The Topic Area

I finally feel like I've made some progress into the dissertation.  I like conferences and the use of technology for learning in the workplace.   Studying how technology is used in meetings and conferences is exactly what I would enjoy doing.    I like meeting new people in conference settings as well.  

Conferences components include:

• social aspect -- what media is effective for learning
• presentation aspect - what media is effective to aid learning
• communication aspect - helping people understand is available for making choices
• advertising aspect -- marketing etc 
• registration aspect --  keeping track of who is there 
• follow up aspects -- what documents and information is available to sustain after the event is over 

Interesting Discussion

One of the most interesting discussions I have had in a while happened unexpectedly over dinner Saturday night.  A friend (who is like a daughter to me) and I had a rare opportunity to have dinner while I was visiting Atlanta over the weekend.   My friend works at a non-profit charity organization which raises money for research for a specific medical purpose  and helps provide support and design to the organization's web site.   She was relating to me how they use social media to help foster discussion among people who are live daily with the medical challenge.  While the organization rarely interject comments into this portion of the website, there is much learning that takes place by the participants helping each other.   For example, how does one work with the school principal and teachers to help them understand the challenges the child copes with while being in the classroom?    People who visit the website for support then offer their experiences and suggestions.     This creates a larger support community than could possibly be provided by having face-to-face meetings.  

With my interest in how technology can be used to help foster adult learning I listened intently as she related the above.   This is truly an environment for learning that goes far beyond the class room.  It is self directed and people are motivated due to a need.  I think of andragogy: 

1. Adults need to know the reason for learning something (Need to Know)
2. Experience (including error) provides the basis for learning activities (Foundation).
3. Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education; involvement in the planning and evaluation of their instruction (Self-concept).
4. Adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives (Readiness).
5. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented (Orientation).
6. Adults respond better to internal versus external motivators (Motivation).

(the above 6 assumptions wording is taken from Wikipedia) 

How well these 6 assumptions fit the social media usage of this non-profit.  They have a definite need to know and have made their own decision on learning more.  They are interested as it is very relevant to their daily lives.   In that, the use of social media appears to support the assumptions/ theory of andragogy 

Motivation and Learning

There is an interesting study that shows that after a certain point money is no longer a motivator.   And thinking back over the things I do, since my family lives comfortably, I find I would rather spend my time doing things that I perceive help others.  For example,  I spend many hours donating time to help organize youth ice hockey in the south.   Why do I do this?  I think basically there are two reasons.

First, my son grew up playing ice hockey.  Until that time I didnt really understand the value of organized sports and how they help someone grow as a person.  Many of the things I learned growing up while excelling in school, he learned by his hard work and excelling in ice hockey.   Whether on the ice or studying we both learned the value of working towards a goal that we set for ourselves.   I learned a lot from raising my children.  They have both taught me valuable lessons along the way.  Anyway, I'd like to give back to something that gave so much to my son.

Secondly, the reason I give time to youth hockey is that it is a small group of people that I have come to know and care about over the years.  I feel like I am part of a family.  I enjoy working with them and feel like I make a valuable contribution to the hockey family.    There is some travel with it which I also enjoy.  I've been to places I would never otherwise have gotten to.     

So, all that was said to show things other than money promote motivation.   Mezirow, in the transformational learning, argues there is some event or motivator that happens to create transformational learning.  This is not so unlinke the Heart of Change where the authors argue that the first step to organizational change is that people must FEEL the need to change.   Statistics, money, etc doesnt necessarily get it ... There has to be a motivating force for the change.   

So today I'm going to go looking for lists of motivators to create change.  I'm assuming this list will include both internal motivators that come from being self directed and external motivators that organizations choose to help people move toward their common goals.     So I'm off .. more later on what I find.   

Team and Organizational Learning

Organizational Learning and Team Learning fascinate me.  I sometimes think I should have done my degree more in the business area than in education.  However, I truly believe the basis for growth in organizational/team learning lies in the learning and growth of the people themselves.    Helping people learn and grow should be an asset to any organization in many ways.    And I do think technology can help organizations promote learning and change -- and not just with what they directly identify as benefitial to the organization --but each individual person may choose to learn to help themselves grow.   In that I do think self-directed learning is critical in life and for the workplace.  

So many times organizations spend money creating online training for employees.  This training may even have financial incentives to do.  What actually happens -- when it isnt something the employee is interested in -- is that the person flies through to do the minimum to get it done.  It's not approached with what can the person gain from it.  While there may be more, two factors that immediately come to mind as an inhibitor of online learning (or any learning for that matter) is lack of time, and lack of interest.   So when learning becomes important to the organization, they must provide time and motivate interest.  

The flip side to prescribed learning is provide the time but allow the employee to choose their own learning.  

I'm sort of rambling here today and may even come back and delete this post.  But it also respresents my mind being muddled by this topic.  

Critical Thinking Skills and Processes

I like helping people learn how to analyze and critique things.  And I think technology can be a very useful tool for helping people succeed in this endeavor.     For the second year I am participating with the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence -- an organization associated with the state of TN that uses the Balridge criteria for economic development.    www.tncpe.org for those interested.  

But my thoughts today are not necessarily about the award but the structure with which we are taught to examine applicants.  There is a very definite process and the more I reflect on this process the more interest I have in learning more about it.     The process in very general terms is this: 


1. Individual Input:   Do an individual review of the material (application) presented based on given criteria.   (We are taught what the criteria is as well but that is not the main thrust here).  Each person does their own individual review before the group can move on. 
2. Individual Synthesis:  Each person in the team now looks at others analysis and summarizes -- or synthesizes -- the work of all into what they feel the main considerations are
3. Group Consensus:   Once the information is individually synthesized the team comes together to discuss the synthesized information.   From here a decision is made as to how the applicant fairs against the criteria.    In other organizations this may be the point in developing an action plan.  In the classroom this may be the point of discussion for a class after individual preparation. 

I can easily see a way this process would fit with the use of technology for distance learning -- especially when trying to create a discussion online.    First the students would do their own individual thoughts and do a blind posting (to some online tool).  This could be done with either a set of criteria to evaluate if desired.  At a certain date then all comments and critiques would be released to the class (assuming a small class or create teams if a larger class).  Each person would then synthesize the critiques.  The final step would then be a discussion of the important points as seen by the group.


The common process of online discussions that I have been accustom to is this:

Read an article -- post your thoughts -- and maybe .. just maybe comment on someone else's thoughts.   The down side to this is that once one person has posted, the others in the class read and may or may not then post their own, but even contradictory thoughts.      

The Dreaded Topic

So I'm not just getting started looking for a topic.   I've been looking... and looking.... and looking.... 

Well you get the idea.  Pinning down the actual topic has become a huge chore.  I know areas that I like but coming up with something specific has been tough.  I've talked with my adviser about this several times and while he's helpful... I'm drawing a blank.     I have read literature, I have thought about what I like,   I have looked at other dissertations, and I've talked to friends.     I'm on a time limit to finish (May of 2011) so I'm getting very nervous about this... and I'm sure that doesn't help.

Areas of interest are:

• Computational Literacy for adults
• Team / Organizational Learning 
• Learning Styles -- do they really make a difference ?  
• Motivation and Learning.     
• Generational learning -- does the Net Generation really learn differently ?    

Well those are a few to get going.    I've done some background research in most of these areas but haven't come up with a specific study.    Ideas are always welcome on this site!!     

Reactivating

I've retitled this site and am going to use it for posting the journey of my dissertation.   Here goes!!!