In our coursework for last terms Online Pedagogy class I discovered the following article. It gelled the whole project selection process for me in an instant.

See, A. & Teetor, T. S., (2014) Effective e-Training: Using a Course Management System and e-Learning Tools to Train Library Employees, Journal of Access Services, 11:2, 66-90, DOI: 10.1080/15367967.2014.896217, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15367967.2014.896217

Between our three libraries, we operate with a crew of seventy student employees across the several service desks. Our challenge is to turn teenagers into service professionals quickly and consistently. We focus intently on their training and have developed over the years a toolkit of techniques and resources for the task. We have flirted with using the college’s learning management system (lms) in this case Moodle for five or six years and yet never made the commitment. The three links below trace the development of a Moodle unit. I will be piloting the unit this spring. We have selected new hires for the JanPlan and spring terms as well returning employees who we are grooming, potentially for supervisory roles, to participate.

https://ed655-fall2014.community.uaf.edu/2014/10/09/article-review-5-bob-heath/

https://ed655-fall2014.community.uaf.edu/2014/11/07/professional-demeanor-training-unit/

https://ed655-fall2014.community.uaf.edu/2014/12/03/final-project-rational-and-method-bob/

Owen, however has clearly managed expectations when he writes, this:

If you’re enrolled in the M.Ed. program, you may eventually take—or have taken—the Online Pedagogy course. That course and this one are complementary. The culminating project in the Online Pedagogy course is a unit-sized curriculum plan. The culminating project in this course is a complete online learning module. In both courses, you will be writing learning objectives. In adherence to UAF’s student code of conduct, you may not turn in the same assignment(s) for both courses. You may submit work on similar subject matter as long as the product is substantively distinct. For example, you might work on two separate learning modules for the same subject. These would have distinct learning objectives, assessments, and activities. Contact me if you have questions about how to integrate assignments in the two courses.

So, obviously I will be creating an altogether new project though I will be working in the same arena. Last term I proposed three potential modules settling in the end on the Professional Demeanor unit described above. The other two, were Emergency Procedures, and Photocopiers/Printers. In truth I wish I had the experience of teaching the unit on demeanor in hand already. That experience would help with evaluating these topics. Nonetheless, I am still pleased to be teaching and developing at the same time since I believe a virtuous cycle can be accomplished in that practice.

One of the key conclusions in the article above is that online education has a place in this work/training environment but that it like the flipped/blended classroom has to be accompanied by face-to-face training and coaching (these are two distinct tasks in developing employees). As we all know perfect teaching/training does not necessarily equate to perfect performance. This is in part because there is a difference between knowledge and skills. Therefore, in the workplace, rehearsal/practice and coaching build skills and because we evaluate performance (changes in behavior) as indicating learning, we cannot rely entirely on online presentation. Accordingly, which of the topics lends themselves more to a blended and flipped environment? If I am limited to these two topics then Emergency Response is probably the more fertile ground.

Part of me is still holding out for a better topic for this course work….

I just had a flash of inspiration! A topic close to my heart is leadership and so a third potential is a unit focused on our student supervisors. This topic fits extremely well in the blended/flipped environment.   We depend heavily on the student supervisors and yet much of their training is real world, pushed into the deep end — not the best, or most systematic learning.

So, there you go: Leadership/Management for new Supervisors.