I AM a subject matter expert

In the Learning Circuit's Big Question, Tony Karrer poses the following questions:

Working effectively with subject matter experts

There's a lot to this topic, and certainly it's an on-going challenge. Some specific questions that are raised in this area:

* What should all IDs know about working with a SME?
* What can you and can't you expect a SME to do?
* Does it work to have SMEs create rapid eLearning?
* How does social and informal learning impact how you engage with SMEs?
* What's your favorite instructive story of working with a SME?

I'm going to approach this from the point of view of the SME as I either do my own ID or have worked in groups in which I was the SME.

I am perhaps unique in that as a SME (in my case, I was the SME for courses in Marketing Research and Foreign Language-French and Spanish), I do know about Instructional Design in the context of online learning. However, I think many ID's underestimate (or overestimate) the instructional understanding of a SME. Many times they have their own understanding of how students learn and will give information based on that understanding.

For example, when developing the courses on Foreign Language, many of the SME's had a strong belief in the drill and repeat way of learning the foreign language. The ID had a different view of language learning. The discussions often was around the pedagogy of language learning rather than the content itself as the content came out of the pedagogy. Interestingly enough, many of the SME's weren't even aware of their pedagogy until they began to share their expertise in terms of what should or should not go into the curriculum.

Personally, I believe all learning should be in context. Rapid elearning is possible as long as it is tailored for a certain population. The SME needs to know and understand their target population before they can contribute to any elearning. For example, I used to develop curriculum for short term training in English Language to prepare groups going to the US for training. I needed to know why the group was going, what type of training they would need in the US, and how much time they had to prepare. Even now, I could develop a curriculum and text for any group within a week for English Language Training as long as I had their profiles. A "general" course would not be effective nor would it use my expertise effectively as I knew what a group of illiterate, rural administrators going to Tennessee would need as opposed to a group of educated (many outside of the country) auditors going to the NE US would need.

Many SME's, I can tell you from experience working with colleagues who are SME's, find elearning and the technology that affords informal learning as something inferior. They may perceive ID's as the "technicians" who really know nothing of the topic (nor should they in the SME's opinion). They often feel that pedagogy is the whelm of the SME and the ID should not do anything but put the real information into a "pretty" design. Likewise, I have worked with ID's who try to force my expertise into a format that I don't believe will work given my understanding of the subject.

I have a classmate who works at RPI. They have a great process for working with SME's. Theirs is a truly collaborative process in which they spend time developing trust with the SME's and designing learning based on the SME's own style. They are very careful not to tell an SME's that what they want to do cannot be done, but rather demonstrating different options from which the SME can choose. Often the same ID will work with the same SME over a period of time (which also helps to develop the partnership needed). They also have a great series of questions which they use when initially working with a new SME. This includes questions about their view of pedagogy.

To me, the most important thing to do when working with an SME is to spend the initial time getting know the SME and developing a trusting partnership, whether they are in the same physical space or not.

Where is your time spent?

In response to the Learning Circuit Blog question of the month: How do you spend your time, I wish I could answer. I know how I THINK I spend my time, but then when I review it, it all goes out the window.

So here is the closest to a typical day when I am teaching:

I go into the office after dropping my kids off at school and check emails, class sites (nings, courseware, blogs, delicious), and mail that may have come through interoffice mail. I also download and print assignments students have submitted. I don't download on my own computer because of viruses and supplies (let the university deal with the crashed system). I look for resources for the class I am teaching, organizing them on delicious or in a powerpoint (I update links). I begin to plan for the next class, looking for resources I can use. I make copies of in class activities or resources in case students don't bring their own (there are always a few that will forget to download from the class site). If I have time, I'll read through some of the blogs (and respond to them) that are listed on my igoogle.

After I teach, I return home and turn on my computer. I will look at my general email, finish looking at and commenting on 2 or 3 blogs from my igoogle while I make lunch. Then I will work on my dissertation. Right now I am in the process of analyzing data and finding literature to update my proposal. I might search through google scholar, go to the online library section, search for the journal and article or request online for the digital article through interlibrary loan (online).

I then try to take a walk before the kids come home. Once the kids are home, I don't have access to the computer, but I will monitor their computer use, including looking over my son's facebook interaction and keeping my daughter limited to the few safe gaming sites she enjoys when they aren't doing their homework. Most evenings, the kids have some sport or school event to go to. If not, occasionally, we'll watch a missed episode of a TV show via the internet. Or we might watch TV at night together. In between, I'll check my email 2-3 times a night or if I'm really bored, I'll check to see if there are any replies to the blog postings (this will usually only take 5 minutes or so).

On the days that I'm not teaching, I work on my dissertation until noon. Every hour or so I'll take a break, read a blog and post a comment or a blog posting. I noticed that I tend to post on Mondays and Thursdays. I'm not sure why. Maybe Monday because I will have had little access or time for the computer or myself, and it is "my time". After noon, I will vary what I do, taking time to exercise, reading a blog, or just "looking around" the internet. Sometimes I'll just read during this time. The day is the same after the kids get home.

I think that the blogging and searching the internet sometimes allows my mind to wonder into areas I'm really interested in and takes me away from the pressures of school and work. On the other hand, I have to be careful I don't take too much time to "wander" so I am procrastinating what I need to do (like starting dinner), speaking of which...

(Later). What do I do less of now? Planning for my classes. I now can be more spontaneous with my class, addressing issues as they come up as I will have a group of resources I can access during class. For example, whereas before I might have to have a powerpoint I am using in class, I can create the powerpoint as we work as a class and load it to the Ning or Courseware for my students to access later (sort of like uploading the chalkboard). I can also use a video clip to illustrate something my students might be having trouble with. This doesn't mean I am less prepared, but rather I don't have to have a static lesson plan (or handouts that take time to copy) to work from.

I also spend less time reinventing the wheel. I can work off of what I did the last time I taught the class. Finally, I watch TV less, especially the news. I can go to the internet now and find just those episodes or reports I'm interested in (rather than sitting through stuff I don't care about to get to the stuff I like).

What I learned this year blogging

In response to the Big Question for this month, I followed directions, reviewed my posts, and reflected on what I learned.

First of all, I really like my writing style (which is good because I wrote it). Sometimes, as I reread the post, I realized that it was really well-written! (Enough of self promotion). I feel that the best posts, however, were the result of other bloggers pushing me to reflect on and write about an issue I had not thought was really important. Ken Allen, Michele Martin, and Christine Martell especially, asked some questions and entered into dialog that really made me think.

So what did I learn?

About Blogging:

• Comment on others blogs, but when the comment is more than 2 paragraphs, write a post and link it.
• You can vary your voice and tone.
• Tag so you can find links when writing about the same subject in subsequent posts. I can't tell you how many times I had to go searching for a post I was SURE I had written, but had not done a good job of tagging

About Research:

I have been submersed in Academic Research for the last 5 years. This year, through some simple questions from Michele and Ken, (can you give us an example or tell us what you saw in your class), I reconnected with the importance of "quick and dirty" observation and analysis.

In academic writing, you look to the literature to give you theories. Then you set up your research in a well planned systematic way, analyze the data, and then go back to the literature to explain your findings. While this has its place, I feel it also makes academic research (and even corporate market research) outdated. After looking at my posts on the use of wikis in my classroom (Group Communication and Wikis , Lessons learned about wiki use), the lessons learned from my New Communication Technologies in Organizational Life course, and even my observations on my own children's use of facebook, ipods, and cellphones has allowed me to begin to create an emerging portrait of the new knowledge worker and the type of training he or she will need to be successful for the 21st Century workplace. This has taught me that I can begin with my observations in realife circumstances and still come away with some valuable information that would be helpful to others. I wonder if this is a new direction for academic research (and a new battleground in academia as it does not fit the model of "academic rigor").

About technology:

More and more as I write about the Web 2.0, I find that there is less need to know the tool and more importance should be placed on the affordances. It seems that many of the postings came down to what technology could allow us to do rather than the tool itself.

I find that I am also moving away from blogging sites that list tools, and concentrating more on sites that discuss HOW to USE the tool and the impact it will have on instructional design and student learning. Don't get me wrong, I still refer to Jane's E-learning Pick of the Day and Cool Cat Teacher on a regular basis. But I go to these sites when I know what I am looking for, usually a specific tool use. I wonder if this is the natural progression of Web 2.0 users? Do we start with the tools, then see the potential after using the tools, then look for new ways to use the tools and look for advice on more design or instructional uses?

Comments and reader interaction:

I have learned to be content with the few people that comment on my blog. I value them highly. I also like the new google option that identifies followers as it allows me an opportunity to get to them on their blogs. While I think I work best with comments, I took a page from Michael Hanley's blog where he commented that as long as he can see through the viewer stats that people are reading his blog, he is satisfied. He recognizes (as do I) that his posts tend to have a lot of information. As long as he has the feeling that this is helpful to readers, he won't worry about comments. I have adopted this philosophy as well (although I do like people to comment as it takes the guess work out of what your thoughts are). I hope that I am inviting enough for people not to be intimedated to post questions, comments, and even disagree with me. I learn so much from those disagreements (as long as they are civil).

I learned the most in an interaction with Ewa. Her comments have really inspired me to look at alternative ways to assess learning in the workplace.

What I would like to learn professionally

Answer to the Big Question in the Learning Circuit Blog
Well, I'm not sure how I inspired this question. However, I will try to narrow down all things I am interested in doing better (it helps that I am writing my dissertation, so I have been doing a lot of reading, thinking, and discussing in many contexts).

First: As I commented on Kristy Tucker's Blog,

I would like to learn more of how to design to get learners to focus on the areas they need for learning. In other words, when they come to a home page, giving them enough options for them to get started, yet not so many options they are overwhelmed nor so few that they loose interest. I find this balance very difficult.

To do this, I need to learn more about "design" principles (not instructional design but visual rhetoric, some additional programming principles--especially mash-ups and placement of embedded objects, and html in order to modify some of the "programs" I have to work with).

Second: I have been using a wiki in my class for a year now, and I find that there is more than meets the eye going on in the use of the wiki. I want to try to figure out the best way to use the wiki (see my post on this blog), how to develop it as part of an instructional design (my students have told me the one we are currently using is just too bland to hold their interest), and how to capture the learning that is taking place beyond the finished product.

Third: I would like to have a better understanding of what my students (both undergrads and graduates) will be experiencing in the workforce when they leave my classroom. Most importantly, what are businesses expectations for the new generation of workers? Related to this is how to bridge the gap between school and business, to better inform businesses of the potential goldmine they have in new employees (many underestimate new graduates skills because they are still evaluating them based on old standards--for example, the ability to communicate and work polychronically, the ability to adapt technologies for their own needs--not necessarily using the technology the way it was designed to work, but the way it is most useful for an individual, the ability to network and find information within a network, the ability to think spatially). At the same time, many of the new "best" students have achieved academic success by being good at test taking, only doing what they are told to do based on a definitive time frame, and following processes without deviation having been educated under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) philosophy of education (at least in the US). Those students that were more creative or "outside of the box" were less successful in the test based system of NCLB.