My Personal Development Plan

 

As I have recently accepted a new position which I will begin on April 23^rd.  I find the idea of developing my own personal development plan to be very time appropriate.  I am very excited about beginning my new career.  I am hoping that I will be able to make this new organization my home.  I will be starting a Systems Training Specialist for a local hospital here in Baltimore, MD.  The responsibilities for my role are to answer a need that exists in the department.  I plan to do this job to the best of my ability and develop a lasting career with this organization.  I intend to use formal education, mentoring, performance appraisals and feedback to develop myself.

In the terms of formal education, I plan to complete another certificate following this one.  Currently, I have my Master of Science in Instructional Design and Technology which I completed in April 2011.  In one week I will have my certificate in Training and Performance Improvement.  After that, I want to complete the certificate in Online Learning.  Part of the reason I was hired is because of my experience creating online learning content.  I want to support my experience with formal education specifically geared towards online learning.  

There is one other trainer already working in the department I will be joining. I plan to enlist her as a mentor.  She does not have the experience that I do in training and development.  However, she has experience with the organization, the systems and the people.  She and I will have the same job titles.  As the only two trainers in the department, the success of the training belongs in our hands.  Research suggests that mentors provide career and psychosocial support (Noe, 2010).  I will only know one other person in the entire organization and he does not work in my department.  My mentor can help me get to know others and serve as a resource.  

I will be reporting to the Director of Faculty Practice at the hospital.  He will be conducting performance appraisals with me.  I will receive one after my 90 day probationary period and then annually.  Appraisals should provide a clear understanding of the differences between current performance and expected performance, identify the causes of the performance discrepancy, and develop action plans to improve performance (Noe, 2010).  I plan to use the results of my performance appraisals to identify areas for improvement and advance my development.  I will compare his ratings to my own and see if I truly measure up to the ideas I have for myself.  

Finally I will use the feedback I receive from the trainings I conduct in order to develop my performance.  I will receive feedback after each training session and I hope to incorporate a feedback method for the online learning as well.  By knowing what my audience thinks of my performance it can help to provide me with a 360 degree feedback view.   The doctors, nurses and office staff who I will be training are the people who will keep me employed.  After all, if I do not do a good job of training them then my job as a trainer is not complete.  I want to be the best trainer there is.  I want for the individuals who take my courses to walk away knowing and being able to put into practice everything that they intended to learn and maybe more. 

 

The beginning of my success as a trainer starts and continues with my own development.

Employee Development Presentation

I have created a presentation to show why it is important to have an employee development program.  I have given specific examples of the types of development approaches that would be useful in my organization.  I hope that you all enjoy the presentation and look forward to your feedback.

High-Tech Training

There are lots of different technologies out there in the world that can be used to enhance learning.  However for this blog, I am only focusing on five.  The five technologies on which I plan to focus are learning portals, learning management systems, training software applications/authoring tools, mobile learning and simulations. 

Learning Portals

Learning portals are web sites or online learning centers that provide access to training courses, services, and online learning communities from many sources (Noe, 2010).  Learning portals allow users convenient access to many different resources they need for learning all in one place.  For example in our courses at Walden University we use the eCampus learning portal.  In this portal we are able to access our classrooms, student email accounts, student support, financial aid accounts and more.  By providing one central resource learning portals will assist learners and trainees with managing their time as they will not have to go to multiple place in order to accomplish their learning needs.  Some additional examples of learning portals are Skillsoft, Taleo and Mzinga.

Learning Management Systems

 

 A learning management system (LMS) is a technology platform that can be used to automate the administrations, development, and delivery of all of a company's training programs (Noe, 2010).  Learning management systems have had many positive implications on training.  LMSs have made training processes more efficient.  They allow for housing of courses in a central location.  This can prevent from having to individually email links or attachments. It also allows users and administrators to run reports on what trainings a user has completed and what their scores are.  This eliminates the need for manual record keeping.  It also allows the information and reports to be easier manipulated for evaluations of data and results.  LMSs can save so much time in many different training processes.

Some examples of LMSs are Moodle, Blackboard, and Healthstream.

 Mobile Learning

We live today in a mobile world.  People are on the move and on the go.  The ability to access information when you are out of the office or classroom can be pivotal.  Mobile technology allows learning to occur anywhere at anytime (Noe, 2010).  We use can use our smart phones, e-readers, mp3 players and many other devices to access learning on the go.  This can be in the form of recorded audio lectures.  Online classes such as the one we are in can also be accessed using any device that allow you to access the internet.  It allows you to engage in learning from almost anywhere if you have some sort of mobile device to support it.  

There are so many options of devices.  There are iphones and even e-readers such as kindle.  We can access emails from our trainers on the go.  The are unlimited options for the benefits of mobile learning for both the trainers and trainees.

Training Software Applications/Authoring Tools

Authoring tools are used to create presentations, surveys, quizzes, animation, and graphics and to provide sound, video and text for online learning (Noe, 2010).  I personally as a trainer have benefited immensely from the use of authoring tools.  I use Adobe Captivate on a daily basis.  Authoring tools allow trainers to create more engaging and interactive trainings that can go into a learning management system.  Another benefit is that they create SCORM complaint training.  This is a fancy way of saying they make trainings that will play nice with many different systems.  This means that these authoring tools not only assist in the creation of the the training but they assist the user in the delivery of the training.  This means that someone using a different LMS or a different way to access the internet should not have an issue accessing the course.  Authoring tools have gone beyond simple power point presentations.  They allow trainers to create truly interactive learning experiences.  For trainees, this can make all the distance in a self paced learning scenario.  

There are many other authoring tools out there.  Some other examples are Articulate and Trivantis Lectora.

Simulations

Simulations have been used as a proven training method in many different areas of learning.  My sister is completing her Bachelors of Nursing degree and they use simulation dolls such as the one in the picture.  She has tests where her profession is behind a two way mirror and is able to speak through the doll.  Simulations have also proven successful in helping school leaders practice people skills. According to a research study complete by Syracuse University researchers there are benefits to simulation in the education environment as well.  There is some importance to being able to get real practice doing something. Simulations go beyond role playing in that role playing assigns the learner a role to play.  Simulations provide a situation or a scenario and the learner needs to solve the problem by using what they have learned.  There are not told what to do and what role to take on they used what they have been trained to do.  It is a true application of the knowledge learned. 

References:

Sparks, S. D. (2011). Simulations Help School Leaders Hone People Skills: Simulations Help School Leaders Practice "Tough Conversations". Education Week, 31(1), 1,. 

Noe, R. A. (2010). Employee training and development (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.