Insights and More Insights

In regards to chapter 8, the mention of ‘shortcuts’ has me excited. I like to streamline the process, and work with efficiency. In my particular work environment, time is fleeting. To develop trainings, PDs, shortcuts are necessary. Just looking ahead to upcoming needs, I have two trainings to develop for the summer, and several smaller PD courses for the fall when the new semester begins. To be able to streamline and shorten that work effort would be beneficial. Right off the cuff I am already anticipating copy pasting the basic layout of the different PDs and using the same program as well.

Object-oriented learning particularly stood out to me. According to the textbook the essence of object-oriented learning is minute reusable training that is diverse in usability. Different programs put different parameters on what is ‘small.’ An additional detail mentioned is that prebuilt training can be stored as databases and programmed to be included with the material if needed.

Another approach brought up is a tried and true teaching method problem-based learning (PBL). PBL is a great tool to break out and get the participants involved in the training. This can also help reduce the amount of actual training material the designer has to develop.

Chapter 9 was an interesting read as my Project A was an asynchronous self-instructional training. On page 369, the author emphasizes the importance of the actual material design. Without a live presenter to help address concerns within the actual material design, the training can fall flat.

The e-learning self assessment tool provided on 384 is a beneficial tool to help determine if participants would be able to complete the training. It looks at not only abilities, but accessibility. In reflection of my Project A, I would have added clarification regarding email used to access training, or some such variation of that question. As the users from my project did not have Google emails as previously indicated, they could not access the training. That seemed to be a deterrent to actually accessing and completing the training.

Both of the chapters provided interesting thoughts on the topics of developing trainings. I found it interesting the integration of software supports to help streamline the development process. The discussion of asynchronous self-led e-learning was very relatable for me. It gave me perspective on how to approach e-learning in the future, and the resources provided will help structure future PDs.