Integrating Technology Interview
Please visit the link below to view an interview with Peter Barrett, MBA, Process Manager for Sprint's National Customer Service Operations. Mr. Barrett shares his experiences with integrating technology with adult learners in his role as a co-leader for WFM (Work Force Management). I chose Mr. Barrett for this interview since I have observed his ability to teach technical skills to adult learners on numerous occasions. Mr. Barrett's passion for teaching is one of the reasons that I decided to obtain my Masters degree in Adult Education. I also felt like it was important to interview an individual who did not work in healthcare since that is my comfort zone.
During this interview, Mr. Barrett will cover the following:
- Technology-Integration of Dynamic Technician utilizing a laptop
- Challenges-Lack of technical skills, resistance to change, and hesitancy
- Promises for the future-practical use that will improve daily workflow, adult learners found value in information and skills that were taught by instructors
During this implementation of technology, 1800 technicians in 17 states were trained to use laptops to improve daily work. This implementation of software/hardware changed the way technicians function in the field.
Youtube link:
http://youtu.be/BwXDVb2GRnM
It was so great to listen to your interview! I really liked the perspective of integrating technology in the workplace not a traditional classroom. I liked the idea of creating a virtual workplace that while your employees were on the road, they were connected by technology to Sprint. This technology transition put a virtual office in each frontline employee’s vehicle – so neat! This type of workplace is becoming increasingly more common and has advantages (i.e. cost) and disadvantages (i.e. employee isolation) (Cascio, 2000). With that in mind, since your employees are already out of the traditional office setting, I am sure having easy access to technology and resources has helped them feel more connected. I travel a lot for work and find that having my tablet and iPhone allows me to be pretty productive in just about any location.
ReplyDeleteCascio, W. F. (2000). Managing a virtual workplace. The Academy of Management Executive. 14(3). 81-90.
Thank you for your comment! I appreciate your thoughts and feedback. Since I am not a traditional educator, I felt like it was important to explore options for integrating technology in workplace training. I agree with your point that integrating technology for field employees has advantages and disadvantages though as you mentioned, this is the direction most corporations are going. I look forward to checking out your reference. Sounds like a great article.
DeleteThanks again! Good luck to you!
I enjoyed your video interview very much. You integration of music, transition, and summary slides kept my attention the entire length of the video. Your interviewee covered all the main points required in the rubric and engaged me as the viewer with specific examples of challenges he faced and how he overcame those challenges.
ReplyDeleteOne of the specific challenges your interviewee discussed was resistance to change. I think this is a common reaction to change in the workplace, as I am facing a tremendous amount of change in my work environment (there is much resistance with those that I work with) . Burckman (2008) states that most people in organizations will be resistant to change and it does not matter if the intended result is positive or negative. I think that your interviewee did a great job of explaining how he overcame the resistance and completed the project.
I think as we move forward, we as educators must understand that there will be those that will resist technology and we must develop ways to overcome that resistance.
Bruckman, J. C. (2008). Overcoming Resistance to Change: Causal Factors, Interventions, and Critical Values. Psychologist-Manager Journal (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 11(2), 211-219.
Thank you for your feedback! I agree with your comments about change in the workplace. The citation from Burckman (2008) is very interesting. As educators, we often think that our learners will embrace change and education, if the end result is positive. As you mentioned, this is not always the case. As my interviewee mentioned, even though the end result would help lighten the workload, the technicians still resisted the change in workflow. I found that very interesting.
DeleteI must say, I signed up for this class to overcome with my resistance to use technology. I must confess, I was a bit anxious each time we started a new project. Technology is an area that I am not as comfortable since my background is science and healthcare. I am excited to use the skills that we learned in this class but I did not start each project with that same enthusiasm. When I think about it ,I am just like the technicians that my interviewee mentioned in the video.
Thanks again for your comments! Good luck to you in the future!
Christine,
ReplyDeleteI produced a fantastic video with the usage of the music as the introduction, showing the interview in black and white photography instead of color, and the placement of an information slide at the end. Very professionally made and very informative. I am curious as to your usage of black and white imagery though... I felt that it gave your video a definite distinct over other videos and more interest in your subject matter (the interviewee).
Tammy
Tammy,
DeleteThank you for your comments! I must admit, I have never produced a video before. When it comes to technology, I ask my teenager! When I was preparing for the interview and trying to figure out how to document the information, my daughter told me to use my iPhone. I have this handy app called iMovie that was user friendly and created a nice product. Dr. Kang mentioned in the study guide that we should have our family watch the video to make sure that it wasn't boring. My daughter watched the video and thought that it looked better in black and white, so I went with her suggestion. I am glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you for your comments and good luck to you in your future endeavors!
Opps...
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add my reference. Sorry.
http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2011/04/04/which-is-better-black-and-white-vs-color-for-street-photography/
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for going outside your area of expertise to interview. It was good networking on your part resourcing your daughter. My son was not much help to me, not having experimented much with video beyond snapchat.
ReplyDeleteI loved the atypical nature of the work and the training needed. It was very interesting to hear about blue tooth and wifi in their infancy. I can imagine that it would have been very difficult for the employees to grasp the concepts of the technology because it was just out of innovation and not something the public was familiar with at the time. Adults are hesitant to learn a new skill if their self-esteem is low within a specific content area (Hoban & Hoban, 2004). The trainer was patient as he scaffolded the skills these non-technical workers would need in training to successfully master and integrate the new technology. It was a good evaluation of success that the support system was dismantled sooner than expected.
He mentioned the age gap between himself at 33 and his students in their mid fifties, eluding to their resistance to learning from him. I wonder if the age difference influenced any issues of perceived competency on behalf of either the teacher or the student resulting in training difficulties. Thank you so much for sharing this unique trainer and training experience!
Hoban, S., & Hoban, G. (2004, Fall). Self esteem, self-efficacy and self-directed learning: Attempting to undo the confusion. International Journal of Self-Directed Learning, 1(2)