Collaborative Training Environment
Challenge:
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.
Today’s workplace requires that individuals create and collaborate within the constraints of time and place. These needs have given way to technological advancements that allow for real-time communication among peers and co-workers who stay connected over the Internet (Beldarrain, 2006). Beldarrain (2006) also state that, “Blogs, wikis, and podcasts, as well as social software are emerging technologies that foster the sense of connectedness between the members of a group.” Wiki is an effective tool that is flexible enough to serve different purposes and can be adapted. Wiki allow individuals within corporate offices in different time zones and/or geography to upload, share, and edit information in documents form.
Distance learning must promote a continuing two-way communication among the staff in order to collaborate, participate, and support each other during the learning process. They must understand how to use the new automated staff information system in their workplace.The distance learning technology that I think will provide the best solution for the given challenge is Moodle.
Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is a free web application that educators can use to create effective online learning sites.
The focus of the Moodle project is always on giving educators the best tools to manage and promote learning, but there are many ways to use Moodle:
| Supports real time web-based interactive activity modules such as forums and wikis that will build a collaborative community learning experience. |
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| Features that allow it to scale to very large deployments and hundreds of thousands of students, yet it can also be used for a primary school or an education hobbyist |
| Used as a platform to conduct fully online courses, while some use it simply to augment face-to-face courses (known as blended learning). |
| User-friendly interface that makes the learning experience easy to use |
| Supports a variety of file formats such as multimedia videos, Flash including uploading standard content documents. |
| Provides online syllabus to build learning modules, make assignments and self-test questions. |
Examples that showcase how technologies have been used in distance learning:
- Teachers at a pubic school began using single Moodle features to solve individual problems. A speech teacher needed a way for students to turn in a series of speech drafts and outlines. She use Moodle by creating assignments with student drop boxes.
- Another teacher was eager to use the ebook version of a textbook for the whole class. The publisher required that the resource only be available to the class that had purchased the book. This was easy to accommodate through Moodle by enrolling students in a course that had the ebook as a resource.
- Practice What you Preach - Showcases from a Corportae Wiki Presentation. http://www.slideshare.net/slmader/practice-what-you-preach-showcases-from-a-corporate-wiki-presentation
Reference
Beldarrain, Y. (2006). Distance education trends: Integrating new technologies to foster student interaction and collaboration. Distance Education, 27(2),139–153.
Retrieve this article from the Academic Search Complete database in the Walden Library.
Moodle.http://moodle.org
Practice What You Preach - Showcases from a Corporate Wiki Presentation. http://www.slideshare.net/slmader/practice-what-you-preach-showcases-from-a-corporate-wiki-presentation
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