Creep (of the scope kind).

Feel free to press "Play" on this video as you read.  Fitting, no?

The Overview:

As an educator, one of the buzzwords used recently is "data."  Everything is about data: data-driven instruction, data walls, data systems, etc.  One way that our administrators attempted to use data was in having departments form data teams.  The point of the project accomplished by the data teams was to analyze literacy activities in our content areas and provide reports to be submitted to the school board.  In a whole-faculty meeting, our principal explained what a data was, the process for completing a data cycle, the basic idea of what she needed from each department and the deadline.

The Process:

The first step was for department teams to get together, determine group norms and roles, and decide on data team meeting dates.  From there we decided on the activity for which we were going to focus, what from the activity we were going to collect to analyze as data, and when to have that step completed by.  After the data collection, then we were to meet together to compare results, look for strengths/weakness/commonalities, and analyze what could be done to improve.  These notes would be recorded and submitted to our principal to be sent on to the school board.

The Creep:

For an English department busy with all our own job responsibilities, this already was going to be a daunting task.  When our team was at the point of compiling analyzed data into a report document in order to submit it, our principal gave each data team a form which she wanted us to use to provide all teams a consistent format for their reports.  This caused some problems because we were already approaching the requested deadline and this new format would require additional meeting time outside of the school day to reword things and provide additional information which was not indicated to us that we needed in the first place.

The Solution:

After having each of us review our notes to ensure that based on what our principal explained that we needed to provide her we did complete, our data team leader who was the senior teacher in the English department explained to our principal that in order to meet the deadline which she set we were going to submit our original report the way we created it and that a version using the form she gave us would be submitted later.  The leveraging points used were that based on the original content for the deliverable (data report), we had met all requirements on time and that we'd be happy to use her form but that her changing the requirements did not allow us with the time to be able to complete it and still meet the deadline.

The Meta-Analysis:

If I had been the project manager, knowing now what I do I might have asked my principal if there was a specific form template she strongly was considering asking each department to use.  The next thing I would have done would have been to communicate more frequently with our principal than our department did to ensure that what we were creating was meeting requirements in her opinion.  Doing this would have meant that if she had been giving approval all along, if she introduced the form, we could have gone back and said that she had giving approval to our process.  But in the moment, I would have made the same move as our data team leader in submitting the form we created so as to meet the deadline and explain to our principal that we would submit the data with her form but that it would come later.

The Conclusion:

Projects come in many forms with different requirements and deliverables.  Even if a project as simple as an analysis of student work can fall victim to scope creep.  No matter the scope creep though, solutions to these creepy moments can be found.

Some project budget resources. If you're feeling bored.

            This week in EDUC 6145, we are tasked with meditating on the sometimes difficult art of generating a project budget.  The beauty of the World Wide Web is that it connects individuals around the world with experts, individuals who have experience in a particular topic about which one is curious or needs more information.  The resources below seem to be worthwhile places to look for the project manager who many need some pointers in budget generation for projects.

TechRepulic:  "Creating Your Project Budget: Where to Begin?"  TechRepublic's website is a collection of various resources related to the world of information technology.  If one has a question somehow connected to IT, he or she is probably able to find an answer about it on this site.  As projects in IT are a reality, it would only make sense that there would be a "Project Budgets 101" style article on this site; there are a few of them, actually.  The one linked is the one I found to be the most helpful.  It is helpful because it spells out in clear terms all the important parts of a budget to consider (basics, project costs, risk assessments, etc.) and provides tips for how to incorporate each one piece in the budget.

Tuts+:  "6 Budget Planning Steps to Professional Project Estimates"  Sometimes I do well with accomplishing a task of I have a checklist that I can go through; this resource on planning professional project estimates from Tuts+ is more or less that.  One has to appreciate the amount an diversity of business and project related information on this site.  This article is just an example.  The information is laid out well and follows a logical pattern.  One of the most useful things about this article especially is the idea of being able to maintain higher budget numbers but simplify the presented information so that it does not overwhelm the client.

            I am not a professional at budget creation.  Who am I kidding?  I'm not even an amateur of the process.  Should I ever need help or information on doing it for a project, however, I will not hesitate to refer to either of the sources above.

Modalities and messages.

            Communication is a tricky task.  Sometimes, we can focus so much on our message that we do not consider how we are going to deliver it.  The mode of delivery is just as important as the words themselves.  In an activity for a grad school class, EDUC 6145, we students were tasked with viewing a multimedia presentation and analyzing the communication modalities and how they affect the delivered message.

            The email comes off as attempting to be professionally cordial but leaning towards curt.  Phrases like "Because your..." are connected to the potential inability of Jane being unable to complete her task, it infers that Jane is blaming Mark for her problems.  Wrapping up with wording such as "...or even if (italics for emphasis)..." drives home through the connotation of her words that she is not happy and Mark is to blame.

            The voicemail allows for a deeper level of communication than just the text of an email message could accomplish on its own.  While the email seems as if it the tone could be construed as condescending, the email seems more colleagial in its purpose.  In this instance, Jane's vocal inflections reveal the deeper message that she is concerned about getting her own job done and that there is a hope that Mark could help.  The word choice is the same, but vocal tone makes the difference.

            In the face-to-face message, Jane seems downright friendly in the way that she expresses her desire to get her own job done.  And while the email example could seem like Mark totally is to blame, the face-to-face interaction makes it seem that Jane is not blaming Mark, but hoping that he can help her out.  Her voice is softer, her body language and facial expressions do not come off as accusatory, and Jane comes off as looking for a favor.

            As a member of a project team, communication is a vital piece of the task.  The entire team needs to be on board with the project and the members should feel like they trust each other.  Email is an okay communication tool for simple messages.  A message that is too complex runs the risk of carrying misleading wording; in the last example, Jane is not blaming Mark, but her email indicates that she could be.  To keep a team united in a project process, all members should strive to use interpersonal communication that relies on more than just words to accomplish the task.

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.) The art of effective communication [Multimedia object]. Retrieved from http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html. 

Project "Post Mortem" Review: The Critical Thinking Rubric

         

            In the school where I teach, along with content area, we as teachers assess students on five different school-wide learning outcomes: Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Oral Communication, Work Ethic, and Written Communication.  In faculty meetings, we discussed the idea that critical thinking looks different depending upon the content area; we came to the conclusion that departments should each have their own rubric for critical thinking tasks.  With our principal's approval, over the next three months, departments were tasked with developing their own Critical Thinking rubric to use instead of the school-wide one.  At the conclusion of three months, we had a rubric that was about three quarters done; we never finished it.  We, as an English department, are using the school-wide rubric this year.
            At its onset, the project seemed as if it would be successful.  Each member of the English department was excited about the notion of autonomy in developing our own assessment piece for a department.  We were also excited about being able to meet as a small group instead of as a large faculty unit.  We all bought in to the process we were preparing to undertake.
            The project to develop an English department Critical Thinking rubric tanked for a few reasons.  The first reason was that there was no clear leader to be a type of project manager.for the group.  Simply having a project manager to be able to keep the group organized.  Portny et al. (2008) state that having a project manager who can keep the group on track "dramatically increase(s) their chances of success (p. 6).
            Another reason we did not succeed in the project is that we had a lack of vision for how to accomplish the project objectives, and many weeks were spent repeating the same steps and conversations over and over again.  We had defined what our final deliverable should look like, but we skipped the next step, which Greer (2010) explains as determining tasks and phases (p. 17).  We did not bother to create any type of accountability charts or planning calendars to ensure that every piece of the rubric was generated so that it could be revised and then finalized.  Making that necessary step would have contributed more so to our success.
            A final reason is that the point in the school calendar when we began the project was an inopportune time for we English teachers.  Tenth grade was preparing for graduation qualifying exams.  AP Language and Literature was preparing for AP exams.  Twelfth grade was working on getting seniors ready to graduate.  In short, we were all busy with things which in reality took a greater precedent than completing a rubric which our employment statuses would not have been in jeopardy if we didn't finish.
            It would have been nice to have finished an English Critical Thinking rubric, but it did not happen.  That said, this year has been off to a solid start and with the first trimester ending next week, I can honestly say that I do not think this year would be going much differently if we had finished it.

References

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your      

            projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

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. Hoboken, NJ: 

            John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

           

A message of "howdy" to one and all.

To any and all of my colleagues and classmates in EDUC 6145: Project Management in Education and Training, hello.  I'm sure many of you I've had the privilege of working "alongside" in the past year, but to any who I may have not, howdy.

Stepping into the future while considering the past (Wk8AssgnGeursG)

            When peer-to-peer file sharing program Napster debuted in 1999, technology experts all over the United States saw Napster for what it really was: a revolutionary innovation in music.  Since then, such file sharing programs such as BearShare, Limewire, and Kazaa (which I may or may not have used), as well as companies with pay-for-music services such as iTunes and Amazon have all provided services which can be traced back directly to the work of the Fanning brothers and Napster.

            Fifteen years ago, people would not have been able to guess how digital music would change, but they could make some pretty strong guesses.  In the same way, since distance education’s early days in 1833 with correspondence courses(Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, & Zvacek, 2012), the face of distance education has continued to progress alongside the technology it utilizes.

            The major technological force which propels distance education is the Internet and its communication tools.  Distance education heavily relies on communication between instructors and learners, especially as they are divided by time and geography.  As Dr. George Siemens points out, “More and more of us are communicating online” (Laureate Education, “The Future of Distance Education”).  This is a positive thing which will have a strong impact on public perception of distance learning five, ten, or even twenty years down the road.  As people become more comfortable communicating with each other over long distance, become familiar with the tools which they use in order to communicate, and become used to how the two can be used in order to exchange ideas and knowledge, distance learning’s perception will pick up speed and be viewed more and more positively as time goes on.

            Instructional designers have a challenge in the years upcoming related to improve social perception and continue to improve the quality of instruction in the field of distance education.  Through the use of the social channels to which instructional designers have access, they have the ability to engage community stakeholders by demonstrating the quality of distance learning programs by giving clear examples of work and how it matches up to brick-and-mortar institutions’ learning objectives for courses.  Instructional designers can also be agents for change by providing clear communication and example of how distance learning principles already are a part of individuals’ daily lives.  They can help in the improvement of distance education by listening to the voices of concerned stakeholders and looking for ways to alleviate their fears and concerns.  For example, if a stakeholder is concerned about having access to an instructor, the instructional designer should look for different avenues to provide the concerned person with solutions to the problem.

            The future of distance learning is as pregnant with possibility now as Napster was fifteen years ago.  Only the passing of time can demonstrate what changes and improvements will be birthed.  People engaged in the process such as instructional designers can have a large influence on the direction and quality of changes that are possible and they should make the most of every opportunity to make distance learning as effective as possible.

References

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). The future of distance education [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 ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.

Who wants to learn about Fourier?

Stanford University on iTunesU:

http://itunes.stanford.edu/

            A dream of mine would be to one day complete post-graduate study at Stanford University.  Unfortunately, there are two things preventing me from accomplishing this dream: geography and money.  Stanford is located in California; I live in northeast Indiana.  Another thing preventing my ability to study at Stanford is the more than $14,000 dollars grade term’s tuition which I could not afford.  Thank you to the magic of the 21^st century technology, I can still study some of the same content from some of the same Stanford University courses for free.  And while it may not be as rigorous or as high quality education as taking a real Stanford course, it does provide for an opportunity to gain additional knowledge.  As an amateur quantum physics enthusiast, a concept I encountered in the book Quantum Physics for Poets by Dr. Leon Lederman is the Fourier transform.  The course I am currently taking through Walden University, “Distance Learning,” assigned me to provide an analysis of a free open course, so it was fortunate that Stanford’s iTunesU page had a course on Fourier transform that I could use to complete the application task.

            Stanford University’s “The Fourier Transform and its Applications” is laid out as an authentic college course.  Prof. Brad Osgood from Stanford is the feature lecturer in this series of 30 video lectures.  Along with each pair of corresponding lectures, the course provides a problem set of practice problems for the learner to complete and also provides the solutions and steps for how to solve the problems.  The Fourier course seems intentionally designed for distance learners, as the material is sequential in nature with later lectures and problems sets building on previous ones.  There is even a copy of both the midterm and final exams along with answer keys for the learner to be able assess him or herself on how well they are comprehending the material.

            As described by Saltzberg and Plyson in Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2012), this could be considered an example of distributed learning since the open course is “an instructional model that allows instructor, students, and content to be located in different, noncentralized locations so that instruction and learning occur independent of place and time” (pp. 123-124).  As an effective online course, this would not pass the textbook writers’ test, as it seems that the creators of this course do little more than put lectures and handout materials online for people to access (p. 134).  The course does not provide a detailed syllabus; the learner can get an idea of what will be covered by looking at the brief outline of topics. 

            The individual who compiled the video and problem sets for this open course seems to have implemented course activities to promote and foster learning, but I am not sure whether one could say that learning is maximized.  In the course description area, there is an outline of headings for the major topics covered.  The video lectures of Prof. Osgood feature him writing material on a chalkboard and giving clear explanation as he goes.  The problems sets contain solutions with explanations.  A student in the distance learning setting could benefit from having an area to ask questions or find additional support from the instructor.  The learner could also benefit from there being a resource that provides the individual topics for each lecture so that he or she may be prepared to take notes or read up on the topics ahead of time.

            My math skills do not extend much beyond simple trigonometry, yet I feel I understand Fourier transform a little better after watching the first few lectures.  Stanford University’s iTunesU course, while not the most easy to understand source on the topic of quantum mechanics, is a good place to go for quality distance learning on a wide range of academic subjects.  Not all courses contain the same level of quality materials as “The Fourier Transform and its Applications,” but all courses like it that I saw are laid out in a sequential fashion that will help the average learner take something away from the experience.

References

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a

                distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.