Team from ESU creates prizewinning instructional design solution

Steven Harmon and Sandra Valenti received plaques as one of three finalist teams in the Association for Educational Communication and Technology / PacifiCorp competition in Anaheim, Calif., in October.

A solution for a fictional logging and paper production company's real-life problem has netted honors for two Emporia State University students. Sandra Valenti and Steven Harmon, both students in the Instructional Design and Technology master's degree program at ESU, are two of the six finalists in this year’s Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) / PacifiCorp competition in Anaheim, Calif.

The competition pitted the ESU team against other university teams from across the country, including finalist representatives from Virginia Tech and Florida State University. Each team developed strategies to help the fictional Wallerich Company, Inc., reach its goal of becoming the world's safest logging and paper production facility.

“They came up with an integrated risk management solution where they would go out into the workplace and help identify where risks are, whether it’s a secretarial position or a logger,” said Dr. Marcus Childress, professor and chair of ESU’s Department of Instructional Design and Technology (IDT).

Because of the variety of jobs within the fictional company, the ESU team had a sizeable task. “Developing the research to support our proposal was the biggest job,” said Valenti. “We had to assign costs to the training and determine how that training would affect the company’s bottom line.

Harmon said the scenario played well into each team member’s strengths. “Sandy comes from the corporate world, and I come from the training world, so we were able to match those strengths to write a solution to the problem using what we’d learned in the IDT program,” said Harmon. “The competition required us to come up with a solution that would work, and then justify it.”

Valenti’s experience includes work as a Wal-Mart store manager, a university bookstore manager and purchasing director. She currently works as a graduate assistant in ESU’s Technology and Computing Services office. Harmon is Human Resources director and director of customized training at Flint Hills Technical College. Valenti and Harmon are among approximately 240 students in ESU’s masters-level IDT program.

Their work on the AECT competition began last January, when they submitted the first proposal that outlined a training solution and designs for training materials. The second phase involved creating the training program. The third phase, presented to the fictional corporation’s board of directors at the Anaheim conference, gave Valenti and Harmon an opportunity to make the case for their solution.

“The fact that we got to meet the people who wrote the textbooks we used in designing our training solutions was especially memorable,” said Valenti of the conference. As finalists, the two ESU students received plaques at the AECT banquet, held in late October.

Instructional Design and Technology is an academic department within The Teachers College at ESU. It offers a master’s degree delivered entirely online from its six fulltime faculty members, plus the option of face-to-face instruction. Valenti and Harmon took most of their coursework online. “It’s great for someone who works fulltime,” said Harmon.

“The thing that’s great about the online program is that you can access it when you want, which makes it conducive to anybody’s lifestyle,” said Valenti.

For more information about the Instructional Design and Technology program at ESU, contact Dr. Marcus Childress at 620-341-5829 or email mchildre@emporia.edu.

Last Updated November 14, 2007>