by Todd Mehrkens, M.Ed. candidate January 19, 1999 Researching Relevant Professional Development Learning Task #1 - Investigating a Professional Development Conference

I attended the University of Minnesota Extension Service Annual Conference in Duluth, Minnesota October 5-8. I attended several sessions, but will focus on three sessions in which I sought feedback from the participants. These sessions were (1) - Information Technology Strategies for Achieving the Land Grant Mission of the University of Minnesota Extension Service, (2) - On Your Own: Learning Software on Your Terms, (3) - Write Right! Tips and Tools for More Effective Writing.

(1) - Information Technology Strategies for Achieving the Land Grant Mission of the University of Minnesota Extension Service

This session was based on a report from the University of Minnesota Extension Service Information Technology Strategy Group. They reported on the work of the Strategy Group, which was assigned the task of implementing recommendations of a 1996 Information Technology Task Force. As a Strategy Group they were allocated $250,000 to help get projects started. The presenters talked about what is happening today in the field of technology, including the assertion that what we often refer to as a "technology revolution" is in fact an "information revolution" and that technology is the means by which we handle the incredible flood of information that is created at an ever increasing rate. Minnesota Virtual University was discussed, including what it can and can not do. They also did some projecting, noting that projecting much more than two years out is almost futile. They felt that the driving force in the field of technology will continue to be the need to handle the vast amounts of information in our society, with technology delivering the needed information when and where it is needed. The session ended with a dialogue reacting to the presentation, asking additional questions and discussing the future of technology.

I interviewed one person attending this session and asked six additional persons to complete a written survey. All the persons attending wanted to learn more about technology and its impact on education. Some of the participants attended because technology directly impacts, or soon will impact, their work with Extension. Technology is changing so fast and the volume of information is so large that many people who are impacted by it have many questions. In fact, one of the presenters admitted that even though he is a teacher of technology and his job is to understand all that is happening, he is unable to get a complete grasp on what is happening.

Most participants felt that the session was what they had expected and that it was worth their time to attend. They also felt that it was worth the resources of Extension to provide this session. Participants indicated that the dialogue was one of the most valuable parts of the session. One suggestion for improving the session was to expand the time available for dialogue. The other suggestion was to include more actual computer demonstration of specific examples.

My observation is that most participants looked to the presenters as experts in a field where it is hard to get definitive answers. The value of the session was the opportunity to ask these presenters questions and then to be able to discuss the answers with the other people in the room who also have an interest and a certain degree of knowledge in the field. In summary I would have to say that much learning happened in this session. One of the key components were the presenters themselves who were very knowledgeable and had spent many months researching, learning and working on this issue. Another key component was the participants themselves and the sharing and learning that occurred in the dialogue at the end of the session.

(2) - On Your Own: Learning Software on Your Terms

This session was described in the Conference Program Booklet as self paced learning, which it was. The room consisted of row after row of computers set up on tables. As the session started we were welcomed to work with any of the Extension-supported software that we wanted to. There were printed manuals for some of the programs, but we were on our own for other programs. There were resource people there to answer questions, but we truly had to decide what we wanted to learn and to get going on our own. A couple people left after the first few minutes and a one of the comments I heard was that they were looking for more directed learning. They had very little experience and so did not know what they needed to learn, let how to alone get started. The resource people present were very knowledgeable and able to answer any question, but coming up with the questions seemed to be the hard part.

I personally interviewed three participants after this session. All the people I talked with indicated that although they were expecting a self-paced learning situation, they were not prepared for the self-directed part of the session. Generally, they would have liked a little more direction or framework to operate in. The printed materials were good, but were almost as overwhelming as the program itself. I remember when I was in first grade I was part of a self-paced reading program. In that case, each student set their own pace, but there was a definite process or series of exercises to work through. I think the self-paced idea is good, but a little more direction would be helpful.

Myself, I planned to work in MS-Access. Because there were no printed manuals available I just started in the on-line help file. This was OK, but as I started learning a new concept, I finally had to create an example and work with that. At least two of the other participants also created real-life examples. In fact one person wanted to buy a disk so that he could take his work home with him and use it.

All participants I talked with indicated that they felt it was worth their time to attend and worth Extension's resources to provide this session. In all cases they were looking to increase their knowledge in a particular program to assist them in the work that they do. It was mentioned that the hands-on part of this session was crucial. Lecturing alone does not work very well to teach computer user skills. Based on this session I would say that completely independent hands-on learning is not ideal either. The best approach is probably a combination of lecture while having a computer in front of the student to work on. In reality, most computer classes that I am aware of are run this way, and probably for good reason.

(3) - Write Right! Tips and Tools for More Effective Writing.

This session was intended to help participants do a better job of communicating through their writing. There were three presenters and each person had a specific area that they covered. The time was well structured such that each presenter moved quickly through the material they had prepared. There was a handout that contained most of the material covered, with the presenters working off an overhead. The last part of the session was spent answering participant's questions. It was an effective way to present a lot of information in a very short time period. It was obvious that each presenter knew and loved their subject matter.

I had prepared written surveys that I intended to ask individuals complete at the end of the session. However, because it was the end of the day and most folks were anxious to be done for the day and the presenters were handing out an evaluation that looked similar enough to the questions I was asking, so I made a quick decision to save the participants the time it would take to complete my survey. I requested a copy of the results from one of the presenters and am basing my observations on that compilation.

The workshop met the needs and expectations of all participants to at least some degree. Annual Conference provided enough choices of high quality sessions that it is safe to assume that the participants in this (or any of the sessions) were there because they had a definite interest or desire to learn the subject matter. When asked to indicate their greatest learning from this workshop, participants generally indicated very specific things that they had learned.

When asked to indicate what additional learning they would have liked in the session or in future learning opportunities, participants again indicated very specific kinds of things. The material presented covered a lot of areas and it seems like it hit upon an area of interest for every participant. This generated specific questions. It was also obvious that the presenters were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject matter they were teaching. They were respected by the participants who saw this as an excellent opportunity to get help from the experts.

One of the goals for the presenters was to get an idea of what training needs exist within Extension and to help as they plan their work. It seemed obvious to me the participants are eager for more from these people and look forward to future learning opportunities.

Conclusion

The University of Minnesota Extension Service is an organization that focuses on education, both for its clients and for its staff. This dedication to the concept and value of education was well evidenced in the 1998 Annual Conference. All of the sessions that I attended had high quality information presented in a meaningful and useful way. The sessions varied in their format and delivery style, which reflected the varied content of the session, as well as the varied approaches by the presenters. It was a valuable conference to attend, both in terms of what I personally learned and in terms of the greater understanding and appreciation I now have of the learning that takes place at an educational conference.

-- Anonymous, January 19, 1999

Answers

I know you can see from my draft of my paper, I found this info you learned very important and I have shared our telephone conversation with at least 4 of my colleagues who are interested in the technology/ learning interface. Good luck and do contact John Madden...I know he's interested and very technologically experienced AND he spends lots of time trying to teach us old faculty AND high school learners.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 1999