15/5 for week of 4/13

15/5 for week of 4/13

1.       I am the instruction designer; so I have been monitoring the course development and contributing content as needed.  This week I spent about 2 hours brainstorming and documenting potential activities that would support attitude domain learning and another hour and a half looking through and noting pages in the client’s assets for specific references to a few of our instruction points. 

At the beginning of the week, I met with our Project Leader to record some video vignettes to include in the course.  He had scripted out ideas for each and had sourced some adult students to role play high school students and a Teacher Candidate.  We spent a little less than an hour recording. 

I think that my content obligations are complete, but am remaining flexible and open if my teammates need more input from me.

2.       What did I do?    I also helped our Project Leader record small vignettes to be included in the course content.  Also, the Developer and Project Leader said that we needed more content for our module that focused on attitude learning domain.  They asked for the material by early in the weekend, so they could complete the course draft by Sunday night and send to the client for review.

What was important about what I did?  Did I meet my goals?  Video material is a good way to visually and audibly present information to the learner, helping to reduce cognitive load, providing the learner with a visual example to follow, and is more easy to recall than text.  So in contributing these files to our course, I have met this goal.  Also the attitude learning domain is better achieved with the learner experiencing something rather than reading, listening or watching a presentation.  Therefore I brainstormed activities that called for discussion between the TC/PIM pair, self-reflection or role-playing.  I hope that these ideas would simulate an experience and lead the pair to attitude shifts.  I outlined several ideas because I think that this kind of instruction benefits from multiple perspectives evaluating, filtering and creating the lesson.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  I could definitely source local people to create a setting for a picture or video development.  It turned out quite well.  As for the brainstorming, that is a method that I frequently use to address problems.  The only drawback to that method is that sometimes I need help in filter out which ideas are worth keeping. 

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  Brainstorming is not an especially efficient process.  I provided 5 activity ideas hoping that one or two would be considered good enough to include in the lesson module or at least starting points for further development.  But it is a good process for first draft idea generation.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  I did generate some ideas and intentionally did not filter them.  I looked to my teammates to help me sort out which of the ideas would be most valuable.  I am also scripting out some video ideas for a work project.  It definitely helps to have a plan of what to show, for how long, etc. 

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  I am learning more every week how to better use my video editor.  When this course if finished, there are several free courses on the Adobe website.  Some are take-at-your-own-pace, some are MOOC formats.  Then of course there are tons of tutorial videos which is what I have been depending on so far.  I don’t know how to improve my brainstorming process, except to be open to other people’s opinions.

15/5 for week of 4/6

1.       I am the Instruction Designer; so I have been monitoring the course development and contributing as needed.  This week I tackled the task of cutting up the client’s video into segments that would fit into our online course.  The client’s video assets are VOB file format; I was surprised to find that this format is not workable in my video editor (Adobe Premier Pro), so I had to find a way to convert the file format to one that is accepted in that program.  At the time, I was not at all familiar with that process.  I spent about 3 hours researching conversion options.  The first converter that I downloaded did not work well; I wasted about an hour on that option.  My second choice worked fine and the conversion itself was quick—about 30 minutes total.

Once the files were converted, I cut the video into sections for the developer to use.  The sections were an introduction, Why Co-Teach, Implementing Co-Teaching, an introduction to the strategies and the seven strategies themselves.  That took me about an hour and a half.

Once the files were converted, I cut the video into sections for the developer to use.  The sections were an Introduction, Why Co-Teach, Implementing Co-Teaching, an introduction to the strategies and the seven strategies themselves.  That took me about an hour and a half.

I think that my obligations are complete, but am remaining flexible and open if my teammates need more input from me.

2.       What did I do?  My teammates and I decided that these video segments would be valuable in the online course, but in sections and not as a whole.  I got it completed in a reasonable timeframe so they could work with it.

What was important about what I did?  Did I meet my goals?  Videos are a great visual and audio presentation because it sets an example for the learner to easily remember and imitate.  However, my understanding was week because I underestimated the format discrepancy that my video editor was limited by.  After studying the conversion process, I understand the file formats a bit better and have a downloaded converter to use again.  I met my goals.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  This was my first encounter with file format conversion, but I’ve researched many software options on various topics.  I looked for reviews of the providers and found an article that highlighted their top ten favorite video converters and listed pros and cons for each.  I also looked into working with free vs paid providers and verified on the providers’ websites which ones converted VOB format.  So the process of specifying questions that I want answered and looking for a review article are pretty standard method for me and definitely are tools that I will go back to.  The video conversion is definitely a skill that I could employ anytime I have purchased video footage that I want edit.

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  My pattern is looking for an expert and finding out their opinion and going with that.  I find it difficult to try every option myself looking for the best fit.  That is a much quicker way for me to get my work done.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  I spent quite a lot of time looking into the video conversion process.  It turns out there are tons of options out there and I didn’t want to fool around with grade B processes.  So it was time consuming to do the research, but I think that trial and error is more time consuming and definitely more headache building.  I think I did ok on it and on the timing.

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  I research video file formats this summer after the course is over and plan to make myself a cheat sheet---of what the various file formats are for, pros and cons of each.  I have in my mind that I would like to make an infographic and post it on LinkedIn.  At the very least, I will make a table with the information for myself.

15/5 for week of 3/23

1.      I am the Instruction Designer for the project.  So my task this week was to finish writing the Instructional Strategy, meet with the team on our path forward, record the Instructional Strategy screen cast.  I spent about six hours on all of that and am 100% finished.  At our team meeting, I also committed to reviewing the outlined content for at least four pages of our course.  I reviewed, edited and approved the outlined content for the first several pages of our course and posted that update for my teammates.  I estimate that I am about 1/3 of the way complete reviewing the outline.

2.      Reflection:
What did I do?  I completed the editing work on the Instructional Strategy and got the document and screen cast both posted by the deadline.

What was important about what I did?  This is important because the strategy document allows further design elements to be accessed and considered by the client and teammates. 

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  I have written many planning reports on various documents, but this was the first report where I identified and justified a specific teaching philosophy for a project.  This process could be used for any instruction design project for which any number of instruction models could be used.  This provides a black and white way of evaluating the potential of a model vs what deliverable is needed. 

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  Writing in stages over time helps me identify what works well vs what works badly before I am deeply committed to a given path forward.  For example, I was not committed to the Direct Instruction model this time two weeks ago.  It was the process of thinking, reading, writing, and reflecting that brought me to that choice.   

How well did I do?  What worked?  Improve?  I did a good job of writing a first draft, and letting it sit for a few days; when I got back to it, with my teammates feedback, the needed edits were more obvious than they were previously.  I researched the model some more and developed a better explanation and rationale for my choice. 

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  Our team’s task now is to prepare the instruction content and the course’s interface.   As the Instructional Designer, I am reviewing the outlined content, and editing where I see appropriate.  I want to avoid being a bottle neck to the development process, so I will work hard this week and next to finish reviewing the outlined content. 

15/5 for week of March 16

1.      I am the Instruction Designer for the project.  So my task this week was to finish writing the Content Analysis, including the feedback from my teammates.  So I spent about three hours on that.  We also had a 1 hour team meeting.  Lastly, I have spent about an hour drafting the Instructional Strategy.  The Content Analysis is complete, except for the client sign off.  The Instructional Strategy is about 30% complete.

2.      Reflection:
What did I do?  I completed the editing work on the Content Analysis and began work on the Instructional Strategy.  I got both posted by our team’s goal deadline.

What was important about what I did?  This is important because the project design has to be well laid out so the client can understand our intentions and the developer and evaluators can complete their portions of the project according to the client’s expected progress.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  I have definitely written various reports in stages, pursuing feedback from various teammates and knowledge sources along the way.  So this process is similar to past projects and works well for me.  I would likely pursue the same writing method for future projects of any topic.

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  This works really well for me as far as getting out a good to best quality document.  However, it is time consuming.  People don’t have instantaneous time availability, an I likewise am juggling multiple commitments.  So writing a draft, posting it online, getting feedback, editing, sending to client, editing if needed----that is a long process.  All of the parties are busy, so it is hard to be efficient about it.  Unfortunately, that is the exact same pattern that the process followed in past work life settings.

How well did I do?  What worked?  Improve?  I did a good job drafting and incorporating specific feedback.  I also think I did a decent job of brainstorming ideas to address some of the feedback around needs.  Brainstorming is definitely a time consuming process because so much of what comes to the surface is not valuable.  So I brainstorm a list of 20 thoughts to get a few worthwhile.

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  I will finish my Instructional Design tomorrow night and post for feedback.  Hopefully we will get it finished for the client by Wednesday.  I like to have plenty of revision time because trying to come up with solutions when I am under the gun is super difficult. 

15/5 for week of 3/9/15

15/5 for week of 3/9/15

1.      I didn’t have any official assignments, but we had a team meeting Thursday night and as the Instruction Designer.  I had agreed to have the report ready for final feedback by then.  So I spent about 3 hours incorporating early feedback, fleshing out 2 additional instruction goals that were suggested and revamping the curriculum map.  I estimate that it is 80% finished or more; there will be 1-2 hours of work left to do—to incorporate any last feedback and add the aesthetic formatting.

My teammates have posted more feedback on the documents, so I will add that and send it to my team leader Monday or Tuesday of this week so that he can forward it to the client for approval.

2.      What did I do?  I had completed almost all of my goals by our team meeting.  I had incorporated the additional instructional goals and other feedback into the report, but had not added them to the curriculum map.  So I was about 80% complete for our meeting.  I finished the last bit by Saturday night and posted to our Google drive and team community. 

What was important about what I did?  Did I meet my goals?  The Content Analysis and Curriculum Map are important documents to ensure that the client, Project Manager, eLearning Developer and Instruction Designer all have the same understanding of what the lesson will be.  I incorporated the feedback into both the report and map and reviewed it with my team mates Thursday night.  So I met my goals.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  I am actually following a similar analysis process for my first project for the MD2K center here at UofM.  I am not “dressing up” my documents as well as I have for this course client, but am writing a Learner Analysis and Content Analysis at the same level of detail as in this course and will send them to my internal client for review on all of my plans and assumptions.

Do I see any patterns in what I did?  This assignment was similar to the Analysis Report in that I started out with a vague idea and the process of writing helped me better understand my plan; I suppose the plan evolved as I thought through the information; the writing process helped me through that thinking process.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  So I worked and got most of the edits done, but would have liked to have had the curriculum map completed for our team meeting.  Otherwise I think I did ok.  It was all good quality writing.  I would like to have the documents edited and posted to our Google drive and team community a day or so ahead of our team meeting, but that is a difficult goal.

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  Next I will consult our WBS timeline and get a feel for what is the timing, expectations, etc for the next phase of our project.  I have already adopted the WBS to my work life.  I had my first work week with the MD2K organization and was given my first two work priorities on Wednesday.  I take direction from an out of town researcher, so I think having my projects on a project management site will help my progress be transparent to him and also to the organization’s leadership here in Memphis.

15/5 for week of March 2

15/5 for week of March 2

1.      My task this week was to catch up on some reading and review some of the material for which I previously skimmed through too fast.  Also, my team has decided that we would like to have our content analysis written a week or so ahead of the 3/22 deadline so we can get it to our client and returned hopefully with approval by that deadline. 

So as the instruction designer, I am using this week to get a strong start on it.  It took me about three hours to sketch out what I wanted along with comparing it to Chapter 8 of the Dick, Carey and Carey text.  I estimate that it is mostly complete, 75% or so.  However, I also know that I overestimated my completion of my previous writing assignments.

2.      What did I do?  I wrote the first draft of the instruction strategy.  I got the draft to a reasonably good quality, and got feedback from our team leader by our team meeting

What was important about what I did?  Did I meet my goal?  Yes.  My goal was to have my a draft with all of the instruction goals and an outline of the instruction.  This was important to flesh out the details of the instruction so that all team members are on the same page for the project..

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  Itemizing questions that are specific to each goal (in this case, they were instruction goals) and then answering them as if it were a checklist would be a very helpful strategy for many projects types.  I think that has helped me avoid missing critical details.   

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  I got started writing early which helped convert some vague ideas into more firm plans.  As the ideas firmed up, I was able to continue adding more detail to the report.  Writing in stages that way has consistently worked for me on many projects and topics.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  The draft is good; my team leader has given me good feedback.  The feedback was regarding both the content report and the curriculum map.  I am very glad to have extra eyes helping me process this through.  I will work the suggestions in for the next team meeting.

What should I do next?  What is my plan / design?  Writing things out definitely helps me see what I have vs what I need.  It is also a significant advantage to have someone looking over it and offering suggestions for improvement.  I next need to incorporate the feedback into the document and develop the curriculum map. 

I am sorry for posting this late.

Week of 2/22

1.      My task this week was to read DCC Ch. 8 and as the lead instructional designer, start work on the curriculum map and content analysis.  It is due 3/22, but I wanted to get a strong start.  So I’ve expanded on each instructional objective.  For each of our four objectives, I’ve specified the pre-instructional activities, content presentation, learner participation expectations, assessment strategy, and follow through technique.

I had this prepared in time for our team meeting Sat 2/28 afternoon.  I spent about 4 hours reading and drafting and another 1.5 hours with my team mates reviewing the draft and our WBS.  I estimate that I am 33% of the way through.

I want to flesh out the draft with respect to the feedback from my team mates and also review again the asset materials given to us by our client.  With that material, I will develop a curriculum map and specific exercises to incorporate into the lesson, meeting the objectives.

2.      What did I do?  I read our assigned text which directly related to my team assignment.  I also began work on our instructional strategy/content analysis and got feedback from my teammates.  I did not have a hard deadline on this, but I wanted to have a good draft prepared for our team meeting on Sat., so I met that goal.

What was important about what I did?  Did I meet my goals?  This is important because it is easier to compare goals vs plan in this black/white type document.  We were able to give attention to each individual and specific instructional objective and the strategies that I had outlined.  With each of the four discussions (four objectives) my teammates and I were able to identify contributory features that we could add to the content.  So we met our goals.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?   I have conducted in depth analyses on other project types, although not for an online training product.  The depth of planning discussion definitely contributes to the depth of the product.  I will be able to use this analysis method in future instruction design projects.

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  Yes, I had followed my tried and true strategy for times when I am feeling unsure of a project’s directions.  I started documenting the facts of which I was sure, the opinions and facts that I suspected (those grey areas) and included my questions or notes around my grey areas.  In some cases, the grey areas firm up in my mind over the week’s time and I edit the document to reflect that, and in other cases, I put forth my questions to my teammates.  They helped me firm up my vision of the product.  This has been a consistently workable strategy for me---documenting what I know, growing the documentation with moderate quality info and getting feedback.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  My write-over-time approach works well for me.  I was able to articulate my reasoning behind my justifications and took notes on my teammates’ feedback.  So I will be able to work all of that in for an improved draft.

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  I have been paying attention to Daniel’s leadership style, and the WBS organization, both of which I value. 

Week of 2/16/15

1.       My assigned tasks for the week were to complete the online survey, team reviews and to write the Analysis Report.

I completed the report, although later than I had originally planned.  I had about 1/3 of the document drafted about 2 weeks ago for our team meeting, and then another 1/3 drafted by our meeting Tuesday this week.  I thought that I was in great shape to finish with plenty of time.

I had a lot work Wednesday, but Thursday Daniel reminded me that we needed our client sign off on the report.  That’s when I realized that I would not be able to take advantage of Friday-Sunday afternoons to finish my writing. 

We got it to her Friday morning, but don’t have the sign off now as we should have.

So it is done, and I think I have done a good job on it, but we are missing that last link.  90% complete and hoping she doesn’t want many edits.

2.       Reflection

What did I do?  I wrote the Analysis Report.  I finished on time, but did not give the client enough time to review it and get back to us by Sunday night.

What was important about it and did I meet my goal?  It took me a while to get my head completely wrapped around it all.  I used a previous analysis report from a prior class as a sort of model.  That and the outline in the ecourseware Content section helped me complete it.  The process of writing, checking against the “checklist”, reading the client’s asset materials, writing some more…  all of that process helped me understand the purpose and expectation of it all.  I think that I did a thorough job of it.

When did I do this before?  Where could I use this again?  As I said, I had a model report and my report from prior classes to refer to.  But that was quite a long time ago and not in my memory.  I can definitely use this to prepare a professional report, either as an introduction or a summary of an instruction design project.

Do I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?  Yes, I followed the Content list like a checklist and my prior report examples for format and depth of explanations.

How well did I do?  What worked?  What do I need to improve?  Following the Content list and my prior examples definitely worked well for me.  I still am having a problem where I feel like the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Bugs Bunny and those that scurry their legs, trying to run, but not actually moving for the first few seconds.  That is the first bit of my tasks, then I get traction and actually make progress.  I really don’t like that feeling.

What should I do next?  What’s my plan / design?  I am going to start organizing the client resources by topic and work on developing an instruction sequence / outline for our course.

Week of 2/8/15

 

1.     Finished assigned readings on Content Analysis, and read/reviewed assignments on risk management and Objectives/Assessments.  I still have a little bit of the risk management material to read.   About 3 hours, 80% complete.

About 2 hours reading through asset documents that Daniel provided on the subject.  Since I will be writing the Analysis Report, I also pulled several references to post training expectations for the teacher candidate and noted some exercises to include in the training.  100% complete.

About 1 hour writing Background and Expected Benefits sections for Analysis report ahead of team meeting on Tues.  75% complete.

Met with team on 2/10 and reviewed roles/duties, brainstormed delivery media ideas, and created work breakdown structure and tentative schedule.

2.   Reflection: 1) I have a little bit of risk management material to read, but have completed the rest.  2) I want to write a good report document for my team task and these readings are part of the direction that I need for that goal.  I met most of the goal, although not 100%.  3) I have written some documents for the early stages of various projects, although not an instruction design project.  I can definitely see that the Asanna process could be helpful.  Also, all of my team experiences involved similar levels of unsureness, new people, and finding out who holds what talents/skills.  4) My method of brainstorming and drafting documents has worked well for me in many situations.  I find it is both effective for me and reasonably efficient.  Of course I spend time writing some that eventually gets edited out, but the benefit of loosening my “writing gears” is more than worth it.  5) I performed moderately for the week.  I did not get as much read early in the week as I intended, and forgot to post my reflection in my blog.  I was overwhelmed by other “life stuff”.  On the other hand, I did a good job of drafting my report and grouping relevant information together.  I intend to get back on track.   6) I am going to develop a “Saturday morning checklist” for myself so I can make sure to address all of my course obligations within the week avoid last minute or late realizations.

Week of 2/1/15

 

1.    Read assigned readings on WBS, and Content Analysis.   About 6 hours, 50% complete.

About 1 hour writing Background and Expected Benefits sections for Analysis report ahead of team meeting on Tues.  75% complete.

2.     Reflection: 1) I read a little more than half of the assigned readings by the end of the week.  I will have to complete the readings in order to properly complete my team task---The analysis report.  2) This is important information that will contribute to a good analysis report documentation for the team task.  I did not meet the goal, although I see how it fits in with the task.  3) I have not completed a project analysis report, although I completed a research proposal last fall and have completed some project charters and justifications in my workplace.  This process is definitely adaptable to multiple applications.  4) The main pattern is that when I am unsure how to proceed, I follow the directions (text guidance) and “throw stuff on the wall”, that is writing from my gut instinct.  Once it is drafted, then I start editing and fleshing out my unknowns.  This method works well for me.  5) For a draft, it was pretty good.  I think I communicated the content of the draft to my teammates and asked a few product vision questions of them.  There are a few questions that I need to get answers to.   6) I definitely need to finish reading the text assignments, follow up on a few questions.  I also need to track my time/assignments more closely.  I am entering this blog writing late because I had thought that I had added it already.  Multiple assignments, deadlines and places to get information has gotten the better of me. 

Week of 1/26/15

My 15/5

1.      Our team task was to build our website foundation.  So that was completed by our site leader.

My spent time:

About 10 minutes writing my biography for our team site.

About 20 minutes reviewing our team site at the end of the week after our Site lead had gotten the foundation built.

About 15 minutes writing this week’s activity summary for my 15/5.

About 45 minutes reading classmates’ posts and responses in the “Old Timers Q&A” section. 

About 30 minutes googling and reviewing blogger hosting services.  (This is my first.) 

About 30 minutes choosing a template, starting the blog account and browsing the "Post settings" section and adding my posts.

I also spent about 4 hours reading the assigned chapters.

2.      Reflections

What did I do?  I finished reading the assigned chapters by Saturday early afternoon (on time).

What was important about what I did?  I reviewed my project role duties vs the reading sections about instruction analysis.  This helped me bring together the content with my responsibility.  I am a bit nervous about whether I will be able to complete all aspects of the instruction analysis as described in the text, but I am consciously and very aggressively trying to avoid worrying and trust that all of the information that I need will be available. 

When have I done this before?  I have started many training projects where the beginning seemed like a mountain and where I did not have a solid vision of what the outcome would look like.  The process of designing a training course will prompt specific questions.  As I ask those questions and get or develop answers, the fogginess will clear.

Week of 1/19/15

My 15/5

1. What did I do?  Was it on time?  Our team had to meet, discuss and agree on our team name and roles for our project.   We spent about 30 minutes on that first meeting and completed it.
   
   I also had to review all of the orienting materials for the course.  I read through that (actually a couple of times).  I am trying to get my "sea legs" back.  I feel like I am on a giant sea going vessel for the first time in months.
   
   
   
2. What should I do next?  What is my plan / design?  I DON’T KNOW… HEART RACING… TRY TO NOT PANIC, etc… 
   But I have had this feeling on many assignments, both individual and group, both in my course assignments and work.  So take several deep breaths and remember that I was able to manage my progress through small steps as I moved forward.  I have to a) make sure not to fall into Paralysis by Analysis, and b) don’t procrastinate.