Meeting Notes from April 13-14, 2006, Reston, Virginia

April 13, 2006

Attendees

Donna Schiffer, Alan Ward, Clyde Doyle, Jan Thompson, John Trommer, Dorrie Gellenbeck, Kurt Schultz – in person at Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento, California.

Steve Blanchard (OSW), Bob Hainly (PA), Bill Hazell, Dave Pollock (OGW), Franceska Wilde (OWQ),– on phone.

New rotational members – Data Chief (Bob Hainly), Hydrotech (Bill Hazell), WSC Director (Virginia Delima – CT/RI), IT Specialist (Schulz), NRP (Leo House).

Possible face-to-face meeting in November with new members.

OED news – Ward

• DOI Learn – Learning Management System where online courses will be served
• DOI-wide courses
• System replaces Training management system (TMS, turn off end of Calendar Year 2006)
  • Five years of TMS information will be captured in the new system
  • Not planning to backfill beyond the five year period, but the supervisor could add information if desired
• Information available at training.usgs.gov
• Initially to be used for online-no cost training
  • First class – online safety training was ‘announced' prior to beta testing of the system which led to problems
  • Western region folks were “excited” about taking this course, but were a little early
  • Official announcement to come from Siderelis with instructions to make use of the new system more successful
• This will likely be the site where training is centered.
• Specific training (cyberseminars) for supervisors to be offered to use the tools provided by this system.
  • This will be part of phase 2 of the DOI Learn
• System will provide email notifications
• DOI Learn cyber seminar is being offered on April 27 th
  • Likely this schedule will continue every Thursday for several months
  • About 45 minutes to and hour should be planned
  • Primary audience is administrative folk
  Alternate approvers can be assigned in addition to a supervisors
• Can be used to manage email notifications, etc
• Approve Training “button” can only be hit once by one person
• Supervisory Challenge Courses – in development now
• Leadership Program – a couple of 101 and 201 courses per year
• Leadership Intensives – completed at the Cost Center
  4-6 per year

• Redeveloped Leadership Website –
• Mentoring Program – Program rollout this week
  • WV WSC has a program with national partnership every 6 months.
  • Training is through a cyber seminar
  • Starts partnership with a “shadow” mentoring – OED pays for travel
  • Self-directed mentoring program ongoing
  • OED personnel will travel to Cost Center if 10+ persons want to get involved in mentoring
• DOI will be making IDP's mandatory for all in DOI
  • Electronic version of the IDP is available through the DOI Learn site
  • IDP will be initiated by supervisor; cannot be completed by employee
• Non-WRD disciplines are becoming more involved with OED
• Denver Federal Center Building 53 plans for demolition is in the next 4 years – including the NTC
  • NTC is working with CO WSC to co-locate and NRP
  • Defining needs, etc for the last 6.5 months
  • Survey about learning environment got a good response
  • Space will likely not be less than what is currently available
  • May share some classroom space with other cooperators
  • May start doing some live “classroom” training
• Deployable laptops for training (classroom set) – DECR project
• HIF prompted this development
• Allows for in-house training without the WSC having to set up computers
• Three successful deployments
• Expect maximum will be about 12 deployments per year (once per month)
• 12 maximum laptops can be made available
• Estimate can handle about 12 requests for laptops annually with current set
• Information on OED website

Technology Enabled Learning Courses

• Presentation to Senior Staff postponed until July
• Development through the TEL program and Breeze authoring will likely be presented off the of DOI Learn site
• About one year to finalize this
• Jim Kolva – SW course is about ready
• ADAPS – Rating Curve Development
• Modularized
• Taken more time then expected
• New website put together for STED committee with updates on TEL
• Handout from Alan – http://training.usgs.gov/TEL/Updates4STED.html
• Next certification class – November
• Charging Tuition for Online Courses
  • Alan: Without a fee charged, experience has shown the completion rates are not positive
  • Alan: Developed questions for subject matter experts (SME's) to evaluate charge for online courses (these will be posted in a separate document on the web)
    • AI Donna: Will send questions to members
    • All: Review the questions and provide feedback to Alan
  • Alan: Biggest stumbling block is SME's available time
  • Funds received from tuition could be used to pay for SME's time
  • Franceska: SMEs could be located in WSC or any other cost center
  • How do we manage the money for this? – Donna
    • Carryover funds ? – OED has working capital funds
    • Alan needs to check to see if these funds can be used for salary
    • Start-up problem – no funds from tuition until a course is offered
    • May need to ask Senior Staff for funds to start up
    • Funds will also be needed for maintenance of the courses
    • Funds may also be needed for any possible changes required by technology changes
  • Amount for an SME development? (Bob Hainly)
    • 350 hours of development for SMEs based on OSW 5-day course
    • ~$50,000 for development (Jan Thompson)
    • 160-200 hours of OED person's time (costs covered by OED)
    • Funding for HQ SMEs may not need to be covered
    • Model may need to include tuition costs cover other than SMEs time
    • Other costs that need to be covered
      • Adobe Breeze software updates ($22,000/year)
  • Alan: Costs to cover
    • SMEs on reimbursable funds
    • Graphics library/Instructional modules that can be reused
  • For July Senior Staff meeting may have some statistics from OSW course to present
    • Jan Thompson – would like statistics beyond “completion rates”
    • Alan – Breeze should allow for those
  • To improve completion rates may want to require mandatory courses for the targeted groups – Steve B
    • Question will be added to the list of questions
  • TJ Lane is now full-time on TEL
    • She estimates that she could help up to three class developments per year
    • Next year maybe two course developments
• Position Paper review/updates
  • AI: Alan Basics need to be updated in paper
    • Questionnaire to be completed
    • Some courses will not require a tuition fee
    • Should STED make recommendations on tuition and if course should be mandatory, or….
    • Should Senior Staff determine whether tuitions should be charged and whether course is “mandatory”
    • Steve B: strengthen argument in the paper for charging tuition for some courses
  • TEL position paper should be sent to Water Senior Staff before July meeting where TEL update will be presented (July 2006 planned)
• Mike Nolan courses provided via CD-ROM in the past to include training to cooperators, etc
• Server for TEL is behind firewall so is not available to public
• Wanted to wait to develop with Breeze until this issue is resolved.
• Alan: Breeze has tool to develop CD products
• Franceska: Roger Lee also has similar problem (firewall) for OWQ (update: Roger has Breeze on laptop so this isn't a problem for course development)
• SME has to complete a Breeze “certification” course – 3 days
• Basics of instructional design
• Completion of the course results in certification - $1K per Breeze license is included in the course cost
• Course is offered through BBS (electronic bulletin board), Listserv, and OED website.
• Not much interest at this point
• Next offering was supposed to be May – no interest
• Missing link – What courses have need? – linked to TEL class development
• A nomination process may solve this problem – Alan
• Water Senior Staff announcement? For this course offering
  • Defacto agreement about what courses are most important
• Franceska: Should every SME be required to take the course?? – Can we instead let SMEs stick to the subject matter and have someone else doing the Breeze development (Breeze expert?)
  • Could we put together a group of Breeze experts?
  • Jan Thompson – thinks this is a good idea
  • Might reduce the amount of time that the SME must spend
  • Donna – maybe a role for a contractor
• Position paper should include the idea that $$ is needed to provide a set of Breeze experts (funds spent on contractors or Breeze support staff through OED would be well spent compared with the cost of SME time, plus the lack of availability of SME's time)
• Stumbling block for TEL course development is the available SME time
  • Might result in three different TEL development models that range in the interaction between SME and OED personnel
    • TJ Lane or a Breeze support person does all the course development with materials provided by SME, works with SME
    • Breeze support person works as a resource person for the SME, who develops the course
    • Breeze support person does just the QA/QC for the course, and SME does all the work
• Franceska: Are all courses consistent in material? May have nuances for each region.
• Nomination process is linked to prioritization of the courses – Donna
  • Who will set this priority?
    • Discipline Offices? Regional specialists?
    • WSC Specialists?
    • Alan: Maybe could be addressed by modules.
  • Clyde : Solicit discipline offices or STED to determine what should be developed
  • Idea about prioritization of courses should be added to position paper
  • Course suggestions could be developed from the constituency represented on STED
• Steve: Recommendations should come from the discipline offices. For OSW, Steve will get back to STED with OSW's prioritized list of courses to be developed into TEL courses
• Alan: Water Senior Staff could advertise the need for input on courses to be developed – email from Bob Hirsch to Senior Staff
  • Donna: email could be drafted by STED for Bob to send
  • Alan: Sending an email out from the STED might not get the correct response. Would not get management backing??
  • Steve: The STED could make prioritization and present to Senior Staff
  • Donna: Committee members could send email to those they represent
  • Steve: Discipline office could provide SME after STED makes recommendation
  • Decision: no email to be drafted for Bob Hirsch to send out
  • AI STED members: Contact constituency and ask what courses are important for WRD personnel after an initial list of courses are distributed by Donna to the STED (Note, this should come after lists are generated by the Discipline offices)
    
    

Advannced Scientific Education Program (ASEP? ASE (pronounced 'ACE Program?)

• Donna reviewed the status of the effort. Based on presentation to Water Senior staff last August, the program will only provide tuition and books for applicants.
• Unsure of amount of funding that might be allocated for this effort during these tight budget times
• Bob Hirsch's statistics: WRD has had a loss of staff of 4 percent per year for the past 5 years
• ASE Program would not apply to SCEP positions
• Probably aimed at mid-career employees but would not be restricted at the time of the call for applications
• Selling point of the program – by using local universities, USGS will hopefully build more collaboration with the university and may develop program that includes some university faculty
• Motivation to apply: career advancement, cross-training of staff
• All agreed to keep the application broad, to be as much a morale builder as possible
• Very different from previous Graduate school program
  • No moving of employees
  • No personnel actions
• All agreed the application should go through the WSC Director and Regional Water office for review and approval before going to the selection committee
• Announcement letter for the program should be drafted by STED for Bob Hirsch's signature, provide basic instructions and reference the Survey Manual relative to training.

April 14, 2006

Attendees: Donna Schiffer, Alan Ward, Mike Nolan, Clyde Doyle, Jan Thompson, John Trommer, Dorrie Gellenbeck, Kurt Schultz – in person at Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento, California

By phone: Steve Blanchard (OSW), Bob Hainly (PA), Bill Hazel, Dave Pollock (OGW) Franceska Wilde (OWQ)

• Revisited TEL discussion because Mike Nolan joined the group
  • Mike: Development through Breeze is incredibly time consuming especially when considering the 508 compliance issues
  • Mike: Some of his CDs have video clips and those don't go well on web
  • Mike: Receives requests for training CDs about once a week from outside USGS, so the firewall issues are a problem
  • Alan: Could TJ try to work on one module from Mike's collection to make a CD through Breeze software? That way, course would be available in either web or CD format
  • AI Mike: Will send a trial CD to TJ for evaluation (he had distributed about 2,000)
  • About to release CD training on collection of suspended sediment data
  • Revising the wading discharge measurements course to include Flowtrackers

Advanced Scientific Education Program (continued)

• Decided this program wasn't for SCEP appointees
• Require at least one year of service; full-time employee (at least 32 hrs/week)
• Steve B sent via email the questionnaire that was part of original graduate program
• Developed Action Items (see separate listing from this meeting) to move forward with this program
• To be presented to Water Senior Staff in July along with TEL?

New topics

• Discussed NWIS training –“Why use NWIS” Dorrie stated that this has been under discussion for some time
• Level 1, 2, 3 training – failure in the past due to lack of resources made available at the time
  • Building fundamental skills might be served through the TEL approach
  • Should STED identify a basic course of study and identify who would it apply to?
  • Donna: Recent hiring has resulted in the loss of the institutional knowledge (basic field data experience)
  • John T: For example, some new employees have no knowledge of data collection standards in USGS WRD
  • Donna: Is STED's role to determine this list?
  • Donna: Can we make a list of courses for hydrologists/hydrologic technician? Perhaps specialized list for by discipline?
  • Jan: Do we need to put together a recommendation for Senior Staff? Where do we want to go with this?
  • Donna: Develop a training plan for first year of employment
  • Mike: Technicians Toolbox is available with a list of courses that they need completed through WRTAC ( http://wr.water.usgs.gov/uo/sws/ToolBox/Index.htm )
  • Mike: A similar plan for Hydrologists was developed
  • Alan: Could be tied into DOI Learn capabilities
  • Donna: Could just develop recommended ‘template' IDPs by career series in DOI Learn, or memo from Senior Staff
  • Alan: Identify courses that are critical for different job series (or something) and populate DOI Learn initially
  • Donna: How will this support USGS critical role in data collection?
  • AI: Donna will put together proposal paper on this issue
• Mike: Data Conferences shouldn't be a replacement for week-long training programs
  • Alan: Can you make a second week into the data conferences with a week for training? Mike: People don't want to attend 2-week courses.

Open Session

• Need to identify a new chair for STED
  • Donna will be chair of ITAC next year
  • Donna will talk to other rotational members about chair position
  • Will look for replacement in Jan 2007
• Co-chair position – Is this something that would help future transitions?
• Jan would like to stay active through implementation of ASEP
• Conference call, schedule. Frequency
  • Donna now has a conference calling account set up through USGS, with an 800 number. Can easily schedule conference calls.
  • Appropriate time interval for conference calls
    • Bi-monthly was decided by all
  • Choose same day every month
    • Last Thursday of every other month at 1 PM ET
  • Next call June 1 st 1 pm for 90 minutes
• Face-to-face meetings annually
  • Could this be coordinated with Annual Training discussion in Senior Staff?
  • Tentatively --November 1-2, 2006 – Location TBD
  • AI Donna : Will send out invitation to finalize this date
• Notetaker – Do we need to have someone do this?
  • Rotating assignment through membership
• STED Website updates can be sent to TJ for posting