The Art of Communicating Effectively

As we have probably all realized our interpretations of various messages changes based on the median being used to deliver that message. Often times in email messages tone can be misinterpreted or misread which then makes the reader think the writer is being rude, demanding or possibly unprofessional. Also, depending on the author’s or readers backgrounds, education, technical experience and culture can also dictate how a message is expressed or interpreted. In my previous role I was supporting online Master’s students from all over the world. Often times I would have to be extremely clear and conscious of the language I was using in my email correspondences with them. I could not assume all of them understood something I was implying or assume they understood what I required of them. It was always best to lay out clearly any points or items that I wanted them to understand.

In watching the Media “The Art of Effective Communication”, I was surprised that my opinion of the message did not change all that much. Going in the order of reviewing the email to voicemail to a face-to-face message the tone, content and my understanding of the message remained the same. I found the author of these messages to have excellent tone in their email and they did not come across as confrontation and remained professional in their email communication. The communication that best conveyed their true meaning was the face to face message as you could easily see her tone, expressions, body language and need for the report to be delivered.

Depending on where your project team is I think it is best to have face-to-face meetings. This allows everyone to express themselves fully and for the complete team to witness what is being said. This way if there is something that everyone does not quite understand they can get clarification on the spot as oppose to waiting on an email response or even following through the situation with their own interpretation and possibly getting it wrong.

Learning from a project "Post-Mortem"

One of the most difficult projects I have faced was a group project completed online with classmates from my Online University program. Having not met these group members it was difficult to know their strengths, weaknesses, trust their capabilities and we were in few different time zones. The most difficult aspect of the project was our varying schedules because of time zone conflicts. It made it extremely difficult to plan group meetings, check in with each other and review issues with one another. One eventually made the project successful was three of the six group members taking over and completing the project. This made the project less stressful ensured it would be completed with the quality of work expected from our University.

The processes that we included were developed by our project manager. We had strict deadlines and specific requirements organized for each group members. The project member helped to ensure everyone understood their tasks and deadlines. This process ensured we remained on track as we had issues with group members in the beginning not contributing to the group and completing their work. So, the project manager ensured we reworked the plan in order to ensure we would remain on track and still produce quality work.

It was difficult to really learn or prevent some of the issues that arose in this group project as it was with members that were online and that I did not know. What I did learn is that some group members really pulled through and were willing to go the extra mile to fix the issues from the other group members. It was a great feeling to be working with these people as they produced quality work and worked extremely hard to make up the difference from those that did not complete their work.

Perceptions of Online Learning

Online learning is the future of education, training and knowledge transfer. I realize this is a pretty bold statement however, I believe distance learning will continue to grow in the next 5-10 and even 10-20 years. With the use of computers, the internet and mobile phones increasing all over the world we definitely see how education and knowledge will continue to be passed through these means. As Dr. Siemens states this week in our Media program, there is growing acceptance of online learning. This is being fueled by increased online communication, new communications technologies and growing comfort with online discourse. (Siemens G, 2011)

I envision more campus Universities will have blended learning applications so that students have an online portal for discussion and to submit assignments. The same will apply for high school students the online requirements I believe will continue to grow so students are able to do more work online. Kids today growing up not knowing live without computers and the internet so learning online will be easy for them as they will be using computers from day one that they are able to click the on button. On a workplace training level, distance learning will become the norm. I believe more and more companies will outsource their training requirements to instructional designers so that training can be completed at a worker’s desk or at home. This will make it easier for the organization as it will be less logistics and more cost effective.

Currently, the field of instructional design is still unknown as many people have never heard of it or know what it involves. I believe when more people understand and know about instructional design than, the understanding and perceptions of distance learning will change. When more people understand the process and those individuals involve I believe that will help to clear up the stigmas and stereotypes that some people, some companies and some countries have about distance learning. On a personal level as an instructional designer I hope to improve societal perceptions with ensuring what I create and develop will be of excellent quality. With the internet it is very easy for someone to look up your work and see the quality you create. So I will ensure that that work I am developing makes me happy to put my name on.

Our course project this module really made me realize how likely it is that organizations will continue to train their employees using distance learning and online training tools as this is more cost effective and easier to organize for an organization. When I discussed this module with anyone many people were fascinated with the idea of our corporate training going online. At the moment whenever someone asks me what I am studying or what my project work is I always have something positive to say and am essentially educating the person on instructional design. I am a positive force as I am informing anyone I speak to about my program and what it involves. It definitely will have a snowball effect as anybody I have informed about the field of instructional design could then pass the information to others.

However, with knowing the positives of Instructional Design I also see the skeptics and negatives opinions out there about distance learning. As an advocate for instructional design I also can see how many are completely ignorant to the process, to what a good distance learning program is and thus who are the ‘good’ distance educators out there. Unfortunately, there are definitely many countries and organizations that still do not accept online learning as they do not see it as a real program. They feel that online programs are fake or do not compare to a traditional classroom learning experiences. I am hoping what Dr. Siemens said will hold true that the more we interact and connect with those all over the world, the more there will be an acceptance of distance education. (Siemens, George, 2011) I believe as long as governments recognize the credibility of an Online learning program than the public will feel confident and accept it.