Analyzing Scope Creep

          As freshman class president my first year in undergrad, my team and I decided to plan a Freshman Class Trip.  Although the trip was successful, bringing a sense of unity to our class for the next three years, none of us were prepared for the work it would take to plan the trip nor the unexpected budget expenses and bureaucratic tape we would encounter.  For example, we knew that we could use the collegiate vans to transport our classmates, but we did not know that we would be charged per mile in addition to fuel costs.  Also, we knew that we had to have a college employee to supervise the trip, but we had no idea that professors wouldn’t want to spend time away from their families to be with a hundred and fifty college freshman.  It sounds ridiculous now as I type this.  We were short sighted and inexperienced.  At the time, we simply used our extra student government funds to cover the budget costs and begged, bribed, and pleaded our “cool” professors to chaperone our trip. 

I learned quite a bit from this experience.  Most importantly, I learned the importance of gathering all the information before committing to a project (Greer, 2010) (Portny, et.al., 2008).  Had our team researched thoroughly, rather than assuming what we “knew” to be true, we would have made better choices with our limited budget and we would not have had to scramble at the last minute to piece together the trip we had promised.

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.

Communicating Effectively

           Our professor assigned us the task of watching a media presentation in which a message was delivered through three separate and distinct modalities.  After watching each presented modality, my interpretation of the message changed.  This illustrates the importance of effective communication with members of a project team.  Not only is it important to communicate confidently and consistently, it is important to relay the message in multiple formats and in many ways.  The way we communicate can change the interpretation of the message.

In his reflections on effective leadership, Greer points out that Ralph Waldo Emerson said “God will not have his work be made manifest by cowards” (2010, p.61) and “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the luster of the firmament of bards and sages... Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string” (2010, p.50).  In so many ways, people who trust themselves communicate effectively because there is power and strength behind their words.  They do not back down when there is a communication breach.  Rather, they see it as just that, a breakdown in communication.  Strong communicators bring peace rather than strife to a project because they do not blame others; they simply communicate the message over and over in many different ways until the message is heard (Simonson, et.al., 2012).  They inspire others to get the work done.  Strong communicators lead effectively (Portny, et.al., 2008).

Reflection: My interpretation of the message as delivered in each of the different modalities
Email	Jane needs an immediate response from Mark regarding the status of important data.
Voicemail	Jane appreciates Mark’s help, but she is stuck on her project until she receives Mark’s data.  Jane needs to know the status of the data.  It seems like an urgent request.  Jane seems annoyed with Mark.
Face to Face	Jane needs an immediate response regarding the data Mark is working on since she is at a standstill and may miss her deadline. She communicates the urgency effectively by approaching him face to face.  Obviously, she cannot work on her project or she would be working rather than standing at his desk speaking to him.

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.

Learning from a project post-mortem: school district technology resources initiative

          A few years ago, our school district technology coordinator approached me to help her with a project.  The project goal was to compile a digital resource for students and parents, accessible on our school district website.  Each IDer/SME (teacher) on this team would record herself/himself teaching a specific reading/math skill in order to provide students and parents a resource for help with relearning missed skills due to absences, etc… Each teacher was trained in Camtasia, a screen capture software, and given the necessary software and hardware to begin the project.  Each teacher was also trained in uploading the media files to the school district website.  The project, to my knowledge, was never completed and/or used effectively.

            Although I was effectively trained in both Camtasia and website configuration, I only followed through on the project with a few recordings of specific reading skills.  The project fell to the bottom of my priority list as I was not held accountable and I did not see the program being used effectively.  Quite honestly, at the time it seemed like a waste of time given the other more demanding pulls on my life as a teacher.

            Had the PM been more intentional about holding the IDers/SMEs accountable, perhaps with a monetary reward or even brief emails throughout the project, this project may have been more successful (Portny, et.al., 2008).  It seemed like a great idea on paper, but it never took off.  Perhaps the PM could have spearheaded the project more effectively by showing us school districts where this type of media is being used effectively (Portny, et.al, 2008).  Or perhaps the PM could have consistently referred the IDers and SMEs back to the project goals and objectives, encouraging us to stick to the project with more intensity (Simonson, et.al., 2012, p.158).  Communication could have been helped the project to be more successful (Greer, 2010).  Since the project did not, over time, seem to be a priority to the PM, the IDers/SMEs did not give it priority.

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.

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

Project Management Course: Welcome

As I continue my journey towards mastering curriculum design and instructional technology, Walden University says I must learn to be a PM.  Although I don't think it's necessary, my colleagues have informed me that Fortune Magazine says PMing is an up and coming career, so thank you Walden U!

I hope you will find this blog to be interesting, informative, and helpful as we explore the PM world together.

Reflections on Distance Learning

           Admittedly, as I began my distance learning program with Walden University, I was skeptical about both the future value of the degree I would earn and the depth and breadth of knowledge I would gain through an online post-graduate program.  My friends, family, colleagues, and mentors echoed this skepticism, but they were also wise to encourage me to earn a Masters degree as soon as possible and in a manner that suited my learning style and lifestyle, recognizing the value of a higher education.  Thus my journey as a distance learner with Walden University began. 

            As Dr. Siemens mentions in the provided educational videos and Simonson points out in the course text, distance learning began as early as the mid-1800s.  In fact, despite society’s current opinions, “common knowledge,” and skepticism, currently more than 6 million people participate in distance education in the U.S. alone (Simonson, 2012).  According to Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008b), this educational platform “is rapidly becoming a popular choice for continuing professional education, mid-career degree programs, and lifelong learning of all kinds” (p. 66), and distance learning “allows for learning strategies that may not be possible in a classroom or other traditional environments,” presenting opportunities to engage with the material “whether one prefers to learn individually or within a collaborative environment,” and “can serve remote learners as well as they serve local ones” (Moller, et.al., 2008a, pp. 74-75). Given these factors, I believe it is safe to say that distance learning is only going to increase in the future.

Moller, Foshay, and Huett (2008a) also note that there are several factors that will have a profound impact on distance learning with particular attention given to the field of instructional design: (a) quality, (b) needs assessment, ROI, and measurement of outcomes; (c) the influence and fusion of training, performance support, and knowledge management; (d) the need for better instructional systems design (ISD) methodologies, and (e) the revision of learning models (p. 71).  As instructional designers begin studying and improving these factors, with the assistance of new web platforms and web 2.0 tools, I believe online instruction, in its many formats, will emerge as the norm rather than the exception.  As this occurs, society will begin to view distance learning as an acceptable educational format (Norvig, 2012).

Next year my school district is adopting SAFARI Montage as our digital learning platform.  I am privileged to be a member of the SAFARI Montage implementation team, receiving instruction on methods by which my middle school classroom will evolve into a hybrid classroom of sorts over the next few years.  This is exciting, as it will meet my students where they are.  Students learn differently now than they did before the advent of the Internet and the age of Technology.  Students no longer learn best from one bank of knowledge, but rather from a web of resources.  Students no longer learn best by producing linear products, but rather by producing cooperative dynamic products (Dede, 2005).  Instructional designers who embrace technology are able to address these needs while maintaining a focus on learning goals.  As students engage and succeed in my hybrid classroom, I hope to improve society’s impressions and perceptions of online and distance learning.

Simonson says that distance learning is formal, institution based education, including both distance teaching and learning, where the learning group (teacher, learner, and resources) are separated by geography, and sometimes, time.  He also says that exponential growth is expected to occur, based upon past distance education patterns.  However, distance education technologies will not replace the traditional format of education (Simonson, 2012).  Upon completing this course, I fully agree with both his definition of distance learning and his predictions about the future of distance learning.  I also believe that in the not so distant future distance learning will be accepted by society as another method by which people will meet their academic needs and goals.

References

Dede, C. (2005). Planning for neomillennial learning styles. Educause Quarterly, 28(1), 7–12. 

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 1: Training and development). TechTrends, 52(3), 70–75.

Moller, L., Foshay, W., & Huett, J. (2008). The evolution of distance education: Implications for instructional design on the potential of the web (Part 2: Higher education). TechTrends, 52(4), 66-70.

Norvig, P. (2012). The 100,000 student classroom. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYclUdcsdeo

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