Selecting Distance Learning Technologies

Scenario: Collaborative Training Environment

A new automated staff information system was recently purchased by a major corporation and needs to be implemented in six regional offices. Unfortunately, the staff is located throughout all the different offices and cannot meet at the same time or in the same location. As an instructional designer for the corporation, you have been charged with implementing a training workshop for these offices. As part of the training, you were advised how imperative it is that the staff members share information, in the form of screen captures and documents, and participate in ongoing collaboration.

Introduction

This scenario describes a situation that requires an asynchronous learning solution delivered to participants at different-times in different-places with embedded methods for learner collaboration. Two distance learning technologies would be effective in meeting these parameters: wikis and a collaborative document sharing application.

Wikis

In order to achieve learner collaboration and the ability to share information, screen captures, and documents, a Wiki is one tool of choice. A wiki is an online space that is typically created and edited by a group of people, and is an effective tool for asynchronous collaboration and combining information into a single resource (Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012). Wikis have the following characteristics that make them ideal for collaboration:

• They are dynamically organized; meaning content is grouped by topic, can be put on specific pages, and can be hyperlinked together at the discretion of the wiki members.
• Wikis can share practically any type of information including text, video, and pictures.
• Wiki edits are a community project that involved collaboration from the team.
• Wikis are designed to promote a shared concept of a subject through group planning, research, and critical thinking.
• Wikis can be used to create a shared document or resource (West & West, 2009).

Overall, wikis are an excellent tool because they not only create collaboration in the moment of training, but they become a lasting resource for the team. At Universitas 21 Global (U21Global), wikis have been successfully used in their mandatory new faculty-training program, which is a three-week online course (Gullett & Bedi, 2007). Throughout the course, the new faculty who are required to complete this training before teaching, work together to create a shared wiki of the information they are learning. In one cohort group that worked together for three weeks, they amassed a wiki with 180 pages that was collaboratively edited over 3200 times. Successful deployment of a wiki in the automated staff information training scenario would encourage group collaboration and give the organization a lasting resource after the training.

Collaborative Document Sharing

In addition to the wiki, a collaborative document sharing application would be a beneficial tool for this automated staff information system training scenario. One such collaborative application is Basecamp, which is a multifaceted, web-based, project management tool (Turnbull, 2012). Basecamp provides several collaborative tools including document sharing, multi-user document editing, discussion boards, shared calendars, task lists, and document version control (Basecamp, 2013). This application allows group members to simultaneously share documents, edit documents, track document changes, talk about documents, assign tasks, review calendar timelines, and track projects. The online training could use basecamp as a collaborative project-based application for group assignments.

The Minnesota Department of Health (2012) is currently using Basecamp as a collaborative peer-to-peer sharing and learning application. This health care improvement network spans across the state of Minnesota and gains input from all local pubic health and tribal government entities in the Department of Health. Their Basecamp is segmented into seven topical forums that feature discussion boards, shared calendars, shared documents, and tasking. Site members can share ideas, add resources, and edit documents, all in an effort to encourage and inreasing peer-to-peer sharing and knoweldge management across this organization.

References 

Basecamp. (2013). Basecamp is famously easy to use. Basecamp. Retrieved from http://basecamp.com/easy-to-use

Gullett, E., & Bedi, K. (2007). Wiki: A new paradigm for online training and development of faculty. ICT: Providing choices for learners and learning. ascilite Singapore 2007.

Minnesota Department of Health. (2012). Guide to basecamp for local public health and tribal governments in minnesota. Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives. Retrieved from http://www.health.state.mn.us/healthreform/ship/docs/eval2/basecampguide.pdf

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance (5th Edition ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Turnbull, C. (2012). Using basecamp for your web design project management. Webdesign Tuts Plus. Retrieved from http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/workflow/using-basecamp-for-your-web-design-project-management/

West, J., & West, M. (2009). Using wikis for online collaboration: The power of the read-write web. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.