Blog #12: Workplace Expectations

After reading "The Future of Learning the Workplace" I believe we will be learning about technologies that will impact our job in the future workplace everyday. Most people I know have smartphones and tablets. Devices such as these will be the future of the workplace. With these devices and the emergence of cloud computing, learning professionals are no longer bound by the workplace, meaning they can work from virtually anywhere and access the information they need. This new unlimited workplace allows for the globalization of business in a way that has previously not been a realistic possibility. Informal learning will be more prevalent in the future workplace. Social media will play a bigger role in business and e-learning will be much more popular tan it is today. Technologies that have not even been invented yet will play a role in the workplace of the future.

http://www.mindflash.com/blog/2012/01/a-review-of-2011-and-the-future-of-workplace-learning/
http://www.slideshare.net/UpsideLearning/mobile-learning-the-future-of-workplace-learning-15080571
http://www.dontlookhere.com/blog/2013/03/11/why-mobile-learning-is-the-future-of-workplace-learning/
http://id697-f12-bateman.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Blended_Workplace.pdf

Blog $11: IT - Always Changing

Whenever someone tries to force help on you, it always feels awkward. In an ITEC class during my sophomore year, a guy sitting next to me saw I was lagging behind a little in the hands-on demonstration we were having that day. I felt a little uncomfortable because I did not ask for the help. It made me feel like he thought I was not smart enough to figure it out on my own. I gladly accepted his help as he was giving it, but it was not the most comfortable of situations. Based in that experience I think it  would be wise for organizations to not force learning initiatives on its employees. It would be best for the employee to take part in the learning initiative on their own accord. This will serve to enhance the learning experience for the learner. If the employee is forced into the learning initiative, they may not be enthusiastic and willing to learn.

Blog #10: Why Assess?

Assuming a learning and performance department completed a needs assessment by identifying a group of employees who need to learn project management, how would they identify relevant evaluation criteria? The most relevant evaluation criteria the performance department to pull from would be the employees knowledge of the PMBOK(Project Management Body of Knowledge). Both certification tests(CAPM and PMP) you have to pass to become a project manager directly relate to information found in the PMBOK. There are practice tests available similar to that of the CAPM and PMP that are available to take as practice. Administering these practice tests to the employees undergoing the needs assessment could serve as the evaluation criteria.

Blog Post #8 : Informal Learning

Paper-based mediated instructional methods remain popular despite the widespread availability of computer-based instruction for several reasons. Paper-based methods are cheaper to provide to a large mass of students.  Computer based instruction is much more expensive compared to paper-based methods. Supplying elementary and middle school students would require constant maintenance and updates. Support costs, as well as hardware and software costs, would be much more expensive for schools who already have tight budgets. Paper-based methods have remain popular because that has been the norm for so long. It would be hard to integrate an entirely new way of learning and teaching into the school systems. Training teachers would be a very painstaking task and as mentioned before, IT support costs would be high. These are some of the reasons why I believe paper-based methods will remain popular over computer-based methods.