Getting the Message!

If the same message is delivered via email, voicemail or face to face, which one is the most impactful?  How is the message perceived differently depending on the delivery method?  For my EDUC course on Project Management in Education and Training, I compared three forms of communication, the context was exactly the same in these three modalities.  In email, I sensed a tone of desperation from the author.   It came across as very pleasant, but I felt the sense of importance. - The voicemail audio file came across less desperate and friendlier, and the F2F video was very friendly, apologetic even, and although the words were the same, the communicator’s body language did not convey a sense of urgency. 

I think that seeing the written words allowed me to focus on the content itself.   My perception when hearing the friendly tone in the voicemail made things seem less urgent and seeing the person’s casual demeanor in person, even less desperate, but I must admit it is hard to put off or ignore someone standing right in front of you.   Everyone feels more accountable to the in person requester simply because they looked you in the eye.   However, email is a form of documentation which in itself should make people feel accountable because it is time and date stamped and a record of exactly what was asked.

While all three communications relayed the true meaning and intent, for me personally in this communication, the email was the clearest.   I didn’t get caught up in the apologetic nature – just when can you send the data and/or can you just send the data?  I think all of them would make me act pretty quickly, but the email was the most insistent to me.    It may be because I deal with email communications so frequently.  Perhaps it has to do with the culture in which I work, (Laureate Video 3) for email is a very common form of communication there and it is the expectation and standard that one respond promptly to an email.

To communicate effectively with members of a project team, I think the project manager needs to be able to individualize and “tailor communications to individual stakeholders” (Laureate Video #2) “Communications are never one size fits all” (Laureate Video #3) Everyone responds differently to different types of communication and depending on the culture, one form may be seen as more appropriate or urgent than another.    Sometimes email is the best course of action, and sometimes it is not.   It depends on the receiver, the message, the culture and even the timing. 

References:

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Practitioner voices: Strategies for working with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Project management concerns: Communication strategies and organizational culture [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

 

A lesson learned in project management

An example of a project that could have gone better dates back quite a few years to when I was an elementary school teacher.   Every year at the school where I taught, a congratulatory dinner dance party was thrown for the 8^th graders about a week prior to their graduation.  Each year, the coordination of this event was the responsibility of the 7^th grade home room teacher (which in 1991 happened to be me) and so I found myself leading a project.   Thankfully with the help from students, teachers and parents, we pulled it off, however, I was too naïve at the time to realize that the team members and stakeholders really carried me through.

Since this dance was an annual tradition, there was already a pre-event planning process in place and I quickly conformed to it.   I got the students involved early on and we incorporated making decorations during art class, and fundraising activities into our general business class.  My students really wanted their kickoff dinner dance to top all years prior so motivating my team members was not an issue.   I did have clear vision and sold them on the theme of “A night on the town “– with a silhouetted NY skyline city scape – black white and silver stars and an elegant glittering disco ball.   They selected an Italian themed menu and we even restored old wine bottles as candle holders.   Things really came together. 

Rallying up the parents was easy.  This was a small Catholic school grades 1-8 much like the one I attended as a student and it was really like a community.   Lots of parents came forward throughout the year and offered to help however they could.  One parent offered her home to make homemade spaghetti sauce two nights in advance of the party and a group of parents and teachers including me got together to prepare an Italian feast so nearly everything could be reheated the night of the dinner in the large utility kitchen at the school.  

So, those were things that went well, but I was (and still am) so much more of a ‘doer’ than an organizer/planner.   The biggest mistake I made as project manager was that I failed to plan the details of the actual event and breakdown the duties for that evening.  I did not outline roles and responsibilities!   The actual dance event ended up being quite chaotic behind the scenes, primarily since I felt that I needed to be personally responsible and involved in every facet.    Confused parents and teachers were standing around asking me what they should do and meanwhile I was running around like a one armed paper hanger. 

At one point a couple parents came up to me and were like, “Mrs. Bellitto! You can’t be doing all of these details, you need to step back and oversee how things are going in general!” You’re in charge!”  I was stunned,   I felt so uncomfortable telling parents what to do!  I was in my early twenties and had no problem leading my students, but felt very awkward directing adults.   So, I very timidly put each parent ‘in charge’ of something.   In hindsight, things would have gone so much smoother, had I mapped out the various duties in advance and delegated specifics to individual parents.  I should have had a work breakdown structure “an organized, detailed, and hierarchical representation of all work to be performed.” (Portney et al 2008)  For example, greeting the DJ upon arrival, assisting him to the area where he should set up, ensuring the sound checked out okay and answering any questions he may have.   Having a checklist with subtasks outlined, would have eliminated a lot of unnecessary frustration and confusion for my team members.  

The other big lesson learned was that we didn’t keep records or track our progress, like how long planning activities took.   Had we kept and saved organized records, it would have made things easier for the next year’s 7^th grade teacher.  

References: 

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Welcome to my blog

Hello classmates and colleagues.   A special welcome to all new followers from EDUC 6145 Project Management!   I am looking forward to the next 8 weeks as we take on project management and think about our roles and the various hats we may wear in our careers as instructional design professionals.  I really feel as though I've gotten to know so many of you as we learn together.   I'm doing an informal survey as I am curious how many of us reside in the purple area shown in the graphic below?  And how many do not?   

I came across this graphic and found it belongs to an interesting free, collaborative and expert reviewed site called the Encyclopedia of Earth and thought - what a great example of knowledge sharing, and the site design is quite fabulous. 

 

Regardless, I know it's been a long winter for everyone and the second graphic is representative of

my attitude as of late!  :)

 



It's really coming, the calendar says so! 

 

 

References:

 

Image Location of the D climate types in the Köppen Classification System. (Image Source: Wikimedia) The Encyclopedia of Earth 

retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/162285/

Reflection on Distance Learning

As I reflect back on my learning in this course EDUC 6135 – Distance Learning, I realize that I have hit a turning point in my thinking.  Yes, I have learned how to build a course in a CMS, steeped in theory and inclusive of multi-media presentations some of which I even created myself.   But in working towards this objective, I learned so much more.   I learned that it is a challenge to engage a learner that I may never meet in person.   I realize there are strategies to close the gap of distance and time and that there is an ever growing array of media and learning objects to choose from to engage the learner and create a comfortable online learning environment.  “The design of instruction captures those elements that create a learning environment that facilitates student learning.” (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek 2012.)

I think in 5 years, we will see an evening out or leveling of perceptions of online learning being equivalent to traditional school. Technology in general is changing the way we do everything and “we are recognizing that distance isn’t as significant a factor as it was even five years ago.”  (Laureate Video) I think both advocates and skeptics will play a part in this leveling out.

Advocates for distance learning such as online graduates will be more prominent and holding positions of hiring decision and influence.   In education, business, and government ‘distributed teams’ span across the globe and it is becoming more and more common for us to communicate with diverse groups for many different purposes including learning.  Personnel in the technology and knowledge management arena are in fact advocates for distance learning and distance communications.

Skeptics will be more accepting of the idea of distance learning because they will encounter online communication more often, both informally like seeing video of their grandchildren to more formally like seeing their children attend school online, and knowing others in their circle of coworkers, bosses, or family members who have earned an online degree.    Interacting from a distance will become part of our global culture in the next 10 years.  It will simply be how we do things as a planet.   Higher education will be no exception.   Howell, Williams, Lindsay (2003) reference  Dunn(2000) who projected by 2025 that half of the independent colleges of 2000 would be closed, merged or significantly altered in their mission – with traditional campuses declining yet degree granting institutions growing overall.

As an instructional designer, I can be a proponent to improve the perception of distance learning by making distance learning a quality scholarly experience.  It all begins with ensuring the learner is comfortable with the technology and with the distance learning environment.  From there it goes to following sound instructional design theory and practices to develop the best possible learning experience.   I think I can be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education, by continuously striving to improve myself and expand my knowledge.  I have come to understand that the sharing of information is what moves each of us forward.      It is difficult for me to speculate what the educational landscape will look like in twenty years 2035; however, lifelong learning has already become a competitive necessity.  I am certain that will continue well past the next two decades.

References:

Howell, Scott L.; Williams, Peter B.; Lindsay, Nathan K. (2003) Thirty-two trends affecting Distance Education:  An Informed Foundation for Strategic Planning Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration Volume VI Number 3 retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall63/howell63.html

 

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The future of distance education [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.