Program Planning Review

Hello,
This is the 12th module for this course and the end of the course.  I have learned a lot of things, some of them are totally new and some are reminders. However, I am so grateful to our instructor, Margerit Roger and the recommended book Caffarella R.S.(2002), which I found very useful and informative. In a nutshell, some of the things I learnt are:

• Every single aspect of the program planning process, is as important as the program itself. If anything is left out, it may or will affect the program.
• Using the interactive model(in Cafarella book), will make my work easier because it listed things that need to be done, it will serve as my checklist.  Also, support from every member, especially those that are in the planning process with me, is very important.
• Stakeholders are those that have a "stake" in the program and are very important for the success of the program.They may be primary or secondary stakeholders. They may have different opinions but as a program planner, I have to be a good communicator, in order to negotiate among all members. They all have different power, that can have effects on the program, this power must be recognized and put into consideration.
• Needs assessment help show who need the program and what there needs are. Information  from personal background, employment and educational background will help create potential learners group and identify new stakeholders.
• Objectives are what the program hope to achieve. They must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. Learning objectives is what the instructional plan will be based on.
• Instructional plan is about the activities that will take place in the workshop.
• Seven factors for choosing a format for learning are cost, equipment, program content, staff, facilities, program outcomes and where the learning take place.
• Budgeting is very important because it is about the money to be spent on the workshop, from the planning process to evaluation.
• Marketing is what sells the program. It include awareness, interest, desire and action. The marketing strategies tell the story about the program, the target audience and the cost.
• Evaluation is the feedback given from the program, there is a sayings that " If you don't measure the result, you can't tell if you succeeded", therefore, it is very necessary. It start from the needs assessment to evaluation. It connect needs assessment to the objectives.Information from the needs assessment helps me as program planner to think about different evaluation strategies. Objectives are the foundation for evaluation. Also, there are various techniques for collecting data, they are focus group, interview, observation etc

I will transfer this learning to other aspects like my work, by recognizing the stakeholders and their importance, giving each stakeholder chance to contribute, providing feedback according to their request and finally, balancing various power in the process.
Thank you, to my fellow coursemates for those inspiring discussions online and  for reading.

Online learning - a delivery format.

Hi everyone,
This is the end of another week . Wow! The days are going by at a faster rate, we have few modules to complete this course. Online learning  is a part of  distance education, it has been used by a large number of people because it is accessible. Some of  the benefits of online learning are: learner can easily interact with the content, the instructor and other learners, learner can ask for help or support during the process of learning. The logistics of any courses taken online is that it must be converted to an online version. One of the factors for choosing instructional techniques especially online learning is the background and experience of the participants. Through the use of introduction, the instructor will know more about the learners, they will tell the instructor a little about themselves and why they are taking the course. With the knowledge of the background of the participants, the instructor will learn  how to relate with learners and recognise their needs. Their prior experience will help them to interpret the content of learning.

Another great factor for choosing online learning as a delivery format, is the expertise of the staff and their availability. Expert are involved in the delivery of this format. If the information online is not right, they will lose their credibility and it will be to the detriment of the staff. People will not want to use the medium, if they can not understand it or if it is not of great quality. I appreciate the expertise of this delivery format because of the various forms of instructions and programs.Also, staff are always available to answer any question or render any help.As a program planner, online learning has been found to be cost effective or moderate. Setting it up is where most money will be spent after that, any update will not cost much.Nowadays, online learning is an answer to budget shortfalls.

Types of facilities and equipment as a factor will not affect online learning because everything is electronically done, this is the power of technology. However, in the case of program content, online learning logistics is very easy to understand without any external explanation in some cases. The planning and implementation of the content through the use of technology will give me as a program planner variety of medium for completing all or part of the planning process for example email, chat rooms and bulletin board. Online learning content is wide, it can be audio, video, textbook and discusssion board.

Program outcomes of online learning has been positive and increasing from year to year. In the 90’s the percentage of online learner is low compare to this decade. The content in which the learning takes place for online learning is any place, any where and any time,as long as it is comfortable for the learner. Finally, the use of online as a delivery format has been very useful and easy for me and above all, time is changing and almost everybody is now technologically inclined.I imagine what the world will be like in twenty years time. Enjoy!
　

Marketing - the backbone of program planning

Hi everyone,
I have been undergoing a lot of changes in this course , it has really open my eyes to a lot of things. So far ,we have talked about interactive model in program planning, values and beliefs, needs assessment, learning objectives, instructional plans and now marketing. As a program planner, I discovered that I have the most important job to do. According to Caffarella 2002. P.21 under interactive model of program planning marketing is the last stage( the stage that shows result) that will show whether the program design is good or not. Marketing is what brings people to your program and at the same time is what can elevate or demote your service. It is very important.


Taking needs assessment as an example, it is the information from this assessment that will be use in marketing. We will get to know the targeted population , what they want and what they need , these information will be the guide for success marketing. Also, relating marketing to objectives, whether program objectives, learning objectives or outcome objectives . It will still come back to the point that needs assessment is what objectives are based on. Above all, instructional plan and activities will be written with marketing at the back of our mind. Ontario ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs talked about two major types of marketing, they are social marketing and commercial marketing. Social marketing means selling of ideas with a goal of a long-term relationship, its focuses on the needs of its audience as well as its own. It make program planner to conversant with the current trends .

Commercial marketing is based on the product, price, place, promotion or participation. It makes organization to focus on its own needs and not the audience or individual. Both marketing strategies function differently, for a small business, social marketing will be valuable and commercial marketing will be good for big companies. As a program planner the four major aspects of marketing mentioned in Caffarella 2002 p.321, product, price, place and promotion are vital to the marketing result. I have to know the product, that is understand the program I am responsible for. Putting into consideration cost to participants and travel expenses. Marketing of the location of the program is of high value but it shouldn’t be above the program. Itself. Participation or promotion is also a major aspect of marketing, it is the contribution made by the audience in the program.


Looking through the Guerrilla innovative marketing website http://www.creativeguerillamarketing.com , there were few markaeting examples I found very interesting, for instance using a billboard, this will make it visible for everybody to see. Secondly, running a fake publicity stunt whereby some friends will use a placard reading “ this hairstylist is too nice” and finally using loosing cards(business cards) that restaurant or bar may want to discard.All these examples are good but I believe they must be use appropriately. In Caffarella R.S 2002 p.325, some promotional materials were mentioned  such as  brochures, online announcements and newsletter .Whatsoever may be the program model, marketing is always a priority. As a program planner, effort will always be made to make the product marketable. Enjoy reading.

Role of objectives in Program Planning

   Objectives for any program planning is ever changing because there is improvement day in day out, it can make or break a project. The major thing to consider is the level of learners and the main question is what will the learners use the information for at the end of the activity. The objectives of any program must be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely. It can be learning objectives, program objectives or outcome objectives. Program objectives provide what the result of the workshop may or will be. It can be use for matching instruction, transfer -of -learning and evaluation plans(measure the session in general).


    In relation to marketing, learning objectives provide a focus for the instructional design, provide steps for choosing course content, help participants to evaluate what they learnt and to organize their learning( It focus on individual participants) .Outcome objectives describe what you want the targeted population to know. They are specific and are highly connected to needs assessment, they are selected to be timely and a mirror that shows progress toward goals. Needs assessment is the basis on which the objectives are built on. Without needs assessment there will not be good and solid objectives. Objectives makes evaluation easier, it shows what has been accomplished and what needs improvement. See you!

Support for Education and Training Programs.

I will  involve learners, supervisors and managers before,during and after program. What they can do varies.Using the chart on Exercise 5.1 by R.S Caffarella (2002). I will like to talk about what i will do or how i will involve each of this group.Before the program learners can write what or how they want to be taught on a piece of paper, this will help the instructor to know what to prepare for.Supervisors can find out from the learner what they need to be refreshed on.Manager will be aware of the program

During the program, the instuctor will pick out of the learners ideas and ask them to demonstrate or desribe it.I will involve the supervisor by allowing them to participate in the learning materials. Managers evaluate the program by attending, if they are not there, they will not know what or how to evaluate the program.
After the program, i will ask the learners to write down what they have learned, if it match up with their expectation,  what they will like to change about the program and if they have any reccomendations for me. I will communicate with the manager for further evaluation.

By ensuring people's support for the program, there is assurance that it will be successful.

Program planning interactive model

Hello,
This week i discovered that out of all the assumptions( seven altogether) mentioned in the book on Program planning by R.S Caffarella, on which interactive model is built, the most important one to me is attending to preplanning and last minute changes.This is necessary because unforseen situation or circumstances may arise and is beyound our control.

Situations like this may cause a little bit of  delay in the programs for instance, a workshop that I suppose to attend today was cancelled because it was very slippery on the highway. Weather condition often do not permit  workshop to take place, therefore it is very important in the planning process to put into consideration weather condition, delay from the presenter and learners not showing up for the workshop.

The planning process stage is the most significant level.

Thanks for reading.

Introduction

Hello everybody,
My name is Elizabeth Brimoh.I started this course late but I have been enjoying it so far.I am a PBDE student. I chose to take this course because the other two I did in fall (Foundation of Adult Education and Facilitating Adult Learning ) were very interesting and educating.

 I see Program planning in Adult Education as a very important aspect ,without it what to teach, how to teach and when to teach may or will be difficult. With what we have done so far in this course,  I can conclude that following different steps as a program planner such as budget preparation, designing instructional plan and developing program objectives( just to mention a few)  are very necessary.

This is a blog mainly for the course because it is a requirement.I will share my view on the course and hopefully you learn one or two things there.