Content Analysis: 12 hours
This week, I worked on the content analysis. I designed the curriculum map, drafted the performance objectives plus the assessment items, and created the task analysis table. Our elearning unit is a refresher based on a workshop that has already been delivered. Therefore, the content is already available through the trainer’s manual and the DVDs used in the workshop. I consider us lucky as a team to have been provided with the content, especially when it is very specific to the organization we are working for. So what I did was review the DVDs one more time and break down the trainer’s manual into the principles and concepts that needed to be included in the unit. Once this was done, I designed the curriculum map. I started by using the chart-generating tool called Lovely Charts. I really like this tool except for one thing. The free version of it will allow me to export my charts as images but will not allow me to save them. So, for every editing, I would have to recreate the chart over and over again. Even with knowing that, I still tried to create my curriculum map in Lovely Charts, just because I like the ease of creating the boxes and the arrows that connects them together. However, after realizing the nightmare of editing a complicated chart such as the curriculum map, I switched to Fireworks. That was the wise the decision I should have made from the beginning. Editing in Fireworks is so easy. The image can be moved and edited within Dreamweaver with no problem and I discovered the connector tool that lets me connect the boxes, like in Lovely Charts (but not as pretty). As for the content of the curriculum map, I feel that I need to revisit it again and again and be careful about clarifying what the unit is going to accomplish versus what the transfer is expected to be. The transfer is the acquisition of the Leadership Skills but the unit can only accomplish the acquisition of intellectual and cognitive skills. The same applies to writing down the performance objectives. I think, I got more clarity once I started working on the task analysis and the assessment items and I concluded that my performance items needed revision. In order to create the assessment items, I downloaded the free trial version of Articulate, since this is the tool that our client wants us to use. I built the assessment items in Quizmaker. I can honestly say that I love Articulate, although I was apprehensive at first about learning a new tool while developing the elearning unit for our client. By giving several choices of formatting a question, Quizmaker inspires the designer in building the assessment items. For example, a multiple choice question would serve one purpose and a drag and drop another. The assessment questions I wrote were all close-ended responses. Not always my favorite form of evaluation, but we need to make the unit easy and quick to navigate for the learner who will be going though chunks of 5-7 minutes of elearning while on the job. At this point my work is not complete. I’m planning on going over it with my teammates, during our meeting in class tonight.
Reflections: Drafting the curriculum map, the performance objectives and the assessment items is no simple task. They lay the foundation for the development of the unit; therefore they must be strongly built. Careful consideration should be given to what the elearning unit is achieving. Transfer is desired but cannot be tested after the completion of the unit. So, the unit can go as a far as testing the acquisition of intellectual and cognitive skills. Moreover, the choice of selected responses used for ease of the implementation of the unit will not allow for the evaluation of higher order thinking skills in comparison to using essay questions that requires synthesis and evaluation.
As for choices of tools, the temptation of using appealing tools is big. I fall for that. However, with rapid prototyping, one should consider efficiency. Experimenting with a tool to end up redoing the work using another practical tool is not the smartest idea.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Project Planning, continued
Team Meeting: 1.5 hours
Reviewing project plan: 1 hour
Having written my assigned sections of the project plan last week, I did not find myself spending a lot of time on the team project this week, as I had done in previous weeks. I waited for input from my teammates on their parts of the plan and gave my feedback as needed.
As for the team meeting, this week “fences were mended”. We had an honest chat about the friction and the communication problems that we experienced the weeks before. We came to the agreement of dividing the tasks more clearly among us. Instead of writing collectively each assignment and creating a tangled web, we decided to have each member take ownership of one section of the project and create a draft to be reviewed by others for suggestions and not for re-creation. As a result, the sections of the project that I will be working on will be the Content Analysis and the Research-Based Instructional Strategy. I expressed my concerns for the scope of the content requested by our client. I fear that including all of the workshop content in the refresher that we will be developing might not be well catered to the learner’s needs. I feel that some of the content is well-embedded in the company’s culture and does not need to be included in the refresher. Thus are my regrets for not having done a learner’s analysis. Hopefully, working closely with the client/SME on the content analysis will resolve my concerns. In addition, it was agreed to bring this issue up during the upcoming lunch with him. Unfortunately, I had to miss the lunch since it was not possible to find a time that is convenient for all of us to meet with our client over the lunchtime hour. During the team meeting we also discussed our client’s request to use Articulate. That was another concern for me, having to learn a new tool while maintaining the timely delivery of the product and its quality. However, our client assured us that Articulate is an easy tool to use. Hopefully, we will not encounter problems in that area.
Besides working on the project, I worked on my professional blog. I still do not find this task easy to do. Reconciling meaningful content, few words and semi-research-based approach is a new skill I need to work on.
Reflections
Not much to reflect on this week with the small role I had to play in the project. However, about group dynamics, it takes courage to face problems, compromise can be achieved even when it is emotionally difficult, and tension and differences can be tamed, hopefully diffused and not internalized.
Reviewing project plan: 1 hour
Having written my assigned sections of the project plan last week, I did not find myself spending a lot of time on the team project this week, as I had done in previous weeks. I waited for input from my teammates on their parts of the plan and gave my feedback as needed.
As for the team meeting, this week “fences were mended”. We had an honest chat about the friction and the communication problems that we experienced the weeks before. We came to the agreement of dividing the tasks more clearly among us. Instead of writing collectively each assignment and creating a tangled web, we decided to have each member take ownership of one section of the project and create a draft to be reviewed by others for suggestions and not for re-creation. As a result, the sections of the project that I will be working on will be the Content Analysis and the Research-Based Instructional Strategy. I expressed my concerns for the scope of the content requested by our client. I fear that including all of the workshop content in the refresher that we will be developing might not be well catered to the learner’s needs. I feel that some of the content is well-embedded in the company’s culture and does not need to be included in the refresher. Thus are my regrets for not having done a learner’s analysis. Hopefully, working closely with the client/SME on the content analysis will resolve my concerns. In addition, it was agreed to bring this issue up during the upcoming lunch with him. Unfortunately, I had to miss the lunch since it was not possible to find a time that is convenient for all of us to meet with our client over the lunchtime hour. During the team meeting we also discussed our client’s request to use Articulate. That was another concern for me, having to learn a new tool while maintaining the timely delivery of the product and its quality. However, our client assured us that Articulate is an easy tool to use. Hopefully, we will not encounter problems in that area.
Besides working on the project, I worked on my professional blog. I still do not find this task easy to do. Reconciling meaningful content, few words and semi-research-based approach is a new skill I need to work on.
Reflections
Not much to reflect on this week with the small role I had to play in the project. However, about group dynamics, it takes courage to face problems, compromise can be achieved even when it is emotionally difficult, and tension and differences can be tamed, hopefully diffused and not internalized.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Project Planning
Team Meeting: 1.5 hours
Writing sections of the Project Plan: 4 hours
This week, the work load was lighter than last week. On Friday, we met as a team to discuss upcoming activities in the project. Again, we went over the team’s website look. No final decisions were taken regarding this issue and, most probably this is where it is going to be left at. We also discussed the option of moving forward with the learners’ analysis since our client extended an open invitation for us to collect data from our learners. It was decided to rely on our client input with respect to information about the knowledge and skills of our learners. We then moved on to divide the task of writing the project plan. I was assigned to write the communication management plan, the risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure of the deliverables.
One more snow day gave me ample time to write my sections of the project plan. I have to admit that I was apprehensive of some of what I needed to write about. Although the concept of project planning is clear in my mind, however, going about its components seemed overwhelming. A lot has been discussed in class and I needed to revisit the resources provided to strengthen my understanding of it. I am very grateful for the richness of the resources provided on the class’s website and I did spend a good deal of time going back and forth on them. The easiest section was writing the communication management plan. Not so easy though since I had to look at it as a network: who will need to say what to whom, and when. Second in order of difficulty was the risk management plan. The risks were easy to configure since, as a team, we have already visited several of them from the start of the project. The challenge in developing the risk management plan was pinning down the value of probability and impact of each risk. I think I placed the risks in the right order; however, I am not so sure about the accuracy of the value I gave each one of them. Next came the work breakdown structure of the deliverables. Writing this section was not so easy. I understand what is meant by deliverables but how to detail every deliverable was somewhat challenging. The way I went about it was to go over the description of the assignments for the project and select what I would consider to be a deliverable. I also looked at the examples of previous projects to make sure I was on the right track.
After completing my assigned sections, I shared them with my teammates, received feedback and made the corrections needed.
Reflections
I see myself as someone who would be interested in leading a team as a project manager. However, experiencing the documentation that goes with it and comparing it to the documentation and process of instructional design, I think I would much rather immerse myself in the ID process where I can give way to creativity. Of course, more exposure might sway the perceptions I have so far of project management. On the other hand, going through this process, I learned about the terminology used in project planning and the multitude of tools available to facilitate the process. I understood how to develop a communication plan, a risk management plan, and a work breakdown structure of deliverables. I dug into analyzing and weighing the elements of each of those sub-categories of the plan. Even though it is not my favorite part of the project, I still enjoy this learning experience that solidifies my knowledge-base.
Writing sections of the Project Plan: 4 hours
This week, the work load was lighter than last week. On Friday, we met as a team to discuss upcoming activities in the project. Again, we went over the team’s website look. No final decisions were taken regarding this issue and, most probably this is where it is going to be left at. We also discussed the option of moving forward with the learners’ analysis since our client extended an open invitation for us to collect data from our learners. It was decided to rely on our client input with respect to information about the knowledge and skills of our learners. We then moved on to divide the task of writing the project plan. I was assigned to write the communication management plan, the risk management plan, and the work breakdown structure of the deliverables.
One more snow day gave me ample time to write my sections of the project plan. I have to admit that I was apprehensive of some of what I needed to write about. Although the concept of project planning is clear in my mind, however, going about its components seemed overwhelming. A lot has been discussed in class and I needed to revisit the resources provided to strengthen my understanding of it. I am very grateful for the richness of the resources provided on the class’s website and I did spend a good deal of time going back and forth on them. The easiest section was writing the communication management plan. Not so easy though since I had to look at it as a network: who will need to say what to whom, and when. Second in order of difficulty was the risk management plan. The risks were easy to configure since, as a team, we have already visited several of them from the start of the project. The challenge in developing the risk management plan was pinning down the value of probability and impact of each risk. I think I placed the risks in the right order; however, I am not so sure about the accuracy of the value I gave each one of them. Next came the work breakdown structure of the deliverables. Writing this section was not so easy. I understand what is meant by deliverables but how to detail every deliverable was somewhat challenging. The way I went about it was to go over the description of the assignments for the project and select what I would consider to be a deliverable. I also looked at the examples of previous projects to make sure I was on the right track.
After completing my assigned sections, I shared them with my teammates, received feedback and made the corrections needed.
Reflections
I see myself as someone who would be interested in leading a team as a project manager. However, experiencing the documentation that goes with it and comparing it to the documentation and process of instructional design, I think I would much rather immerse myself in the ID process where I can give way to creativity. Of course, more exposure might sway the perceptions I have so far of project management. On the other hand, going through this process, I learned about the terminology used in project planning and the multitude of tools available to facilitate the process. I understood how to develop a communication plan, a risk management plan, and a work breakdown structure of deliverables. I dug into analyzing and weighing the elements of each of those sub-categories of the plan. Even though it is not my favorite part of the project, I still enjoy this learning experience that solidifies my knowledge-base.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Analysis
Time spent on tasks
Website design: 10.5 hours
Viewing Content Material of Worskhop and Learners’ Analysis Questionnaire: 4 hours
Analysis Report: 3 hours
Team Meeting: 2.5 hours
Team’s Website
After submitting the Project Charter last Thursday, I had to work again on the team’s website. It’s funny how it was mentioned in class that if a team’s completion of a job stays at 50% for more than two weeks, then they have a problem, and I think we do. Anyhow, one of my classmates sent me the code on how to keep the menu tabs highlighted when active. I ventured to play with the code on my version of the website. Not knowing what files to work on, I ended up messing the CSS of the website and decided to start from scratch again. I was lucky to be homebound because of the weather. It gave me ample time to play with Dreamweaver. On Monday, another classmate helped me figure out the tab highlighting problem and now it is solved. During our team meeting, we discussed the website design for half an hour more. I would consider the work on it to be at 100% completion but I have yet to wait and see when it will see the light on the class’s website, replacing what we have now.
Learners’ Analysis Questionnaire
Next I worked on designing the questionnaire for the learners’ analysis and I wrote the analysis report, as these were part of my responsibilities. Our client has provided us with a DVD and a CD of the content of the workshop on which our instructional unit will be based. This was very helpful. Other than providing content material, it gave me a feel of what the Autozone culture is about and how important it is for the organization. They use the word “Autozoner “to give a sense of community and to strengthen the sense of belonging and ownership among the employees. Back to the content, the DVD presented examples of good and bad leadership practices and the CD included the trainers’ manual in PDF format. They both provided a clear understanding of what the intended message ought to be. In the trainer’s manual, I found the review questions used at the completion of the workshop. I used those as the basis of the learner’s analysis questionnaire. I also wanted to see if the store managers were facing difficulties in implementing what they have learned in the workshop. So, I included questions related to that as well. However, in our team meeting few days later, we could not reach a consensus on what to include in the questionnaire. It was decided to skip doing the learners’ analysis altogether. This was very hard for me to accept. One, I strongly believe in the importance of the learners’ analysis. Two, our client has already facilitated the distribution and collection of the questionnaires from the learners and I consider going back on this step to be unprofessional.
Analysis report
As I was writing the analysis report, I realized how fruitful our first meeting with our client was. During our brainstorming in that first meeting, we were able to cover most of the information needed for the front-end analysis. This is the result of our team’s preparedness and the Autozone team willingness to share and provide all the support needed. In addition, our client is the instructional design team at Autozone which facilitated the communication process. I posted the report on the wiki for feedback from my teammates. Sadly, the feedback received was a lot of rewriting and I felt that my efforts went to waste. However, the analysis report will be at a 100% completion by the time the report is due.
Professional Blog Post
One more thing I did this week is writing the professional blog post. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. Not being a native speaker of English makes it hard for me to write in a casual tone. Moreover, I had to limit myself to 350 words. So, I struggled between being brief and writing a juicy content. However, after receiving feedback from the professor and after the appropriate corrections were made, my blog was posted. I am excited at the opportunity of having a starting point in blog writing. I read other people’s blogs and I get kind of envious. I admire their willingness to spend the time sharing their expertise and points of view. I wonder to myself if I can ever reach that point and then have followers too who will be waiting to read my blog posts. Anyhow, I received replies from my classmates on my blog and I responded back. I also participated in the conversations of the other blogs posted by my classmates. I enjoyed this virtual exchange of ideas, whether in agreement or not.
Reflections
What I have learned this week is to highlight the menu tabs in Dreamweaver when active. I am starting to understand code a little bit more. On this point, I appreciate the collaborative aspect of learning where colleagues share their skills with each other.
On the other hand, writing the analysis report gave me insights into the Autozone culture and the corporate world. Other than that, I am struggling to figure out how to navigate team work when team members cannot agree.
Website design: 10.5 hours
Viewing Content Material of Worskhop and Learners’ Analysis Questionnaire: 4 hours
Analysis Report: 3 hours
Team Meeting: 2.5 hours
Team’s Website
After submitting the Project Charter last Thursday, I had to work again on the team’s website. It’s funny how it was mentioned in class that if a team’s completion of a job stays at 50% for more than two weeks, then they have a problem, and I think we do. Anyhow, one of my classmates sent me the code on how to keep the menu tabs highlighted when active. I ventured to play with the code on my version of the website. Not knowing what files to work on, I ended up messing the CSS of the website and decided to start from scratch again. I was lucky to be homebound because of the weather. It gave me ample time to play with Dreamweaver. On Monday, another classmate helped me figure out the tab highlighting problem and now it is solved. During our team meeting, we discussed the website design for half an hour more. I would consider the work on it to be at 100% completion but I have yet to wait and see when it will see the light on the class’s website, replacing what we have now.
Learners’ Analysis Questionnaire
Next I worked on designing the questionnaire for the learners’ analysis and I wrote the analysis report, as these were part of my responsibilities. Our client has provided us with a DVD and a CD of the content of the workshop on which our instructional unit will be based. This was very helpful. Other than providing content material, it gave me a feel of what the Autozone culture is about and how important it is for the organization. They use the word “Autozoner “to give a sense of community and to strengthen the sense of belonging and ownership among the employees. Back to the content, the DVD presented examples of good and bad leadership practices and the CD included the trainers’ manual in PDF format. They both provided a clear understanding of what the intended message ought to be. In the trainer’s manual, I found the review questions used at the completion of the workshop. I used those as the basis of the learner’s analysis questionnaire. I also wanted to see if the store managers were facing difficulties in implementing what they have learned in the workshop. So, I included questions related to that as well. However, in our team meeting few days later, we could not reach a consensus on what to include in the questionnaire. It was decided to skip doing the learners’ analysis altogether. This was very hard for me to accept. One, I strongly believe in the importance of the learners’ analysis. Two, our client has already facilitated the distribution and collection of the questionnaires from the learners and I consider going back on this step to be unprofessional.
Analysis report
As I was writing the analysis report, I realized how fruitful our first meeting with our client was. During our brainstorming in that first meeting, we were able to cover most of the information needed for the front-end analysis. This is the result of our team’s preparedness and the Autozone team willingness to share and provide all the support needed. In addition, our client is the instructional design team at Autozone which facilitated the communication process. I posted the report on the wiki for feedback from my teammates. Sadly, the feedback received was a lot of rewriting and I felt that my efforts went to waste. However, the analysis report will be at a 100% completion by the time the report is due.
Professional Blog Post
One more thing I did this week is writing the professional blog post. It was not as easy as I thought it would be. Not being a native speaker of English makes it hard for me to write in a casual tone. Moreover, I had to limit myself to 350 words. So, I struggled between being brief and writing a juicy content. However, after receiving feedback from the professor and after the appropriate corrections were made, my blog was posted. I am excited at the opportunity of having a starting point in blog writing. I read other people’s blogs and I get kind of envious. I admire their willingness to spend the time sharing their expertise and points of view. I wonder to myself if I can ever reach that point and then have followers too who will be waiting to read my blog posts. Anyhow, I received replies from my classmates on my blog and I responded back. I also participated in the conversations of the other blogs posted by my classmates. I enjoyed this virtual exchange of ideas, whether in agreement or not.
Reflections
What I have learned this week is to highlight the menu tabs in Dreamweaver when active. I am starting to understand code a little bit more. On this point, I appreciate the collaborative aspect of learning where colleagues share their skills with each other.
On the other hand, writing the analysis report gave me insights into the Autozone culture and the corporate world. Other than that, I am struggling to figure out how to navigate team work when team members cannot agree.
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