BRIEFING NOTE: Educational Technology Enhancement Page 1 of 4

Proposal

BRIEFING NOTE
Prepared By: Bobby Robidoux

UM Student 7653744
ID:

Submitted Dr. Rob Power

To:

Prepared For: University of Manitoba Extended Education

Date: Sunday, March 26, 17

Briefing Note Educational technology enhancement proposal for an existing

Purpose course / unit

Course / Unit EDTC 0560 - Using Technology for Teaching and Training

Course Outline A course syllabus / course outline is available from

https://universityofmanitoba.desire2learn.com/content/enforce
d3/232973-55083.201710/Content/general/Course
%20Outline.html

Program Certificate in Adult & Continuing Education

Section 1: Background

In 2015 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) completed a corporation wide

employee engagement survey. Various areas of opportunity were identified, but
one was determined by the executive to be a priority: Managerial effectiveness.

Of the range different training programs introduced to address the training and
support of leaders, the flagship program being offered is called Coaching As A
Leader. It is a seven-month program comprised of seven four-hour courses, each
delivered approximately a month apart. Appendix A offers a short outline of the 7
modules that comprise the Program.

The Coaching As A Leader program is designed to slowly build a foundation of

self-awareness and communication skills over the first several months. In the final
stages, the focus shifts to eventually developing a toolkit of coaching skills. This
longer, slower paced delivery method allows for plenty of time between classes to
reinforce, practice and implement the subject matter for the learners. The
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Proposal

extended time frame of the program also allows for the leaders in the program to
cultivate a rich, trusting network of peers amongst their cohorts.

So far 56 learners have completed the program, and another 54 are currently
enrolled. All learners are leaders in the corporation, with a mix of executive level,
senior, middle and front-line management represented in each cohort. The long
term plan is for all 450 leaders in the corporation to eventually complete the
program.

The training is delivered in class, using PowerPoint, flip charts, white boards,
printed material and workbooks with the occasional use of YouTube videos. Even
though this program was developed by a modern and nimble team of facilitators
and program planners it still makes very limited use of educational technologies.

Section 2: Rationale for Change

While the topics and concepts covered in Coaching as a Leader are modern and
challenge traditions of corporate culture, the current delivery methods do nothing to
enhance the modern feel of the concepts being taught. By using newer, more
innovative technologies to guide learners through the subject material, the program
would do a better job of present itself as a fresh, modern take on leadership and
corporate culture. This is training that would benefit greatly from educational
technology that is equally as progressive and modern.

One specific challenge that education technology could potential address is

smart phone use in class. Since all participants are leaders in the corporation with
many in executive positions, participants answering important emails and text
messages during class has been a common occurrence. Finding a way to
incorporate them as a learning tool could shift the negative perception of the cell
phones presence in the class.

Section 3: Proposed Enhancements

Padlet Briefcase:

The first opportunity identified is based around the programs goal of helping
learners develop a strong, trusting network of peers. While the program does a
good job of creating networking opportunities in class, there is little to tie the
learners to each other in the month-long gaps between classes. This is an
opportunity that could potentially be addressed with private social networking. Of
the many options available, one option that could potentially be a great fit would be
Padlet; specifically Padlet Briefcase their business-focused product. Padlet is a type
of online sharing space that participants could share experiences, successes,
challenges, relevant videos or posts with each other. It could also be used by the
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Proposal

facilitators to share relevant teachings between classes in order to keep learners

engaged. The attached analysis (Appendix B) demonstrates in greater detail how
this service could be a good fit as a simple social networking tool for this program.

Polls Everywhere:

The second opportunity identified is tied to some of the specific subject matter
covered in the course. One of the first and most important focuses of Coaching As
A Leader is helping leaders become more self-aware. One way this is done is by
teaching each leader about their preferences around communication and how to
identify those preferences in others. One example of these preferences would be
the communication styles of introverts. Introverts do not like to speak up in class
and can find being called on by the facilitator very distracting to their learning. One
cloud-based tool that might help to address this would be an online real-time survey
program like Polls Everywhere. Polls Everywhere is a web-based program that
allows facilitators to prepare various surveys and polls, and enables learners to
respond using SMS. This can be done from any mobile phone, smart phone or even
online. Using a tool like this would allow introverts to be more involved with in-class
participation while still respecting their communication preferences. This tool would
also allow more classroom-appropriate use of smart phones in the classroom. The
attached analysis (Appendix C) demonstrates in greater detail how this tool could
effectively put into practice the taught concepts of communication styles-
preferences.

Section 4: Recommendations

In Summary, while the Coaching As A Leader program has been very

successful and well received by the first two cohorts, expectations will continue to
rise with each passing month. Without doing a better job of using up-to-date
education technology in the program, there is a risk of losing credibility. Because
the program is billed as being leading edge and innovative, learners will enter in
with that level of expectation around all aspects of the course. Effective use of
education technology could better address those expectations early on and drive
better buy-in from the learners.

Using Padlet Briefcase to create a safe, exclusive place for learners in the
month between classes to share, reinforce the learning and build their networks
provides learners with another tool they can access. It will provide added value to
the course and an understanding that this is truly a new and innovative program.

Using Polls Everywhere in class could allow the facilitators to implement and
support the concepts around communication preferences in real-time . The tool
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could become an in-class example of how to make the classroom a comfortable

environment for both introverts and extraverts.

By continually embracing new educational technology, this program can

ensure it will remain engaging, innovative and relevant for years to come.

Word count: 1007

Appendices

Appendix A:

Coaching As A Leader Course Outline:

The program is spread over seven-month. It is comprised of seven four-hour

courses, each delivered approximately a month apart. The 7 modules are:

1. Building Self-Awareness
2. Discovery Insights: Building a Strong Foundation for Coaching
3. Creating Positive Energy & The Science of Happiness
4. Trust: Creating the Coaching Relationship
5. Managing Performance by Leading Potential
6. The Coaching Conversation: Turning Inquiry and Exploration into Action
7. Asking Great Questions: Creating a Dynamic Feedback Loop