Questions From Stewart Washington (Steve Ehrmann)
Dear Julie,
I'm on the run so this note might seem brusque. Let me begin with a
compliment; your proposal was quite well written, a clear description of what
I have to admit seemed a rather fuzzy idea.
I thought you understood that a CD-ROM represented a great chance for our
office to make a splash and gather funds. I don't understand how you could
have lost track of the main issue here. Your proposal doesn't represent the
kind of cutting edge work I know you are capable of; instead it seems rather
diffuse and mushy, and too low tech: a little of this, and little of that,
all over the map. I'm not really sure it can pull in the funds we need
because of this pedestrian and disorganized quality.
Please reconsider your plan and let me know how you might revise and tighten
it to meet our major objectives. Keep the vision squarely before you! (And
don't forget Java! I bet you can use the Web code to make the CD-ROM, and
then make the CD-ROM so that users can get additional materials from the Web.
Insanely great!)
Dear Stewart,
Thank you for your recent feedback on the FAYAP instructional module on Problem Solving and Farm Management. I'm glad you have brought your concerns to my attention. It is a great idea for us to try to gain recognition for TLRC by producing an innovative CD-ROM. It could be that I did not made it clear from my initial proposal that a large portion of our design is involved with web-based instruction. As you are aware the Internet is definitely cutting edge technology. We were planning to use a variety of resources with the main focus on Web-based materials in order to introduce students to all of the available resource options. However, if it would make a difference in outcomes for our learners, we could consider putting all of our instructional materials up on the Web. In response to your concerns about producing a CD-ROM, perhaps we ought to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a CD-ROM development in comparison with using the Web.
Advantages of CD-ROM based training
- No need for Ethernet connection
- Lack of waiting time for connection
- Easily identifiable as product of TLRC
Great storage technology for multimedia development, including audio, video
Weaknesses of CD-ROM based training
- Not up-dateable
- Expensive to produce
- Requires distribution network
- Problem with cross platform compatibility
Advantages of Web-based Training
- Can be up-dated frequently and easily
- Inexpensive
- Uses HTML which is a universal language
- Accessible to most computers and operating systems
- No problem with cross platform applicability
- No problem with distribution, easily accessible with a network connection
- Easily identifiable as a product of TLRC
Disadvantages of Web-Based Training
- Requires an Ethernet connection
- Extra waiting time for connection
You may recall from our previous discussion on March 24, we discussed the disadvantages of producing a CD-ROM for a fairly small audience, given the high costs of producing and distributing CD-ROMs. Based on the comparative merits of the two instructional media I think it is best to begin with the web-based training because it is possible to determine that the content meets the needs of the learner before we commit to a CD-ROM which would be difficult to amend. It would also give us the opportunity to integrate the CD-ROM into the web-based instructional package using JAVA. If you would like to create a CD-ROM in additional to the web-based training, I would love to talk to you about this possibility.
Stewart
Questions From Billie Redmond (Michael Lachance)
Why haven't the producers been included in the program design process?
Mention was made to "appropriate control", though the crux of integrated pest management is the use of multiple controls. Wouldn't it be better to have students select the most appropriate controls for a series of case studies?
Will the Web page be valuable enough that other pages will want to link to it? Why do you think so?
I believe it necessary to have the students be able to test their knowledge at intervals. How can you make this happen?
Response to Billie from UVa
Dear Billie,
Thank you for your recent feedback on the FAYAP instructional module on Problem Solving and Farm Management. I would like to discuss the issues your response highlighted. First of all, I am not clear what you mean by "producers." If you mean the community stakeholders I would like your input on how we can get them on board. As it stands now, we are having a community farm leader come in for the last session to discuss any questions that have come up in previous sessions. Perhaps we could get some of the students who finish the program to appear on Joe Dagsworthy's radio show to talk about what they have learned. This would help the community understand what we are trying to accomplish and would also provide us with some good publicity.
Next, let me discuss your second point concerning the use of multiple controls for integrated pest management in the actual instruction. Although clearly IPM in the real world involves multiple controls, I felt it necessary to focus on one control method per class due to the time constraints. However, we will make it clear to the students at the beginning of the sessions that farmers employing IPM usually have to consider using multiple control techniques to adequately control for pests.
In response to your question regarding our web site, let me say, we hope to create an attractive and useful web-page that other institutions will deem valuable. We believe we can make a site that other institutions will want to link to in order to meet the challenges of providing community outreach and education projects. I am open to any suggestions that will make our site a useful source of information for teaching IPM to a broader audience.
Finally, I would like to discuss the issue of providing students an opportunity to test their knowledge at intervals throughout the instruction. Since we are incorporating a case study approach based on a real-life pest management problem, there may be more than one correct solution. During each step in the process students will be identifying variables and proposing a solution. We will have assessment tools to determine whether they have identified the appropriate problems and solutions necessary to fight the pest infestation. The facilitator will provide appropriate feedback at specific intervals, and will test the students' knowledge of IPM by asking questions which will keep them on track as they construct their solution to the problem.
Thank you again for your insightful questions. I look forward to discussing this matter with you further.
Sincerely,
Julie
