Week 4 – Chapters 14 through 17

1.  Chapter 14 discusses the concept of the evolution of human performance improvement. Several sections of chapter 14 present a variety of non-instructional solutions to performance problems. Identify a performance problem in your area of work and provide a non-instructional solution to solve the problem.

Problem:  The students don’t follow the taught protocol for re-shelving or not re-shelving books.

Root cause analysis: Ishikawa diagram

Non-instructional solutions:

• Buy more shelf markers to facilitate re-shelving
• Clarify protocol and state concisely in appropriately placed signage
• Mark shelves for where to place books to be re-shelved

2.  Chapter 15 presents several definitions of electronic performance support systems. In addition to these definitions, locate a few more and indicate your preference explaining why you prefer it. Additionally, describe why you believe EPSS have not been widely used and if they are more likely be become more prevalent in the future. 

Electronic Performance Support Systems

Book definition:  “Electronic  systems that provided integrated access to (1) information, (2) advice, (3) learning experiences, and (4) tools to help someone perform a task with minimal support from others.

http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2008/01/epss-and-eperformance.html definition: EPSS is most often used referring to “online job aids or a modified front-end to software systems.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_performance_support_systems Bezanson’s definiton: “A performance support system provides just-in-time, just enough training, information, tools, and help for users of a product or work environment, to enable optimum performance by those users when and where needed, thereby also enhancing the performance of the overall business.”

My definition: An electronic resource (such as the pillowelementary.pbworks.com wiki) that will provide needed information, as needed.

It’s difficult to have one comprehensive thing that will be able to manage all the aspects of what a company does.  Then you have to have someone with comprehensive knowledge of the company to maintain the thing.  I believe wikis make it easier for individuals to collaboratively manage and contribute to the knowledge pool of a company and may increase the use of EPPS.  One drawback would be controlling information that is proprietary to a department or sub-group of a company and not supposed to be accessible to others.

3.  Knowledge management is the way we manage information, share that information, and use it. Organizations, such as schools, are full of information/data and we must organize that data in a way that we can make sense of it. We use data to make decisions and good data=good decision making. Identify a real or hypothetical problem in your line of work. How might a blended learning approach, including the use of a knowledge management system, be use to solve the problem? 

We use benchmark tests to identify gaps in individual student learning.  It would be wonderful if the benchmark data would feed directly into a set of tutorials on what the student needs.  At TCEA I saw some vendors who claimed they had software that would do this, but it was all pretty pricey.  It was also geared toward district licensing and unavailable for individual classroom/instructor purchase.  If I had several classrooms with a computer for every student, it would be nice to pilot each company’s software to be able to quantify and compare the results.

4.  Describe the types of informal learning you have been exposed to in your adult life. What was the purpose? What was the experience like? Was it engaging? Social? What role did you play? What role did the instructor play? 

Personal informal learning

Amateur PI course – I took a community colleges course on becoming an amateur private investigator just because it looked like a cool course.  It was set up like a traditional lecture course.  I learned a ton and have used the knowledge from that course often. 

Toastmasters – I hate public speaking.  Toastmasters is a non-profit organization that provides a “work at your own pace” curriculum for becoming a better speaking in a social setting.  Everyone is an instructor and everyone is a learner in these meetings.  Those who are farther along help those of us who aren’t very far along in the manuals.

Professional informal learning

Making an Ethernet cable – I needed an Ethernet cable long enough to go across the cafeteria for literacy night.  When I was on the Fry’s website looking for a cable long enough, I saw that they had a kit with all the stuff (except the cable itself) to make custom Ethernet cables.  I bought the kit and a spool of cable and read the directions.  I’ve had to make a ton of cables since then and this has proven to be a valuable skill.

Library stuff – AISD has a library procedures wiki and an acquisitions wiki (Shannon’s Acquisiki) that I am always using when I need to know something.  They’re great because most of the time I can find out what I need to know without bothering anyone.  If there’s something that I need to know that’s not on the wiki, I can ask and then it will be on the wiki for others when they need the information.