A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an instructional designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.
As an instructional designer for this course, the first thing that I would determine is if asynchronous or synchronous learning is a better choice. First I will look at the learning group. Given that the customer would like all staff members, who are located in different offices, to participate, either option is still viable. The criteria provided by the customer, for the learning is specific. The customer requires that staff members share information via screen captures, and documents, and participate on ongoing collaboration. Given these parameters, it is clear that synchronous learning is going to be the best solution. One thing to consider, if the organization is large, it may require multiple offerings of the same course in order to accommodate multiple students. If the business can sustain while all of the employees are going through the training, then only one offering may be needed.
There are many technologies that would work to satisfy the requirements of the customer. The two that I chose to focus on were web based training using a webinar software application such as WebEx or GoToMeeting, and Google Apps, such as Google Docs, which is a cloud based storage system for documents.
Web conferencing combines the use of the telephone and web based technologies. The use of Web Conferencing overcomes just an audio based program, and allows for synchronous teacher-student and student-student interaction (Simonson, et al., 2012, p. 178). Several of the web conferencing software options contain whiteboards, chat features, drawing tools, screen share, and polling questions. While combining the audio component in the way of the telephone was once costly, many toll free conference call numbers have been established for companies to use. One other option is the use of Lync conferencing which is accessible from an employee’s desk top and allows for audio as well as video for desk top sharing.
The other technological application that I have chosen is the use of Google Apps. Google is not just a widely used search engine any more. There are direct links for YouTube, Maps, Play, Mail, Google Drive which houses documents, spreadsheets, drawings and files, Blogger and several other applications. Google docs which are found in the Google Drive application is a cloud based storage system where multiple people can collaborate on a single document without having to take ownership of it and email it. Changes are instantaneous and whoever access the document gets the most recent up to date version. The Blog function is also a great feature and it is what this blog is published in. What is nice about these applications is that they are real time, and you do not have to worry about a network server going down. The applications are cloud based, anyone can get access to them at any time, once they have been invited to use it. What I mean by that is, if you want to share a document, you simply invite others in, and once they accept the invitation, then all parties have access to the document and can make additions and changes.
I was able to locate the following resource http://gettingsmart.com/2012/12/5-ways-to-use-google-docs-in-the-classroom/
which showcases how to use Google Docs for collaborative writing, an organizing inbox, collaborative brainstorming using the drawing tools, a self grading quiz using the forms feature, and a template maker to assist with consistent page format (Oxnevad, 2012). There are so many uses for Google Apps, that it makes the product multifunctional. Another article published by Edudemic lists 50 ways that a teacher can you Google Docs in the classroom. One thing I had not mentioned was that Google docs can go mobile. Because it is a cloud based, it can be accessed from almost all mobile devices with a hot spot internet availability. The list details adding bookmarks, color coding, and create short cuts to name a few. The entire list can be found at http://www.edudemic.com/50-little-known-ways-google-docs-can-help-in-education/ . Portland Community College posted an article by Melany Budiman which details the advantages of web conferencing. In it she cites the disadvantage of having face to face interaction in a completely on line environment (Budiman, 2014). Web conferencing can solve for that. Web cams are installed in most laptops and smart devices making video enhancement and use easier and practical. The article details the use of conferencing tools to assist with communication and collaboration.
Technology has become a part of our everyday lives, and new uses emerge almost daily. These are just two technology tools that I would use to assist with learning in the collaborative training environment.
References
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