Alexandra Penn

Reflection Journal Log

EME 6940
Track 1- Summer 2015
Summer of Change, Growth & Flexibility- 160+ Hours of Remote Mentoring
Flexibility from the Start
Theres a saying that goes Life is what happens when you are busy making other
plans. This appeared to ring true in my internship journey during Summer 2015. My
original internship was secured in April 2015 with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as
their Instructional Design Services Intern. The application process took several months. I
had applied back in November 2014, then progressed through 3 rounds of interviews
and was fortunate enough to receive an offer in April. My new hire paperwork was
completed, my offer letter was signed, and my work wardrobe refreshed. What could
go wrong? Well.
An unanticipated turn of events caused me to resign from the position two days before
my scheduled start date on June 10th. I was disheartened to turn the position I worked so
hard for down and at the same time, I had to secure a new position in a timely manner.
Fortunately, I was able to change from Track 2- Shadowing to Track 1- Mentoring. I
immediately notified Dr. Tao of the sudden venue change and drew up a new proposal
contract the same day I resigned from the Disney Professional Internship Program. With
no time to waste I started the mentoring track on June 9, 2015.
First Day of Mentoring and Beyond
My first day, I got in contact with my mentee to let her know that I was approved to start
collaborating with her and we conducted an informal brainstorming and needs analysis
session. We talked about what we wanted to address during our time together, what her
technology needs were and what her prior knowledge, experience and comfort level with
software and mobile devices were. From there, I used that knowledge to chunk her
learning in to manageable chunks.
I introduced my mentee to the ADDIE model in small segments (about an acronym letter
a week). A huge help in getting the information to my mentee in the quickest and least
time consuming was through video. I utilized J. Clark Gardners ADDIE model videos on
YouTube as a resource. These were very helpful in breaking down the ADDIE design
model in to everyday terms for those outside of the ISD field.
The Mentor of Many Hats
The key to this mentoring program was being flexible. Not only did I share my knowledge
on the ADDIE model and learning theory. During my experience, I also fell into the role
of Social Media Expert (perceived expert, at least) and Web Design Guru. My mentee
expressed a need to focus on technology to grow her business and streamline many of
her day-to-day tasks as a new Real Estate professional.

Originally we proposed to design a detailed personal real estate website with 3 complete
modules. Since my mentee didnt feel comfortable with all of the tasks needed to design
instruction, we decided to slow down the timeline and focus on the elements that create
successful online tools for connecting with current and future clients. We researched and
reviewed software applications that she could use to not only build her real estate
website, but applications to assist her in communication efforts with her client base.
We decided on using Weebly as a starter tool for her website. She indicated to me that
she had a few domain names for her business that she already claimed and paid for.
With Weebly, we are able to use the plug-and-play features that their interface offers
while linking it to a professional domain name.
In addition to the website, we also worked together to create social media accounts for
her real estate business. I showed my mentee specific ways that each of the major
social media outlets could be used in her line of work. I had her create a Google+
profile, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. She had already created a Facebook account
and a LinkedIn so we focused on ways to make them work for the Real Estate
profession.
Mentee Assessment & What Lies Ahead
My mentee was assessed through informal methods. Since we had such a small
timeframe to accomplish so much, I decided it was best to assess through feedback and
demonstration. This would normally be difficult to accomplish. However, thanks to
screen-share capabilities and video conferencing, I was able to see where my mentee
was having success and areas that needed some extra explanation. Having Google
Hangouts available to me was one of the biggest reasons why my remote mentorship
program succeeded. I will continue to have mentoring sessions with my mentee past the
end date of July 10, 2015 and assist her in exploring new and exciting technologies
that she can use and share with her peers at her face-to face training sessions.
Not only did I assess my mentee, but also I was able to assess my comfort level with
acting as a mentor. My biggest challenge was grappling with Impostor Syndrome
even though I have demonstrated knowledge of our subject matter through my Masters
studies. However, despite my initial lack of confidence in my ability to successfully
mentor another individual with technology, I felt like I did fairly well. Did I have time to
adequately prepare as much as I wanted to? No. However, once I reminded myself that
learning is an ongoing process and that I didnt have to know everything about
technology to be a successful mentor, I was able to concentrate on the task at hand
(mentoring) and learn from the experience.