual or training slides will be posted on OISS website. Only departments who sponsor and currently employ international scholars will be able to access the INSzoom system. Departments will be sent a password and user name. Only department administrators will be able to access the system. International scholars will not be able to access the system.

Relevant research and resources.

Since I will be working with adults, I did some research about adult learning strategies. What I found was: adults are problem centered, results oriented, and  self directed. They typically do not depend on others for direction. Adult learners are often skeptical about new information. They prefer to try it out before accepting it. Adult learners require learning to make sense. For that reason, I have to prove them why INSZoom tracking and record keeping system is so great. I have to convince them that it will make their job so much easier. *Adult Learning Strategies: http://online.rit.edu/faculty/teaching_strategies/adult_learners.cfm http://diythemes.com/thesis/how-to-create-screencasts/ This article talks about how to create a successful screencast. http://www.techsmith.com/  I am planning to use Jing to capture the screenshots of my screen and write and explanation of each page.

A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.

During this course, I plan to survey department administrators and I hope to start creating a manual on how to log in to access INSZoom system and how to navigate some of the basic information. After the course complete, I hope to finish implementing my project by creating a manual that will be accessible online for every department administrator. I hope to also create a very detailed manual. I will survey department administrators after they used the system to find out whether they found the INSZoom system useful and ask them for any suggestions. I hope to receive some suggestions on how to make the training more efficient.

How would you know you were successful?

I would know if I were successful with my training implementation after I survey department administrators and receive positive feedback. I would know if I were successful if 70-80% of all department administrators were using the manual and INSZoom department interface. I would know if I were successful if I received less emails and phone calls from department asking about pending foreign employees case statuses or other information that could be accessed on INSZoom department interface.