Since I'm in the middle of taking an online course that introduces us issues around designing and managing distance education, AND I'm embarking on the first of three 8 week online project management certification courses, I thought it might be a good idea to reflect on my experience with the project management course. I might ALSO reflect on my experience with the distance education course from time to time.
Confused? Unless I specify otherwise, these posts will be on the PM online learning experience.
The class runs 8 weeks, and started on June 1 and ends on July 26.
To pass the class I have to score 70% or higher on each of the eight assessments. I can take the assessments as many times as I want, and each time that I do, I can see my score. The moment I'm happy with my score, I can save that score and move on to the next test. I won't see the actual answers until I submit the score. I've already taken the first assessment as a pretest and score 52% without having taken the online instruction.
Materials were mailed out in advance. They are 5 books with presentation slides printed in note taking format, one PMBOK Guide (the Project Management Institute's PM Book of Knowledge), some DVD's of the course material, and a welcome letter.
The course is meant to be accessed on line. I log into the course website, select my course, and then click the link to view the presentation. I haven't viewed the presentation yet.
The model for this instruction is linear designed instruction. I review the lectures, read a case, answer questions about the case, then continue to watch the lectures. In week 2, I take my first assessment test -- a 50 question multiple choice test. I can keep taking the test until I get the score I need or want.
There are three teacher/facilitators for the course. They answer questions on the discussion board, and then once a week they hold a live desktop interactive conference session using Elluminate. Attendance is optional for these synchronous communication sessions. The sessions are recorded and can be accessed later if desired.
The first synchronous session was cancelled at the last minute due to technical difficulties. Apparently several students did not find this out until after they attempted to log in. No email was sent in advance; a message was posted on the discussion board.
There are two discussion boards -- one for course discussion and one for all other discussion. The facilitator asked and and then reminded students to post their greetings and bios on the OTHER board, but many did not do this. I do not think the instructors/facilitators plan to post discussion questions on the course discussion board. Rather, I think the students will post their questions and the instructors will answer their questions. Maybe there will be actual discussion. There are some students who are forming a study group. I will probably pass on joining the study group this time around, but will check it out -- or form one -- for the next class.
There are no assignments in this class. And the course is self-paced. All you need to do is pass the four assessments to pass the class.
There are over 100 students enrolled in this class. All are adults. Of those who posted their bios, many are military or former military. Many come from IT industries. Most have been or currently are responsible for managing projects, and want to learn how the process.
I took the IDDE Project Management course in my program, however, I want to get PMP certified as a project manager. The PM certification program in which I am enrolled will prepare me to take the PMP certification exam. There are three courses in this certification. The first two teach the info needed to run projects and pass the exam. The third focuses on passing the PMP certification exam, and includes many practice tests.
My initial impression is that this course is an online correspondence course. Online/recorded lectures replace the written text. Instead of mailing in your test for grading, you take the test on line. The teachers can be contacted by asynchronous discussion boards. They offer real-time interaction with the teacher once a week. The instructional media are diverse. And student interaction is not built into the instruction.
That's all I have to say right now. I will start listening to the lectures and will reflect on those later. I wanted to get my first impressions down before they are washed away.
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