Week 16 Video Introduction and Survival Memo Smurr

Sarah commented on Group 4 and Group 1

Thanks for a great semester!  You guys are great!

http://youtu.be/IDkBPiU9VFU

Week 16 Video Introduction and Survival Memo Warrner

This is the link to my video introduction and survival memo.

http://youtu.be/sEeofjyPulY


Thanks,

Jen Warrner

For the Video Introduction/Survival Memo, Jen commented on Sarah Smurr in Group 2 and Group 3. 


For the November Monthly Summary, Jen commented on Group 3 and Group 5. 

November Monthly Summary

November Monthly Summary

Sarah Smurr commented on Group 1 and 3
Carrie Clymer commented on Group 1 and 4

The process of your project (what each of you have done, and what you have learned/changed) (Carrie Clymer)

 During the month of November, we had two group assignments to complete. The first paper we completed was the important adult education organizations. For this assignment, we research researched two organizations and compared and contrasted the two. Nina and Carrie began the research for the organizations. Nina researched American Society for Training And Development 

and Carrie researched the Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education. Sarah complete the roles and responsibilities of the organization and Jen wrote on the impact of the organizations. After we all completed our portion of the assignment, we emailed our parts to Nina to combine and turn in the assignment  

         The other assignment our group had to complete was the e-archive. The objective of the assignment was to summarize the main points of the assignments over the semester and the take away from the assignment. We each took one of the assignments. Jen worked on the first assignment, Sarah had the second assignment, Carrie had the three assignment and Nina compiled the points for the fourth. Jen and Sarah worked together to compile all the information into one paper and created a PowerPoint Video.

What have I gained from doing this assignment? (Nina)

    Doing this assignment helped me to develop an appreciation for the role everybody plays in putting together a project.  It is not always easy to bring together individuals who share different visions, ideas, and personalities and to make a cohesive and succinct body of work.  I have also learned that for future assignments, I will need to not be afraid to voice my opinion when others are eager to take leadership roles and are afraid to allow room for others to grow at their own pace.  

What are the challenges you had this month? And how did you deal with them? (Sarah Smurr)

            There were a few challenges with the organization essay.  The main interesting piece is the group dynamic.  We have two strong leaders in the group and two who seem to prefer following in general.  That creates two people choosing the topics and work plan every time. This is a concern because it was a bit of an uneven load to Jen who always seems to be putting the work together and checking it over.  The other concern is that the other team members don't get as much of a voice in the activities.  One way we addressed that is to pass the tasks around and take turns.   Unfortunately, this also sometimes created confusion and quality issues.  But we naturally began to adapt and talk to each other more instead of waiting until the last minute and passing the problem on to others.  It also helped to share the load a bit so there wasn't a sense of resentment.

           I gained a lot of interesting experiences from this assignment.  The content is not the challenge.  The challenge is doing it as part of a group.  But there is room to try different things to solve issues with the group dynamics.  The main difficulty for me is my mindset.  I have a lot on my plate and, even if the group works better with certain people always leading, I don't want to have that extra responsibility all the time.  I didn't sign up for that. We are all equally responsible for our learning.  So I'm still wrapping my mind around that, how to find a balance that makes sense, and what to learn from it in the context of the major.  

 How do you think your learning this month can be applied in your professional life or how do you think it will a affect your professional life?(Jennifer)

            From an adult and community education perspective, the assignments in the past month have given the group more information about adult education programs and organizations. These resources should be helpful to our professional careers.  Both of the organizations the group researched could be great resources for professional development opportunities. Adult and community education is about continuous learning, and adult education professionals should participate in professional development to support that concept.  Hopefully these organizations will benefit us in our careers.

What I have gained from this assignment? (Jennifer)

            Group work can be challenging.  Though it was a long time ago, from sixth grade to my senior year of high school I had classes with basically the same group of people. We almost always worked in the same groups for assignments, so we knew everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.  Those six years of group work maybe spoiled me. I think the main lessons I learned this month weren’t related to the course content. The main two lessons I learned were related to communication and to time management.  In teamwork, communication and time management are crucial.  Our group had challenges with both areas this month.  I’m not sure the best way to deal with these challenges, but as a person who tends to be a leader in groups, I think it’s important to think of ways to improve the group dynamic for future group assignments. I know teams are important and that teams are a part of basically any industry. Changing my attitude about group work in classes might be the first step in figuring out the best way to improve a group’s dynamic.

Assignment 5: ACE E-Archive

EDAC 631 E-Archive Fall 2014 Final

631 Adult/Community Education E-Archive

Assignment 1: Jen Warrner (organizer & PowerPoint); Assignment 2: Sarah Smurr  (organizer & PowerPoint) commented on group 4 and 5; Assignment 3: Carrie Clymer; Assignment 4: Nina Monstwillo; Ideas of Adult/Community Education: All  

Assignment 1: History of Adult/Community Education

Introduction:  Lifelong learning opportunities have been available to adults for centuries.  Learning about the history of adult and community education helps to show how this field has changed and evolved over time.  Throughout history, adult education opportunities have positively impacted individuals, communities, and the world.             

Significant Points:

• Adult education has been prevalent throughout history.  

• This is significant because this demonstrates that adult education is an established field. Historically, these learning opportunities might not have been labeled as adult education.  This long history of learning opportunities shows that adult education is important.          

• Historical events have influenced adult education.
• This is significant because this shows that adult education has changed and evolved over time.  From the Women’s Movement to the Civil Rights Movement, historical events have impacted the types of adult education that are offered and who has access to adult education.

• Governments and multiple legislative acts have supported adult education.

• This is significant because having government support provides funding and awareness for adult education. Without this support, fewer adult education opportunities would be offered, and fewer adults would benefit from lifelong learning opportunities.

Assignment 2:  Leading Adult/Community Educators

Introduction: Throughout history, professionals from various backgrounds, industries, and ethic groups have impacted adult education. The diversity of these professionals has helped to shape the field of adult education.

Significant Points:

• The individuals who shaped adult/community ed. come from many backgrounds.
• It is significant because anyone really can make a difference.  The main difference is they took action, and action is what creates change.
• The individuals who make a difference in this field often do not do so at the front.
• This is significant because that is unique to this field.  Individual leaders find ways to empower others.  Their aim is not power.  They is others how to find and use their own power.
• The people who make a difference have passion that usually comes from personal experience. 
• This is significant because the most powerful motivator for individual action seems to be caring a lot about a cause.  People are almost compelled to act, and they in turn inspire others to act.

Assignment 3: Unique Adult/Community Education Programs

Introduction:  A group made up of like-minded individuals becomes a community with a common goal.  Those communities structure and deliver education to adults who would like to increase their diversity and knowledge through vast course offering from leadership development to focusing on a specific subject.

Significant Points:

• Adult Education Programs have grown to combine pervious run organizations so the organizations are able reach a wider audience to provide diversity to the community and society.
• This is important because it allows individuals to experience the same type of education and learning that other individuals are receiving from other parts of the county.
• Adult Education Programs have gone more away from having only one focus for their organization to now the programs have more offerings such as different classes, teaching of life skills, and various other activities to improve the community.
• This is significant because it gives adult individuals an opportunity to capture skills that they could use to have more opportunities to better themselves. 
• These programs are often created to teach skills and leadership to individuals that can learn without guidance. 
• This is significant because with the fast pace society of today, adult are still able to increase their knowledge and better themselves.

Assignment 4: Important Adult Education Associations

Introduction:  While learning about important adult education organizations, it is easy to recognize the impact these organizations have upon the growth and development of future adult and community education.  

Significant Points:

• Membership has grown significantly throughout the years:

• This is important because this allows these organizations to broaden their outreach and bring increased awareness to adult and community education programs.

• Becoming a part of these organizations connect individuals working towards a shared vision:
• This is significant because through connecting and networking, individuals can open up dialogue about what really matters to them and to their communities.

• These organizations often reflect and build upon the growing and changing needs of adult education.
• This is significant because as communities grow and change, so do the needs of adult education.  By reflecting on these changes and opening up the dialogue to change - the future growth of the program will develop cohesively and without falling apart. 

Introduction of Adult/Community Education

Nina’s Perspective:  Adult and Community Education is a program where individuals come together to learn and discuss the growing and changing needs of learning and teaching for the adult and the community. 

Sarah’s Perspective:  Adult and community education is about individuals making a tangible difference for themselves and their families, for their communities, and even the world.  Sometimes change can seem overwhelming.  But the benefits of a more educated population, a more active community, and more caring individuals happen when each person makes an effort to create change.  The goal is for there to be ripple effects that make life better.

Carrie’s Perspective:  Adult and Community Education is a program that allows leaders and individuals to come together to compile ideas and to learn from each other to take back what they have learned to teach the community or organization

Jen’s Perspective:  Adult education is about lifelong and continuous learning.  This learning can be for personal or professional reasons and can be formal or informal. Regardless of the purpose or format, all forms of adult education are about gaining new knowledge or skills.  By gaining new knowledge and skills, adult learners not only improve themselves but have the ability to also positively impact their communities and the world.

Important Adult Education Organization

631 Important Adult Education Organizations

Introduction: Nina (ASTD) and Carrie (IAACE)

Roles and Responsibilities: Jen

Discussions: Sarah Smurr  Commented on Group 1 & 3

Table: Nina

Introduction

American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)

            In 1943 the American Society of Training Directors (ASTD) began as a mentoring program whose goal was to help professionals develop training organizations.  Over time, this program grew and adapted with the changing and growing needs of education and skills development.  As ASTD continued to grow and change so did their name.  They eventually changed from American Society of Training Directors to the American Society for Training and Development.  The last significant change occurred this year when the organization announced their new name as “The Association of Talent Development (ATD)”.

The Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education (IAACE)

The Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education (IAACE) was founded in 1983 when two organizations with the same goals merged together.  The IAACE was founded to be a spokesperson to increase the awareness of the importance of adult education in Indiana.  In organizing the association in 1942, the IAACE has grown to include over 400 individuals and institutions in promoting their goal to increase the adult education and training in Indiana communities.  The IAACE has four primary values: “collaborates with Indiana adult education stakeholders, communicates and promotes adult education, facilitates professional development, and provides support to members.” (IAACE, 2014).

Roles and Responsibilities

For over 70 years, the IAACE has been promoting the education and training of adults.  The 400 plus members of the organization work throughout the state to fulfill the IAACE’s mission to “advocate for adult education in Indiana.”  The organization uses a variety of activities and strategies to assist both members and nonmembers to achieve the IAACE’s mission and its vision of cultivating leaders “who advance adult education for stronger communities in Indiana” (IAACE, 2014).  Each month, the organization distributes an online newsletter that shares best practices, social media posts, and articles about the IAACE and adult education.  In addition to the newsletters, the IAACE has a well-developed website as well as an active blog, online forums, and Twitter account. All of these tools share current information, articles, and resources about adult education. Additional features for adult educators on the IAACE website are advocacy tools and links to local, regional, and national adult education resources.  In addition to the numerous online resources, each year, the organization hosts a conference. Another initiative for IAACE members is The Experience Exchange, a mentor program for adult education professionals.  This initiative “provides guidance on many aspects of adult education plus provides individual solutions to the common challenges in the classroom” (IAACE, 2014). The mentors also offer insight into understanding adult learners and developing lessons and assessments.  The IAACE believes that all adults should be able to participate in opportunities that promote lifelong learning.  The organization’s website, online resources, and conference help connect people to lifelong learning opportunities.  By helping to connect adults to lifelong learning opportunities, all of these strategies and activities help the IAACE to achieve its mission and goals.    

With over 41,000 members in more than 100 countries, ATD utilizes a variety of strategies to promote adult education.  Each year, ATD hosts conferences and trainings regionally, nationally, and internationally in both face to face and online formats.  Training is available for individuals and teams. According to the ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) annual report, in 2013, over 500 educational programs were offered, and nearly 9,500 people participated in these programs (ASTD, 2013).  By offering sessions in multiple formats, professionals from a wide range of industries and locations can participate in these trainings and benefit from the material.

In addition to conferences and trainings, ATD promotes adult education through books, newsletters, magazines and blogs.  These publications focus on topics including training and development, instructional design, business and management, career development, e-learning, leadership, evaluation, organization development, and workplace issues.  Some of these publications are free, even for non ATD members.  All professionals can gain new knowledge and insights from these free resources, including four ATD newsletters and ten blogs. In 2013, ATD newsletter subscriptions grew to more than 165,000 (ASTD, 2013).  ATD also offers free resources via social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.  In 2013, over 100,000 professionals connected with the organization on social media, and over 53,800 watched videos on its YouTube channel (ASTD, 2013).  All of these resources help ATD to achieve their mission and goals. The mission of ATD is to “empower professionals to develop knowledge and skills successfully,” and the ATD vision is to “create a world that works better” (ATD, 2014).  All of the learning opportunities and resources that are offered by ATD definitely help to increase the knowledge base of professionals.  By increasing the knowledge of professionals, a world that works better would be created, which fulfills the vision of ATD.  

Discussions

In common across these organizations

Similar to concepts discussed in class, Lin (2002), a professor of Sociology at Duke University, talks about the importance of social capital and how "it is who you know, as well as what you know that makes a difference in life and society.”  Both of these organizations recognize and capitalize on this theory.  ATD connects state directors and their staffs with each other, and IAACE works within one state (Indiana) to communicate between and connect various “stakeholders” in adult education.  Organizations are aptly named because they organize.  There is a sense of function that organizations perform within the framework of adult education as a whole.  While practitioners and institutions practice the function, organizations order these functions into interrelated roles that act as a unit rather than many separate pieces.

Impact on the field of adult education

There is a raging debate about the benefits of professionalization for adult education.  In the Harvard Educational Review, Labaree (2010) that teacher educators are the true beneficiaries since there can be more standardization of, well, standards supported by research of best practices (p.130-131).  Both of these organizations see a demand from both practitioners and administrators for credibility and institutionalization in some form.  Perhaps the best way to do that for this field is not to proscribe so much as facilitate.  It seems in keeping with the ideology of adult education to have organizations that offer possibilities for conversations and an exchange of ideas and tools rather than dictates of content or curriculum.  The field has grown into an enormous force for social change, benefit and assistance as well as financial gain.  Adult Education has been impacted by these organizations and given more shape and solidity, which seems necessary so that governance and decision making hopefully manages to stay in the right hands as intended.

What people can learn from these two adult education organizations

The most striking take-away seems to be that strong organizations have a clear mission.  Because of the vast array of adult societal interests and needs, there are innumerable ways to approach the field.  Therefore, choosing a specific need or interest is crucial to having effective organizations.  Moore (2000) from Harvard University claims that it is important to focus “attention on social purpose and on the ways in which society as a whole might be mobilized to contribute to social purposes rather than on the financial objectives that can be achieved by selling products and services to markets” (p. 205).  Organizations in adult education are not a business and need to remember to serve the common good.  These two organizations clearly have a strong focus in the right direction.

References

About ATD. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014 from

http://www.astd.org/About

ASTD. (2013). ASTD 2013 annual report.  Retrieved from

http://d2p9xuzeb0m4p4.cloudfront.net/~/media/Files/About%20ASTD/2013_Annual_Report_web.pdf?la=en

ATD the world’s largest talent development association. (2014). Retrieved from

http://www.astd.org/

Indiana Association for Adult & Continuing Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014 from

http://www.iaace.com/

Labaree, D. F. (2010, Nov. 24).  Power, knowledge, and the rationalization of teaching: A genealogy of the movement to professionalize teaching. Harvard Educational Review, 62(2), 123-155. Retrieved from http://hepg.metapress.com/content/H73X7422V3166102

Lin, N. (2002). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action (Structural analysis in the social sciences). Cambridge University Press, 0 edition.

Mission History. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2014, from

            http://www.iaace.com/mission--history.html

Moore, M. H. (2000, March 1).  Managing for value: Organizational strategy in for-profit, nonprofit, and governmental organizations.  Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 29, 183-208. doi: 10.1177/089976400773746391

Table 1. Summary of Important Adult Education Organizations

	The Association for Talent Development (ATD)	The Indiana Association for Adult and Continuing Education (IAACE)
Year it was founded	1943	1983
Mission and goals	Vision: Create a World that Works Better. Mission: Empower professionals to develop knowledge and skills successfully.	Mission: advocate for adult education in Indiana.
Roles and responsibilities	Hosts conferences and trainings regionally, nationally, and internationally (online and in- person), free resources through online social media tools, and YouTube channel videos. Through these tools ATD works to fulfill their mission and vision goal of empowering professionals and creating a world that works better.	Provides numerous online resources, newsletters, a yearly conference, a mentor program for adult education professionals.  These tools are used to help IAACE reach its mission goal as an advocate for adult education in Indiana.
Other important information	Both organizations benefit from utilizing a strong mission statement which helps develop and guide a strong sense of direction.	Both organizations benefit from utilizing a strong mission statement which helps develop and guide a strong sense of direction.
Impact	ATD membership has grown to include members from 120 countries and supports the work of professionals locally in more than 125 chapters, international strategic partners, and global member networks.  (ATD, 2014)	Adult Education has been impacted by these organizations by creating a network of professionals who have given more shape and solidity to Adult Education organizations.
Implications	As the scope and the impact of the training and development field has grown, the profession’s focus has broadened to link the development of people, learning, and performance to individual and organizational results. (ATD, 2014)	For every dollar spent on Adult Basic Education  our state saves seven dollars in other services it would have to provide; such as unemployment, welfare, and  incarceration. (IAACE, 2014)

October Monthly Summary

Jennifer Warrner commented on Group 3 and Group 4 for the October Monthly Summary. 
Sarah Smurr commented on Group 1 & 3

631 October Monthly Summary

The process of your project (what each of you have done, and what you have learned/changed) (Carrie Clymer)

During the month of October, our group’s goal was to compile a paper on unique programs. Our first decision we had to make as a group was to decide on the programs we would like to research which were a program in New York and South Carolina. Nina research the program in New York while Carrie research and compiled the information about the program in South Carolina. After the research, Nina and Carrie emailed their information to Sarah who compared and contrasted the information. Jennifer analyzed the information that Nina and Carrie collected about the two organizations. After all the information was gathered, Sarah combined and edited the unique programs paper and submitted the final copy.

One thing that our grouped learned through the process this month is to begin earlier and to communicate instruction better with all the members of the group. Since this is all online communication, the members have to be exact with the instruction on how they want the information completed because we do not have the outside communication to receive other information by. 

Your group plans for the next month. (Nina Monstwillo)

We will divide the tasks into two people doing the research for the two different organizations in the Introduction.  One will do the Roles and Responsibilities, and the last will do Discussions.   Nina will compile everything this time and do the Table.  Carrie may help. 

  I guess what I got out the last assignment is an appreciation for the knowledge other group members bring to the assignment.  The experiences and expectations each individual brings with them makes for an interesting dynamic to the group.  The challenges of working together have proven to be a great learning experience.  This learning process is teaching me that by listening to other peoples perspectives can help me to broaden my point of view and give me insight into topics I would not have thought of otherwise.  I am also learning that communication is essential and can be challenging when trying to work out ideas through email.  

What are the challenges you had this month? And how did you deal with them? (Sarah Smurr)

I was more of coordinator this month than on the last essay.  Previously, I just sent my piece to Jen and never saw what putting the pieces together would look like.  This month I was supposed to compare the two programs, so I needed pieces from two of the group members first.  The challenges were in communication this time.  When we originally divided the work, I thought the tasks were clear.  However, I got an email later saying the first two group members “were confused on how you would like for us to get the research to you.”  I was really surprised.  I thought it was clear what the tasks were, but it wasn’t.  To deal with this problem, I emailed my team members to clarify their tasks and give them new due dates.  I also emailed the next person to let them know there would be a delay and to make up a plan B if needed.  Furthermore, I asked other Grad students about group writing projects they have done and asked for advice.  I actually learned some great ideas for how to use those kinds of group writing assignments in my own teaching.  

But the biggest take-away was no matter how comfortable I am with my team, I always need to check explicitly to make sure we all know what we are doing.  I also need to always be supportive and take ownership of confusions as part of a team so that it builds positive results in the future rather than negativity.  It was an excellent learning experience.

How do you think your learning this month can be applied in your professional life or how do you think it will affect your professional life? (Jennifer Warrner)

One of the keys to being successful in any industry is having knowledge of that industry. The second group paper increased our knowledge about different adult and community education programs. Adult education programs do not have to be created from scratch, and learning about various programs can give adult education professionals ideas about how to structure programs, how to market programs, and what to include in those programs to make them successful.

The importance of communication was a primary lesson our group learned this month. According to research done every year by NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, communication is the number one skill employers look for in employees. Strong communication skills are key both professional and personal relationships, and working through our team miscommunication this month will help all of us to be better teammates and professionals in the future.

What I gained from this assignment

The key information I gained from this assignment was information about two unique adult education programs. Coursehorse, the website our group researched in New York City, connects adults to adult education opportunities and programs throughout the city. CourseHorse has also developed websites for Los Angeles and Chicago. I think CourseHorse is a brilliant idea! I’m sure more adults would participate in adult education if they knew what programs were available to them and had more information about those programs. Having a site like CourseHorse for Muncie might be a lofty goal, but it would be great if a similar resource made its way to Indianapolis. Perhaps a resource like that already exists for Indianapolis, and I just don’t know about it!