My Action

This cycle began by scheduling the online instructor course. My primary audience were instructors (training specialists) who would be delivering future online classes. Three instructors were invited, each being qualified to teach our first topic; a troubleshooting course on autoclaves. These instructors were located at sites in California, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico, and each would deliver the course online from their location. I also invited others from our original design team (those who designed the classroom version of our future test course - autoclave troubleshooting). This included a instructional designer, project lead, senior manager (our project representative from senior management), and a manager from one our client groups (a key stakeholder in the project).

Before the course was delivered, I developed a course outline and PowerPoint slides. This is where my literature review (and entire OMET experience) was so helpful. Instead of presenting the content via lecture and discussion, I designed the course to be primarily learner driven. For example, when discussing the traits of an effective online instructor, I allowed each of the participants to add to a whiteboard list. They created the list and provided discussion with little help from me. When it came to learning the major functions of WebEx, we all took turns practicing and taking control.

I also wanted to have the instructors practice using some of the actual autoclave materials they would be using for the upcoming autoclave course (my cycle II). My plan was for each instructor to present one short section of the materials and get a feel for the instructional flow, especially when delivering it online.

Evidence & Evaluation

The learners demonstrated learning through discussions, work on whiteboards, and through hands-on practice in using each of the major functions of the web-conferencing software. Finished whiteboards, polls, and chat discussions were all used as evidence of learning.

Feedback was gathered by discussing the outcome of the course with each of the participants, including training specialists, managers, and the instructional designer. I also evaluated to course through personal observation and analysis.

Following is my summary of the feedback:

Overall, the course went well. The feedback I received from each participant was very positive. The most positive remarks were regarding the practice of using the tools. Each person seemed to enjoy tremendously the opportunity to play with the Web-Ex functions. This did create a problem however. Since we spent more time then planned learning the functions, we had little time at the end to practice presenting the actual autoclave course materials. In the end, only one instructor has sufficient time to practice. This was a major concern from another instructor, who asked to attend a follow-up session to get familiar with the autoclave materials. Another negative was a lack of sufficient breaks. It became clear that students need more breaks if they are to remain attentive and involved during online learning.

Each of the participants agreed that we should move forward with delivering an actual class. Several noted the tremendous potential for this type of instruction and seemed very excited. Each of the instructors felt comfortable instructing future sessions, as long as sufficient preparation time was made available.

Reflection

Delivering online learning is very much about trust and letting go of control. It is accepting the uncertainty of knowing if students on the other end are engaged throughout the class. It is allowing the student to control their own environment, as much as it is within their control, and letting them choose their level of participation. I do admit there is a level of personal responsibility required even for traditional face-to-face courses. However, the online student seems so much more empowered. It appears from this cycle and online learning in general, that most students appreciate the added responsibility.

Personally, I found the trust factor very challenging. I am use to looking into the faces of participants and reading their level of engagement. In online facilitation, you rely more on feeling or intuition. There is a certain level of powerlessness as an online facilitator that takes a real adjustment.

Do the students really buy-in to the online concept? Deep inside, I kept asking myself that question. They said they enjoyed the session, but was that due primarily to the newness of the technology and approach? These questions, and my struggle to trust the online participant, will likely carry over into future cycles. The challenge is knowing if true learning really took place. This is difficult to determine with traditional instruction, it seems almost impossible for online learning. Or is it? If the cycle 2 class has activities that are constructivist in nature, can deep understanding be assessed? It is something to consider. How about what happened here in cycle 1? Will I be able to assess how well my students learned online instruction skills. I believe so, especially when I evaluate our instructor's performance during the first online session?

Another concern I had for this course was challenge of the "first" time. I was nervous a poor first showing on my part would hurt the whole concept and lead the participants to prematurely reject the idea of online instruction. Fortunately, the feedback indicated this first attempt worked, and that my participants saw the benefits of this approach. I was very relieved when the participants (all experienced classroom instructors), indicated they would be willing to instruct our first class (cycle 2). This was definitely a vote of confidence and a real encouragement to me.

In OMET, we are being groomed to be change agents within our organizations. I felt during this first action I was beginning initiate positive change. I had both managers and instructors attend the session and they left being very supportive. For all of us this was an entirely new method of instruction. Although this new role of promoting change felt uncomfortable at times, it was also exciting. It was the first step, in my opinion, of enacting meaningful change within organization, and for me personally. It was breaking the paradigm that technical training is only effective in a face-to-face setting. Honestly, I think we all felt like pioneers moving into new territory. All the feedback seemed to indicate we were off to the right start.

So with this being my first online experience, what did I enjoy the most? I believe it was experiencing the fun others were having using the technology. The students, all of them, were discovering the different web-conferencing functions.The whiteboard and other tools allowed students to draw and contribute comments throughout the presentation, and led to relaxed atmosphere. The interesting thing was my own learning curve. There were a few times students discovered a function completely new or overlooked by me. It was in those times I began to feel more as a member of a community and less of an instructor. I can see how this strategy of having learner-driven instruction, and to the ability to admit my own limitations, are some one of the first steps toward a community of practice.

I am optimistic about the next cycle, and the opportunity to introduce this technology to staff from around the country for actual instruction. This will be a chance to take another personal step toward further influencing and bringing about changes having a positive impact at my work.

Next Steps

My next cycle will involve delivering an existing classroom topic "Troubleshooting Autoclaves," via online synchronous instruction. Since this is our first standard course instructed in this manner, we will be treating it as a pilot. This will include comparing feedback and test scores against previous classroom sessions.

This next course will also include several highly qualified subject experts. These experts will help support the instructor as needed.

I will also make some changes to the next course based on what I learned during cycle 1. First, I will ensure that there are plenty of breaks scheduled throughout the instruction. This seems absolutely necessary in holding the attention of virtual participants. Second, I will allow for more time to perform exercises and to allow student to have fun with the technology. This will help ensure involvement and enjoyment for all participants.