Fluent Essays

DB1) After reading an emergency operations plan of your choosing identify and list five (5) instances where special needs populations are included in the planning process and another five (5) where they have been overlooked.2) Utilizing the lists generated above, start thinking about the groups within the community that could be called upon to assist with including different segments of the special needs population. What resources do they possess? What conflicts may arise?in the attachment you will find the reading article. Reading AssignmentsAn EOP of your choice making_a_discussion_board_a_true_discussion.doc Unformatted Attachment Preview Making a Discussion Board a True Discussion John C. Lewis, Ed.D. Online courses often rely heavily on the Discussion Board to provide an opportunity for learning participants and facilitators alike to respond to questions and react to comments from fellow learners. There is a difference, however, between responding to a Board item in a meaningful way and responding in a rote “pro-forma” manner that simply restates words from a textbook, or even worse, contains superficial head nodding about earlier posts. This presentation is offered in an effort to stimulate thinking about discussing! Let’s listen in on a sample Discussion Board that seems to get everyone involved (some of the entries have been shortened by several sentences): Discussion Board Question posed by Facilitator: Your authors, Reynolds and Pickwell, discuss several key activities performed by managers of all types of organization. Recall from your reading: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Developing, Coordinating, Reviewing, Evaluation and Budgeting (POSDCREB). In this Discussion Board, you are asked to choose THE one that you think is the most important and to indicate why you think it is so pivotal. Please locate and cite a source to support your choice. As usual, during our discussion, everyone in the group is encouraged to comment on anyone’s choice. Post by Participant Jane Longstreet: I am nominating PLANNING as the most important. The authors say that “plans are the building blocks for action,” and I certainly agree! While I am also partial to the practice of BUDGETING as a strong second, even the budget cannot be crafted accurately unless it reflects plans. The text says that “plans are often developed and then placed on a shelf and left to collect dust or hold smaller volumes together.” I think that statement could be considered to be a sweeping generalization, since good managers continually refine functional plans. The word, “functional” is the key word. Levin in his 2003 work, Strength in Foresight, notes that no one with any kind of insightful administrative skill will contribute to a plan and support it unless it is realistic and workable, and has a function. Lip service and neat binders look good only for a short time, but actions are much more meaningful. Cohan and Lippincott further support that notion within the website www.hbr.org/1765. Post by Participant Alex Caldwell: Planning may be important, but I think that ORGANIZING is fundamental to the practice of management. I am not minimizing the importance of planning, but I wonder how anyone can plan if they are not organized. One has to have an act in order before any kind of long range action scheme is to be crafted. I do understand the roots of A’s 2 thoughts, but I still cast my vote for organizing. For example, when we started this course, we began by looking at an “organizational chart.” We saw who reported to whom, and looked at how many people were involved in making the company function. (He then develops a full case for his posture in about five more sentences citing Foote’s Theory of Organization Maintenance.) Reply Post by Sue Anne Duffy: Wow! I will need to go back and look at the POSDCREB thing—maybe I didn’t read it closely enough. Right now, I am not sure that any one of them is more important than another. BRB! (Duffy thinks that more reading is indicated.) Reply Post by Alex Caldwell: What’s “BRB?” Reply Post by Sue Anne Duffy: It’s pretty clear that you don’t have teen agers that text everything! It means, Be Right Back! (I am working on it now.) Post by Sue Anne Duffy: I’m back! Limner in his Scale of Business Opportunity states that unlike Follet and her view that the job directs the action, his view of managerial performance is clearly situation specific. I really agree—even though Reynolds and Pickwell don’t even cite Limner! What happens on Tuesday and what we do about it may be markedly different from something that pops up on Thursday and makes us act according to a role that is not even mentioned in POSDCOREB. His view that managers have defined roles, in my opinion, limits their scope and power. Further, Crampton and Fogstreet say that it is all “situational” and what managers do varies from day to day and task by task. Nobody sits around in their office and says, “Well, today I am going to plan.” I understand the nature of the question, but I don’t want to put in a vote for any one element. That’s my stand! Reply Post by Alex Caldwell: Well, yes, if you want to expand the concept. But we were asked to react to POSDCOREB, but I do like your citation. Limner seems to have his act in order! And so it goes; this bunch is really getting into it! (The facilitator will probably let the discussion go a bit more before chiming in. The facilitator also may see that Participant C is taking the discussion into a larger dimension and may exercise a right to say something like, “Certainly we would benefit by examining Limner! But, let me ask you to force 3 yourself to select one element; which one would you choose?” That way, the task is met without discouraging the participant and compromising the benefits of added learning.) Valuable Posts So, what makes a good post? Let’s examine some practices that both answer questions and stimulate good discussion. (It should be understood that a Discussion Board is designed to be just that—a discussion!) A. Discussion Boards are not mini-term papers that simply restate what text authors present. Everyone (presumably) has read the text and they do not need to have it read back to them, nor should credence be given for such repetition. Rather, Boards use concepts to stimulate individual thought and create a venue for evaluation and critical reflection on a specific principle. As well, some lively humanisms go far in making the process interesting. B. Boards, however, are not “soap boxes.” In the late 1800’s, corner speakers would stand on a box that formerly carried soap to present their ideas. It was an impromptu opportunity to set up and opine about something that was important to the speaker. Those who established regular soap box corners were often regarded as authorities, since they went to the effort to get a box, stand on it, and entice others to gather and listen. Academic Discussion Boards do not entertain biased and whimsical efforts; personal biased opinion is not appropriate unless specifically requested in the topic statement of the Board. Course specific “opinion seeking” may work well for a course like ethics or moral philosophy. Rather, considered reflection and substantiated (with references) argument go far in enriching an understanding of a concept. Boards are places for research and comment, not random rhetoric designed to impress rather than inform. That said, legitimate opinions based upon logical thought can certainly enhance the value of an examination of a topic; participants should not hold back on opinion as long as it is not self-serving or vindictive. Effective Boards do not call for unsubstantiated statements of fact or innuendo suggesting a hidden agenda. Comments from discussants that contain sweeping generalizations are targets for criticism and introspective response. Participants need to always answer the implied question, “How do I know that?” and then be prepared to show others how and why they present a comment. Comfortable groups easily handle good questions from fellow participants AND the facilitator. C. Discussion Boards seek to continually enlarge and propagate themselves. The best Boards are those that spawn further Boards built upon the contributions of the participants. While some fundamental courses establish topic-based Boards in advance, the greatest value of Discussion is often what it suggests for future thought and contribution. The facilitator is in a good position to determine when a “sidebar” discussion is appropriate to be mounted. 4 D. Good Boards carry inventory. Such inventory includes references to excellent relevant websites, pointers to white papers (usually PDF’s) and textual references that not only further respond to and enlarge the topic, but also provide valued resources for the group. It would not be out of the realm of possibility that every original response to a Board question or task be required to carry with it at least one valued reference for all to read and to include in their resources regarding that topic. Collected, these resources provide a worthwhile resource for all within the learning community even after the course is completed. Responses In our casual conversation, we often respond to others by saying, “You got that right” or “I can’t fully go along with that.” Often, course designers fall into a trap of advising participants to avoid that kind of response. Such a posture is not always true, for we do, indeed, tend to support or deny concepts during a conversation. Therefore, in the atmosphere of a Board, everyone should be encouraged to say what they think, but, then subsequently, substantiate reasons for any viewpoint. It is appropriate for everyone to ask, “Why do you feel that way?” Boards are able to ask those kinds of questions and to elicit valuable answers. There should be little difference between a coffee table conversation and a Discussion Board (although few of us provide research references over coffee). Careful spontaneity is not only informative, but also, it is pleasing to read and contemplate. Discussion Boards in an online environment are critical to providing the mechanism and substance for sharing of knowledge about a concept and/or its larger constructs. A community of learners dedicated to reflecting on knowledge already obtained is then in a position to present areas for “further research and discussion,” and thereby perpetuate an intellectual pursuit of truth based not upon feelings, but upon careful consideration and further inquiry. You, as a participant in a Board, are in a very fortunate position. You are able to take the discussion in an appropriate direction that goes beyond a textbook and beyond what may be the intent of the Board crafter. In fact, you can be the “value added” factor that enriches everyone involved in the process. You also can exercise your option to, at first, minimize a response and then wait for others to contribute; it is, simply stated, your choice. However, late contributors are then legitimately held to a higher standard since early birds may already have established the conceptual groundwork and pointed out the most salient points. Members of a true community of learners work both individually and collectively to maximize time invested in the online discussion, and thereby reap the rewards of enhanced insight and deeper knowledge. Content of responses to Discussion Boards are individual contributions that may markedly affect the overall learning value of the course for everyone involved. Such value is, then, is both your choice and your responsibility. Making a Discussion Board a True Discussion is one selection from a forthcoming collection entitled, Care and Feeding of Online Courses, by John Lewis. ... Purchase answer to see full attachment