Timely Studies Update/ SOLD Project

For those that were curious about the real-world project that I was asked to take last week, here is an update with more details.  The blog entries will be titled 'SOLD', so they are not confused with our grad class entries.

The planning and work has begun on the work-project that my principal asked me to undertake.  I've named it SOLD for Staff On Line Development.  I had an initial planning meeting with *some of the stakeholders last Thursday.  There were supposed to be 6-7 VPs involved in the project and only 3 were at the meeting.  One was not at work, two were conducting interviews for the upcoming school year, and one was filling for our head principal, who was also out of the office that day.  The meeting took longer than scheduled (1 hour versus the actual 2.5).

Although slightly underwhelmed by the VP participation, the meeting went well.  The missing VPs will likely be involved at later stages and when/if additional modules are added to the project.  We're using a series of web tools and resources to create and host the learning modules for the staff.  Since I had used the Coursesites.com LMS for a previous grad class project, my familiarity and the price-point of the site (FREE!), the modules will be hosted on Coursesites.  I've already started setting up the site and creating the content and module pages.

One of the VPs is taking an existing PowerPoint presentation, editing, and adding screen-video narration using CamStudios.org.  Another is using Adobe to create PDF forms.  The LMS will allow quizes and drop-boxes for assignments, ensuring that faculty members 1. complete the module training sessions and 2. allow for assessments and feedback to the project team.

The goal of the project is to convert some standard face-to-face content to the web-based forum.  Converting to the web-based forum will:

1. Improve pre-school time efficiency in preparing for the school year
2. Model technology practices that teachers may use with their own students
3. Deliver mandatory training materials to faculty members without the need for en masse time intensive meetings.

With decreased pre-school prep time and changes to teacher-contract hours, there is a growing need for the school to develop methods of delivering training and content to teachers without impinging greatly on teacher hours.  Previous methods of content delivery in face-to-face environments, either in whole-faculty meetings held after school or in smaller groups during teacher planning periods, have not been effective either in content retention or in meeting time restriction.  By moving the content delivery to a web-based platform, time restriction should be avoided by keeping delivery to smaller time intervals that can be completed over a two-week time period at the learner's convenience.

The school also places heavy emphasis on the use of technology in the classroom and in the school.  Previous attempts at incorporating technology applications have had the best of intentions with lack-luster results.  These results can be attributed to content-intensive learning sessions with little application or practice for teachers to effectively incorporate the technology into their curriculum and plans.  By modeling the use of technology through the Staff On Line Development project and through the content focus of specific modules, teachers will be able to refer to the learning module resources as needed, as well as have examples of the applications that they can conform to their specific needs.

The initial phase of the SOLD project will be to create a two-phase learning module on Substitute procedures (using the Sub Finder system and Creating Sub lesson plans/Emergency Lesson Plans) that will be launched by Aug. 21st, the date that the faculty returns to school from summer vacation.  Should the first phase/module meet expectations, additional modules will be added to include:

• School Money Matters (Field Trips, Fundraising, & Club Money)
• Classroom Management & Instruction (Tips & Tools for CM, Teacher Evaluations, Referral Systems)
• Student Support (Reporting Abuse/Neglect, Tier II Assistance, IEPs & 504s)
• School Website (Intro, Basic, and Advanced applications)
• School Safety (Emergency Drills/Procedures, County Required Safety Training)

Some of the modules will be required of all faculty members, some will be voluntary.  New teachers to the school (those with 0-3 years experience teaching at the school) will be required to complete more of the modules than veteran teachers.  Some veterans will be required to complete modules based on past-performance, at the VPs' discretion.  Assessments and feedback will be collected through a variety of applications, including quizzes, surveys, written responses, and form completion/drop-box submissions.

Key stake holders:

• Me - project manager/web developer/instructional designer
• Principal-client
• 6 VPs-instructional design team
• 1 Technology Resource Teacher
• 1 IT/Network specialist
• 250 faculty learners
• 2300 students/secondary clients
• 1 Financial officer (money matters)
• 1 Nurse (for county required blood-pathogen training)

Budget:

• Non-existant - I *might* be awarded a stipend for the work.  Otherwise, I'm paid in learning experience, resume' building, future administrative experiences, and real-world grad class applications.

Ask me questions, leave me comments.  The more I talk about the project, the greater the chance that I'll remember something important. Cheers!

Estimating Costs & Allocating Resources

I started this assignment by looking at the Microsoft Project 2010 website.  I like PC's, so Microsoft is normally the first place that I look for software and templates.  The software package seems to have everything a Project Manager could need in planning, tracking, and adjusting the budgetary and scheduling concerns of a project.  The only problem with Microsoft Project is that it is very cost-prohibitive for a lone Instructional Designer.  The site does offer some sound advice for preparing a project budget here.  Although advice is valuable, so are tools.  I started to look for more pocket-friendly varieties of software and downloads.

Bright Hub

Bright Hub has created several templates for Project Managers to use for free.  The templates are written in Microsoft Excel, which saves PMs from downloading or purchasing expensive software packages.  The download includes an overall budget, a monthly budget, and a task project budget page.  There are no instructions or tutorials to help complete the sheets, but the template designs are clear and easy to read.  I was very glad to come across this resource, as estimating and calculating cost for work-hours is a new skill that I am learning.  This template would save me some of the frustration of setting up digital tables, charts, and calculations.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet does have a small monthly cost for a single user, but it is much more reasonable.  There is also a 30-day free trial.  The web-based system limits the users to the number of sheets (templates/forms) and the size of the files (in Gigabytes).  The Smartsheets product includes many features that PMs would find useful, including Gantt charts, calendars, and collaboration between team members.  The product could help PMs with prioritization of tasks, budgets, performance reviews and task lists.

Timely Studies Part Duex

I talked with one of the VPs yesterday and found out a little more about what the administration wants in terms of the projects from my last post.  It is two separate roles, and I have an initial meeting with several stakeholders next Thursday to discuss the projects more.

Project 1:  Develop a single module for new teachers focusing on procedures and expectations for requesting a substitute in planned and emergency absences, as well as covering appropriate lesson plan content suitable to use with substitutes.  The module will be self-paced, housed either on the school server or loaded to each teacher computer desktop.  Completion would be assessed by a simple quiz or checklist, with the end result being a printout to be submitted to the administration by a certain day in mid September.  The module time frame is about four weeks (starting today).

If the project goes well, then additional modules would be added later.

Project 2:  I'm in charge of the staff development activities (SDA) for the year for integrating technology in the classroom.  The SDAs would occur once a month (totaling approx. 8 sessions) for an hour each.  I haven't been given any specific goals or areas to focus on yet, but my initial thoughts (based on informal conversations over the last few years with coworkers) have included the following:

1. Edline Basic: Setting up individual class webpages on the school website, inputting data on the calendar, uploading documents. (Edline is the website program the school uses).
2. Edline Advanced:  Using the Homework Hand In/Dropbox, creating online quizes, using the Discussion/Blog feature.
3. Wikis/Blogs/GoogleDocs for group projects and student collaboration
4. Podcasting & Videocasting
5. Flipped Classroom techniques for greater student engagement
6. Clickers for on-the-spot classroom assessment
7. Webquests/ Specific Content resources
8. Student Use of Web Content & Plagerism

If you have any other ideas for technology in the classroom, please let me know in the comments.

Timely Studies

I know that there is no blog assignment this week, but I'm finding that this course is incredibly timely and the comments and discussion really helpful, since I'm basically new to the formal process of Project Management.

I've been tagged at school to be the sponsor for the school's chapter of the Science National Honor Society (different than the NHS you may remember from school).  Since this is a brand new group, I have to plan how students will be notified of possible induction, the application and criteria process, and the actual induction ceremony after that.

The topics from the last few weeks in class have been rather helpful, since I now find myself breaking down all of the tasks, trying to estimate times, and identifying stakeholders.  The stakeholders part has been surprising; the data processing IT guy at Central office, the guidance counselors to verify student GPAs, the events coordinator, culinary instructor, students, science teachers, other core teachers,....  At times, it seems like it's a never-ending list.

And on top of that, my principal has asked me to help the VP's convert some of our standard, start-of-the-year required meetings to web-format.  Doing this would allow only those teachers that need the training (newer teachers with 0-3 years teaching experience and those needing a refresher) to complete the training on their own time, and would free up much needed hours for all teachers during our 4-day pre-school work sessions.  It's a daunting task, as my experience with the multimedia side of our program has pretty much been limited to what we have done for the Walden courses.  I am much more comfortable with the ID process and even the PM process (just not the formality of parts of it; language, forms, etc.).  Also adding a bit to the stress is the limited time.  There are only 5 weeks until the faculty returns to school and there are possibly 5-8 training modules that would be converted to web form.

Enjoy your weekend!

UPDATE:  So the number of modules has decreased after the conversation with the principal today, but the initial meeting to discuss the project won't happen until next week.  We decided that if we could get the first module up and running by the time teachers returned, then we could add additional modules during the school year.

Communicating Effectively: Comparisons on Modality

The Art of Effective Communication

This week we are to review a message delivered through three different communication modes: email, voice mail, and face-to-face (F2F) conversation.  Jane needs data and information from Mark to include in a report that is quickly approaching a submission deadline.  Each mode of communication contains the same script and message, and all can be classified as informal communications.  "Informal communications occur as people think of the information they want to share" (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton & Kramer, 2008, p. 357).

My interpretations changed slightly between the written text mode and the voice mail mode because of hearing the tonality and inflection in Jane's voice.  It also changed between the voice mail and the F2F because of body language displayed by Jane in the video clip.  Since the script for the three modes was identical, my perception may have been altered slightly by the time I viewed the F2F mode.

I think that the true meaning and intent of Jane's message is best conveyed by the voice mail mode of communication in this example.  The physical communication modes (voice mail, F2F) hold more urgency with me, as the sender has thought that she may be able to catch Mark at his desk, either by phone or stopping at Mark's desk, and needs a more immediate answer.

The email provides the best form of documentation of the three modes.  It clearly states the purpose and reason for the message, and that the sender expects a reply.  The email does not convey the same urgency, as specific dates and times are not included in the message.  How long does Mark have to get the information to Jane?  When is her deadline?  Written communication does not allow the recipient to ask questions about the message (Portny, et al, 2008).  Although those questions could be asked during each mode, inclusion of that information would have made the email clearer on the urgency of the situation.

The script and body language in the F2F mode seemed very contrived to me.  If Jane is standing there talking to Mark, why would she deliver the message in such a scripted matter?  Why not just simply ask Mark for the information?  Her crossed arms and wandering eyes made it seem that she was uninterested in both her own message and any reply Mark might have had, which undercut the urgency of her needing the data for her own report.  Dr. Stolovitch and his students discuss important components of effective oral communication in the video "Communicating with Stakeholders" (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).  In the video, Dr. Stolovitch makes note that the non-verbal communication can be just as informative (and often contradictory to) as the verbal communication through the spirit, attitude, tonality, body language, and timing of the message. (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).

For time-sensitive actions and messages, a personal conversation, either by phone or in person (not a contrived script) is best to convey urgent and time-sensitive information or requests, followed by an email clearly stating the purpose, specific deliverables, and any agreements reached including deadlines that the parties need to meet.  Voice mail and email can be more unpredictable as there is a greater change that Mark may not get the messages until much later in the day, especially if he is in an all-day meeting.

References

Laureate Education, Inc., (n.d.) Communicating with stakeholders. [Video]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1342057_1%26url%3D

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

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.

Project Post-mortem

Blog Assignment: Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

Besides my normal teaching duties at school, every spring I serve as the Graduation Coordinator for the senior class.  As the school is rather large (2300 students, graduation class of 500+) this project or process can become quite involved.  Between the parent volunteers, senior class sponsors, administration, sheriff’s department, and vendors, there are many details that need to be adjusted and communicated each year.  The class of 2009 was our first graduating class, and this year was our largest.

Thankfully, I do not have to do the coordination all by myself.  Each year some of our administrative and faculty staffs change; I am the one static person on the Graduation Team that remains constant from year to year (last year I had to fill in as Mistress of Ceremonies for our senior class Vice Principal who was out on maternity leave).  In this position, I am able to help newcomers acclimate to their individual roles (our vice principals are on a rotation and move up as their group of kids move from one grade to the next), as well as advise the team on how well expectations were met in previous years, and how we can improve our deliverables for the coming year.

In some respects, I act as a project manager, in other ways I am a functional manager.  “Functional managers are responsible for orchestrating their staffs’ assignments among different projects, as well as providing the resources to allow their staffs to perform their assignments in accordance with the highest standards of technical assistance” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton & Kramer (2008).  During graduation practices at the end of the year, I schedule the sequence of practices, guest speakers, student speakers, special events, and parent volunteers.  I also instruct the senior class Vice Principal on what he/she needs to accomplish with the senior class during each day’s practice.  The most difficult part of the position is not having any real authority.  As each role that contributes to the graduation team is either voluntary (in my case) or part of the job requirements (vice principals), there is no incentive to put the best effort forward.  That being said, the entire team always wants the graduation process to achieve the best possible results.  Primarily, the drive is for the students themselves, but also for the parents, guests, VIPs, and the Board of Education members and Executive Staff from the county offices that attend.

There have been several aspects of project management that we have dealt with during the four graduation events since 2009:

                Scope creep: Including a VIP reception and a series of photo booths stretched our resources and didn’t precisely fit in with the overall project.

                Limited budget:  Between the second and third years, our budget available for graduation decreased.  We had to change lighting and sound companies in order to stay within budget.

                Inappropriate staffing assignments:  Staff personalities were sometimes assigned to less-than-ideal locations on graduation night (introverted people assigned to deal with ticket holders at the door, which could sometimes be confrontational).

The team has been able to succeed in the project objective each year, to the satisfaction of most of the guests and graduates.  Our frequent meetings, updates, and communications have been major factors in that success.  For the team, having clearly defined roles and obligations has also helped.  People are not overwhelmed with any aspect and individuals know what their goals and responsibilities should be each year.  After the ceremony is complete, and everyone has had a chance to rest, the team holds a post-mortem to reflect on the good, the bad, and the needs-improvement aspects of the project.

One part of the process that I wish we could do a little better is the communications.  I know I mentioned it earlier as one of the strengths of the project, but it also belongs in the weakness column as well.  The team is pretty good at communicating with each other during monthly meetings, and with each other when working on related aspects of a particular piece.  The communication does not always proceed in the same fashion outside of the Graduation Team.  The Team is comprised of the Principal, Vice Principals, a secretary, the guidance department, me, and the senior class sponsors.  It does not include the group leaders that we utilize on graduation night, such as the faculty member leader for the ticket-taker group, or the leader for the parking crew.  This can, and has, lead to confusion and miscommunications on expectations and established procedures.

With everything considered, I am surprised every year at the graduates and my colleagues for the hard work and accomplishments that go into making graduation happen.  And I am also very thankful that my boss lets me take the day after graduation off.

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. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.