I realize many of my posts this week have looked at how project management skills can develop in a non-business setting. This is mostly because I have been preparing to take a certification exam in project management, trying to fill in the gaps in my knowledge. I may not go through with the third test, and just let me certification level sit, but I really haven’t decided yet.
As I was reading one of the books, though, I was looking at the description of cerain processes and thinking, ‘Wow! That’s a skill I learned in my teacher prep program,’ or, ‘I gained that skill through hard work at the museum.’ It was really interesting.
Teachers are one of those very underestimated groups. Each teacher has to be able to create programs with no real knowledge of the audience (students) they’ll be presenting to. They have to prepare resources, in the hopes those resources will be the right ones. Then, they have to be able to change course mid-stream if the original plan doesn’t work out. (For newer teachers, this requires having a back-up plan. For those who teach in cultural institutions, that requires over-planning and then designating what is crucial to a workshop, and what is going above and beyond.)
Teachers have to be everything. Even when they create a classroom environment that supports student exploration and peer teaching, they have to know where the class is going, and be able to guide them there in a timely manner relying on whatever resources are on-hand. Teachers are problem-solvers with a good deal of creativity. It’s not an easy career, and you really do have to absolutely love it to be able to do it well.
One of these days, I’m going to develop a fact sheet about myself that is going to detail the unusual way I acquired skills in project management, training, and technical writing.
Posted by Rebecca as Responsibility at 7:59 AM EDT
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This month, Rosa Say has hosted the Lifelong Learning forum at Talking Story. I was quite flattered to be invited to share my thoughts on the topic early in the month, and have found myself in rather impressive company.
The forum wraps up this week, but twenty-seven authors have come together to share their thoughts and experiences on learning throughout life. Every single story is a motivating exploration on the benefits of always being willing to learn something new and to hcallenge yourself.
Hop over and read. You’ll find yourself inspired to seek out opportunities for personal growth and to push yourself.
Posted by Rebecca as Experiential Learning at 7:43 AM EDT
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I’ve spent a bit of time over the past couple of months trying to determine if I have technical writing experience and how much of my background has been technical writing.
Those who have taken the time to look over my background have noted that I do actually have a lot of experience. They then feel compelled to lecture me on being a technical writer.
Initially, it bothered me. They could see form my background that I have developed a number of successful guides and training documents over the years. Why were they lecturing me on basic points of writing for others to interpret and use?
It slowly dawned on me that in nearly every case, the person was either talking to me, or reading one of my blogs. They weren’t seeing actual products I’d developed, and as a result were a bit concerned that my normal vocabulary was finding its way into my work.
The key to writing anything that you expect people to read and understand without you there to explain it is to write simply. No long complex sentences. No “SAT words” (as my tech writer friends keep telling me). Jargon should be kept to a minimum because you honestly never know what background the reader is going to have.
Your writing should be accessible to anyone in your potential audience. If you find that it isn’t, then perhaps it’s time to sit down and rework it so it is!
Posted by Rebecca as Teaching methods at 7:54 AM EDT
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I’ve been doing a lot of reading on e-learning and educational games while trying to sort out my goals for the next phase of my life. The one thing I keep reading over and over again is that learning objects should be light in entertaining components as those tend to distract from the learning objective.
This point is being made through case studies, research stats released, and countless blog posts sharing this information ad nauseum.
The funny thing is, for all the talk of how entertaining elements should be minimized from technology-based learning opportunities, it seems to focus on technology. One would hope that any educator, formal or informal, low tech or high tech, would read each of these and realize that the message isn’t strictly for those creating e-learning curriculum.
It also seems to shut out the possibility of embedded entertainment actually having some educational value. How many of us start singing Schoolhouse Rock for everything from grammar to social studies to the planets? I have a silly regroup song that I’ve been known to teach to kids who are struggling with that concept.
When there’s a point, a bit of knowledge wedged into the entertainment, it can be a useful learning device. When it is there merely to dress up a lesson, then it becomes a distraction whose inclusion should be rethought.
Posted by Rebecca as e-learning, Teaching methods at 7:46 AM EDT
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The more I think about it, the more I really think I want to shift into writing for educational games. I’m working on seriously developing the structure of a choose-your-own-adventure style game revolving around deductive reasoning. I’m reading Elementary and Middle School Mathematics:Teaching Developmentally, and I’m thinking about how I would incorporate different skills into game scenarios.
I’ve always loved to play games, and I know that well-structured games can be excellent learning situations. I’ve watched it happen!
It would be a great use of my curriculum development skills, would constantly challenge my problem solving and creativity, and would let me write like crazy.
I think I’m getting closer to figuring out what I want out of my next big adventure!
Posted by Rebecca as e-learning, Experiential Learning at 7:36 AM EDT
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In reponse to growing pressures from the business community to turn out people capable of writing a clear, complete sentence, states and stardized testing companies are incorporating writing assessments into their tests and their standards. Oftentimes, though, this careful groundwork laid throughout high school (and elementary school) is wiped out by late-night rushes to finish last-minute projects in college and communicating through electronic means. (I know very, very few people who can successfully shift back and forth between AOLspeak/1337 and any sort of decnet writing.)
Recently, a manifesto encouraging web designers to learn to write (pdf) graced Change This, but I really think everybody should read it. It’s not just the designers who struggle with communicating clearly. I’ve seen teachers who couldn’t form a coherent email if their life depended on it. We all need one big writing refresher.
Posted by Rebecca as Responsibility at 8:29 AM EDT
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Another step in the whole instructional designer vs. educational technologist debate in my head got more complicated over the weekend (my weekends are becoming time for hot and heavy inner reflecting) when I discovered this interesting article on interaction design.
I’m pretty certain that i don’t really want to be an instructional designer. They focus on adult education, and my experience is mainly children. I’m not terribly willing to give up on that.
Educational technology sounds like a good fit because I can develop curriculum and help design its implementation. It would satisfy two personal needs with one stone. I could work on K-12 material, create educational games. It really sounds like a great place for me!
Now I’m faced with interaction design, which actually does sound a lot like educational technology in many respects. I’m still trying to do some research to see if there are really any differences. Hopefully, it won’t and I’ll be able to go on my merry way. Anyone who is experienced with interaction design is welcome to offer what they know in the comments.
At any rate, I’m still struglling with answering questions about my professional goals once I get on my new path. I feel like I’m starting from Ground Zero.
Posted by Rebecca as e-learning, Experiential Learning, Teaching methods, Information Architecture at 8:15 AM EDT
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If you’ve poked around the site at all, you’ll know that I am primarily a teacher. Regardless of where I am, what type of role I’m supposed to be filling, I teach. It’s a sickness, I really can’t stop myself at all.
Not that anybody thinks this is a problem, but I’ve often wondered if they offer self-help groups for us teachers. Some sort of Teachers’ Anonymous where I could stand up and say, “Hi, I’m Rebecca, and I can’t stop teaching.”
Of course, I like to think that earning a reputation as a fount of knowledge is the cure for the inability to stop teaching (we’ll ignore that it only seems to enable me). Over the last month, I’ve been asked a couple of times to share my thoughts on education and lifelong learning. At work, everyone is very excited that I’m creating a book full of my training notes, the procedures I know how to do, and anything else I can think to stuff in there.
I have been a teacher most of my life. I’m a trainer. I’m a writer. If I can find a way to share what I know, I do it! It seriously is an illness!
It should be the same with you. Take what you know and find a way to share it with at least three other people! Sharing knowledge is by far one of the easiest ways to preserve that knowledge.
Posted by Rebecca as Knowledge Management at 7:52 AM EDT
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Mom hates being the star of my blog posts, but she really is a neat woman. They say that most habits and attitudes a child has toward learning are shaped by the parents’ habits, and my mom is a great example of that.
For as long as I can remember, my mother has never been afraid to learn new things. When she wants to try out a new crafting techinque, she finds resources to help her, sits down, and learns it. Lately, she’s been trying to increase her geek factor, and naturally she’s winning. She finds a problem to tackle on the computer, and agian finds resources and educates herself enough to handle the problem.
Is it any wonder, then, that I do the same thing? Any time I’m confronted with something I don’t know, I don’t think twice about hunting down a book, an expert, a collection of web resources, etc. I have Mom to blame for that.
Think about how you approach learning. Do you seek out learning experiences, opportunities for growth? How do you go about donig that? What would someone else learn from watching your activities as a lifelong learner?
Posted by Rebecca as Experiential Learning, Learning methods at 7:54 AM EDT
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