Navigation: Theoretical Framework A Checklist for Building Buy-in with Project Sites The GE Case Study K-12 Case Study
Theoretical Framework:
	My theoretical framework for community building is predicated on the social theory of learning writings of Etienne Wenger (ewenger.com) and writings of two prominent online community builders, Amy Jo Kim and Soren Kaplan. I can appreciate Wenger’s insistence that communities of practice are everywhere. These include home, work and school, including special interest communities for hobbies and game playing. I am applying it to eLearning development teams, which include subject matter experts and end users. I support Wenger’s assertion that learning is a big part of these informal communities. Learning is a necessary ingredient for successful migration towards the acceptance of new learning technologies. Wenger challenges us to think about communities of practice and the learning that goes on in a more systematic way. This allows us to apply the theoretical underpinnings to more formal communities of practice. The relevancy for me is that the development of formal communities of practice, enhanced by technological tools, enables deeper collaboration amongst participants, and promotes “rethinking and reflection” and thus improves the quality of the curricula developed (Wenger 1998). Yet, Wenger insists that there is even more that can be formally done to enhance the benefits of communities of practice. He says that while these communities arise naturally, there are still things professionals can do to influence their development. I am suggesting that using a community building technology like www.communityzero.com to create a team website goes a long way towards enhancing community of practice principles. There are a number of very practical guidelines that come from Wenger’s social theory of learning. As a leader of an electronic learning development company, I have attempted to apply his suggestions. These include that the community, in order to legitimize itself as a place for sharing and creating knowledge, involve experts as members. Internal leadership can take the form of continued inspiration, day-to-day leadership from those who organize activities, or those who help collect and organize information, or those who provide interpersonal leadership (helping to weave the community’s social scene), and those who help maintain the official hierarchy (Wenger 1998). I have also reviewed Amy Jo Kim’s writings on developing online communities and can see Wenger’s influence. Amy Jo Kim’s nine essential strategies of creating a “true community online” outlined in her book entitled Community Building on the Web can be incorporated into all development communities (Kim, 2000). 1. Purpose—back story—core values 2. Sub-groups—encourage member run sub-groups 3. Identity—meaningful profiles 4. Roles—newcomer vs. guides? 5. Leadership—moderators, movers-shakers 6. Etiquette—ability to control bad behavior 7. Events—regular and engaging 8. Rituals—rites of passage 9. Places—discussion Boards—easy to use? Kaplan’s life cycle theory from “inquire” to “sustain” closely resembles Wenger’s “stages of development” and can be applied to create sustainable user development communities (Kaplan, 2003). Although some research has been done in the business community about the benefits of online collaboration using tools like IBM’s SameTime, and Team Site technology, few studies on curriculum design communities have been done since the recent proliferation of broadband, the use of live web-conferencing technology, low cost easy to use community building software; software that incorporates instant messaging, video and audio over IP, audio blogging and graphically friendly discussion threads. Ultimately, community of practice development theory and methodology can be used to involve stakeholders in the development of online activities and curricula. This stakeholder community participation should increase instructor’s in-class usage and on-going sustainability of an online curriculum, while improving the quality of the interactive lessons. Although, development communities for the creation and evaluation of online lessons are still in their infancy, there are specific communities that I have been involved in. I would like to reflect on these.
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A Checklist for Building Buy-in with Project Sites:
	Migration strategies Walk before you run Guidelines for use When to use email – when not Involvement strategies Setting expectations Evaluation & review plan How are you using the site for formative and summative evaluation? Celebrating stakeholder buy-in How are you celebrating participation and involvement?
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The GE Case Study: Using a Team Site for Formative & Summative Evaluation
	In 2004, the Director of Education for General Electric’s clinical training area responsible for training doctors, nurses and technicians on how to operate new anesthesia machines, embarked on a mission to introduce eLearning as a part of GE’s clinical training program. As an organizational leader supervised by a Six Sigma black belt, and as a participant in an Adult Education Masters Program, the Director used a project web site for communicating project goals and a formal evaluation program to help lead her team of 10 clinical trainers to accomplish several business objectives. As an informed leader she needed to take into consideration stakeholder involvement, a needs assessment, the context of the organization and the customer organization, quality standards, as well as considering appropriate Kirkpatrick levels of results. She chose a formal, formative evaluation program to be implemented during the development of the new training materials. Informal evaluation of training materials and on-site clinical training takes place regularly. The Director recognized that a formal program, managed through the team site, would encourage what expert and author Alan Knox articulates as key reasons to formalize: important evaluation questions are asked, judgments are based on evidence and standards, and conclusions are used for program improvement (Knox, 2002).
Background:
	The materials and content for clinical training of doctors, nurses and technicians on operating new microprocessor-driven anesthesia machines presented a particular challenge because the instructor’s script was inconsistently documented and minimally packaged training aids, such as descriptive images and motion pictures, existed. In general, clinical training consisted of an on-site visit and a non-standard verbal walk through of the machine. During team discussions clinical trainers expressed a desire to have more on-site time to spend on the machine versus time spent explaining monitoring and ventilation procedures; concepts that could be taught using eLearning. “Could content be delivered electronically in advance of the on-site training session?” As mentioned, management was also concerned that there was no documented written script for the training session. This was particularly important since a stated objective was to move towards training hospital trainers in a “train the trainer” scenario. Trainers did not use a consistent slide deck, instead they walked through a participant’s workbook verbally detailing what they felt was important to convey. Management was also interested in exploring ways to reduce the on-going costs of on-site visits. Of particular interest was reviewing the efficacy of putting a price tag on the training to encourage a migration to train hospital trainers, who in turn would be responsible for training individuals within that hospital site.
Team Site Utilization:
	Stakeholder participation was a key goal of this initiative. The project website was instrumental in assuring participation from all stakeholders. Early needs assessment revealed that trainers were unhappy with how little they were involved with the development of training materials in the past. General consensus was that the materials created were either too technical for the clinician or had an overtly marketing bias. Involving trainers in the early stages of program development is not only key to ensure accurate and compelling content, but also promotes use in the field and opens the potential for robust testing during development on-site (Caffarella, 2002). Using this methodology, GE’s Director was able to acquire commitment and to generate interest from trainers consistent with aspects they most enjoyed, such as technical design of the interactivity, or review of written text.
How did the project site help build community?
	The features of the www.communityzero.com site allowed the Director to communicate with her outside vendors and her clinical trainers and other stakeholders involved in the process to facilitate formative reviews. At various stages during development, versions of the eCourse and training manual were posted with a link to an online survey. Results of the survey were tabulated and posted on the site. Weekly development goals were posted as well as pertinent documents and images. The site technology allowed for tracking of the last visit to the site resulting in subtle reminders to stakeholders to visit and contribute. Originally few clinical trainers were enthusiastic about utilizing an asynchronous eCourse as part of training physicians on new equipment. After six months there was a noticeable increase in support for this delivery medium.
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K-12 Case Study:
	The Children’s Health Education Center (CHEC) in Milwaukee has used a project site to manage an eCourse development project. The project consisted of creating some 25 game-based learning activities for instructing middle school students on Alcohol, Tobacco and Drug Abuse prevention. CHEC (www.bluekidsonline.org) hired vendor Web Courseworks to collaborate with its four in-house educators to create the online curricula. A project site was utilized to facilitate threaded discussions, set weekly goals, display project images, and share key documents. In the sample below, the team used the site to poll team participants on who created the best Anti Drug Comic Strip. The discussion thread feature was utilized for reaction to samples of logo art, for example. Since weekly work and client communication are posted, the project site was also used by Web Courseworks to document the historical process and work flow. This was than used to evaluate and improve timetable and deliverables for succeeding projects. The auto generated email updates allowed stakeholders at all levels (IT, for example) to remain in touch without having to take the time to visit the site. This ability for high level managers to stay “tuned in” without a great deal of effort is one of the more valuable features. Having important files and images posted on the site also made them readily accessible by all participants on a moment's notice. As the distance education project was piloted in a projected 25 - 50 schools an updated Excel sheet with pilot statistics was regularly posted.
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