Shenley Puterbaugh | University Relations | 11 June 2009
BYU–Hawaii students and instructors teamed up this year with the Arbinger Institute to develop online, multimedia training
materials for the institute's Choice Seminar. Arbinger is an international organization noted for its best-selling books and seminars in the areas of leadership and conflict resolution. (pictured above: Ai Mitsuya, Hikari Suita, SarahBeth Stott, Thad Stott, Daniel Skaf, Dr. Chad Ford & Dr. Peter Chan)
The online program produced by BYU–Hawaii students and faculty over the past six months, and Peter Chan, an Instructional Design and Development professor, would have cost Arbinger an estimated $82,000 to produce. McKay Center Director Chad Ford said of the online project, "We want to reach more people than just the students who walk through these doors."
Ford travels regularly to the Middle East to teach the seminars, but due to increasing violence and the time commitment, he said he is unable to go as frequently as the people there would like. So students in Ford's classes and also Dr. Peter Chan's IDD classes took the initiative and decided to create a way to accomplish the training online.
Thad Stott (pictured right, presenting), a junior in IDD from Fruit Heights, Utah, was the link between ICS and IDD departments for this project. He said, "There is potential in online learning that we can reach them and touch them in big ways."
Hikari Suita (pictured below), a BYU–Hawaii graduate in IDD from Japan who was part of the project, said, "We were able to use what we learned in the classroom and do something about it." Another project member Ryan Dean, a junior in IDD from Orlando, Florida, said, "It was an amazing experience. It taught me the importance of being part of a team."
The project's team presented the final version of the interactive seminar to administrators, faculty, and students on Wednesday, June 3, at 4:00 p.m. in the Aloha Center. Team members explained the rationale for the project, the development process, the resulting product and the implications of the project. They then took questions from the audience.
Chan said that students and mentors sacrificed time and effort to use this project as a learning experience. Students involved in the project either did it as part of an IDD course project or as their "Be the Change Project" for an International Peacebuilding course.
As part of the development and creation of the project, Jim Ferrell, global executive director of the Arbinger Institute, flew to BYU–Hawaii in March to be a part of the filming for the project. With the help of about a dozen students and faculty members involved in this project, and despite the extremely low cost, it was of professional quality, said Chan. For example, Ioan Pakarati, an IDD major from Easter Island, wrote and produced all of the music that was used for the online seminar.
The benefits of doing a professional-quality project like this teaches students to step into the dark, learn what is needed and, once adjusted, "their eyes can see the end of the tunnel," said Chan. This will lessen their fear of getting their feet wet, once in the real world.
Both the McKay Center and the IDD Department have succeeded in their attempts to create practical experiences for their students with this project, said the faculty members who worked as consultants and mentors to the students. Chan said, "You know a project was successful when students want to keep working on it beyond the end of the semester."
This was not only a learning experience but also a way for students to be successful in the future. According to Ford, when the Arbinger Institute saw the finished product, "They were blown away. It opened up job opportunities for some of our students." Ford added that the interactive seminar will be handed out in DVD format to both Israelis and Palestinians this summer during a PeacePlayers camp in the Middle East. PeacePlayers is an organization that brings Israeli and Arab teenagers together through sports.
Those who were in attendance at the presentation on June 3, were awed by the work of the students and mentors. BYU–Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright (pictured left) said he was impressed with the project and the far-reaching effects that it will have.
Students interested in making a difference in the world have resources here at BYU–Hawaii to gain experience for their careers and lives even before they graduate, said Ford.
--Photos by Peter Chan