Mike’s Doc Blog

The final grades came back from this last class. Despite all the trouble and apathy I earned a strong B in the course moving my on, officially, to the rest and final part of my doctoral journey.

I was thinking about this last course throughout the night and this morning. My final postings showed my apathy for the content, curriculum, and instruction very clearly. I’m certainly not apologetic for being apathetic or showing it. It does lead me to wonder about apathy and engagement though.

I’ve always found that apathy from students can be headed off using some instructional and curricular techniques. In curriculum, I found that making the content relevant, applicable to performance, and entertaining was a magic combination for staving off apathy and boredom. For example, I created an information security training program once set to a wild west and bandits theme, linked in some important data and facts about the subject, and included some mocked up skits and games to keep the participants engaged in a rather dull topic.

Instruction requires both content knowledge and knowledge of facilitation. Finding ways to learn about the participants and their interest and link that knowledge to the course content in ways that are interesting and meaningful instead of obvious and dull. For example, in my information security training, IT professionals were required to go through the intervention too. This was an audience that clearly was inundated with security knowledge, data, and practices. By most accounts, the program I delivered was elementary to them. So I took the opportunity to ask them questions in the courses that allowed them to show off, stretch their application of knowledge, and provide more rationale for the rest of the class. This put that group in a different class of participant and also added to the value of the class for others. In fact, many people from those classes with IT professionals in them reported learning so much about protecting the company and themselves. A win-win-win for the stakeholders.

My point of this is to say, I was apathetic and felt that the content and curriculum lacked a certain entertainment and relevance value. More importantly, it lacked sufficient clarity to make the content even appear alive much less interesting. The instructor did try to engage me but did so in a way that I was singled out negatively and in ways that clearly violate my employee agreement with my employer, something instructors need to understand. The instructor’s feedback was also elementary and lacked sufficient content to provide information needed for subsequent assignments; further hampering my ability to engage the content in the most basic of ways-for the grade. I suspect that was not intentional with so many participants in class and all developing 20, 30, and 40 page papers but it is what came through.

My apathy led to disengagement on many levels. I was able to find distractions more readily and even seek them out when the thought of going to class was so unappealing that I couldn’t even log into the classroom space. I am disappointed with this last class and have expressed my disappointment to my academic team so they can work with the instructor and designers to make needed improvements to this course. My hope is that future students don’t suffer through this abysmal example of higher education.

As I stated earlier, I am eager to get onto my dissertation phase and will be making some prep for that course over the next few weeks. I will continue to blog my responses and reflections on that process. By this weekend I should have reviewed my drafted proposal and checklists again and have something more concrete to deal with regarding that process and set of items.

A long day of work is done. I found my proposal draft and realized it was woefully inadequate. So, I printed it out on the few sheets of paper it required and did some searching. I searched, and found, other documents like checklists, change trackers, IRB/ARB submission guidelines and forms, and some internal research request forms.

At the end of the searching and printing, I had a noble stack of paper to sift through this weekend. Yes, this weekend. I know I seem gung-ho about getting this on track but I have to prioritize this final class. A class, I might add, that holds no interest or value for me (dare I say any student…I dare not. Let them have their own blog and feelings about this awful class).

So tonight and tomorrow are dedicated to re-writing a paper I’ve already written based on the feedback from my professor and learning team members. I also get the joy of writing up a plan for how I will or won’t incorporate feedback for this round and potential rounds. I can assure you that this final part will be completely conjecture and will never leave this classroom space and be applied in my real world. If you were ever baffled why public K-12 schooling was onerous and complicated take a few classes and realize that this is a group of professionals that just over-think everything. If there is a silver lining it is that I am more prepared to fight for my child(ren)’s education than ever before. /rant

Okay, where was I?

Right, there it is. So having found my proposal and gathered some other forms needed to submit a qualified proposal to my committee I need to make a plan for the weekend. First, re-read and make notes on my proposal draft. I think this will provide me some insights and reflection on my work and thinking around it. Second, start making a plan for completing the proposal using the guidelines and forms as my checkpoint and ruler. That should take most of the weekend.

Once I’ve finished with this, I think putting some writing in place daily will really help get me going. I begin my next session with my committee chair on March 16th and want to have a finished draft ready to go by the time I’ve hit that starting point with her.

This course in my doctoral program is all about me working with my mentor to get things in line for my proposal. Alas, I’ve not been to active in class. Evidence of this came last night with a stern message from my Academic Counselor that cautioned me to post in class or risk being auto-dropped.

Why the inactivity? A few reasons actually but none enough to warrant my lack of activity. First, I’ve been reading a lot about my revised topic and problem statement. Second, I’ve been reading and writing a new employee onboarding program which has had the deadline moved up 4 weeks and been given no additional resources of staff to make this happen with the same quality. Third, I have a big idea (not something I want to share yet) about a potential business and have been doing the market trend research on that idea.

At some point this week I need to stop reading and start writing. Which is not to say, stop reading. It is to say start turning that reading into some activity. Start processing all the journals and all the knowledge into something valuable for my process as a doctoral student. This happened once before, I get paralyzed in wanting to know all there is to know about a subject and before long I am down the rat hole on topics I either don’t know or don’t need to know that much about.

Last night’s plane ride to Kansas City gave me the time to reflect on that behavior and I came to realize that my quality standards drive my wanting to know it all behavior. At some point, I need to take that quality standard aspect and turn it over into a quality of writing attitude. Blogging has been helping me move forward, just writing keeps the wheels greased so writer’s block does not set in.

Writing is important enough to my dissertation that I need to make this a priority today. Not only that but I was listening to Jeffrey Gitomer’s How to not Suck at Sales audiobook on the plane and was reminded about how important writing is to the career of a knowledge worker. So, I am writing, this post and then my proposal. Look for something to be posted here as I get things re-written. I’ll caution you ahead of time that academic writing is boring on the highest order, but I’ll add some stuff that keeps you engaged; I promise.

Image Source: jsarcadia

I begin DOC/733 today, it is the second course with my mentor and one that I’ve been looking forward to completing for some time now. I had to delay the start due to some unexpected circumstances and bills. The purpose of the class is to prepare the proposal or Chapters 1, 2, and 3. This is a monumental undertaking for me. As most of you know, I stepped back on my research to focus solely on podcasted training and the learning impact of using podcasts.

This narrowing of focus should help my research but it does require me to get going and flesh out the research. I also need to get my research methods in order and secure an study group. Apart from that, I need to find a committee in the next few weeks so that my proposal can be thoroughly guided and built. There is a lot to do. Perhaps it is a good thing that I am being certified in FranklinCovey’s Focus Time Management series. I can use all the help I can get.

It feels like I am beginning again. It has been some time since my last class and the bad habits have snuck back in on me. I am breaking them now and it hurts. I know the road ahead is going to be a rough one but no doctoral program would be complete without these rites of passage. There are times that I wish I could be in a physical community of doctoral learners to keep the momentum. I realize, though, that would breed unhealthy competition for favor and attention from faculty. I also know that would mean being apart from my work and family; two things I am not willing to part with right now.

As I look ahead to the next 8, and likely 16, weeks I see clarification beginning to happen and a new sharpness and professionalism coming to this research. I know a lot of people are interested in the outcomes, so am I.

Image Source: LiveALittle.org

Rigor is one of those things that gets brought up a lot when talking about doctoral level programs and classes. I hear and read about the academic or scholarly rigor of a program as the mark of quality. As you can imagine there are many shots taken at University of Phoenix’s online doctoral programs as not as rigorous due to the eLearning element of the program.

By and large, I find the program as rigorous or more so than other terminal degree programs. The very fact that the programs and schools need to pass the muster of accreditation means that the program is as rigorous as others under the same standards. It is more rigorous in that I work full time, have a full time home life, and attend school full time. It is possible and I do need to dedicate all my attention to all things. There is no loss or glossing over of any one things when my attention is needed in 3 areas.

That said, I am seeing some changes in the curriculum structure that are not so appealing to my need for a rigorous program. The last class, one on assessment in education, used some alternative assignments to achieve the class goals. I am all for alternative assessment devices and felt these missed the mark. Frankly, interviews with learning leaders, position papers, and lists of assessment questions don’t meet my demand for rigor. These assignments felt a little elementary and as such I couldn’t get motivated to participate in the course completely.

Again, by and large, I find the program rigrous and worthy of my time and attention. These last few classes and particularly this latest one just didn’t make the grade for me. What does this mean for the student experience? In my case, it diminishes my interest in the class, the conversations, the assignments, the experience. So I find my attention spent in areas that are more demanding and worthy of my concerted effort and focus. Sure it seems counterproductive but it is the reality of the situation. There are some that will say, “Easy A”. No. Easy A is not in my vocabulary. I want to earn it and I want the course demand I earn it.

My next course is one with my mentor. I fully expect it to meet my demands for rigor. I’ve got a lot of work to do on my proposal and I will need to focus completely on the demands of the curriculum and my mentor. I’m looking to it.

Image Source: Canadian Veggie

Sometime overnight, the server that my classroom resided one ended its life, at least this is what tech support told me. They had hoped to rebuild the server in less time but as of Sunday afternoon things were still down. When class isn’t available on weekends things get dicey. All of a sudden, I had last minute questions about the assignment that I knew could be resolved in class postings. All of a sudden, I wanted to check my professor’s notes and lectures. All of a sudden, I wanted to take advantage of the class materials.

It was a frustrating weekend, school-wise, for sure.

Some might say this has to do with the switch to a web-based classroom environment. It might, but the server being down would have impacted the Outlook Express environment too. Although, is OE the older posts would be available offline, making accessing the materials more readily accessible. Still, the new web interface is not the issue. The issue is redundancy. I am sure there are backups somewhere but the IT failure is no doubt giving rise to a series of conversations that ensure up time.

Perhaps most frustrating was that the server meltdown came at the end of CUR/722. I’ve had contentions with this class in the past few weeks and none of them were adeqautely resolved. I still feel as though the assignments and discussion were at Bachelor or Master levels and did not adequately stretch to doctoral level leadership discussions or work. The class being done now, I have little left to harp on. So, it is enough that I have voiced my concern through the end-of-course survey (and here I suppose).

I completed my assignment and like a seasoned UOP student, I emailed it to the professor to make sure the paper got counted. I hope my classmates did the same.

The classroom did come back up on Monday afternoon. It was empty of all earlier posts and materials. A message assuring students the earlier posts would be restored gave little comfort. The class was ending, what do I care if the older materials appear somewhere down the line. Truth be told, the classrooms dissappear after a few weeks, making accessing all older materials impossible.

Just as one class ends, another begins. I am preparing for Year 3 residency. I have a lot to do in terms of drafting chapters 1-3 and I will be buckled down after a short break here.

Image Source: zoomar

I’ve made no secret that my current class has brought trials and tribulations. The latest round of thought-provoking actions revolve around the discussions in class. Each week, as most of you know, a lecture, readings, and assignments lead to discussion questions and hopefully discussions that steer learners toward a higher leadership goal.

Sadly, I’ve felt the discussion questions, as of late, in this class fit one of two categories. First is the assignment category. These are questions that seem more like assignments and don’t generate discussion because they are not questions. For example, find 3 articles on differentiated instruction and provide an annotated bibliography. I don’t see the question. Further, I don’t see where an article summary could lead to much discussion outside of comments about how interesting the article seems. Second, questions that talk about classroom management vs. educational leadership. I understand that classroom management is an essential part of teaching, regardless of level, and I also know this is something that fits into Bachelor programs and professional development courses. At the doctoral level we should be setting the sights towards leading classroom management of other teachers (at the very least).

These, of course, are my personal opinions about the class and I know that there are those out there that would quickly come to the defense of the instruction or professor for putting these discussion questions out to the class. In fact, in class, some already have come to the defense. I understand that, my own experience with K-12 teachers is that of a wall of defense rather than a thoughtful discussion of alternatives and improvements. In class, I was given a referenced discussion that talked about an educational apprach to justify the low level of scholarship I feel is present.

So, what to do? Well, I think the end of course survey gives some ventilation to the issue but does not resolve what I feel is a failing. In class, I am taking the stance of changing the question and seeking a higher order of response. We need to push the envelope not seal it. Owning one’s learning is about using what is there and pushing oneself with it, regardless of how weak it seems.

I am shooting for educational leadership. The rest of you can do what you feel is right for yourself and your investment in your learning. If rehashing what you know gives you benefit and justifies the cost, go for it. If you want real value for your investment, let’s engage in leadership discussion and push the envelope together.

Image Source: pedrosimoes7

A recent incident in class where I was blatantly and openly attacked has given inspiration for a posting about how to manage this type of behavior. Disclaimer: This very rarely happens. This is the first time in several years of being an online student that I was attacked. In fact, the first time ever. The attack was both personal and professional.

Sure, there are flame wars, tough exchanges, and sometimes commanding arguments. That should be expected in an free environment that is designed to generate knowledge and grow people. Mountains are not built without earthquakes. That said, attacks from other students are not part of that growth experience and need to be handled carefully. So here is how:

1. Contact your professor and seek corrective action
2. Consult the Student Code of Conduct for violations and work with the professor on it
3. Work with the professor to separate the perpetrator from your learning experience
4. Find ways to complete the work without interaction of the attacker
5. Always keep your Academic Adviser in the loop

Bear in mind that most professors despise any ugliness in a classroom. This includes resolving the matter where disruption or difficult corrective action might be the right solution. In any case you feel as though you, the victim, are being punished or unfairly treated in the solution; choose your battle. Is this solution so awful that you cannot bear it? If so, say something. Is the solution mildly inconvenient? You might choose to move forward with some pain but move forward none the less.

Regardless of the outcome, always consult your Academic Adviser.

Image Source: Feuillu

A recent class discussion highlights some disparity in the University of Phoenix student body in terms of software and intended use. The discussion was around some folks continuing to use Outlook Express because of early problems with the new web-based class platform. Many moons ago doctoral students switched to the web-based Online Learning System.

Outlook Express went away because it is wildly unsafe and unreliable. I loved it, loved it, loved it. I was sad to see it go and since then become a big fan of the web-based classroom. Of particular issue in this discussion is the ability for users of OE to copy eMails of students, etc. The issue is that a student is copying students on posts and the replies are not coming into the web-based forums. Thus creating the chance that important thoughts, comments, and discussions get misplaced and are not tracked in the classroom. Why is this important?

Well, the first is that students can remain focused without having to jumping around between the classroom and eMail systems. Secondly, if eMail conversations include important information it can be lost readily. Thirdly, if you need to track down a conversation item, digging through eMail is much tougher than using the forum.

I had no idea the discussion would become as important to the holdouts using Outlook Express. Change is tough for people, I understand. My advice to any University of Phoenix student is to use the web-based OLS (which rocks now) and avoid non-classroom discussions for your own sake. Your life will be easier and more successful at UOP, I promise.