Artefact 4 | A Program Critique

Home
Problem Solving, Analysis, & Decision Making
Instructional Design & Development
Communication Technologies & Networking
Communication & Interpersonal Skills Research
Management, Organization & Leadership

(4) Communication & Interpersonal Skills: These competencies involve demonstrating your ability to communicate, interact, and collaborate effectively in various contexts. Examples of these competencies are (4.1) Write clearly and in a style appropriate to purpose (e.g. assignments, essays, published documents, and theses (4.2) Construct coherent arguments and articulate ideas clearly to a range of audiences, formally and informally, through a variety of techniques, (4.3) Justify and defend your ideas orally and in writing in meetings, forums, seminars, exams and other contexts, (4.4) Support the learning of others when involved in teaching, mentoring, moderating, or demonstration activities, (4.5) Participate effectively in collaborative group activities, (4.6) Demonstrate effective design, delivery and evaluation of presentations, computer conferences, or seminars, (4.7) Work cooperatively with diverse groups and individuals both within the university and/or in the workplace, (4.8) Organize, and convey your ideas effectively through a range of communication skills and work collaboratively and in teams.

Artefact 4

In MDDE 611 Assignment 2, we were required to critique an adult education program, present the critique online and moderate the online discussion. Knowing my audience, I designed the presentation with the content in mind by concentrating on the message, rather than the medium of the message. I also kept the visual effects to a minimum in order not to distract from the topic of discussion. I narrated my original slideshow in an attempt to give it a personal touch and compensate for its potential blandness however my audio recording was substandard and I was dissatisfied with the sound streaming quality on the Internet. Not having access to a better audio equipment at the time, I opted for a simple slide cast that was accompanied by a transcript of the presentation. The following is a link to my online presentation that I moderated in MDDE 611:

Artefact 4

Supporting files can be downloaded from the "File(s) to Download" section.

Details

A Program Critique

The purpose of the Program Critique, presented as Artefact 4, is twofold. First, it exhibits an online presentation for which I received very good feedback from my professor and classmates. Second, preparing the presentation, other assignments and overall learning in MDDE 611 commenced a longitudinal growth for me to which I linked several coursework most particularly the Free and Open School System (MDDE 605) and the Open Textbook project (MDDE 610). In MDDE 611, I learned a great deal in the areas of philosophical foundations of adult education.

The presentation was well received. A classmate said

“Your presentation was very informative - certainly not an area about which I was very knowledgeable. Thank you for educating us about PEDE”.

and my professor stated1 in her evaluation:

“Concepts are communicated clearly and accurately in a logical sequence. Presentation flows smoothly from one element to the next. Presentation is engaging, encouraging class participation”.

The second part in the presentation involved an asynchronous discussion where I also received positive remarks, the professor commented:

“Discussion with audience is initiated and probed with effective questions. Evidence is demonstrated of moderating discussion through correcting misunderstandings, extending ideas, and clarifying enhance understandings of the application to educational foundations and related theories”.

To capture my audience’s experience and that of my own in the online presentation/discussion and display them in this e-portfolio is neither possible nor doable. However a complete account of my professor’s evaluation can be found on pages 9 and 10 in the supporting file.

1:Permission to use this graded assignment as artefact was received by email on 15/10/2010.

Details

Opening the Presentation

Opening message to my presentation on the forums
Details

Moderating the Presentation

Moderating my presentation on the forums
Details

Reflections on the Presentation and Discussions

First and foremost, effective communication and good interpersonal relationships have been a cornerstone of my distance learning in the MDE program. I realized, very early on, the importance of active engagement in online learning which required a constant loop of interaction and feedback in a given course. Furthermore, I have been able to continue some of the acquaintances that my classmates and I built up into a virtual friendship that has remained connected until today.

During the second semester of the Program in which I took MDDE 602 and 611 concurrently, I became more comfortable with the computer-based conferences. For the previous two courses my online communication and interaction had followed the natural path to learning the “online language” that my MDDE 601 and 603 instructors laid out. The most prominent characteristics of this new language as compared to spoken language were the significance of clarity and coherence when communicating online. The Artefact 4 from the point of online presentation and discussion was an opportunity for me to exercise what I had been learning, hence my adoption of minimalist design and delivery. This approach allowed me to highlight the major points thereby keeping the content concise and coherent.
          
The presentation and the subsequent discussion provided an excellent opportunity for genuine online conversation. While moderating the discussion forum, I was surprised by the degree of interest in the subject; for example, the group brought up various topics from the use of the title “engineer” as a point of contention to the unions and their influence on accreditation of the educational programs.

Neither the presentation nor discussions would have been interesting if I had not asked somewhat risky but stimulating questions such as

“Do you think PEDE as a successful program failed a social goal?”

Retrospectively, the question seems to have a negative connotation nevertheless in the context of Foundations of Adult Education, it was an ordinary question that had developed naturally and is an inquiry into values that has influenced my views throughout the MDE program. In the follow up question I probed
 
Do you feel adult education programs you’ve taken or taught have been used as vehicles to serve the economic growth purposes only?
 
The responses to this question were not discerning however these questions and the presentation in general helped me formulate analytical queries all of which underlined one of the utmost outcomes of MDDE 611, the purposes of adult education. The attitudes I developed in this course became the centre stage to my future coursework.

Details

@work | Presentation at a Conference

Coincidentally happening while I was taking MDDE 611 was the International Conference on Knowledge Generation, Communication and Management where I gave a presentation entitled "Remote Laboratory, a Hybrid Learning Environment".

The presentation was the product of a collaborative project that I was involved in with the Power Engineering Group and was elected to present it in Orlando, FL. I was afforded the confidence of speaking to international audience through my exposure to academia in the MDE program and the 611 online presentation.

Details

Certificate of participation in an international conference
Details

Related Competencies

Primary Competency: 4. Communication & Interpersonal Skills including 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6, 4.8.

Secondary Competencies: 1. Problem Solving, Analysis, & Decision Making including 1.1, 1.3, 1.7

Details

File(s) to Download

Browser Compatibility

This web page was composed in and designed for viewing with Firefox.

Spread Firefox Affiliate Button

Details

Creative Commons License