February 23-March 1

February 23-March 1

Project Plan: 12 + Hours 

Reading and Researching: 5 hours                                                                            

WBS Smart Sheets: 3 hours                                                                                

Email account/Revision Table/To Do List: 2 hours                                               

Team Meeting: 2 Hours

This week the major assignment due was the Project Plan and a screencast presentation. The 15/5s team and individuals were also due Sunday March 1st. Creating the project plan, which was quite time consuming and required hours or researching and reading. We also met as a team for 2 hours on Wednesday to discuss the project charter and tasks that need to be completed. In order to delegate tasks I created a to do list in Google Docs, as listed below:

Email Contacts Lesson Plans submission BRAINSTORMING LIST	Heidi - 7078 Class Kim- School Contacts/Website Rick- Excel Contacts	10 EACH
Project Plan COMPLETE ALL SECTIONS	Team Edit: Saturday	Sections discussed in Meeting By Friday :)
Gantt chart	Heidi Online Program (share)- Smart Sheets	Weekly Updates
Technology Tools Sharing	Create Tab	Create a separate Google Doc to keep track of the technology tools
Lesson Plan Tutorials	21st Century Learning Skills Higher Order Thinking/Writing goals Thinking Routines MTVT	Researching
Create Team Gmail Account	Heidi	Gmail: MTVTLessonplans2015 Password: Lessonplans *Lesson Plans Submissions
Revise Email	Rick make edits by Dr. Mims By Thursday	Kim/Heidi Final Edit
Contact Fair Josey	Kim Google Forms Vs Google Drive	Set up Appointment Google + Hangout Discuss Website
Screencast	Rick	Present Project Plan

This week Kim and I created the project plan.  Approximately 98% of the project plan was completed by Friday ( our deadline) so that we could edit and finalize.   I created a team to do list in Google Docs,  as well as a WBS chart in Smart Sheets that was shared with the time. I also created a Making Thinking Visible Gmail account so that lesson plans could be submitted to the team in one account.

The Brainstorming list in excel was reviewed and we each have a target of 10 lesson plan invitations. I also reviewed my previous lesson plans that needed to be edited in order to be considered for submission.

Creating the project plan consumed the majority of my time.  I spent approximately 12 hours writing, researching, and creating charts.  I found the risk management plan to be the most eye opening. When the risks were actually ranked and analyzed based on their probability and impact I once again became anxious over the lesson plan submission. However, i found that by developing a response strategy it provided us with some proactive measures to ensure the risk does not impact our project at a critical level.

I also created a Revision Table in Google Docs so that we could keep track of the revisions. This document was placed in our team Google Communities, as well as our Project Plan.

I also created a To Do Table in the Team Google Community. Having the table to delegate tasks should provide guidance.  If this works we will continue to utilize this throughout the rest of the course.

The WBS had to be revised to be more specific with regard to our deliverables. I played around with a few more programs and finally selected Smart Sheets. I am not sure why I spent so much time and energy worrying over this aspect.  You would have thought I was a critic of  these programs. As I stated above, I selected Smart Sheets.  I watched a few video and tutorials and developed a WBS to share with the team. The issue we encountered with the powerpoint template is is that we could  not update it consistently. By using Smart Sheet, it allowed all members to contribute and make the necessary updates and changes throughout the process. Looking at the WBS “big picture” we still have a lot to go.

I am starting to develop an understanding of each of the deliverables of the project for each week and I am becoming more confident after every completed deliverable.  As I work through the deliverables, as opposed to just reading them, it allow for a deeper understanding and application. The sheer volume of research necessary requires daily communication and consistent work on the project.  This is important so we stay on task and do not become overwhelmed.

February 16th -21st

This week, the Needs Analysis Report was completed. Kim, the Lead Instructional Designer, presented the report. The Team Member Review, Learning Team Survey Team, and Individual 15/5’s were also due this week.  As a team, we have designated Sundays and Mondays to meet via Google+.  Depending on the discussion topic, meetings usually last from 1 to 2 hours. All Assignments were turned in on time.

Rick selected a Gantt template for our WBS. He is creating the template through power point in order to familiarize himself with the program. I think I need to watch a few more tutorials on the power point applications. I have found that there are various programs available and sometimes it is best to try the program, watch the tutorials, and select the program that best meets your needs and preferences. This WBS will serve as a great documentation tool and way to keep us organized.

I have found that before you can move to the next step the first step has to be completed. If you skip steps during the course of this process it can be detrimental to the final product. I have to remind myself that projects have a beginning and an end.  I am quickly learning this throughout the process. At first, I often found myself trying to jump ahead but I found I could not go from step A to step Z.  The Addie model provides a systematic process for designing training materials. This is part of the process and upon completing our project charter we found that we needed to develop, describes, and define the goals of the project before we could move on. Once these goals were developed our team had a solid understanding of our client’s needs. This allowed us to have an initial estimated budget and to start planning the project and creation of the Analysis Report.

I have created Analysis Reports in Dr. Tamim’s class but it followed the MRK Model.  This model does share some similarities with the ADDIE Model.  I have also done some research on the Assure Model. However, I think the ADDIE model is more focused on developing the instructional materials versus the other models.

What I have learned throughout this project is that I have to continue to remind myself that this project is for a client not our team. We all share this opinion and verbally reiterate it during our meetings.  Each team member has to remember that this project is for Dr. Mims and we need his approval. We have been given the ability to apply or knowledge and learn in the context of a real world setting for an actual client.

Our group continues to communicate and we are all on the same page.  Everyone is collaborating, providing and receiving feedback so we can learn together as team. I find that I learn more in a team environment than as an individual.

The next plan of action is to continue to brainstorm creative treatments, innovative instructional strategies, researching tech tools, lesson plan template tutorials, and various strategies used to incorporate tutorial visuals. Once my email invitation is approved I would like to start targeting former classmates from 7078, so that they could contribute lesson plans to the site.   In the upcoming week I will continue to read and familiarize myself with the Content Modules: Project Evaluation Report, Instructional Strategy,  and Treatment Report .

2 hours researching/reading materials

2 + hours /Editing/Needs Analysis
2  hours meeting
1 hour review readings
1 hour individual and team review
Dr. Mims excel sheet contacts/lesson submission
Researching 21st century skills tutorials

February 9th-15th

This week I feel like we got a lot accomplished as a group. The Charter was completed and a Google Doc was created so that all members could contribute. We also met three times this week (on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday) and communicated on a daily basis.  We also began to compile a list of potential volunteers for lesson plans. I updated an invitation email and we will have completed a second invitation by Sunday to send out to teachers implementing MTVT.

I also spent a lot of time re-reading and researching project charters. I found myself referencing the Project Managing E-Learning book numerous times.  I also was looking for a user-friendly WBS tool to utilize.  Having the resource sharing in Google communities was a real benefit.  As a group we selected the template provided by Daniel.

Although still overwhelmed by the project as a whole, creating the charter really gave me a solid understanding of the overall project. Writing the charter broke the process down and provided a greater understanding of the needs and expectations. The purpose of the charter is to create a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outline the project objectives, identify the main stakeholders, and define the authority of the project manager. It serves as a reference of authority for the future of the project. The charter provided the group a clear sense of direction.

The Work Breakdown Structure represents all the work required to complete this project. The general overview seems manageable but when I think of all the steps broken down this will be a challenge.

Team members have been communicating on a daily basis either through phone, texts, email, or in our community. Each day we are working through that material. Having the opportunity to meet with Dr. Mims as a group was extremely valuable and we were able to develop the scope of our project. We also have a solid understanding of what our clients needs are. We have already begun gather and reviewing information.

I created a Gliffy graphic flow chart as a visual break down of the project that simplified a starting point for our research. It’s a simple version of the WBS it was just a general overview for me to use as a starting point. Rather than becoming overwhelmed this simple flow chart provided a broad overview of what we need to accomplish.

Creating a flow chart is a step up form my typical checklist.  The flow chart allows me to visualize one step and then the next. The flow chart will be elaborated on with our Gantt scheduling tool. It will be more detailed and broken down.   I also believe that the Gantt tool will not only serve as a great scheduling tool, it will also be a method to document our hours.

Based on our WBS, the stats are mapped out on our next task during which we will be creating the needs analysis. We all need to start documenting in Ganett.  I believe this tool will serve as a great organizational and time management tool.  So far I feel like every day some type of task is due. In order to be productive you need to be working on this project everyday.  I think if you step away you will constantly be trying to play catch up with the amount of work required for this project.

Having set meeting times is efficient. Posting in the Google community allows for continuous communication and also allows for collaborations. 

The next plan of action is to continue researching tech tools, lesson plan templates, tutorials and various strategies used to incorporate the tutorial visuals. The analysis report is due next week.  Having a student’s prior project as a reference example is extremely valuable. Reading it in a book is certainly different than seeing a real world end product. 

-       5 hours project charter/research

o   Submit for approval

-       5 hours Team Meeting Google +

o   WBS/Charter/Tasks/To Do/

-       1 hour MTVT invitation Email/Google Doc

-       2 Gliffy Chart

-       1 Hour WBS template/research

Next Week: Analysis/Reading/ Research