U -BLOG 2

Defining a Learning and Perfomance Strategy

In my workplace I have the responsibility of training users on new software that is introduced to the county. Traditionally organizations budget and send employees to F2F instuctor led training. My thought on this is that this practice can be very expensive. You have to pay for the class itself, milelage, perdiem etc.This cost could easily exceed $4000-$5000 per employee. A more cost effective way to train is to implement a training archive server. This idea can provide cost savings because it replaces the need for F2F offsite classes, can be used by the employee at any time of the day or night and also training is self paced. For example after a skills assessment has been performed I realize that I need to send 10 of my employees to Microsoft training @ a volume discount of $5,000 apiece. For the fiscal year I have to budget $50,000.00 for training. So as a manager that is very cost conscience, I purchase the CBT nuggets archive server for a total cost of $23999.00. This server just cut my training cost in half.
One question that puzzled me was, when will my staff have time to train. During the hours of 8-5 they are completing work orders for customers. So how will my staff train. Well since they can access this training archive server at any time, and also since it is self paced, they can actually train on thier off time. I can offer an incentive that the first employee that get certified on their own time, will receive a bonus or days off. Any subsequent employees after that will get a lesser incentive, and so on and so on. In my opinion this will also expose the employees who are not self-motivated or who may have learning difficulties. The employees that are self motivated will be the first to complete their certifications. Also the employees that are last to complete their certification may possess a learning difficulty or work/personal issues that are hindering their performance.

U-Blog 1

Constructivist Learning Theory :
I decided to write this short blog on constructivist learning because this is the learning style that was embraced by our instructor Dr. Keane. Constructivism refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves from their experiences through a process of accomodation and assimilation, and is strongly associated with learning by doing. This rate at which this knowledge is obtatined differs per individual. The constructivism theory is based on the works of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Social constructivism encourages the learner to arrive at his or her version of the truth based on his or her own experiences. Social constructivism emphasizes the importance of the learner being actively involved in the learning process.