Discussion Forum

Gamification in Online Courses

This is an interesting topic to look at because 49% of gamers are aged 18-49 and 2 out of 5 gamers are female (http://www.onlineeducation.net/videogame).  Since gamers like games like Angry Bird, Tetris, Duck Hunt and many other games we should as future ID’s and future facilitators of online courses look at the benefits and draw backs of games in online education.  Keep in mind that these games are not like the ones just mentioned but the games developed for education will have an impact on how students learn.

By Friday:
Post your experiences with online games in your courses online.  Then write about two advantages to using games in online education and two disadvantages of using games in online education.  Use the resources posted here and you may use any other resource that list advantages and disadvantages of using games in online education. 

By Saturday:
Respond to two of your classmates.

Discussion Rubric

Levels of Achievement	Beginning 1.0-2-5	Developing 2.6-3.0	Accomplished 3.1-3.5	Superior 3.6-3.7
Learners participation in the discussion forum	Student did not respond to fellow students until the last day of discussion. Student did not participate in the discussion.	Student responded to fellow students prompts with in the week but did not add any extra comments Student participated in the discussion.	Student responded to fellow students prompts and added extra comments Student shows extra participation in discussion by writing to more than two students.	Student responded to fellow students prompts with extra comments and added information Student shows extra participation in the discussion by writing to more than two students and responding to general questions.
Initial post content	Student wrote to the prompt but there was ambiguity. Student showed no level of higher order thinking restating the discussion question.	Student wrote to the prompt with marginal effort. Student writing is beginning to show higher order thinking in responding to discussion question.	Student wrote to the prompt and spurred others to write to the prompt. Student did use higher order thinking to analyze the discussion question in a congruent manner. Student related to the discussion question.	Student wrote to the prompt and spurred others to write to the prompt. Student did use higher order thinking to analyze discussion question in a congruent manner. Student related to the discussion question and used the course materials, optional materials and materials they researched outside of the course readings.
Response to post content	Student was off topic but did use course materials	Student was on topic but still there was ambiguity but did use course materials.	Student was on topic the writing was clear.  Student used course materials and optional materials in course.	Student was on topic the writing showed depth of knowledge. Student used course materials, optional materials in the course and materials they researched outside of the course readings.
Conventions	Student writing missed conventions. Student writing had spelling errors. Poor editing	Student writing had all conventions. Student writing had spelling errors. Average editing	Student writing had all conventions. Student writing had minimal spelling errors. Good editing	Student writing had all conventions. Student writing had no spelling errors. Excellent editing

Resources

Gamification of learning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification_of_learning

Huang, Z. & Cappel, J. J. (n.d.).  Assessment of a web-based learning game in an information system course on line.  Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.  http://courseweb.lis.illinois.edu/~bnsmith3/gaming/files/Huang%20and%20Cappel.pdf

Raymer, R. (2011 September). Gamification: using game mechanics to enhance elearning.  Learn Magazine: Where Thought and Practice Meet. http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2031772

If you Copy and Paste you Must Cite, Cite, Cite or Else it is Plagiarism

What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?
There is Turnitin.com which according to Jocoy & Dibiase (2006) is easy to use, it accepts papers in HTML format, and it allows for selected websites to be excluded from searches, a feature we needed so that the search did not simply match our students’ papers to their own postings of their papers in their e-portfolios, which were publicly available webpages (p.8).

Ledwith & Risquez (2008) in recorded this free software:  My Drop box, EVE, WcopyFind and WordCHECK.

 ELearning Industry listed 10 free plagiarism tools for teachers:

DupliChecker- Just copy-paste, or upload your essay, thesis, website content or articles and click search.

PaperRater- Paper Rater offers three tools: Grammar Checking, Plagiarism Detection and Writing suggestions.

Plagiarisma.net- Plagiarisma has a search box as well as a software download available forWindows.  Users can also search for entire URLs and files in HTML, DOC, DOCX. . .

PlagiarismChecker- Plagiarism Checker.com makes it simple for educators to check whether a student’s paper has been copied from the internet.
Plagium- Plagium is a free plagiarism detection tool.  It is easy to use.  All you have to do is paste in original portion of text (Max 250 characters).

Anti-Plagiarism- Anti-Plagiarism is software designed to effectively detect and thereby prevent plagiarism.  It is a versatile tool to deal with World Wild Web cop-pasting information from the assignment of authorship.

PlagTracker- Plagtracker is another online plagiarism detection services that checks whether similar text content appears elsewhere on the web.

Viper- Viper is a fast plagiarism detection tools with the abilityto scan your document through more than 10 billion resources, such as academic essays and other online sources. . .

SeaSources- SeaSources is an online, automatic and free plagiarism checker.  Choose MS Word in formats (.doc/docx) or HTML in the formats (.html) or text (.txt) or text document. . .

Plagiarism Detector- Plagiarism Detector is software especially designed keeping the growing content requirement over the internet in mind.  It is for teachers, students and website owners.  It scans the documents and detects plagiarism and provides an instant report.

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty? 
I liked the idea that Dr. Pratt of Laureate Education Inc. 2010 allows his students to take assessments with open books and students have the ability to talk to each other to answer questions.  So I would most definitely design assessments that were less dependent on rote memorization and more based on how the students interpreted a study or article.

Another method suggested by Brown, Jordan, Rubin & Arome 2010 is to use authentic assessments, which involves the students in the learning process and reflection; another method is to create a unique assignment that is not available from the paper mills including specific requirements and changing those requirements each semester.  Within this same article they suggested that blogs, and wikis be used as a way to assess students also.

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?
I would like to use authentic assessments for courses that are non-science based.  I would have students to do group based projects, reflections and if I had to do an assessment outside of those ideas I would allow for students to use the internet, open books and any other resource they may have to answer the questions.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?
The additional consideration that should be made is that as the instructor I have the responsibility to teach my students about what constitutes plagiarism.  I would inform them that copy and pasting parts or sentences from someone else’s work requires that the author of the work is cited in APA format, MLA or whatever happens to be the form of citation. 

I would also inform students that reusing work from a course previously taken is a form of plagiarism and that allowing another student or person to write your paper is plagiarism.  If the university or school that I am facilitating a course at requires a traditional multiple choice questions or short answer assessment then I would let students know that giving your answers to another student is plagiarism and cheating.

My last informative measure would be to have a document written that informs students about what plagiarism is and that it violates academic integrity.  The students would have to sign off on the sheet and electronically submit.

References

Brown, V., Jordan, R., Rubin, N., & Arome, G. (2010). Strengths and weaknesses of plagiarism detection software. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 11(1/2), 110-131.

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1-15.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Plagiarism and cheating [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Ledwith, A. & Risquez, A. (2008). Using anti-plagiarism software to promote academic honesty in the context of peer reviewed assignments.  Studies in Higher Education, 33(4), 371-384.

Pappas, C. (n. d.). Top 10 free plagiarism detection tools for teachers.

http://elearningindustry.com/top-10-free-plagiarism-detection-tools-for-teachers
Plagiarism Intro - Library Resource Guide for CAP/ SSS - Stamford ...
classguides.lib.uconn.edu1269 × 889Search by image
YouTube - Plagiarism Videos

 

Accessibility and Online Education

What impact does technology and multimedia have on online learning environments?

Technology has had a great impact upon online learning environments because it has made learning an affair that the student can exercise a great amount of self-based learning it no longer the professor being the sage on the stage but he is now the guide on the side (Palloff & Pratt Laureate Education 2010).   Palloff and Pratt Laureate Education explain that web 2.0 tools make it so that students can add content to the learning environment by using Wikis, social media like Facebook, Twitter. . . Web 2.0 tools allow collaboration in either a synchronous or an asynchronous environment.    Wikis can be used as a web page where collaborative work can be done; where groups are working together to create something new they are collaborating and building upon a project.

Technology has also made it so that students who are disabled can also attend classes online and have access to education without leaving their home.  The Open University (OU) is Europe’s largest educational establishment, has a commitment to widening access to higher education, to providing high-quality, interactive educational materials that meet student’s needs and operating within the mission of ‘openness to all (Cooper, Colwell & Jelfs 2007, p 231).

Madolda & Platt 2009 expound on web 2.0 opportunities:
Easy and cost-effective access to Web 2.0 technologies enhances learning.
Student collaboration in Web 2.0 environments enhances learning.
Faculty and student collaboration in Web 2.0 enhances learning.
Validating alternative views enhances learning.

 

What are the most important considerations an online instructor should make before implementing technology?   

Make sure that it is accessible for all students
Do the tools support the learning activity i.e. for synchronous collaborative environment facilitators can use tools such as Elluminate, Wimba, and Acrobat Connect (Boettcher & Conrad 2010 p. 137). 
The instructor should consider using tracking software to keep track of students responses on threaded post, and responses to other students.  The instructor can use this software to see the date and time a student has posted to the discussion board and display an aggregate of student responses to the discussion for the week.

What implications do usability and accessibility of technology tools have for online teaching?
Usability, in e-learning context, can thus be defined as the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which users can achieve specified learning (or related) goals in a particular environment or with a particular tool or learning resource (Cooper, Colwell & Jelfs 2007, p. 232).  The Open University Europe’s largest educational establishment that delivers online education did a study that stated that of its’ 180,000 students 5.5% are disabled so they strive to make education accessible for all people.  They have put in place aids that will allow students who have disabilities to participate in online education.  

 There are now in many countries anti-discrimination laws on the books concerning those with disabilities so now universities all over the world I am sure have to begin to define ways for these students to learn; which makes me happy.  Accessibility for all students will allow for a diverse learning community where all people have equal access to education.   This accessibility will allow for lifetime learners; technology is used to bring specialist support services to disabled learners and support services and a technical infrastructure are provided to enable staff at educational institutions to more readily offer their teaching and services in a way that is accessible to disabled learners (Cooper, Colwell, & Jelfs 2007, pp. 240-241).

Grabringer, Aplin, & Brenner 2008 write about supporting learners with cognitive impairments like bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders (depression, manic-depression, personality, and PTSD), traumatic brain injury and schizophrenia and the suggest ways media can be used to aid these people.  Like using voice-to-text speech; voice recognition, text outlines and support text readers for people with language symptoms.  For people with attention and memory symptoms they suggest using multiple examples to take advantage of strengths and prior knowledge, use graphic organizers and headings to separate content items to focus attention and avoid over stimulation (p. 65-66).  This was an excellent article found and the reference is listed below; if you have time please do a web search and read it because it offers ideas for utilizing Web 2.0 tools and other methods to help people with disabilities.

What technology tools are most appealing to you for online teaching as you move forward in your career in instructional design? 

The most appealing technology for me as I move ahead in my career in instructional design is Web 2.0 tools because the student can construct their learning from course activities.  The student will add their knowledge to the learning community. 

Several professors in the online learning community at Walden have required that when we respond to threaded post or write our initial response to a question or ill-structured question that we use additional resources; which mean I have had to do some extra research on a topic.   

References
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cooper, M., Colwell, C., & Jelfs, A. (2007). Embedding accessibility and usability: Considerations for e-learning research and development projects. ALT-J: Research in Learning Technology, 15(3), 231-245.

Grabinger, R. Aplin, C., & Ponnappa-Brenner, G. (2008). Supporting learners with cognitive impairments in online environments. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 52(1), 63-39. doi 10.1007/s11528-008-00114-4.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Evaluating distance learning theory [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Enhancing the online experience [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Technology, Expectations & Considerations in Online Education

Online education is a double-edged sword.  It provides an opportunity, unparalleled in the history of education, for students to learn at a distance and on their own schedules (Moore 2014, p. 20).  The other side of the coin in online education is that there is isolation and that could be hard for students to deal with.  I think that technology and the tools that it provides helps to bridge the isolation that students experience with distance education.  The significance of technology to me as a future online instructor is that it will allow me to connect with students from anywhere in the world and do activities that are synchronous.

It is important to communicate clear expectations so that students will know what is expected of them at all times.  Research into Practice states that high expectations become:

• Self-filling prophecy-students perform in ways that teachers expect.
• High expectations promote students who are motivated; scholars report a link between expectations and motivation.
• Elements of success are value and success. Students are more motivated when they see the value of learning.

Wyss, & Siebert 2014 provides an example of a syllabi that explains what the instructor wants in a post.  The online instructors write expectations for their course but some of the expectations are ambiguous and it leads the students to question how many points will we get for this posting? What constitutes a quality response and how is it determined?  Take a look at what they consider to be unclear expectations in an online expectation board:

The quality of your participation is what matters. You should plan on posting your own thoughts and then responding to the ideas and thoughts of at least 2 other participants every week. This will typically require you to log into the discussion multiple times throughout the week. I encourage you to be thoughtful in your responses and bring in examples from your own experiences.  I also encourage you to be supportive and helpful to the other students in the class. We don’t have to agree with each other but there is a level of respect that is required for the discussions to be productive and avoid destructiveness. This level of respect is a little bit trickier in the online format than it is in the typical classroom where you can read expressions and hear tone. Please keep that in mind in all responses. 

Here in this expectation the students do not necessarily know what makes up a quality response.  Dr. Paige (Walden University) would tell us that he expected that we had scholarly responses to the postings.  We knew that we had to respond to our fellow students by using the course readings and other information we found on our own to support our responses.  We were given a clear and well planned rubric to which he faithfully used for each assignment; so we knew how to improve our threaded post or course project.
Additional considerations that the instructor should take into account are:

• Course overview and introduction
• Learning objectives and outcomes
• Assessment and measurement
• Resources and materials
• Learner interaction
• Course technology
• Learner support
• Accessibility

I think that the instructor should take into account the work life and family life of the students that take online courses.  In last week’s initial post I wrote about planning for the unplanned and I must say I did not understand the significance of this statement until Chuck explained in his post what that meant.  Life happens in these courses and students need to make sure that they email the instructor so that they will not lose points in an activity.
References

Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Education Partners, Inc. (n. d.). Research into practice: Importance of
high expectations.  http://gearup.ous.edu/sites/default/files/Research-Briefs/ResearchBriefHighExpectations.pdf

Wyss, V. F. & Siebert, C. (2014). The development of a discussion rubric
for online courses: Standardizing expectations of graduate students in online scholarly discussions. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning. 58(2), 99-107.

 

 

Why Developing Online Communities are Important in Online Education

How do online learning communities significantly impact both student learning and satisfaction within online courses?
Online communities break the isolation a student may feel because there is a distance between the student and the professor (instructor).  I know that when I first took online courses I was okay as long as I could teach myself the concepts but when a problem arose I had no physical professors’ office to go visit to get help with concepts I did not understand.    There were also students that I could go to if I were at a traditional brick and mortar school.  I could go to study groups or to group tutoring in order to get the help I needed on a Saturday afternoon or Wednesday night but that same dynamic does not exist in an online program.  I am the teacher and the student.  I have to teach myself the concepts that I do not understand.  So an online community, I think can make a significant impact on student retention.  Palloff and Pratt Laureate Education have a conversation where they talk about the students challenge one another and are able to draw things out of one another.  Students also professionally support one another; they give feedback to one another.

 

What are the essential elements of online community building?

The instructor is an essential element in the building of the online learning.  I taught for eight years as an elementary education teacher and what I found is that the principal sets the tone for the school just as in an online course the professor sets the tone for the course. If the professor is involved in the course where the students are receiving feedback then the student become less passive in the course where the only communication is through threaded post.  Palloff and Pratt Laureate education placed an emphasis on the instructor, the instructor holds the key to the whole environment.  It is his or her responsibility to create an environment that is not only safe but that is dynamic and is an environment where a student can be who they want to be, who they can be as far as interacting it is a safety net.
The students’ experiences that they bring with them have some bearing on how well the education process may go.  Bottecher and Conrad talk about what learners bringing their own personalized and customized knowledge, skills and attitudes to the experience.  Each member of the online community brings a wealth of experiences to the learning process.  Instructors should be aware of this so that the curriculum can be adjusted if necessary. 

The students have a professional responsibility to complete the assignments and communicate with the instructor in courteous and timely manner.  Other essentials needed for online learning are people because without people there is no community but within that it’s not just people because people can be anywhere.  It is how you bring them together for a purpose which is the online class then there is a process which is how you engage the learner in the online community building.  The people have to be able to interact and develop social presence (Palloff & Pratt, Laureate Education).  They also go on to say that there has to rules to how to interact in terms of how to respond to course threads; how many times one has to respond to classmates. . .

How can online communities be sustained?

Online communities can be sustained by using web 2.0 tools to get students involved in the course.  I am borrowing ideas from Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek who list tools like wikis, blogs podcasting and social networking.  I have found that in my own experience these tools have helped me not feel so isolated.  I have even made a friend because of these tools being utilized in a group meeting.  I cannot remember which course it was but what I do remember is that we had to develop a wiki and each of us was assigned groups and in each group there were four members.  We had to communicate with one another in any format i.e. conference call, Skype, or email.  Well Bridget set up conference calls for our group; on our first conference call I was lost technologically and so Bridget reached out to me and we did Skpe so that I could learn how to use Photoshop. 

What is the relationship between community building and effective online instruction?
The relationship between community and effective online instruction is that there has to be both components in order for the students to want to stay in a form of education where the professor is separated from the student by computer.  In an effort to answer this question I went to the online library at Walden University and found an article to help explain why the relationship has to exist.  What I found is that as institutions of higher education confront changing demographics, including an increasing number of second-career students juggling the demands of careers, families, and education, creative teaching strategies are needed to meet the needs of contemporary students (Hege 2011, p. 14).  Hege goes on to say that professors who go from teaching in a traditional setting to teaching online have to change the way they teach in order to meet the needs of the students need for connectedness.  Students connect differently online than in a face-to-face classroom.  The professor who teaches online now has to utilize video clips, blogs, participate in threaded discussions in order to get students to participate.  This also the way the professors get to know their student population.

 

References
Boettcher, J. V., & Conrad, R. (2010). The online teaching survival guide: Simple and practical pedagogical tips. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Hege, B. R. (2011). The online theology classroom: Strategies for engaging a community of distance learners in a hybrid-model of online education. Teaching Theology & Religion, 14 (1), 13-20.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2010). Online learning communities [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012).  Teaching and  learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education 5th edition. Pearson Boston, MA.

Program Evaluation

I am currently taking Program Evaluation 6130 and we have been assigned to evaluate a program of my choice.  I have decided to evaluate the Learning Zone at the Salvation Army in Cleveland, Ohio.  The purpose of this program is to help students who need help academically as well as provide a safe place for them to go after school; national statistics show that the majority of juvenile crime is committed between the hours of 3-6 PM. Those students enrolled in our programs no longer contribute to that national statistic (Salvation Army website). 

My concept map illustrates the stakeholders (volunteers; people who make donations, the director, and parents); these are the people who have an interest in the program.  The interests of the stakeholders are to provide the students who attend the program a safe place to go after school so that these students will not roam the streets and get into trouble with the police or commit crimes.  The students that attend the learning zones will grow academically because there are tutors that have at least two years of college as well as many of the tutors being teachers.  There is a tie in with the donors and the services that the students receive.
Because the Salvation Army is a faith based organization the students also have access to church if they do not have a church home and they can attend bible study.  The students not only receive academic help they also receive spiritual help as well.  Once the students have been accepted to the learning zone they can also gain access to other programs the Salvation Army offers like summer camp, and go to the food pantry.  The parents of these students can get utility help if necessary and can also go to church and bible study.

The problems that I see arising in this type of program is people from varying faiths may not take advantage of the help because of their religious beliefs.  Also I can see where problems could arise with the volunteers and the organizations faith based mission which is strong in faith and grace they are unapologetically Christian.  Even when they consider that they will work with other organizations that are not Christian this statement has been made, the Salvation Army at all times will be overtly and explicitly Christian but is willing to engage in intelligent and sensitive networking with secular agencies in the cause of social justice (Shakespeare 2010). 

Conceptual factors that I would consider when preparing to evaluate the learning zone are the students being serviced; how efficient is the program in terms of do the students see improvement in their grades and what about the teachers do they see an improvement in the students grades and behavior.  If I had to group these conceptual factors I would group them in terms of academic growth as information from the students and schools, parent’s feelings on how they feel the program aids their child; how do the volunteers feel about the program and do they see an improvement in the students.  Is the program worthwhile and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the learning zones?

In order to get a clearer picture of the learning zone program I think that talking to the volunteers,  a percentage of parents, students, schools and the director of the program to get an overall sense of what the consensus of program is in terms of effectiveness.  I also think taking an afternoon and going to observe the program in action would give me an clearer picture of what it is I am evaluating.

References
The Salvation Army Greater Cleveland, Ohio http://www.use.salvationarmy.org/use/www_use_greaterCleveland_v2.nsf/vw-dynamic-index/183FB70573442B25852579F200505C42?Opendocument Retrieved 3/16/14
Shakespeare, C. (2010). The salvation army speak out: an online conference on social justice
adovacy.
http://www.e-summit.org/conference/The-Salvation-Army-and-Social-Justice.html

 

 

Project Scope Creep: To Many Choices and the Project is Slowed Down

In building our dream home from the ground up there was scope creep experienced just due to the fact of wanting to adding additional items to the house.  We started out looking for land in order to build on we had 2 weeks to look at sub lots and there were several to look at and determine if they were suitable for build a home on.  My husband and I experienced scope creep when a well-meaning neighbor want us to look at another lot and possibly consider going with a different builder then the one we had pre-selected.  My husband who is very patient went out with the neighbor to look at the land but that took a day out of his time and delayed the signing of the contract with our builder.

 

Once we selected the land then the crews came out to begin to excavate the land but it was during the fall leading into winter so there were days when the weather was optimal for building and there were days when snow began to fall as winter decided to come early to our part of the country.  On the days that the weather was inclement no work on the foundation could be done.  We experienced fairly decent weather but there was a week or two where the weather did not cooperate with our plans and work had to stop until the rains or snow let up. 

 

Once the foundation was up then we had to order windows for the house but in order to do that I have learned from my husband that we had to research which brands would be good for keeping the heat in in the winter and keeping the sun and heat out in the winter.  There were several brands like and we had to go and visit them as well.  Then we had to determine do we want double insulated windows, double hung windows, where would we place bay windows etc.  What I can say for this project there is a lot riding on the windows a homeowner selects because if the windows are of a poor quality then we would end up watching our heating bill increase because of poor insulation or our electricity bill would increase because the windows let the cool air out of the house.

 

Once the house was framed and under roof then we could focus on the inside of the house like lighting fixtures, cabinetry, flooring, etc. Scope creep came in each of these processes because we would have to go to different suppliers to check out each of these components aforementioned. For example just to pick out carpeting we would go out to the suppliers and then bring home swatches and then decide yes we like them or not but not only did we have to make the decision based on colors, patterns, wear and tear and cost per square foot.  As if all of those choices weren’t hard enough there were the helpful people at the flooring place also adding their input which added more choices and more time to selecting suitable carpeting for each room in the house.

The project of building within a time frame was also complicated by the need for change orders so if we got in cabinets that had flaws in the wood then we would have to send them back to the supplier and then wait for the new cabinets to come in and then go out the warehouse to see if what was ordered would work.

 

Our stakeholders were my spouse, me and the builders if the building of the house took to long then we would incur extra cost and time lost on the completion of the house.  Our move in date would have had to be moved up but fortunately we experience some scope creep but our builder managed to plan the building and get us into the house within our budgeted timeframe of 1 year. 

 

If I were the project manager the building of the house and the selection of the materials to build might have taken longer just because of the overwhelming nature of amount of work and the fact that without my husband who did extensive research on the building of the house I would have been lost in the beginning.  There is a learning curve for me that would have occurred and yes I would have gotten the house built. 

 

If I were building a house for a family with children I would have put more storage units in for the children; a larger pantry and more storage in the kitchen.  I would have also advise families with children to get double laundry rooms with one upstairs and one downstairs to make doing laundry easier.

Reference
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer B. E.,
(2008). Project Management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Wiley
& sons. Holboken, N. J.

Budgeting

Projects go through phases as identified by Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, Kramer (2008, p. 78),

1. Conceive: an idea is born
2. Define phase: a plan is developed
3. Start phase: a team is formed
4. Perform phase: the work is done
5. Close phase: the project is ended

Once the plan is born then the project manager (PM) can begin to define the plan by develop a work breakdown structure (WBS).  A WBS is a chart that will contain all of the tasks that will be completed for the project.  For example if a PM were developing an online course then they would either do a mind map of each task and subtask that will need to be done. Another way a WBS could be done is with sticky notes of the tasks to be performed.  I have listed two ways a WBS could be done but I am sure there are many more ways that a PM and their team could brainstorm the task to be completed; I think the most important thing here is that there is a visual representation of what has to be done.  After the WBS is completed then the PM has to develop a budget.

A budget is the financial plans, for allocating organization resources to project activities (Portny et al.2008, p. 118).  A budget for a project is harder to establish than a budget for regular organizational expenses according to Portny et al. (2008, p. 119). 

So what happens when you are new to the PM game and now your organization wants you to develop a budget because face it everything in life cost; and there everything that goes on in the project has to be accounted for.  The team members, SMEs, accountants, secretaries and anyone who works on the project has a salary and it has to be figured into the budget. If the PM is developing a course online for a client then the cost of developing the components of the course has to go into the budget.
So what information is out there to teach the novice PM instructional designer about allocating resources for a project because face it every hour cost the organization in employee salaries to develop virtual simulations, hard copy course materials, online assessments and quizzes. 

Here are two resources I found to help begin to develop a budget and a timeline:
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html#elearning
Estimating Cost and Time in Instructional Design is the title for the aforementioned website.  I liked this site because it is for IDs who are considering developing an eLearning course.  It has the time breakdowns for synchronous and asynchronous learning as far as number of hours it will take to develop a course.  This website also has suggested hourly rates for IDs, SMEs and other team members. 

http://michaelgreer.biz/?p=279
Estimating Instructional Development Time is an article written by Michael Greer who does a lot of project manager books and has this blog.  I liked this blog by Mr. Greer because it gives tips about not trusting in doing ratios when it comes to beginning to budget your time on a project.  He opens his post by stating that some of his students have suggested a 15:1, 30:1, 50:1 and 80:1 but he also states that the International Society for Performance Improvement has suggested that it could take up 1500:1 for course development.  These ratios represent X hours to develop one hour of a course. 

This article also takes into account other considerations like non-writing time; what type of course will the ID be developing. . .
These are just two websites out of many that I think would be helpful to the beginner PM in learning how to develop a resource allocation and budget for a project.
I welcome all suggestions and other helpful sites in the comment box.

Reference
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J.  Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M. &
Kramer, B. E.  (2008). Project Management: Planning, scheduling,
and controlling projects.

 

The forms of Communication

Project managers are orchestra leaders according to Dr. Stolovitch (Laureate Education).  An orchestra leader is responsible for making sure that all of the musicians are playing together harmoniously. 

Have you ever wondered why Dr. Stolovitch (Laureate Education) would compare a project manager to an orchestra leader?  I have and so in my preparing for this blog I decided to define each role.  An orchestra leader is a person who directs four sections of an orchestra but before he can do that this he must do the following:

The conductor makes sure that the music piece is interpreted properly by acting as the guide to the musicians or singers. He chooses and studies the music score, may make certain adjustments to it and relay his ideas to the performers so that when the music is played, there is unity and harmony. He schedules rehearsals, plans the orchestra's repertoire and attends to other matters concerning the group he leads (Estrella, n.d.).

A lot goes into being a conductor of a symphony and a lot goes into being a project manager.  A project manager is responsible for coordinating all aspects of a project (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton & Kramer 2008, p. 10).  The project manager develops all of the objectives of the project, the goals, and budget, develops a team and monitors them plus a plethora of other task all fall to the project manager. In order for a project to go smoothly the PM must communicate with their stakeholders. Dr.  Stolovitch says he read somewhere that 93% of communication is not in the words.  It is in attitude and the spirit of the person doing the communicating, the body language and tonality of the person as well as the timing which are all ways of communicating with a person that are not verbal.

Communicating with Different Modalities and my Interpretation:

Phone: most of ongoing oral communication is done by phone.  I think this a good way communicate if the PM cannot conduct a face to face meeting.  Phone conversations can be used if there is a quick question that needs to be answered or if there is some task that needs verification, but if the PM is going to utilize the phone to contact people they need to make a written notation in a notebook or somewhere within their paperwork that a call was placed on a certain day, what was discussed, whether or not an agreement had to be reached and what were the terms.  The notation should also include the name of the recipient.

There are drawbacks to a phone conversation such as the parties cannot see faces and facial expressions and sometimes seeing how a client or team member responds can tell if they understand or agree with what is being said.  The PM has to be careful not to divulge information that all team members need to know, so that there is no backlash over having favorites. 

Meetings: these are live meetings and should be utilized if there is something important that has to be said to the team and the stakeholders.  These meetings can be beneficial because there is information that the entire team may need.  Portny et al. (2008) provides the following tips for conducting a meeting (p 360):
-Set a purpose for the meeting
-Notify people in advance
-Start on time
-Assign a timekeeper
-Take written minutes of who attended
-Keep a list of action items to be explored further after the meeting and assign responsibility for all entries on that list.
-If the right information isn’t available or the right people aren’t in attendance to resolve an issue, stop the discussion and put it on an action item list to deal with later.
-End on time

These are good tips because stakeholders often work on more than one project at a time and so they will need to plan accordingly in order to meet and get task completed in a timely manner.

The drawbacks to meetings is that sometimes they are poorly planned and rehash information that the team members can read on their own, they can run over time and there is no clear purpose to the meeting.

Email or Memo: these methods work well if the written correspondence contains these tips provided by Stolovitch (Laureate Education):

-Begin with a clear purpose
-State the situation i.e. are deadlines being met; what is incomplete or is completed on the project
-Include possible solutions
-Indicate if a sign off is required
-Specify the form that the response is required to take
-Keep tone of all communications business friendly and respectful

Drawbacks could be that if team members and stakeholders do not realize that this is a form of communication that will be used the PM must make sure that when they start a project that they let the groups know what forms of communication will be used so that the written correspondence will not be taken for granted.

Summary: Communication is very important to the life of a project because the PM cannot do everything and those involved in the project need to be kept in the loop as to what is going on.  The most important I learned from this lesson is that I set the tone of communication with my team members and stakeholders.  Stolovitch (Laureate Education) provides the following guidelines:
-Let them know the frequency of communications
-Apprise them of the type or types of communication that will be used
-Tell them the language that will be used
-Establish rules on who can talk to who on the project for information exchange
-Avoid ambiguity because ambiguity kills
-Document everything; keep a journal that you can jot down conversations
References
Estrella, E. (n.d.). The conductor?  Retrieved from http://musiced.about.com/od/musiccareer1/p/theconductor.htm 23 January 2014.
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders.
[DVD]. Baltimore, MD.
Portny S. E., Mantel S. J., Meredith J. R., Shafer, S. M. Sutton M. M, and Kramer,
B. E.  (2008). Project Management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling
projects. Wiley Pathways 59-72.

 

 

Project Post Mortem

Project Post Mortem
So this week in Project Management 6145; I am writing about a project that I took part in while I was a teacher, since I have no real world experience in the field of project management I will use a personal experience.  Are you like me and wonder what a project post mortem is?  Because the word post mortem is usually associated with death and we all know that is a tough topic I found this definition by Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton and Kramer 2008,  a post project evaluation, or project postmortem, is an assessment of project results, activities and processes in order to do the following:

-Recognize project achievements and acknowledge people’s contributions.
-Identify techniques and approaches that worked and devise steps to ensure they’re used again in the future.
-Identify techniques and approaches that didn’t work and devise steps to ensure that things are handled differently in the future (p 404).

While I was in Cleveland Schools we had to change how we taught.  A change had come and there was no time to be a resister.  The project scope was to begin to document students work in portfolios back in 2000.  The objective of the rollout of portfolios was to make teachers more accountable when teaching and to also be able to better inform the parents of their child’s progress. 

The deliverables for this project came from the district CEO who provided each school with 4” binders for each student.  As teachers we had to label the binders with students names; we had to have clearly labeled sections for students work to into and then develop a system for the students to add to their portfolios as well as the teacher adding evaluations and assessments. 

I found that the portfolios were an excellent communication tool to use with the parents because they could see actual progress or areas in their children’s folders.  As a teacher I no longer had to depend on giving subjective information to parents about their child.  I think that the portfolio provided the parents with an objective view of their students work.

I was proud of my work with the portfolios because the system worked once I learned how to invite the students to add some piece of work they wanted their parents to see and also once I learned to take time to add assessments and other types of work like stories the student wrote from the drafting stage to the rough draft to the edit and finished product.  The portfolios were invaluable to the student as well because they could see how much they had learned and how much they had grown in terms of processes they had done in terms of early in the year the work was nascent but with each semester they could see where they were actually learning and improving.

The most frustrating part of the portfolio introduction was learning how to stay organized and finding time in an already time crunched day to actually sit down and add work to the student’s binders.  The most gratifying part of the project was when I could show parents what their children had learned.  If I could wave a magic wand and change anything I would not because as a first time experience with building portfolios I think it went extremely well for me.

I think that the stakeholders were pleased with the work we did as teachers in order to maintain individual examples of students work in binders.  The principal and regional teams would come to visit the classrooms to see if we had implemented the portfolios and if we did then we did not have to worry about receiving a reprimand for not complying with the program.  Complaints from parents begin to decrease because now teachers had solid proof of what actually went on during their child’s day. 

Do I believe that the managers i.e. the CEO and the principal were successful in their efforts to create portfolios were successful; the answer is a resounding yes.  The deliverables which were the binders for the student work arrived on time, we provided with dividers for each class and I think the teleconference went well for the initial startup of a new process in tracking students’ progress.

References:

Greer, M. (2010).  The project management minimalist: Just enough pm to rock your projects! Laureate International Universities.
Portny,  S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, M. S., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M. and Kramer (2008). Project Management: Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling Projects. Wiley Pathways 2nd edition.  Wiley.