Experience Unified Communications

I found out about Microsoft Office Communication Server. This is a program that joins together all of the communication interfaces that the business is using. This program joins the phone system, instant messaging, VOIP and even the email system. This program will provide real-time awareness that will help improve the collaboration between the groups. In my opinion when every one in the business is able to communicate well with each other it will improve the way the people work together. Because all people will be able to communicate better and more together they will feel as more a part of the company because the collaboration will make them feel more a part of the company. Real-time collaboration helps improve the group training methods because the collaboration will allow them to train better.

Technology Analysis

Steps in conducting a technology analysis
I choose technology analysis because I just brought up the Microsoft Communication Server which allows the entire platform to work together to enable real-time communication between everyone in the organization. The use of this software would definitely require a full technological analysis so that everything will work well together. To run a system like communication server the technology must be analyzed, must meet the performance requirements, must work well for testing, be good at distributing materials, delivering the material, understanding the expertise, and documenting what needs to be changed. A program like communication server will allow great real-time communication between all people involved in the group.

Podcasting: How it can work for student recruiting

http://dan-karleen-aacrao-sem-podcast-talk.blogspot.com

This article is about how colleges are using podcasting to help with student recruiting. Websites such as petersons.com. There is also a list of university that have podcasts that are not classroom related. Providing information through podcasts about colleges may be a wonderful way for students to learn about the colleges without having to travel to them. Podcasts may turn out to be a wonderful recruitment tool.

Learning Management Systems

Learning management systems are becoming more important on the e-learning scene. The lms helps to automate all of the processes that are involved in training. The lms can act as a university registrar helping students to choose their classes correctly and proper scheduling. The lms can be accessed and reviewed by a learning content management system (LCMS). The lms can have a great impact on e-learning because sites like blackboard seem to be lms because it provides a combination of learning technologies including wikis, podcats, etc. Everything is automated so learning can be done more easily.

Podcasting for the college environment

Podcasting craze hits classrooms!
This article is discussing the importance of podcasting for the college student. It is apparent that students are getting shorter and shorter attention spans, podcasting may be the future way to keep students on track because they are able to pause, rewind, and fast forward their way through the lecture. This technology could allow classes to be done at your own pace, kind of like dvr for the class. This podcasting could be a great learning tool, however for people who do not learn well through audio only classroom experience could provide a much better experience.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/11/podcast_craze_hits_classrooms/

Metacognitive Domain

The metacognitive domain is about teaching people how to learn.
According to Alley and Deschler there are eight steps to teach someone how to learn
1. Observe the student performing the task
2. Explain the student's approach (verbalizing each step)
3. Explain the desired approach
4. Demonstrate the new approach (verbalizing each step)
5. Encourage questions before, during, and after the demonstration
6. Have the student verbally rehearse the steps until he or she can state them without error (provide corrective feedback to the student during rehersal)
7. Have the student practice with stimulated materials (again offering corrective feedback immediately)
8. Have the student practice with actual materials

The metacognitive domain involves the collaboration of all other domains. Because it is about learning how to learn it may be the single most important learning domain. I typically learn the best overall by having to actually perform the steps required, like in TSTM 370 using Oracle When I am entering commands into Isql it is helping me to learn better because i am physically typing in the data i need analyzed. Learning by doing is the best way to learn, just listening is simply not enough to always learn without actually performing the steps.

Learning changes video, Elliott Masie

Elliott Masie is discussing many ways in which learning is currently changing.

Changing Learning Content: Shorter, Faster, Immersive, Self-Healing.
He is discussing how learning is becoming faster now, a class that would takes months is now being done in weeks. Because learning is becoming much faster the learner must become must more immersed in the material to throughly learn it.
Changing Learners: Impatient, Overwhelmed, Younger and Older.
He is discussing how current learners are becoming much more impatient, the younger people want to learn more quickly and are more impatient than typically older people, however some of the older people are more overwhelmed because they are not used to technology learning.
Changing Learning Systems: Evolving, Content Focused, Integrated.
New technologies are advancing and allowing the system to evolve and become more content focused. If it is more content focused the training can be more focused on exactly what they need to learn which can enhance the training by making it more specific and probably more easily learnable.
Changing Learning Roles: Roles vs. Positions, Changing Competencies.
Changing learning roles is about how learning is changing and how we will be able to provide learning through technologies that are not typically utilized for learning methodologies. It also discusses how the current job may stay the same but their roles may change because they will be doing many different things. Changing roles involves staying in the same job but performing different tasks.

Conducting a needs assessment

There are Six activities in the process of conducting a needs assessment.

Activity One: Determine the Present ConditionThis involves identifying what the current situation at the job is a what the most important need they are facing is.

Activity Two: Define the jobThe trainer must know exactly what the position they are searching for is, and what the employee must learn in their seminar to be able to perform the job successfully.

Activity Three: Rank the goals in order of importanceThe trainer must know how the companies goals relate to the position that the employee will be working with, the goals must fit in well.

Activity Four: Identify DiscrepanciesThe trainer must understand what the company is expecting from the employee and how it relates to what duties the employees actually perform. We must understand how the expected and actual goals differ towards meeting their goal.

Activity Five: Determine Positive AreasThe trainer must identify what the company is doing well at, and must note and ensure the employer knows what is being done well in their business and it must be properly documented so it will be able to be replicated.

Activity Six: Set Priorities for ActionThe trainer must know exactly the job goals that are being requested and desired results. They must plan the training so that the employees will learn successfully and meet the employers goals, having well set priorities will ensure successful completion of training.