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Multimedia Presentation Basics_combined - DE Oracle

Author: Huston Sharon
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College
Publication date: 2011
Field of study

DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction Multimedia Presentation Basics Sharon Huston Instructional Support Specialist Center for Support of Instruction Published: January-February 2011 Category: » Online-pedagogy » Teaching-strategies Successful online presentations combine text, audio, and images to capture student attention. Achieving this success with today's students often necessitates a viewpoint shift both in how a presentation should look and in how to use presentation software to create an engaging experience. In video format, this article discusses the basics of multimedia presentations, including demystifying modern presentation design and highlighting some design tools and their effective use in presentation software. The video presentations were made entirely in PowerPoint and then converted into narrated Flash movies using a PowerPoint plugin called iSpring Free. While the content of the presentations provides important information about creating effective multimedia presentations, the presentations themselves are representative of good multimedia design that faculty can use as a model for their own work. The methods shown and described here are an easy way for faculty to create interesting, engaging, and dynamic multimedia objects for their classrooms using a tool with which they already have some familiarity. The first video, which focuses on multimedia design principles, discusses what might be wrong with traditional presentation design and invites viewers to adopt design principles that can transform their presentations. Multimedia Presentation Basics - DE Oracle The second video is on smart design techniques, and it discusses and demonstrates software tricks that can help raise a presentation to the next level. Note that while this video mentions—and was prepared with—PowerPoint, many of these techniques can be replicated with other presentation programs including Apple Keynote. Multimedia Presentation Basics - DE Oracle Video Transcripts Transcripts for the two video presentations above are included here: Transcript for Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I Transcript for Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II NOTE: When developing audiovisual material, it is important to also provide a transcript. Transcripts serve students with hearing disabilities (who may not be able to hear the audio), students with visual disabilities (whose screen readers or text-to-speech programs may not be able to access the object), and the various learning styles of UMUC’s multi-generational student body. A speaker’s script (which can be prepared before recording the audio) can serve as a transcript. Related Tutorials The step-by-step tutorial pages below provide instructions for replicating the effects shown in the video presentations above and will help you get started on creating multimedia presentations: PowerPoint Design Tools - Provides instructions on using shapes, WordArt, SmartArt, animations, and transitions in PowerPoint. iSpring Free Tutorial - Provides instructions on installing and using iSpring Free to convert a PowerPoint file into a Flash (.swf) file as well as embedding and linking to the resulting .swf file in a WebTycho classroom. About the Author(s) Multimedia Presentation Basics - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Prior to joining the Center for Support of Instruction (CSI) as an instructional support specialist, Sharon was a full-time instructor for the Dallas County Community College District where she taught face-to-face and online Web design/multimedia classes focusing on cutting-edge technologies like video podcasting, Flash, and Second Life. Sharon earned an Innovator of the Year Award for her service on the Teaching and Learning Team, a committee charged with bringing innovation into the campus classrooms. In addition to teaching, Sharon also served as a faculty trainer and mentor in which she helped fellow faculty design new online and face-to-face courses, fine-tune existing courses, and master course development software. She has a BS in History from Texas Woman's University and an MS in Computer Education and Cognitive Systems from the University of North Texas. Towanda Jones, instructional support specialist in CSI, earned a BS in Information Systems Management from UMUC and has continued to expand her professional career in instructional development; Web 2.0 and multimedia technologies such as Flash, video production, and podcasting; and Web design and development. Rating: Not yet rated Comments No comments posted. You must be logged in and be a member of the UMUC community in order to comment. If you are a member of the UMUC community and do not have an account, please register for a FREE one. If you have a guest account but are Faculty/Staff of UMUC please send an email to the DE Oracle Site Manager (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Please Update my DE Oracle Guest Account) so that your guest account can be updated. Multimedia Presentation Basics - DE Oracle DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript Sharon Huston Instructional Support Specialist Center for Support of Instruction Published: January-February 2011 Category: » Tech-skills-software » Powerpoint Slide Script Welcome to Multimedia Presentation Basics! We will help you change your thinking about PowerPoint by showing you how to use it as a design tool to deliver multimedia content. Part I discusses important design principles for creating effective and engaging multimedia presentations. This video was developed using PowerPoint and a publishing tool called iSpring. It is an example of a multimedia presentation that we will be showing you how to do yourself. Let's take a quick look at traditional presentation design practices and discuss why they are not effective for online delivery. The next few examples show some of these traditional design practices in action. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle This screen has inappropriate clip art, and an annoying cat meow. None of these items really help students understand the material. Text-heavy passages like this can be difficult to read on a screen. The bird animations don't help. Additionally, the selected font makes it hard to decipher the text. Poorly designed charts can also cause issues for students. The chart shown here, for example, has no visual clues, making it impossible to determine what content is important. In addition, the colors of this chart blend into the background…and you can see that the background itself competes with the chart. We need to transition away from the typical book-outline approach, where an entire chapter of a textbook is stuffed into thirty slides or less. Cognitively it would be better if students read the textbook, engaged with the material, and then engaged more deeply by making their own notes or outlines. At any rate, we need to replace the "textbook on a PowerPoint" approach… …with something more human. Something students can connect with. Something that will help them feel interest, excitement, or at the very least like they haven't wasted five minutes of their time. We need to think about teachable moments. Moments. Not chapters, but moments. Small, discrete teachable chunks of information. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle We also need to find the story. We need to communicate not only facts, but our passion for our topic. Doing so makes the material more relevant, and more deeply engaging. This kind of presentation is not about memorizing facts – it's about changing how your students view the class material. Traditional PowerPoint is not effective for visual storytelling online. Creating a multimedia object from PowerPoint requires a shift in thinking. There are six major precepts you'll want to follow when creating a multimedia object. The single most important idea behind any multimedia presentation is to use one concept per frame. In multimedia—like in movies—we use a series of frames that are organized in a particular way to tell a story. Alone, each frame may not have much meaning, but when put together with other frames in a certain order, the collection becomes a moving narrative. Think of your traditional PowerPoint slide as a multimedia frame that conveys a single idea using images and / or high impact text. Traditional bullet-ridden slides like this are difficult to read. They also invite speakers to gloss over the content at a rapid pace. After all, if the text is there everyone can read it, so why bother talking? Let's break this slide into multiple slides. On this frame, for example, after stating the fact – no one knows Shakespeare's real birthday – you could expand on this point by talking about recordkeeping in the 16th century, or about events related to Shakespeare's birthday. Once you've stated that Anne Hathaway was a lot older than Shakespeare you could move right to the next frame, or pause to let the audience absorb the fact, or have a discussion about 16th century mores. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle It's important to remember that while our example shows one slide per bullet point you don't have to have to copy this model. Concentrate on the concepts; not on the number of bullets or the number of slides. The second design principle to keep in mind is to limit your presentations to about five minutes. You will want to keep the presentation short for three reasons. The first reason is that audience attention wanders after five to nine minutes. If you can get the point across before attention wanders, then your point has a better chance of sticking. Second, size does matter. A longer presentation has a larger file size—and this is especially true when pictures and audio are added to it. There are restrictions to the size of files that can be uploaded to an LMS. By staying under or near the five-minute cap, you are helping to ensure that you can actually post your files to your classroom. Third, shorter presentations are easier and faster to view, which is especially beneficial for those students with slower connections and those who are operating in constrictive computing environments. Another design principle is to make audio personable. When audio is used effectively in content, it can help enhance student engagement. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle Audio can make your content more interesting. Students can hear your passion for your subject. They can pick up on variations of meaning in your tone that might not be distinct when simply reviewing an object or reading a textbook. Delivering content using audio can help keep students motivated to continue learning. Audio is also beneficial for students who are auditory learners. They are able to reinforce the information by replaying the recording. The fourth design principle is to keep the text in your multimedia presentation brief and to the point. By minimizing the number of words on a screen, you'll free yourself to focus more on the visual design aspects of your presentation. You can talk about your topic, rather than just recite bullet points. If you wish, you can keep your old bullet points in front of you to use as talking points. The fifth design principle to keep in mind is to avoid the use of dorky clip art. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle Dorky clip art such as what you're looking at now is a relic of traditional presentation design. For a more effective presentation, use contemporary graphics and photos instead. This leads us to our last design principle for creating multimedia presentations. When using photographs in your presentation, you'll need to be careful to choose images that communicate with your students. Obviously staged photographs, as shown in the next three slides of women with laptops, usually feature models with perfect hair and makeup, often posed against fake backgrounds. This photo has all the hallmarks of a staged shot… …as does this group shot. They both have a clean, ambiguous setting, perfect lighting, and highly attractive people. And in this photo, the chances of this woman using a laptop so close to the water are pretty slim. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle Candid images, on the other hand, are more real to life, such as these next photos demonstrate. This image, shot on a city street, features a woman whose body language is more realistic than a posed model. This woman in engaged with her computer; not with the photographer. This image features women in ethnic dress at a café. Images in public settings tend to be more realistic and have a more candid feel to them. This last photo is another example of what appears to be a real-life snapshot that students might be able to identify with. It again shows a person engaged with her computer, not with the photographer. Now for a quick recap. In this presentation we explored six multimedia principles that you can use to develop more engaging online presentations. We discussed time – it's important to keep the presentations to five minutes to keep audience attention and to keep file sizes reasonable. Audio helps communicate your passion for your topic. Avoid placing large amounts of text on the slide – opt for brevity instead. Clip art, a relic of the past, should be retired. Instead, use photos and ensure that they're candid shots. Lastly, the most important concept of all – one topic per Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle frame. By following this principle, you'll declutter your presentation, and the minds of your students. • "00448298.jpg" provided by Microsoft Office Online "ruminations on the concept of geodesics and the curvature of space-time" by Jeff Meyer • • "IMG_0089" by Kristian Bjornard • "raconte-moi une histoire 4" by Flickr user ex animø • "shift" by carlos aldana • "Nickel Shakespeare Girls" by Clinton Steeds • "Shakespeare" by Jeroen Krah "Francis Flute and Nick Bottom as Thisbe and Pyramus - Midsummer Night's Dream - Rosebriar Shakespeare Company" by Amarand Agasi • • "ne da se mi" by Tadeeej • "I'm Crushing Your Head!!" by Morgan "Building Partnership - Uganda - US Army Africa - Natural Fire 10 – 091010" by US Army Africa • "Women In Management Eleanor McDonald Lecture" by Adrian Gaskell • "Microphone (for September 11, 2009) [177/365]" by Flickr user Brenderous • • "Lecture on body(less) sociology" by Till Westermayer • "self centered" by Flickr user baboonTM • "MP900399432" provided by Microsoft Office Online • "00439549.jpg" provided by Microsoft Office Online • "00442278.jpg" provided by Microsoft Office Online • "Apple Laptop" by Garry Knight • "An Apple for lunch" by Chris Schuepp "A great place to type something into your laptop" by Ed Yourdon • Rating: Not yet rated Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Comments No comments posted. You must be logged in and be a member of the UMUC community in order to comment. If you are a member of the UMUC community and do not have an account, please register for a FREE one. If you have a guest account but are Faculty/Staff of UMUC please send an email to the DE Oracle Site Manager (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Please Update my DE Oracle Guest Account) so that your guest account can be updated. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part I - Transcript - DE Oracle DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript Sharon Huston Instructional Support Specialist Center for Support of Instruction Published: January-February 2011 Category: » Tech-skills-software » Powerpoint Slide Script Welcome to Part Two of Multimedia Presentation Basics, where we will focus on smart design techniques that will help make your presentations stand out. Design templates can be useful for a consistent look. It's important, however, that you don't let your template interrupt your story. Steer clear of templates featuring crayons, palm trees, incomprehensible gears and any other objects that have nothing to do with your topic. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Unless your topic is about mountains, this mountain template would be distracting to students, who may be trying to figure out the relationship between the background art and the content of the learning materials. A neutral template is a much better choice. It doesn't communicate anything and will not compete for the students' attention. It leaves communication entirely up to you. Neutral design templates that use minimalist design backgrounds and graphics such as this… …and this, can help you focus on your message. Another design option is to use a plain background, like this gradient, for your main points… …and then use a solid background for your subpoints. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle If you do decide to use plain backgrounds, keep in mind that your text often becomes the main focal point. Use text with a nice, thick legible font to aid readability. Play with colors and spacing. The new and improved version of WordArt available in PowerPoint 2007 is another great technique you can use to add artistic effects. It can help certain points stand out and make your text visually engaging. The key to using WordArt successfully is to choose styles that are subtle. Let's examine the text in this frame. Now look at how beveled text with a subtle drop shadow makes the message seem a little more important. This is very subtle . . . it works on a subconscious level instead of screaming for attention. This frame is OK, but it could be even better. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Adding a reflection effect to the text with Word-Art echoes the shadows the actors are casting, and makes it a little more interesting without being distracting. This example illustrates one of the great dilemmas people encounter when using photos. The photo has a lot of contrast – lots of dark areas and light areas. As a result neither dark nor light-colored text is very effective. But here the dark drop shadow combined with a thick white border makes the text clear and easy to read. A gradient fill adds a little decorative fun. The SmartArt feature in PowerPoint 2007 and 2010 is a great tool for visually representing relationships and other information. SmartArt graphics provide an effective way to illustrate your traditional bullet points. PowerPoint makes it easy to create and customize over 100 SmartArt designs that show processes, hierarchies, lists, and many other relationships in a meaningful way. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Even a simple organization chart such as this can come alive when designed in SmartArt. Multimedia objects typically use animations. PowerPoint provides numerous options for adding animation to your presentation. You need to use this technique with care. While animated templates like this one can be entertaining, it's important to ask if students will remember the lesson or the animation. The best use of animation is to hide complexity, as the next few examples demonstrate. In this animation, SmartArt layers unfold one at a time. Here, subpoints radiate out from the center. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Animation techniques can also be used on charts and graphs. As you can see, animations can add cinematic power to your presentations when used effectively. Transitions are another useful feature that can add some pep to a multimedia presentation. Transitions should contribute to your presentation hierarchy. Use a maximum of two different transitions in any given multimedia presentation. You can use a single loud transition, such as the horizontal comb shown here, for the main points. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Add a quiet transition, like "fade smoothly" shown here, for subpoints. By limiting your transitions to just two, you reinforce the structure of your presentation. Now for a quick recap.. In this presentation, we explored five smart design techniques you can use to make your multimedia presentations more effective. Neutral templates help students focus on your message instead of your slide background. WordArt can help make your text visually engaging. SmartArt is great at visually representing entity relationships. Animation lets you unfold your story, and also adds cinematic flair. Lastly, transitions can reinforce the structure of your presentation. By applying these smart design features, your multimedia objects will look great, and your students will walk away with a better understanding of the course material. If you'd like to learn more about creating great multimedia presentations, the following resources can help. Robin Williams has an excellent book called The Non- Designer's Presentation Book that you may wish to consult. Multimedia Presentation Basics Part II - Transcript - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Nancy Duarte's book slide:ology is also very good. NoteAndPoint.com (http://NoteAndPoint.com) is a site that collects and publishes great pre

UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2011 Conference - DE Oracle

Author: Csir Floyd
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College
Publication date: 2011
Field of study

DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2011 Conference Floyd Csir Instructional Support Specialist Center for Support of Instruction Published: May-June 2011 Category: » University-showcase » Conference-presentations UMUC was well represented by faculty, staff, and directors who attended the 10th Annual Spring Conference of the Maryland Distance Learning Association (MDLA) on March 30, 2011, at Sheppard Pratt Conference Center in Baltimore. Keynote Presentation The keynote was presented by Norman Bier, Associate Director of the Open Learning Initiative (OLI) at Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Bier discussed OLI's purpose to improve teaching and learning through the development of free "stand-alone" college-level online courses and Web-based learning environments. OLI is based on a learner-centric model that considers feedback a major part of successful learning. According to Bier, intelligent tutoring systems, virtual laboratories, simulations, and frequent feedback are used to improve OLI-constructed courses. Student feedback provides OLI the data it needs to evaluate and improve learning objects, which in turn benefits students and faculty. For more information on this innovative model, visit the Open Learning Initiative Web site (http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/index.php) . UMUC Award Winner Best Distance Program of the Year Award UMUC's Doctor of Management (DM) program won the Best Distance Program of the Year (Credit) award at the conference. Dr. Bryan Booth, Executive Director of Doctoral Programs, accepted the award. The DM program's mission is to assist students in becoming effective leaders by applying their knowledge, skills, and expertise. The program appeals to working professionals because it is cohort based and part time, providing peer support as well as flexibility. The research focus of the program includes a unique multi-stage dissertation process that takes place over a three-year period so that the dissertation requirements are completed upon graduation. Students also benefit from having a dedicated DM Academic Specialist and Coordinator whose key role is to support them during their academic careers. The DM program experienced a growth rate of 132% from 2005 to 2009, during which its student numbers increased from 108 to 251. MDLA President Jean Runyon said of the program, "UMUC's Doctor of Management program is a model program—exemplifying the highest quality in instructional design, curriculum, and delivery—one that creates a learning environment conducive for the success of adult learners." UMUC Presentations Please see MDLA's 2011 Spring Conference Presentations (http://www.marylanddla.org /2011/2011presentations.htm) for links to presentation slides. UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2011 Conference - DE Oracle Backward Design 101 Linda Smelser, Instructional Support Specialist, Center for Support of Instruction, and Adjunct Faculty, School of Undergraduate Studies Linda discussed backward design, an instructional design model, as it relates to designing courses and course components. Backward design starts with student outcomes at the beginning of constructing a course so that the instruction, content, and components of the course align with course goals. Linda showed how the framework of backward design is a process similar to developing a travel itinerary: By using desired results as the starting point and destination, designers and faculty can construct a strategically designed course that clearly shows a student's evidence of learning. Linda provided two examples of backward design—for a newly designed course and for a pre-packaged course. When designing a new course, all course components (syllabus, content, assignments, etc.) need to be constructed to point toward the course goal and desired results. When developing course components (conference discussions, activities, etc.) for a pre-packaged course, the designer (instructor, etc.) needs to become familiar with the goals and assessments to design components that build toward those outcomes. Prepare Your Online Classroom and Students for Collaboration and Teamwork Datta Kaur Khalsa, Program Director for Assessment, Department of Education, Graduate School of Management and Technology Datta Kaur's presentation was based on 10 years of online teaching experience and summary of 130 recently acquired graduate student comments relating their experience with virtual teamwork. The presentation focused on the importance of community and choice. Cultivating and maintaining a sense of community is essential in the online classroom by using online collaboration and teamwork. The presentation offered instructor and student guidelines for successful virtual teamwork in an attempt to answer this question: What do instructors and students need to prepare for an effective collaborative culture in their online classroom? Datta Kaur emphasized "a culture of confidence and trust" to empower students by giving them a voice which helps them take ownership. Providing students with choices is especially important when they are having difficulty with an assignment or assessment. She discussed how she encourages her students to think of alternative group projects that meet course objectives in which they can authentically demonstrate their knowledge. A Student Retention Reality Check: Are We Asking the Right Questions? Mark L. Parker, Interim Assistant Dean and Academic Director of Writing & Philosophy, School of Undergraduate Studies Mark discussed demographics for online students, who have important distinctions from traditional, full-time students in terms of student retention and success. Online students are generally older than traditional students, attend school part time, and have a full- or part-time job. They are also likely to have clear and pragmatic reasons for attending college, such as to get a degree or improve their skills to change or keep their jobs. Mark discussed online student needs and how policy makers may be setting unreasonable expectations for non-traditional students at institutions that make extensive use of distance education. Some topics discussed during the presentation included the meaning of success and failure for online students, the need for blended/hybrid courses, the impact of ad hoc courses for non-degree-seeking tudents, and student engagement. Mark reviewed the current framework for measuring student retention and success. He described why such a framework may not be suitable for institutions with large distance education efforts and suggested a new framework to measure student success and retention. UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2011 Conference - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Avatars-Based Virtual Teamwork and Leadership Skills Development Irena Bojanova, Program Director of Telecommunications Management and IT Infrastructure, Information and Technology Systems, Graduate School of Management and Technology Graduate programs have emphasized that students learn team building and leadership skills due to the current work environment of globalization and information technology. Irena showed how she has addressed this issue by giving her students the option of utilizing virtual worlds and cloud computing to collaborate on a group project. Irena showed some of the collaborative technologies she uses in her courses, such as Google Docs for collaborative information gathering and document creation, BatchGeo for zip code-based maps creation and team formation, and Second Life for conducting avatar-based team building activities. Irena also discussed how her students develop their team-building and leadership skills through virtual collaborative exercises such as logical puzzles, survivor scenarios, and scavenger hunts. As part of final presentations, students use Second Life for creating demonstrations and itineraries. The presentation emphasized that using cloud computing and virtual worlds gives students opportunities to experience and learn about tools that will become part of the "Next Generation Internet." She has found that students' virtual teamwork and leadership development opportunities in the online environment has increased student engagement, satisfaction, and the quality of online group work. About MDLA MDLA is a chapter of the United States Distance Learning Association with a mission to promote education, training, and research for distance learning. MDLA offers conferences twice a year with a low-cost fall conference and a free half-day conference. In addition, MDLA conducts a free webinar series called Wired Wednesdays that showcases distance education technology and pedagogy. For more information about future MDLA conferences, webinars, and membership, visit the MDLA Web site (http://www.marylanddla.org/) . About the Author(s) Floyd Csir enjoys collaborating with colleagues on a variety of instructional technology projects that help students, faculty, and staff reach their goals. He joined the CSI staff in August 2009 as an Instructional Support Specialist. Rating: Not yet rated Comments No comments posted. You must be logged in and be a member of the UMUC community in order to comment. If you are a member of the UMUC community and do not have an account, please register for a FREE one. If you have a guest account but are Faculty/Staff of UMUC please send an email to the DE Oracle Site Manager (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Please Update my DE Oracle Guest Account) so that your guest account can be updated. UMUC Presenters and Award Winners at MDLA 2011 Conference - DE Oracl

Backward Design 101 - April 28, 2011_combined - DE Oracle

Author: CSI Staff
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College
Publication date: 2011
Field of study

DE Oracle @ UMUC An Online Learning Magazine for UMUC Faculty Center for Support of Instruction Backward Design 101 - April 28, 2011 CSI Staff Staff Writer Center for Support of Instruction Published: March-April 2011 Category: » De-oracle-live » Archived-webinars During this presentation, Linda Smelser, Instructional Support specialist, discussed ideas for putting together course content (assignments, assessments, conferences, etc.) that align with outcomes using instructional design principles from the Backward Design model. Outcomes are the desired results or competencies that students demonstrate to show what they have learned. Backward Design is a process for constructing a path for learning that starts by focusing on desired results to assist in developing appropriate evidence of competency. The framework of Backward Design is similar to developing a travel itinerary: By using desired results (the destination) as the starting point, it is possible to work backward to design an instructional path using course objectives to steer learners toward targeted outcomes. Examples were provided, along with a discussion on ideas for using Backward Design for other instructional projects. Archived Recording: Launcher Link: http://umuc.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=deoracle_2011_0428_1205_23 (http://umuc.wimba.com/launcher.cgi?room=deoracle_2011_0428_1205_23) (NOTE: To view the archive, click on the above link, then select the Participant login button. Make sure jthies_01 is listed as the Room ID. Enter your name in the Name field) Wizard Link: http://67.202.210.31/wizard/launcher.cgi?wc=wms (http://67.202.210.31/wizard/launcher.cgi?wc=wms) Slide Presentation: Printable Version: PDF Backward Design 101 - April 28, 2011 - DE Oracle Contact Site Manager Created and Maintained by the Center for Support of Instruction © University of Maryland University College Powered by ArticleMS from ArticleTrader.com Resources: Authentic Learning (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3009.pdf) Backward Design (http://pixel.fhda.edu/id/six_facets.html) John Biggs (http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/resources/resourcedatabase /id477_aligning_teaching_for_constructing_learning.pdf) Project Based Learning Sir Ken Robinson (http://www.sirkenrobinson.com/) Jim Groom (http://salesdemo.mediasite.com/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer /Default.aspx?peid=5b8b79523b904cfbafb8056a0b23a1e0) - (requires MS Silverlight plugin) Rating: Not yet rated Comments No comments posted. You must be logged in and be a member of the UMUC community in order to comment. If you are a member of the UMUC community and do not have an account, please register for a FREE one. If you have a guest account but are Faculty/Staff of UMUC please send an email to the DE Oracle Site Manager (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Please Update my DE Oracle Guest Account) so that your guest account can be updated. Backward Design 101 - April 28, 2011 - DE Oracle To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination… ~ S. Covey Backward Design 101: Aligning Your Course to Outcomes Linda Smelser Instructional Designer / Adjunct Faculty University of Maryland University College Agenda Part 1: Backward Design (the destination) • Define Backward Design (BWD) • Designing course and content delivery • Examples Part 2: Structuring Content (the route) • Constructive Alignment • Effective Assignments • Examples Instructors are designers… ...designing the path toward course outcomes and desired results. Backward design Developed in 1998 Part 1: Backward Design An instructional design method that uses desired results as the first and last step to design a course. This method ensures that course components are focused and organized, promoting improved instructor navigation and student outcomes. Backward design process A process to determine acceptable evidence of student competency. Identify desired results. Determine acceptable evidence. Plan learning experiences & instruction. Outcomes: Objectives that can either be written as desired results or infer desired results. Competencies that students are able to demonstrate that show what they have learned. Desired results: Desired results are the first and last step to design a course and content delivery. Questions About Design How do you begin to design… - a full course? - course components (quizzes, conference)? - content delivery? Example 1: Prepackaged Course Design course components and content delivery A clear path If course components don’t align with outcomes, students can get confused along the way. Review path to desired results: - Course outcomes and objectives - Assessment and project expectations - Readings and resources Design course components & content delivery Craft discussions and assignments that… - build on previous learning - lead to skill building & preparation - provide instructor with opportunities to steer students toward desired results Example 2 Designing a complete course Course design begins with the destination. 1- Create Course Outcome 2- Craft Final Project Expectations 3- Design course components Focusing on outcomes helps to formulate the learning path that lead students to desired results. Part 2: Structuring Content - Learning activities - Organize the learning path - Determine evidence of learning Effective assignments… - align with outcomes - build on previous learning - prepare for new learning - show students what they have learned - provide evidence of student learning for grading Strategically placed learning experiences. Constructive Alignment Constructive Alignment Constructive Alignment Questions to consider - Does the assignment allow students to demo proficiency of desired results / course outcomes? -Does the assignment provide the instructor appropriate evidence of learning for grading? - Are the assignments organized to bring students to the goal? Questions (con’t) - What types of assignments - are conducive to constructive alignment? - Promote authentic learning? - Promote student ownership? -Research -Project based -Case Study -Problem based - Presentations - Student design project - Collaborative - Interviews Suggested Learning Activities Resources • Authentic Learning • Backward Design • John Biggs • Project Based Learning • Sir Ken Robinson • Jim Groom (The Jim Groom presentation requires MS Silverlight plugin.) Your students and I

Managing and surviving disruptions, emergencies, disasters: Resilience and its application for UMUC

Author: SchWeber Claudine
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 28/06/2011
Field of study

Would you know what to do if a massive power outage or other natural disaster disrupted your ability to access your online classroom? This presentation will discuss key research about managing and surviving disruptions and the implications for online programs like those at UMUC. Dr. Schweber will also highlight UMUC's Classroom Interruption Planning Guide and discuss preparedness suggestions with participants.Managing and Surviving Disruptions, Emergencies, Disasters: Claudine SchWeber, Ph.D. ([email protected]) 1Resilience* • “…positive adaptation in any kind of dynamic system that comes under challenge or threat.” (Masten& Wright, 2009, p. 215) • “the capability to rebound from a disaster…and to return to normal functioning with little delay” (Chandra et al., 2010) • “capacity to cope with unanticipated dangers after they have become manifest…[learning to] bounce back” (Comfort, 1994, p. 158) • *Research conducted with Dr. M. Bouchard (2010) 2Continuity of operations (coop): “an institution’s ability to maintain or restore its business…when some circumstance threatens or disrupts normal operations“ 3Anticipation (preparation) Management during event (response) Resilience (recovery) Thriving or Hyper – resilience (better off) Crisis: Trigger Event Resilience Continuum 4Resilience perspectives : it‘s about survival and continuity • Anticipatory: “Identification of potential risks, proactive steps to [enable survival]”; • Crisis: “capability to rebound from disaster...and return to normal functioning” • Economic: “ability to reinvent business models and strategies as circumstances change” 5Examples of Disruptions (Disasters, emergencies, etc.) • Volcano ash clouds over Europe, Fall 2010 • Hurricane Katrina, August 2005 • Flooding in American south and Missouri, Spring 2011 • Japanese earthquake, March 2011 • UMUC—WebTychodownfor a week in Feb. 2007 6Today, we will also apply this to teaching & learning at UMUC 8Research Method • Modified “Evidence‐Based Research” (pioneered at Carnegie Mellon) • Literature search –57 sources: books or book chapters, scholarly articles, professional articles, dissertations, special reports/white papers. • Inclusion/exclusion criteria: 45 items remained • Analyzed resources—>3 major themes: a) anticipation‐preparation; b) leadership; c) communication ‐‐details on method at end of presentation, if desired 9What we learned—1: Primary Focus: Anticipation‐Preparation • Become a High Reliability Organization (HRO): develop a ‘preoccupation with [potential] failure’ • Develop a ‘culture of resilience’ • Responsibility of Senior Leadership: avoid ‘amnesia syndrome’; conduct resilience audits; delegate authority • Practice ‘bricolage’ • Hire staff with experience (‘strategic hires’) 10What we learned—2: • Identify and develop ‘back‐up’ systems: technology, other business locations, reserve fund. e.g. Xavier U and Hurricane Katrina—tech backup in California. • Delegate decision‐making throughout organization; able to make decisions in ‘unfamiliar contexts’ (e.g. 9/11 and Morgan Stanley) 11What we learned—3: Leadership, Communication • Need to be able to make decisions under pressure • Develop and test continuity plans • Communicate with various stakeholders (e.g, the public, students, colleagues)—early and often! • Plan for ‘reputation’ management with stakeholders, media. • Establish a communication management strategy, plan, resources and implementation, and review regularly** **UMUC—be sure to keep a list of students and their emails in a separate, safe place 12UMUC Classroom Interruption Planning Guide http://www.umuc.edu/faculty/interruptionguide.shtml 13Assume UMUC has been hit by a wide area power outage in mid‐semester (as happened in upstate New York State in 2003). ******* What’s your planfor continuing or managing the remainder of the course? Question: 13Conclusions from this Research project Organization resilience requires: • Senior level attention—commitment to a culture of resilience • Avoidance of complacency plan ahead • Periodic internal communication and readiness to implement external communication plan • Identifying and critiquing lessons learned • …Practice, Practice, Practice 14Further Research • Indentify cases: business, higher ed, (government?) • Investigate whether there is a causal link between planning and resilience; between planning and doing better (hyper resilience) • Leadership: what would case analyses reveal about decisions by leaders and adaptabilityandsurvival? • Compare scholar and practitioner perspectives • Investigate risk‐benefit impact on resilience planning: probabilityconsequence(e.g., Ford Pinto case) • Investigate higher education plans, actions, results. 15Claudine [email protected] 16More--Research Methods: details 1 • Systematic review to “identify, acquire, extract and synthesize existing research studies” (Leseureet al, 2004, p. 14) • 57initial Sources = 9 books/chapters; 34 scholarly articles; 10 professional articles; 2 dissertations; 2 white papers • After exclusion: 45 resources 17More--Method 2: steps 1. key word searches 2. classification of sources: author, discipline and approach, focus (individual, org., community); type of study (scholarly, popular); key ideas; other 3. inclusion/exclusion criteria identified and applied 4. Analysis by themes: anticipation, leadership, communication, other Two steps were developed but not implemented: • Assessment criteria:e.g., argument/ point made? Quality of the evidence, generalizability, contributions to theory,practice • Scoring: evaluation of each resource per assessment criteria, scale of 1‐3 or NA 1

I came, I saw, I researched: Students reflect on library life in six-word memoirs

Author: Miller Robert M.
Publication venue: American Library Association
Publication date: 01/06/2011
Field of study

The article describes an assignment in my library-skills class in which I had students write about their library experiences in the form of a 6-word memoir. In the article, I reflect on the witty, insightful mini-memoirs that the students created, and what their memoirs reveal about academic library users' habits and attitudes.C&RL News June 2011 338 At University of Maryland University Col-lege (UMUC), I teach LIBS 150, an online, required one-credit library skills course for undergraduates. As an extra-credit assignment near the end of the seven-week class, I ask students to write a six-word memoir about their library, reading, or research experiences. Having undergone the educational rigors of the LIBS 150 information literacy boot camp—database selection, Boolean search-ing, source evaluation, formatting citations, and other research skills—students appreciate the chance to earn an extra point toward their course grade with a fun, fast assignment that helps them reflect on life as a library user and academic researcher. The six-word memoir became an Internet and publishing phenomenon at the SMITH Magazine Web site.1 The rules are simple: write about your life in six words. The genre was inspired by Hemingway’s abil-ity to invoke an entire tragic tale in just six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Subsequent six-word memoirs tend to be lighter, such as the signature six-worder of SMITH founder Larry Smith: “Big hair, big heart, big hurry.” The mini-memoir made the jump from online to print with a cottage industry of books by Smith and coauthor Rachel Fershleiser, including Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writ-ers Famous and Obscure2 and I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure.3 The six-word memoir lends itself to class-room use. “I know teachers all around the country, really, the world,” Smith has noted, “have used it all over, in grade schools, kin-dergarten, grad school.”3 Community-college English professor John Yohe, for example, has his students create six-word memoirs and comment on them in small groups.5 That ice-breaking exercise builds a sense of community in the class while introducing students to the idea of writing within a genre and conducting peer review. To introduce my students to the six-word memoir and convey my expectations for the extra-credit assignment, I posted the follow-ing in our online class: Six-word library memoir The six-word memoir is a Web phe-nomenon and book publishing phe-nomenon. National Public Radio ran a story about it: http://www.npr. org/templates/story/story.php?storyId =18768430. The official Six Word Web site is www.smithmag.net/sixwords. The Six-Word Memoir works like this: people write a real-life story in exactly six words. Here are a few examples from the SMITH Web site: • Not quite what I was planning. • Fifteen years since last profes-sional haircut. • Never really finished anything except cake. For your extra-credit assignment, write a six-word library memoir and post it in this discussion thread: convey in exactly six words a library or reading Robert Miller is reference and instruction librarian, information and library services at the University of Maryland University College, e-mail: rmmiller@umuc. edu © 2011 Robert Miller Robert Miller I came, I saw, I researched Students reflect on library life in six-word memoirs June 2011 339 C&RL News or research experience. Here are a few examples: • Wish this article were full-text. • Contented quiet hours among beautiful books. • What happened to the card catalog? This is meant to be a fun, easy way to earn an extra point. Everyone who writes a six-word library memoir will get the extra credit (your memoir doesn’t have to sound like it was writ-ten by Ernest Hemingway or anything). So have fun, don’t feel like you have to spend a long time on this, and by all means, if you want to express frustration about using the library, I am completely open to that. I want to read six-word memoirs that reflect all types of library or reading or research experiences, not just the perfectly happy ones. Student reflections If the success of an assignment can be mea-sured by the enjoyment the instructor derives from reading students’ submissions, then this assignment was a smash hit. I found myself literally laughing out loud and replying with heartfelt smiley-faces to six-word library memoirs such as: • Must bend databases to my will. That memoir cleverly adopts the idiom of an imperiled comic-book superhero to express important affective aspects of the research pro-cess: the student has obviously felt frustration in her use of the library, while persevering to achieve a research goal. That student, who also wrote that she was familiar with the six-word genre and had enjoyed writing in it before, was able to speak to a common experience of library users with heartening humor. Other students wrote in a similar vein, frankly addressing the problems and sense of discouragement that all researchers have felt: • Would pay for a researching robot. • Every book I need is unavailable! • Researching can be a little complicated. The burdensome and antiquated tradi-tion of properly citing sources—the bane of every beginning researcher—came in for its share of abuse: • Citations can be difficult at times • I find professors grade citations differently • Citations are annoying but necessary requirements Students did, however, report on acquiring citation skills, as well as newfound confi-dence conducting research in general: • Finally, I know how to cite! • Good key terms, great search results. • Confident about using the online library. • Didn’t understand library until LIBS course. • This old dog learned new tricks. One of my favorite memoirs concerns a challenge that academic librarians commonly face, raising the library’s visibility on campus: • Really, my school has a library? If an information literacy class does noth-ing else than make students aware that their school does in fact have a library, the class has succeeded. Some students used their six-word memoir to comment on the class itself. This student spoke of the unexpected rigor of our one-credit class, which, as the instructor, I take as a compliment: • One credit course, three credit research. LIBS 150 is a required course for all un-dergraduates, and several students breathed a sigh of relief in their memoirs: • Finally, checked off my requirements list. C&RL News June 2011 340 • One class closer to my dream. I find the word dream in that last memoir especially evocative. Most UMUC students are adult learners, many of whom have families and work full-time, and simply were not able to obtain a college degree at the traditional age, in their early 20s. For that reason, I fully understand students approaching my or any course with the attitude, “I’ve got to get this done.” Successfully completing my class does bring a student one step closer to the dream of graduation; in the case of an adult learner, it is a dream they may have contemplated for many years. Because my students are adult learners, with a wealth of life experience, I didn’t mind if one or two of them strayed from the narrow path of the assignment and wrote life, rather than library, memoirs. When one student wrote in six words that he was going to become a dad again, I and others in the class congratulated him, and of course he received the one-point extra credit. Several students marked the historic shift we are seeing in reading technology, voicing positive and negative opinions on e-books: • Still love to read paper books! • Is the Kindle version available yet? Other students directed their attention— archly—to libraries themselves: • Libraries are excellent places for sleep-ing. • Wish my library had a PS3. Even if a librarian cannot provide public access to the latest Sony PlayStation, students still express affection for the profession as a whole: • Never met a librarian I disliked. And one student offered librarians implicit advice on creating an exciting, glamorous physical environment for patrons. He had the opportunity to visit the sleek, modern Amsterdam Public Library in the Netherlands and wrote: • This looks like an Apple store. There could be no higher praise coming from that student, an inveterate Mac user. Finally, one student summed up not only what it is like to conduct research online—she was able to give voice to the entirety of our Web-driven Zeitgeist: • Every link leads to another link. The memoirs were posted in a discussion thread, and, though it was not a requirement of the assignment, many students took the time to respond to their classmates’ posts, seconding them, laughing, and cheering each other on. The exercise worked well in an asynchronous online class—students had time to reflect on their library experiences, select just the right six words, and also read and comment on their classmates’ memoirs. The assignment worked particularly well towards the end of the term, as a fast, enjoy-able way for students to earn extra credit when they were busy completing course modules and doing an in-depth research exer-cise. The six-word library memoir encourages students to think critically—and sometimes acerbically—on their experiences as library users and academic researchers. The freedom to share a range of thoughts and emotions about libraries and research—from achieve-ment to puzzlement to frustration—can further the feeling of the class “being in this together,” which is especially helpful in an online class, where a sense of presence and community is essential. Notes 1. The official Six-Word Memoir Web site is at www.smithmag.net/sixwords. 2. Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Mem-oirs by Writers Famous and Obscure (New York: Harper, 2008). (continues on page 356) C&RL News June 2011 356 compass instead of a map, navigating the information landscape becomes a process of sensemaking. Whether we think of the information landscape as a physical or a virtual space, a map is useful only if we try to cross a region that has been charted by someone and remains relatively permanent in patterns of organization. For example, if a student is looking for materials on the history of 19th-century Illi-nois or biographical information on Barbara Kingsolver, the process is relatively easy because those topics parallel information or-ganization in libraries. However, if a student wants materials about cultural forces in the interplay between fundamental Christians and fundamental Muslims in social net-works, much of relevant information will be on the Web where it sometimes unknowable and often unpredictable. In such a wilder-ness, there is no detailed map to guide our every step. In helping our students, we have to use a compass, guided by the lay of the land which forms the context. In the present environment of continuous change, many times with local constraints or needs, it becomes relatively hard to even follow a path that another library or person has charted because that path may no longer exist after the most recent storm. So we need to proceed by our knowl-edge of general landscape features and patterns of information organization. This knowledge may be tacit that we acquire through experience. Sometimes we go in an apparently straight line only to find that we are on a cliff. But it is only from that vantage point we get an overview of how to cross a river or a ravine. Then our back-tracking becomes purposeful. We are not wander-ing in the wilderness. Instead we become improvisational in establishing a strategy to cross the next obstacle. Sometimes it is easier to just sit and wait out the next storm before continuing. This is where we have to use a compass, our knowledge base, and our experiences to improvise a strategy for moving forward in the information land-scape. Even if a path has been charted, it is only good before the next growing season, the next storm, or even the next day. In the manicured garden, we use maps. Our aim is to find the most effective and efficient path to reach a known objective. In the wilderness, we must use a compass to set directions, rely on our understanding of information organization and patterns to craft possible paths, and use our knowledge to recognize when we have found what we are seeking. This is when we look for efficacious search strategies and satisficing solutions. We show the students a direction and give them rules of thumb established through our experience so that they may have a very good chance of finding what they need. Notes 1. “Musings on the 2006 IACRL Confer-ence,” IACRL Newsletter 29 (Fall 2006): 1, 10, 12. Available online at http://iacrl.net /Newsletters/2006fall.pdf. 2. The Future of Leadership: Today’s Top Leadership Thinkers Speak to Tomorrow’s Leaders, eds. Warren Bennis, Gretchen M. Spreitzer, and Thomas G. Cummings (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001), 91–102. 3. Ibid., 92. 3. Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, I Can’t Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Mem-oirs by Teens Famous & Obscure (New York: HarperTeen, 2009). 4. Nancy Stetson, “Six Words, One Idea, Intriguing Challenge: Mini-Memoirs Summa-rize a Life,” Fort Myers Florida Weekly, June 18, 2008, accessed March 12, 2011, http:// fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/news/2008-06- 18/arts_ent/061.html. 5. John, Yohe, “Using Six-Word Memoirs as an Icebreaker and Introduction to the Writing Process,” Teaching English in the Two Year College 38, no. 1 (September 2010): 80-81. (“I came, I saw, I researched,” cont. from page 340

Pre-and post integration communication process of mergers and acquisitions: Toward an innovative employee retention management model

Author: Semidey Adrienne Y.
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 15/07/2011
Field of study

The purposes of the research are 1) To identify specifically discernable characteristics and patterns of communication interactions that will significantly affect the success rate of the newly merged organization (NMO) as it moves beyond the initial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) decision; and 2) To create an innovative employee retention management model for M&A integration that has communication as a critical feature.Pre-and Post Integration Communication Process of Mergers and Acquisitions: Toward an Innovative Employee Retention Management Model Adrienne Y. Semidey, M.A. Doctor of Management Dissertation Poster Session July 15, 2011Purpose and Scope of the Research The purpose and central focus of this study is two fold: 1) To identify specifically discernable characteristics and patterns of communication interactions that will significantly affect the success rate of the newly merged organization (NMO) as it moves beyond the initial mergers and acquisitions (M&A) decision; and 2) To create an innovative employee retention management model for M&A integration that has communication as a critical feature.Research Questions R1: How does communication contribute to successful or unsuccessful M&A activity? R2: How does employee perception of internal and external communication impact their attitudes and behaviors during M&A integration activities? R3: What role does “trust in leadership” play in pre-and post M&A integration activities? R4: How does the alignment of organizational cultures during M&A integration activities influence leadership and staff interaction?Significance of this Research for Management First and foremost, this study contributes to the literature on innovative approaches to communication efforts in M&A integration. Second, it adds to the limited literature on communication and employee retention throughout pre-and post M&A activities. Finally, the study offers a conceptual framework for communicating with and retaining employees during M&A by an Integration Management Team (IMT).Main Literature Themes and Authors Key Variables=Quote from Literature +Additional Leading Authors Communication•Managers spend 80% of there time communicating (Mintzberg, 1973) but about what?•Goetz & Watkins (2008); Charland(2008); Deller(2009); Balle(2008); Ricardo (2010)Culture•Assimilation, Independence or New Culture….That is the question?•Schein (1993); Weick (1987); Trice & Beyer (1993); Chatterjee et al., (1992); Hofstede(1993); Lupina-Wegener et al.., (2011) Leadership•“The difference in effectiveness may be due to differences in leader personality (Lewin, 1947, p. 204).•Ayoko & Hartel (2006); Yukl(2006); House & Aditya (1997); Detert & Burris (2007)Decision MakingA commitment to action (Mintzberg et al., 1976)Bachrach & Baratz (1963); Lewin 1947); Mintzberg (1990)PerceptionIn M&A, an integration manager must bridge gaps in culture and perception (Ashkenas & Francis, 2000).Shamma& Hassan (2009); Baraldiet al., (2010); Joslinet al., (2009); Chun (2009)Employee RetentionM&A is so swift that identifying key people to retain can be difficult (Kummer, 2008).Raukko (2008); Burke (2000); Carroll & Griffith (2008); Gwynne (2002); Zhou & Chiang (2007)Key Propositions Distilledfrom the Literature P1. The integration of human/intellectual capital needs to be embraced by senior management teams (SMTs) for successful M&A integration. P2.SMTs that progressively pursue an innovative communication strategy(ies) early in the M&A process have a greater propensity to retain employees post M&A. P3. Employee retention post M&A integration is adversely impacted when SMTs do not systematically decide and communicate an acculturation process to the NMO workforce. P4. SMTs that develop and incorporate innovative communication strategies into M&A integration activities improve employee retention of the NMO workforce.Conceptual Framework Thesis statement Evenunder the best imaginablecorporate conditions, little or nothreat to survival, careful planning and forethought, adequate fundsto sustain long term equilibrium andawilling,active, and committed workforce with an inspired senior management team (SMT), domestic and international M&Aarefraught with both long and short term human capital retention problematic realities. Therefore, M&A activities require a need forinnovative strategies to address employee retention especially during pre-and post M&A integration.Research Approach & Formationof Argument Search StrategyInclusion/ Exclusion CriteriaQuality AssessmentExecution and ResultsExpert Panel Systematic Review of Literature Detailing Studies of Innovative Approaches To Make M&A Integration Outcomes More Successful Modeled after samples in Petticrew & Roberts, 2006 Findings Literature Used by TopicCommunicationCultureDecision MakingLeadershipPerceptionEmployee Retention •The review on M&A literature brings to light their very high failure rates (Rizvi, 2010; Clayton, 2010; Roach, 2007; Selden &Colvin, 2003; Bruner, 2002). •Communication, and consistent communication, is a key component, if not the most important component, to making M&A activities successful for both the acquiring and the acquired companies (Erdmann, 2011; Kim, 2011; Ricardo, 2010; Wadman, 2010; Bhalet al., 2009; Young, 2009; Goetz & Watkins, 2008; Balle, 2008; Valant, 2008; Grantham, 2007). •There are four factors of success in integration: paired leadership, mutual trust, dispassionate expertise, and transparent communication (Erdmann, 2011). •Most people define themselves and have their identities around their jobs and their careers (Balle, 2008; Weiner & Hill, 2008). •The culture between merging companies presents a double-edged sword: they may enhance the potential for synergies and learning, but can undermine the success of a merger by exacerbating socio-cultural problems. Yet few companies devote significant attention and resources to the management of ‘cultural issues’ inherent in the M&A integration process” (Sparrow, 2010; Agin & Gibson, 2010; Stahl, 2006; Chatterjee et al. 1992; Jemison & Sitkin, 1986) . The key reasons why the motivation and retention of key employees is so difficult is because the damage is done prior to the close of the deal (Kummer, 2008, p. 5).Implications for Management Practice There are both practical (PI) and social (SI) management implications of this study. PI—Organizations, specifically SMTs,need to be aware of and implement innovative employee retention strategies during M&A integration activities and understand the critical role of communication in that innovative process. SI—Organizations need to be aware of how acculturation of the NMO will impact the success or lack thereof of the M&A integration process. PI—Communicating the difference between perceived reality and reality of the decisions made during the M&A integration process by SMTs is vital for the NMO’s success.Future Research Agendas • Conduct a case study analysis of employee retention post M&A across a number of organizations in the same field; i.e. management consulting firms (Booz Allen & Hamilton, ICF International, Research Triangle Institute, Lockhead Martin, etc.) to have a more robust analysis that’s generalizable to their field. • Build on past research on the acculturation process and employee retention during M&A integration to determine if assimilation, independence or a new culture is best and under what circumstances each should be utilized. • Utilize and conduct a study on the Innovative Employee Retention Management Model during pre-and post M&A integration to see its true utility

When communities collide: The mediating role of trust and value in cross boundary knowledge exchange

Author: Kosary Carol L.
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 15/07/2011
Field of study

The purpose of this research is to: Explore mediating role of trust, value, and knowledge on the relationship between tie strength, diffusion, codification, and abstraction and the perceived usefulness and trustworthiness of knowledge obtained through dyadic, group or published sources within cross boundary knowledge exchanges. Examine knowledge domain communities in cross boundary knowledge exchange.When Communities Collide: The Mediating Role of Trust and Value in Cross Boundary Knowledge Exchange Carol L. Kosary Keywords: trust, social capital, knowledge sharing, knowledge sourcing, boundary spanning, communitiesPurpose and Scope of the Research Explored mediating role of trust, value, and knowledge on the relationship between tie strength, diffusion, codification, and abstraction and the perceived usefulness and trustworthiness of knowledge obtained through dyadic, group or published sources within cross boundary knowledge exchanges. Examined knowledge domain communities in cross boundary knowledge exchange.Research Questions What are the antecedents of knowledge source usefulness and trustworthiness and how are they related? ��Are trust and value mediators of a knowledge seeker's perceptions of usefulness and trustworthiness of knowledge acquired in either a dyadic, published or group manner?Significance of this Research for Management Knowledge is the most important asset held by most organizations and knowledge sharing is the chief building block of organizational learning. Organizations must seek and share knowledge beyond their organizational boundaries. Must determine best methods for sharing and acquiring knowledge through knowledge domain communities.Main Literature Themes and Authors Knowledge(Nonaka et al., 1994, 1995, 2000; Boisot, 1995, 1998, 1999) Knowledge Sharing (Szulanski 1996; Borgatti & Cross, 2003; Levin & Cross, 2004; Cranefield & Yoong, 2007) Communities(Lave & Wenger, 1991; Brown & Duguid, 1998; Wenger, 1998, 2000, 2004; Wenger, White, & Smith, 2009) Social Capital (McMillan & Chavis, 1986; Burt, 1992, 1997; Mayer, Davis, &. Schoorman, 1995; Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998; Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998) Conceptual Framework HypothesesResearch Methodology Quantitative; Questionnaire of users of federally funded research database; 357 respondents 12 Constructs (tie strength, sense of community (macro and micro), shared values, competence and benevolence based trust, knowledge trust, knowledge value, codification, diffusion, abstraction, knowledge source usefulness and trustworthiness) Structural equation modeling and mediation analysisFindings Ties strength strong between the knowledge source and the micro level community and weak for macro level community. Significant relationship between community affiliation and competence and benevolence trust only at micro community level. Infers some level of relationship or relationship proxy between sharer and seeker essential for trust.Findings Knowledge Source Usefulness Knowledge Source Trust Mediator Dyadic Group Published Dyadic Group Published Competence Based Trust Partial Mediation No Mediation Indirect Effect Full Mediation (negative impact of tie strength)No Mediation Indirect Effect Benevolence Based Trust No Mediation/ Positive Effect Controlling for Tie Strength No Mediation/ Positive Effect Controlling for Tie Strength No Mediation Full Mediation (negative impact of tie strength)No Mediation No Mediation Shared Values Partial Mediation No Mediation Indirect Effect Full Mediation (negative impact of tie strength)No Mediation Indirect Effect Implications for Management Practice Trust is key. Trust depends, at least in part, on the existence of ties (strong or weak) between a knowledge sharer and seeker. Sharing of knowledge in groups will require the demonstration of trust based on benevolence. Building bridges between knowledge domain communities will be difficult if few ties exist. Use of boundary spanners may assist in tie formation.Future Research Agendas How can tools of Social Network Analysis be made easier for practitioners to use? How do knowledge domain communities form? Will virtualization enhance or hinder their formation and development? How can trust be fostered in a virtual environment? How can boundary spanners be identified, created, or utilized

Higher-order thinking competencies: A cognitive approach to managing innovation

Author: Mull Charles W. II
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 15/07/2011
Field of study

The purpose and scope of the research are as follows: •Purpose: To determine effective methods of managing the cognitive work that produces innovation and the extraordinary value associated with innovation •Scope: The research is limited to reviewing and evaluating previous academic work regarding innovation, creativity, organizational cognition, and higher-order thinking competenciesCharles W. Mull II [email protected] 571-294-4339 Higher-Order Thinking Competencies: A Cognitive Approach to Managing InnovationPurpose and Scope of the Research • Purpose: To determine effective methods of managing the cognitive work that produces innovation and the extraordinary value associated with innovation • Scope: The research is limited to reviewing and evaluating previous academic work regarding innovation, creativity, organizational cognition, and higher-order thinking competenciesResearch Questions • How can managers effectively assess personnel for competency in higher-order thinking? • How can managers effectively train employees to improve higher-order thinking?Significance of this Research for Management • Innovations—novel products, services, or practices that are socially transformative—are a critical driver of value, and this research provides new insights into managing innovative work • Despite the importance of innovation to value creation, and despite the large body of scholarship regarding innovation, studies of the management of the work that creates new knowledge essential to innovation has generally been neglected • The implications of this research and its underlying propositions is that organization should be constructed as incubators of new ideas that are essential to innovation • Evidence-based research supports principles and tools for managing the cognitive work of creating new ideas based on higher-order thinking competenciesMain Literature Themes and Authors Value Proposition of Innovation �� Schumpeter, 1942—Creative destruction Foster, 1982—S-Curve of adaptation of innovation Christensen, 2000—Disruptive innovation Hamel, G., & Välikangas, L., 2003—Accelerated disruptions Creativity or Knowledge Creation Amabile, 1986—Creativity and innovation Nonaka, 1991—Knowledge creating company Simonton, 1999—Cognitive model of innovation Torey, 1999—Two-tiered brain Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001—Revising Bloom’s Taxonomy Assessing and training higher-order thinking skills Bloom, 1956—Bloom’s Taxonomy Feuerstien et. al., 1981—Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment Infante & Rancer, 1982—Attitudes toward argument Galotti, et. al., 1999—Attitudes toward learning Doidge, 2007—Plasticity of the brain and cultureKey Propositions Distilledfrom the Literature 1. Innovation, defined as a novel product, service, or practice that is socially transformative, is a critical driver of value 2. An essential input for producing innovation is the creation of new knowledge -specifically new knowledge produced by higher order thinking skills, sometimes referred to as creativity 3. Studies, especially within the field of educational psychology, form a basis for managers to assess, select, train, and organize workers for higher-order thinking skillsConceptual ModelThesis statement Disruptive or socially transformative innovation creates extraordinary value. The occurrence of disruptive innovations has accelerated pursuant to the proliferation of information communications technology. Work in the post-industrial era should be managed for its innovativeness and creativeness, rather than focusing entirely on its efficiency. The work of creativity is primarily cognitive. The cognitive skills that create socially transformative innovations are higher-order thinking skills. Therefore, organizations should assess and train workers for higher-order thinking skills. And organizations should be organized to serve as incubators of higher-order thinking.Research Approach & Formationof Argument • Exploratory review and selective synthesis of relevant literature • Evidence-based critique and evaluationFindings The Argumentativeness Scale, developed by Infante and Rancer (1982) correlates positively and reliably with critical (higher-order) thinking. Related assessments of attitudes to argument have also demonstrated meaningful correlations. Training using the Feuerstein Instrumental Enrichment has been demonstrated to achieve long-term improvements in higher-order thinking. The implications of this success are that training to improve higher-order thinking must be sustained (several hours per week for one to two weeks) and the training should be culturally mediated. Training that articulates Bloom’s Taxonomyto trainees is more effective at improving higher-order thinking than training that does not articulate the taxonomyImplications for Management Practice A part of the selection process for employment or promotion should include assessments of higher-order thinking competencies An organization can employ tools with demonstrated validity to assess candidates higher-order thinking. These tools include the Argumentativeness Scale and the Attitudes Toward Thinking and Learning Survey. Organizations can develop training programs to improve higher-order thinking among employees. Training is improved by teaching Bloom’s Taxonomy to students. Training should be sustained and culturally mediated through mentoring.Future Research Agendas • Empirical studies of higher-order thinking assessment tools within organizational settings • Further study to determine long-term effectiveness and reliability of case studies and rubrics that employ Bloom’s Taxonomy in training • Further empirical study of correlations between selection criteria and value creation within organizations • Further research to develop new training programs rooted in Feuerstein’s Instrumental Enrichment and tailored to organizational setting

Real-time global instruction in a virtual environment

Author: Mann Barb; Lietzau, Julie Arnold
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 20/10/2011
Field of study

The presentation introduces graduate students to online library and research skills and the tools necessary for effective use a variety of electronic retrieval systems. In addition to a brief explanation of online course real-time sessions, the presentation gives one example on efficiency of library sessions for a group of Doctors of Management students in Taiwan.Real-Time Global Instruction In a Virtual Environment Presenters Barb Mann, Assistant Director for Public Services; Adjunct Associate Professor-GSMT ([email protected]) Julie Arnold Lietzau, Course Manager for UCSP 611 ([email protected]) Planning Considerations What are the pedagogical expectations of students? How is the impact on student instructional needs measured? How is faculty buy-in obtained? Should this technology be required for all or some courses? “Nuts and Bolts” Establish learning outcomes to ensure standardization of the content Offer the same session more than once to meet the “critical mass” of time zones Publicize the sessions in the syllabus, class announcements, and weekly conferences “Nuts and Bolts” Send out technical requirements and the link to online meeting space URL ahead of time Test out the technology ahead of time and have a back-up plan in case of technical issues Monitor the chat box to answer questions and respond to comments “Nuts and Bolts” Use the whiteboard to post Power Point slides Use the share desktop function to demonstrate concepts in real-time Record the session and post the link to the recording in your classroom Assess the session to ensure that learning is happening and make changes as needed UCSP 611 Real-time Class Sessions Online Course Real-Time Sessions UCSP 611, Introduction to Graduate Library Research Skills Offered since spring 2008 2 real-time sessions per course Held before two major projects to help model and explain the process Assessed UCSP611 Real-time Sessions Assessment 83% 84% 85% 86% 87% 88% 89% 90% 91% Fall 2008 Sections with Web Conferencing Sessions Spring 2009 Sections without Web Conferencing Sessions Final Project Grades Sections with Web Conferencing vs. Sections without* Project Grades *The same instructor taught, and the same rubric was used, for all sections0 20 40 60 80 other I was not interested the time offered was not convenient for me If you did not attend, what is the main reason? 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree The session and/or the recordings helped me to better understand the course materials and content 0 20 40 60 80 100 other I thought it was required to interact with the instructor to learn more about library research If you participated what is the main reason you did so? 0 50 100 150 200 maybe no yes I hope to attend other real-time sessions in other courses, if offered DM Taiwan Individual & Group Sessions DM Taiwan Individual Sessions 20 of the first cohort of Doctor of Management Taiwan students 8 librarians provided instruction Sessions held early in the morning, on week-ends, or late at night E-mailed an outline of what was being covered ahead of the session including search strategies and database choices not at all helpful 0% somewhat helpful 10% very helpful 60% extremely helpful 30% Overall, how helpful was your one-on-one library session? (Doctor of Management Students in Taiwan) DM Taiwan Group Sessions Group library instruction session for second cohort of DM Taiwan students RefWorks session for the first cohort of DM Taiwan students Photo courtesy of Dr. Claudine SchWeber DM Taiwan Group, October 2007ILS Virtual Focus Group Virtual Focus Groups Polling feature and whiteboard used for questions/discussion points Voice and/or chat used as communication method Recording, chat transcript and separate polling transcript provide information needed to review Chat Log Summary Poll Data Feedback Received I am going through your lecture at this time. Wow! That is really incredible. I can listen to the lecture at any time that is convenient and/or as many times as I would need. I like this! UCSP 611 student, U. S. Army, stationed in Baghdad, Iraq, spring 2009 What are the benefits? I think having live access to the teacher… is important. That element is missing in online classes… While we live in an online world, typing does not convey emotion or intent nearly as well as speaking with someone. Humanizes learning in online education. It simulates a real classroom situation. It helped me understand the project! What are the drawbacks? You would sometimes have to disconnect and then reconnect because it would freeze at times. The only drawback I can see would be not being able to ask questions real time if you miss the live session. Different time zone... 8-9 pm is my kids bed time... My wireless card did not perform well during session. Additional Comments Please make this model (Wimba) available to students for all other courses... …it was extremely helpful in my understanding of the material. I think it was critical in fact. Thank you! This format is a fantastic addition to the online class setting, especially for those who may be in an online class for their first time. I would like to see more of this format for my classes… THESE SESSIONS ARE AWESOME! Great teaching tool! Reference Lietzau, J. A., & Mann, B. J. (2009). Breaking out of the asynchronous box: Using Web conferencing in distance learning. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 3(3/4), 108-119

Identification of personalized instruction in an online MAT program: A new name and process

Author: Schwartz-Bechet Barbara
Publication venue: University of Maryland University College (UMUC)
Publication date: 2011
Field of study

The following objective was created, identified, and researched over Summer 2011: To analyze current course design in the MAT program to develop an effective eteaching framework in order to strengthen personalized learning to develop maximum human potential and increase student achievement in the MAT program at UMUC. The research was conducted through Summer 2011 and the beginning of Fall 2011. The steps taken to conduct the research included the collection of data within all MAT courses to identify e-teaching and e-learning variables. I then identified, classified and coded the variables associated with personalized learning in the MAT program once I decided upon a definition of personalized learning that meshed with the intent of the study, and I surveyed students’ perceived learning styles. The data collected was used to review the current courses in the MAT to program to better facilitate personalized learning. Outcomes of the research included data collection, analysis, action.Final write up of research conducted as required through the Faculty Development Grant: Identification of Personalized Instruction in an Online MAT Program: A New Name and Process Barbara Schwartz-Bechet November 21, 2011 The following objective was created, identified, and researched over Summer 2011: To analyze current course design in the MAT program to develop an effective e-teaching framework in order to strengthen personalized learning to develop maximum human potential and increase student achievement in the MAT program at UMUC. The research was conducted through Summer 2011 and the beginning of Fall 2011. The steps taken to conduct the research included the collection of data within all MAT courses to identify e-teaching and e-learning variables. I then identified, classified and coded the variables associated with personalized learning in the MAT program once I decided upon a definition of personalized learning that meshed with the intent of the study, and I surveyed students’ perceived learning styles. The data collected was used to review the current courses in the MAT to program to better facilitate personalized learning. Outcomes of the research included data collection, analysis, action. The results indicated that most students identified themselves as visual learners, yet self identified auditory and kinesthetic learners were almost equal in number of respondents. In MAT courses that provided more variety of learning experiences and more choices in assignment presentations, the students did not necessarily have better grades than those in courses that used/expected less multi-media (visual/kinesthetic/combination). The data did indicate that all students in the Spring 2011 and the Summer 2011 semesters were learning. However, there was no indication that personalized learning was affected by course design. The initial research led to more questions that will need to be researched in the near future: Is there any need to increase the types of e-teaching and e-learning choices within courses? Would kinesthetic learning be considered ALL online learning modalities? Is it necessary to consider kinesthetic learning at all? Is it necessary to analyze the individual characteristics, attributes, aspects, and relations to learning objects and their properties in MAT or other UMUC courses to address personalized learning? During the presentation of the research at the Lunch and Learn Lecture Series on November 17, 2011, many of the questions were thoughtfully discussed and led to other possible avenues of research and activities. Overall agreement of participating individuals, across programs and schools, at the session believed it would be beneficial to develop more e-learning choice/options of for students at UMUC. Development of e-teaching options did not seem to be as readily embraced due to time and money constraints and the need for students to understand material across a wide realm of learning media rather than being able to consistently select that which is ‘easier’ for the student. An overall observation of the discussion following the presentation implied that personalized instruction was not currently being promoted in courses at UMUC. Accomplishments, Outcomes, and Upcoming Actions: Research was conducted during the time frame indicated (Summer 2011, completed in early Fall 2011). The results were shared at the Share Fair October 20, 2011 at UMUC and at a Lunch and Learn Faculty Research Seminar on Nov. 17, 2011. A proposal to present the research at an international forum was sent and confirmed received by the ICELW conference Nov. 2011. In addition, based upon the presentation at the Lunch and Learn Seminar, a group of faculty members are planning to convene a "brown bag" lunch and invite folks to share learning and assessment tools they use other than written papers to further examine alternative tools for teaching and assessing beyond the simple written word. I have been asked to lead off at the brown bag lunch with the list of the strategies shared at the seminar that had been used in the summer classes. I have also begun the process of working with a faculty member in the MAT program to develop a pilot module that will include attributes of multiple e-teaching and e-learning opportunities based upon the individual characteristics, attributes, aspects, and relations to learning objects and their properties in MAT in the first course of the MAT program. The module will be created in Spring 2012 and implemented in Summer 2012. I also intend to write an article to submit to an education journal or to a request for a chapter proposal in an upcoming book

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