Summary of learning - Innovations in E-Learning

It was clear on the first day of the course that this one was going to be different. All things new and innovative was the theme of this class and Dr.Pianfetti clearly set the course for a fun 10 weeks introducing us to a stimulated group discussion on “What is innovation”. According to me innovation is being creative, opening our minds to something new and different, an invention or a creation of an original work of art. This course introduced us to some new technology and innovations in elearning each week.

Some of the stand-out moments of the course was definitely the video presentation that Dr.Pianfetti showed us on Augmented Reality by Pranav Mistry and the endless possibilities for innovation. After the discussion on augmented reality, I went out to search for some innovations that are out there, and I was surprised and shocked to see the number of new technological innovations that have seeped into the learning arena. The Magical Classroom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLdHbtuCIyY&feature=related) is an interesting video that introduces smartboard technology in classrooms. It is also interesting to compare technological trends across countries. Many such innovations are already employed in classrooms in the USA. They are just beginning to see the light of day here in India. While the international schools in India are already bringing hi-end technology assisted learning, most of the older schools still teach using traditional methods. Which leads me to a question I often ponder about. How much technology is really required in a classroom? While “Wired classrooms” are becoming a trend today, is this required? While there is no answer to this question, I believe that we have to follow changing times and trends in technology and the sooner we hop onto the boat the better.  It is no surprise that my daughter has her own computer at the age of 4, while I got my first computer at the age of 22 ! We introduce technology to our children and they grasp them and quench their thirst for knowledge. While traditional teaching methods still stand ummatched in quality, the digital age offers technology assisted teaching that can promise better and more consistent quality of teaching.

Gaming as a form of learning has seen success for many decades now. Small games can be embedded into the content of online learning. While gaming has many advantages in the effectiveness of imparting knowledge, elearning designers should take the time to integrate the game into the content so as to effectively carry the message that the class is meant to receive. The purpose of the game should be kept in mind always.

Learning analytics is another powerful innovation that will help connect the data that we have in terms of learning environments, learners, instructors, curriculum etc to what is needed to fill the gaps in technology. Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter save profile information and other information on our daily internet usage and it is possible to make intelligent guesses based on our usage and who we are. Such analytics will pave the way for future inventions (http://www.elearnspace.org/blog/2010/08/25/what-are-learning-analytics/).  Analytics is slowly gaining importance in the education industry as there is a lot of information with no one to make sense of it. Analytics software can read such pieces of information and form patterns, show trends and predict the future.

The Student Led Conversations (the name itself was innovative, according to me !), stood true to its name. The presentations led the way for group discussions among peers and promoted some rich insights into the technology being discussed that week. The presentation on PLE (personal learning environments) was especially interesting.  I do not have an organized PLE myself, and initially I was not able to see how useful it could be to have a PLE. Our learning environment can be effectively managed, kept track of and organized to promote a healthier online learning environment.

The Case study on Innovation led me to find out about an innovative business set-up in India that spreads Indian music across the world. While there is not much research in the field of online music instruction, the success of this innovation has now led me to believe that it  is possible to teach music and instruments online. We are far away from perfecting the technology, however with the adaptation of augmented reality and gesture based learning (especially important for musical instruments), I see that this is possible.

On the whole, while the 10 weeks seemed short compared to the amount of information assimilated from Dr.Pianfetti and my peers, I am happy to say that this course has definitely been a highlight in the HRE Online Program, leading me to think differently and opening my mind to the endless possibilities in the field of online learning.

Virtual Team Building - My thoughts

Having enjoyed and learnt from a rich corporate IT experience in the past, Corporate E-Learning has definitely peeked my interest in many ways. Its growth seems exponential and the possibilities of innovation - endless.

Though I am a skeptic when it comes to the extensive use of games and simulations in learning, I am but forced to acknowledge that Virtual Team Building is a model that might soon become a very prevelant practice in the bringing together virtual teams from around the world.

Why team building at all, some corporations may ask? Why can't we put 10 people together in a room and let them do their job? After all we pay them for it? This hardly works. The strength of a team lies in its differences.The more varied the thought processes are, the better the ideas. However along with this comes the ability to work through differences, make adjustments and compromise opinions. Many teams have failed to work, not because of the capabilities of the individuals but the capabilities of the team as a whole. Interpersonal associations, ability to compromise, ability to appreciate and welcome new suggestions and ideas and the ability to add on and build on existing ideas are key to a healthy team functioning.

Does team dynamics get easier to manage as you go higher up in the organization's hierarchy? Well, it depends, but is not always true. Bigger egos are at stake at this level. Individual growth up the corporate ladder becomes more important that we see so often reflected as flare-ups in board meetings and corporate strategy and decision making meetings.

Hence right from the fledgling employee right until the head of the organization, team building becomes key to the growth and in some cases even future existence of the organization. Team building is a continuous process, no doubt, but it all has to start somewhere. Conducting a team building workshop is a key function of the Learning and development team within the organization. However there are times when project development managers take this up on themselves to build better teams and improve performance of their individual projects. The goal of a team building exercise is many-fold. While this is the time for the team to shed their personal differences and understand each other a little more personally, this is also the time for the team to reflect upon their current problems and brainstorm ways to work better in the future. I personally have conducted and attended many team building workshops and the end has always been good ! The road to the end, well lets just say, the end justifies the means !

Having established the importance of healthy team dynamics and the need for team building exercises itself, lets shift our attention to virtual teams. Virtual teams are teams that have come together from across the world for a specific objective. These teams interact through tele-conferences, online meetings, emails and other electronic means. Most team members have not seen each other and may know nothing more about their team members other than their name and their professional background.

Do virutual teams need team building exercises too? Absolutely.
Many times we find virtual teams being dissolved or decisions taken to move the teams to a physical location so that performance of the team can be improved. However this may not always be possible. Virtual teams are definitely going to be a prominent feature very soon in the corporate world and we need to make them work ! Just like we have team building exercises for physical bound teams, why not conduct virtual team building sessions for teams that are geographically dispersed? With the growth and expanse of e-learning within corporate development models, this should be possible.

Does this mean that once teams are trained in Virtual team building, they can carry these learnings life-long and work effectively in teams ever after? No. This is no fairy-tale ending ! As Clark & Meyer (2008) point out, team building exercises bring groups of people together and train them to look over differences and carry on a healthy team dynamics. However once the teams move on to other projects and assignments and have to work in other groups, their performance goes back to an untrained team's performance. Hence virtual team building is a constant exercise that needs to be imparted to teams every now and then in order to achieve good results. While research conclusively proves that prior team-skills training produces superior collaborative group work compared to an untrained, unfacilitated group, it must be noted that changing the people in the group, changes the attitudes and hence the group dynamics. This then results in the collapse of an untrained team.

It is pretty conclusive that virtual team building exercies are being looked at now more closely than ever. How do we get people from across the globe to come together in a virtual workshop?

Watch this youtube video to understand how Second Life builds a Simulation for Virtual Team Building.



References:
Clark, R.C., & Mayer, R.E. (2008). e-Learning and the Science of Instruction : Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning. San Francisco : Pfeiffer