Sample Assignments

Mind Map of Distance Education

Posted: 6/19/2012
Written: 6/17/2012
Class: OMDE 601

Mind Map of Instructional Design

Posted: 6/19/2012

Written:
Class: DETT 607

Assignment#1 Learning Design

Posted: 6/23/2012

Written: 6/18/2012

Class: DETT 607

Assignment 1: Context Analysis

Word Count: 1305

Cultural Sensitivity: Japan for the American Businessman

Heather E. Martin 6/18/2012

Introduction

Japan is emerging as one of the world’s largest economic markets, listed third after the United States and China.  The yen is continuing to grow stronger in relation to the American dollar (United States Department of Commerce, 2012). Despite this fact, many companies are unsure as to how to best approach the cultural difference in this foreign and, to many Americans, exotic market.  Narcissus Inc. is looking to expand its foreign market to include Tokyo, Okinawa, and Kyoto Japan.  In order to successfully interact with both Japanese investors and companies, Narcissus team members need to understand Japanese culture and etiquette.

Organizational context

Narcissus Inc. is a medium-sized but rapidly expanding cosmetics company specializing in organic facial scrubs and moisturizers. Its mission is to provide the world with “quality organic health and cosmetic products that proves that beauty is all-natural” (Narcissus Inc., 2012). 

Its primary location is situated in Washington D.C. but has recently opened new locations in New York, NY, Portland, OR, and is looking to expand into the international market.  Narcissus Inc. wishes to open three new locations in Japan and is preparing to send a number of market analysts to Tokyo to interact with local businessmen and establish a presence internationally, prior to the store’s “Grand Opening” in May of 2013.

These analysts are the first ambassadors of Narcissus Inc., and as such will need to demonstrate the level of quality Narcissus Inc. stands for.       

Problem analysis

After a preliminary meeting with the Japan Cosmetic Suppliers Association, business CEO Teresa Brinkley was unable to gage any interest in Narcissus Inc., and subsequently none of her calls made thereafter were returned.  A secondary meeting was arranged with the Cosmetics Importers Association of Japan where she was tactfully informed that her long hair and jewelry had led the JCSA to believe she was an “office-lady” and therefore not of consequence in the company. 

While some ignorance is generally expected of foreigners, it is crucial to make a good first impression.  In addition, offending potential clients and investors will seriously detract from Narcissus Inc.’s reputation and could result in severely decreased investments from the Japanese market.

Narcissus Inc.’s analysts are not experienced with Japan, or the particulars of Japanese culture required to conduct business there.  To function effectively the analysts will need to understand Japan’s rich history and culture, with an emphasis on business etiquette. Navigating the complexities of Japanese business etiquette, and reacting with sensitivity to a new and challenging environment will require careful preparation and guidance.

An e-learning solution was determined to be the most appropriate course of action to solve this issue due to the number of challenges involved. The analysts are spread between three different states requiring traditional training to require travel expenses. The e-learning solution has the ability to provide highly personalized training to the specific needs involved and gives the learner access to information at any time and any hour and allows for immediate input from anywhere in the world.  This allows the learners to continue their training and refresh their memory while in Japan.    

Audience/target population analysis

The intended learner for this course will be middle to upper-level Narcissus Inc. employees.  In the interest of improving relations with both the market abroad and the Japanese tourist and immigrant population at home that all employees at a management level or higher will be required to take this cultural sensitivity training.

These learners range in age from 24-71 and are a mix of male and female, leaning towards female (63% female, 37% male). They come from a large assortment of backgrounds and 10% of them are English Second Language. As entry-level students they will be expected to read and speak English, understand basic computer usage, and possess rudimentary internet skills (i.e., ability to access email, use a word processor).

The large range in age of the learners and backgrounds will create a unique challenge.  While all learners are required to speak and read English the 10% who are ESL will require a heavier influence on the graphic versus the textual.  The majority of the learners will have familiarity with computers but the older learners are unlikely to have taken an e-learning based course before and will require additional instructions.

Proposed solution – course overview

Cultural sensitivity training is a requirement for doing successful business in Japan.  Failing to be aware of small cultural facts can result in poor sales and poor business relations.  For example, Wiggens Athletics was doing poorly in the Japanese market and upon hiring a consultant discovered the result was they were packaging their goods in amounts of four, which is considered very unlucky in Japanese culture.  Upon revising their advertising strategy based on the consultant’s recommendations and repackaging, their sales increased vastly (Goldman, 1994).

This course is designed to provide Narcissus Inc. employees with the background and knowledge to effectively operate in a Japanese environment. 

It will provide instruction on:

Culture – Japan has an exciting and nuanced culture; understanding and interpreting it will help learners understand the Japanese market

           

History – Japan’s isolationist history has had a large impact on its business practices.

Business Etiquette – Knowing how to operate politely in a Japanese professional environment is crucial to doing successful business there.

Each of these three topics will be explored in-depth with provided readings, combined with opportunities for reflections and observations. The course will be led by a teacher using the “teacher model” creating a structured learning environment and leading discussions. It will also focus on an ongoing dialogue utilizing both conferencing and Skype. Using the diverse group as a positive learning experience, the large age range and background level should provide a variety of perspectives and allow from the students to learn from, and support, each other.

Course goals and objectives

Completion of this course should allow students to gain greater understanding of Japanese culture and business conduct, helping Narcissus Inc. enter the world market.  Upon completion, learners should be capable of entering a meeting with a Japanese businessman and conduct themselves in a culturally appropriate fashion. In addition they should demonstrate greater cultural understanding when dealing with Japanese customers or business partners in the United States or abroad.

Delivery media analysis

This course will be supplemented by numerous online based multimedia.

Films, provided by an online video library, will provide students with a glimpse of life in Japan, as perceived by the Japanese.

Online textbooks will be provided for key readings, none excessively challenging for ESL learners.

Skype will be utilized for the opportunity for face-to-face interaction with the instructor and provide opportunities to practice what has been learned.  The final lesson will involve each student individually scheduling a Skype meeting with a Japanese business professional.

Conclusion

In a 2007 survey, “63.1% of (responding companies) plan(ned) to expand their business in Japan in the future” (Japan External Trade Organization: Invest Japan Department, 2008).  However, in this same survey half of the responding companies also reported the primary drawback to business in Japan was “closed character and particularity of the Japanese market” (Japan External Trade Organization: Invest Japan Department, 2008). 

Cultural sensitivity training will help Narcissus Inc. to understand the Japanese business mindset and successfully enter the international market.

  

References

Goldman, A. (1994). Doing business with the Japanese : a guide to successful communication, management, and diplomacy. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Japanese External Trade Organization. (2008, March). Survey on attitudes of foreign-affiliated companies toward direct investment in Japan 2007. Retrieved from http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/reports/survey/fdi/

Narcissus Inc. (2012). Retrieved from Narcissus Incorporated: http://narcissus/ourmission.com

Peters, O. (2000). Learning & teaching in distance education. New York: Routledge.

United States Department of Commerce. (2012). Doing business in Japan: 2012 country commercial guide for U.S companies. Retrieved from http://www.mac.doc.gov/japan-korea/nte/2012ccg-Japan.pdf

  

Waves of Distance Education Grid

Posted: 8/16/2012

Written: 8/15/2012

Class: OMDE 601

First Wave - Correspondence / Independent Study

1. Forces dominant in the larger context that drove development of DE (e.g., demand for educational access, government policies that determined the development and shape of DE such as funding and equity policies) End of colonialism in Africa & free education	2. Theories/Ways of Understanding DE	3. Institutional and organizational development (systems; ways of operating)	4. Prevailing teaching/learning theories/methodologies/ Prevailing view of role of teacher and role of learner	5. Predominant technologies
Students were in remote areas or in colonial outposts, or were dislocated from their homes and communities during war. Also a way for women and minorities to obtain higher education.  Compulsory schooling introduction widened the model. In most of the African countries, DE had been ideal because of the remote rural areas. Here people can further their education Missionary activities in Africa	Attempt to reduce the distance between teacher and student by correspondence, for example letter writing. Spread of scientific knowledge through letter writing (Plato).  Providing technical training materials to rural students, such as in trades or agriculture. Practical training in building, woodworking	Correspondence: Exchange via post office (delivery mail). Increased ability to mass-produce and distribute printed material. Local postal service	Correspondence model. For example, the Rapid Results College, London University sent materials to student.  Student had to take final exams at the university site.  Teaching without dialogue, but still structured. Role of teacher is to provide materials and validate learning, role of student is to study provided material and assimilate it.	Printed materials, emerging reliable postal access.

Second Wave - Systems Approach to Education / Distance Teaching Institutions

1. Forces dominant in the larger context that drove development of DE (e.g., demand for educational access, government policies that determined the development and shape of DE such as funding and equity policies) Free education in African independent states.	2. Theories/Ways of Understanding DE	3. Institutional and organizational development (systems; ways of operating). Institutional evolution in DE	4. Prevailing teaching/learning theories/methodologies/ Prevailing view of of role of teacher and role of learner	5. Predominant technologies
Open university as an opportunity for students to study what they want, as a development of a democratic society, as part of the industrialization of the working process in the production of goods. Only 8% went to higher education in Britain, before DE.  Driven by political recommendations & push research as well as teaching (Un of Phoenix only focuses on teaching). Study centers with part-time tutors, radio, TV, printed materials (not just syllabus and readings). 40% were school teachers who would get higher salaries with a degree resulted in good success rates, up to 30 people created the courses with project manager and instructional designer.	Democratization of university study. A place for teaching as well as research.	Centralized design and production of materials. Decision to hire top-quality faculty and giving them time to research led to credibility. Open Universities; online learning institutions.	Sound pedagogical principles contributed to success (Constructivism, Andragogy, Transactional Distance). Rachal, J.R. (2002). Open to people and places, but with set starting and end points. Self-improvement idea by studying and working hard.  Huge untapped market (supply and demand).	Study centers with part-time tutors, radio, TV Printed materials (not just syllabus and readings). Satellite transmissions. Open University showed programs on BBC which gave DE a lot of publicity. Experiments were demonstrated for Science classes. Conflict between what TV stations thought was interesting programming and what faculty had in mind.   Home Experiment Kits, 2 Week Summer School with hands-on experience.

Third Wave - Internet / Web-based

1. Forces dominant in the larger context that drove development of DE (e.g., demand for educational access, government policies that determined the development and shape of DE such as funding and equity policies) Virtual  universities.	2. Theories/Ways of Understanding DE	3. Institutional and organizational development (systems; ways of operating)	4. Prevailing teaching/learning theories/methodologies/ Prevailing view of of role of teacher and role of learner	5. Predominant technologies Ball, W.J. (1995)
The third wave of distance education was spurred by advancements in Internet and digital technologies combined with globalization and an increased need for an educated work force.   Within the education community educators were currently rediscovering social constructivism which lent itself to third wave style learning. In 1979 the difference in cost between a worker with a college degree vs. one without one was 45%.  By 1989 this had risen to 75%.  Due to the increased demand, college prices rose.  All of these factors led to a need for cheaper access to education for larger numbers. The rise of the knowledge economy and availability of open educational resources contributed to its popularity.	Constructivism, Connectivism, Community of Inquiry, Interaction Equivalency Theorem, Transactional Distance. Synchronous and asynchronous learning	Internet-based education featuring digital media and interactive technology. Other educational developments: For-profits, virtual schools, K-12 online learning Students are capable of being self-directed. Increasing reliance on student as autonomous learners - students are largely self-taught from media with their learning directed by an instructor. Web-based LMS platforms allow for greater guidance and quicker feedback by instructors while still allowing autonomy for the student and a degree of self-pacing in assimilating course material. Greater access to timely course material allows for students to collaborate and work in groups autonomously, often without ever meeting face-to-face.	The primary teaching methodologies of the third wave include the Community of Inquiry (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000), the Theory of Transactional Distance (Moore, 2006) and the Interaction Equivalency Theorem (Anderson, 2003).  In addition, the theories of constructivism and connectivism were also used. The role of the teacher depends on whether they are using a connectionist or constructivist approach.  Anderson describes the teachers role in constructionist as “discussion leader, guide on the side” and constructivism as “critical friend, co-traveler” (Anderson, 2011)  Roles change according to the availability and capabilities of DE technologies. Student-student interaction (study groups, etc.) is being seen as a significant part of successful learning.	Internet, digital media, interactive technologies LMS Platforms become widespread.  Synchronous and asynchronous technologies over the web allow for greater student access to course material and more timely feedback between students and instructors.  Additionally, many administrative functions such as registration and student accounting move online, allowing for students to perform all higher education transactions, from learning to managing their academic careers, at a distance.

Current Trends - New Theories, New Roles, New Applications of Technology

1. Forces dominant in the larger context that drove development of DE (e.g., Demand for educational access, government policies that determined the development and shape of DE such as funding and equity policies)	2. Theories/Ways of Understanding DE	3. Institutional and organizational development (systems; ways of operating)	4. Prevailing teaching/learning theories/methodologies/Prevailing view of of role of teacher and role of learner	5. Predominant technologies
New technology will drive the next wave toward ubiquitous communication and “always on” learning systems.  For example, in Africa, the use of the mobile phones is of critical importance over the internet. The Students receive their work through the mobile phone. Involvement of DE experts both in educational and private sector, thus improve the quality of DE and education in general.	Very much similar to the third wave theories, adapted according to need, situation and culture. Anderson's (2003) Interaction Equivalency Theorem (student-content, student-student, and student-instructor) Peters (2004) New trends and challenges.	With wireless communication improving, more access and better quality is likely. Open Source Learning (Khan Academy, MIT Open Course Work) Teacherless, technology-only based interactions	Anderson (2010) - Constructivism and Complexity theory. Hase and Kenyon (2000) - Heutagogy   George Siemens & Stephen Downes (2010) - Theory of Connectivism. Siemens (2004, 2005) Digital literacy skills needed for both teacher and student	Internet technology and social media such as Twitter, Diigo and Facebook.   Web-based Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as WebTycho, Blackboard, WebCT and Moodle. Increasing use of high-fidelity synchronous technology to “webcast” lectures and classwork. Means of communication: Blogs, texts, instant messaging, cloud based, voice recognition, etc. Web 2.0 (McLoughlin,c.,& Lee, M.J.W (2010) Smartphones, E-Readers, Tablets. Cochrane,T., & Bateman, R. (2010)

References

Anderson, T., & Dron, J. (2011). Three generations of distance education pedagogy. International Review of Research in Online and Distance Learning (IRRODL), 12(3), 80-97. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/890.
Anderson, T. (2010). Theories for learning with emerging technologies. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emerging technologies in distance education (pp. 23-40). Canada: Athabasca University Press. Retrieved from <http://www.aupress.ca/books/120177/ebook/99Z_Veletsianos_2010-Emerging_Technologies_in_Distance_Education.pdf.>

Ball, W. J. (1995). Using the Internet as a teaching tool: Why wait any longer? PS: Political Science and Politics, 28(4), 718–720.

Cochrane, T., & Bateman, R. (2010). Smartphones give you wings: Pedagogical affordances of mobile Web 2.0. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(1), 1-14.

Evans, T. & Pauling, B. (2010). The future of distance education. Reformed, scrapped or recycled. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 198-216). New York and London: Routledge.
Garrison, D.R. & Cleveland–Innes, M.F. (2010). Foundations of distance education. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 13-25). New York and London: Routledge.
Haughey, M. (2010). Teaching and learning in distance education before the digital age. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 46-66). New York and London: Routledge.
Holmberg, B. (2005). Evolution, principles and practices of distance education. Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.
Holmberg, B. (2005). A theory of distance education based on Empathy. In M.G. Moore & W.G. Anderson (Eds.). The handbook of distance education (1st ed.), pp. 79-86. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ.
Holmberg, B. (1999). The conversational approach to distance education. Open Learning, 14(3), pp 58-60.
McLoughlin, C. & Lee, M.J.W. (2007). Social software and participatory learning: Pedagogical choices with technology affordances in the Web 2.0 era. In Proceedings from ascilite, December 2-5, 2007. Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/singapore07/procs/mcloughlin.pdf
Miller, G.E. (2010). Organization and technology of distance education. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 26-45). New York and London: Routledge.
Peters, O. (2010). The greatest achievement of industrialized education: Open universities. In O. Peters, Distance education in transition: Developments and issues (5th edition), (pp. 57-81). Oldenburg, Germany: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Available from:  http://www.box.com/shared/ktx7ipccetotqrr11mct
Rachal, J.T.E., Andragogy’s detectives: A critique of the present and proposals for the future.Adult Education Quarterly, 52(3),210-227
Rekkedal, T. (2012, January). Distance education researchers and research trends. [Video]. Available from: http://vimeo.com/35560179
Siemens, G. (2004). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology & Distance Learning, (2)1, 42.
Swan, K. (2010). Teaching and learning in post-industrial distance education. In M. F. Cleveland-Innes & D. R. Garrison, D. R. (Eds.), An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (pp. 108-134). New York & London: Routledge.