Analyzing Scope Creep

To begin, I have not personally been a part of a project that experienced issues related to scope creep. I have however held a position that continuously experienced scope creep. I found that this has been coined “mission creep”. “One of the most common forms of mission creep, however, is not a project at all. It's your overall job” (Wade, 2008, pg 1). That position is the position I hold currently. When I began my job 4 years ago, I started as a Title 1 Tutor. What this involved was pulling students from their classrooms for extra help with reading skills. The students could be pulled individually or in small groups from kindergarten and first grade.
As the years progressed more responsibilities were given to the Title 1 Tutors in response to our work ethic and abilities. Many of us were asked to do more testing, help with classes, run committees (such as Right to Read Week and Dr Seuss Week), and sometimes even teach small group classes (9 students). As we got better at our job, more responsibilities were added, but the perception that we “did nothing” still existed among some of the regular teachers. Our school secretary was quoted as saying, “Title 1 Tutors should be the best teachers in the building”, yet we were still not seen as doing as much as a regular teacher. Sometimes I thought we did more. At the end of this school year, I was hired as a full time Kindergarten teacher; this will be my first year to compare Title and Regular Ed. It should be interesting!

As I think back to my experience with scope creep, I feel that the better we got, the more things got thrown at us. We got pretty good at juggling, however now that a new person must come in to do the job; I think it is going to be very difficult. For a new person, everything is going to be thrown at them all at once, without the slow addition to the duties. Instead they will be expected to do as we have in the past 4 years, instead of fulfilling the initial duties as I did when I began. I also think that throwing more duties at us, just because we got better at our job, didn’t necessarily feel right to us. It wasn’t the type of reward system I was looking for!  As a manager of these new Title 1 Tutors I would have them shadow one of the “experienced” Title 1 Tutors for a week to get a grasp of how to do things, and how not to. I think this sort of apprenticeship would be a good way to “get their toes wet”. This would allow for scope creep/mission creep to be non-existent. The tutors would know their responsibilities from the beginning.

Wade, M. S. (2008, November 21). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2008/11/21/mission-creep-hey-who-changed-my-job-responsibilities

Communicating Effectively

• How did your interpretation of the message change from one modality to the next?

Email Interpretation: Jane needs Mark’s missing report in order to finish her report. She knows he is busy and may be out of the office, but she is worried about her deadline. She requests a response of any kind.

Phone Interpretation: Jane is still asking for the same information. This time Jane seems more concerned and worried about her deadline (by the tone of her voice).

Face to Face Interpretation: Jane’s body language shows that she is not being aggressive in her request for the missing report. She is casual and non-demanding in her body language and tone.

• What factors influenced how you perceived the message?

In the initial email, tone cannot be heard. Jane is requesting the same information in all formats, however depending on the relationship between Mark and Jane, some portions of the email might be taken differently. As I heard Jane’s tone and saw her body language, I was able to perceive her demeanor.

• Which form of communication best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the message?

Both the voicemail and the face to face conversation best conveyed the true meaning and intent of the message. Not only was the message clear, but the tone was set by the voice and or body language of the speaker.

• What are the implications of what you learned from this exercise for communicating effectively with members of a project team?

From this exercise I learned that it is important to take message modalities into consideration. If the message is concise email may be a good modality, “Email is effective in providing quick answers to yes and no, type questions” (Passion Computing, Pty Ltd, 2010, pg 1).  Most times email is probably not the best modality, “Email can become time consuming for answering complicated questions and misunderstandings can arise because cultural differences in the interpretation of certain words” (Passion Computing, Pty Ltd, 2010, pg 1).  At these times it would be most effective to communicate to team members via telephone or face to face conversations.

Passion Computing Pty Ltd. (2010). Using email effectively. Retrieved from http://www.passioncomputing.com.au/Copywriting/Using-email.aspx

Learning from a Project “Post-Mortem”

“The last 11 days have been a whirlwind...” was where it all began to crumble. This statement was uttered from my building principal less than 48 hours ago. Within that time, I’ve seen a project go from full swing to a massive blow to its progress. What he referred to when making that statement, was that he in fact was taking a job at a new school district for the next school year. While this may seem insignificant to most people, anyone in a teaching position knows that with new administration, changes come. 

Approximately 3 months ago, the current building principal began to implement a new curriculum change. This was to affect all teachers K-5 in many ways. Teacher would be required to revamp their individual curriculum, add more centers, and differentiate their instruction in a way that had never been asked of them before. Some teachers were asked to teach different subjects, some were asked to teach multiage classrooms with another teacher, and all were willing to do this, with help from the “big guy”. So teachers began to meet and plan, to digest the changes and ask questions to gain understanding of what was to happen. Many teachers were promised guidance throughout the school year, and their fears were calmed. Until 3:45pm Tuesday afternoon. When our principal announced he would be resigning his position it only took seconds for the first person to start asking questions about what that meant for our new curriculum that HE was supposed to guide us through next year. With that said, it got even worse the next day. Feeling of abandonment crept in and many of the senior teachers threw in the towel. With the excuse “I’m not doing anything else until we find out what the NEW principal wants us to do” or “I never thought this was a good idea to begin with, especially now that he’s leaving us high and dry”.

It’s obvious to anyone what happened with this project, and I’m calling this a failure at this point, with hopes that I am wrong. With a lack of leadership projects sink quickly and that’s what is happening here. I feel like I’m on the Titanic and the cabins are full of water. The sad part is, the project could be quite successful and be a great change for our school, but currently we are lacking the leadership needed to move forward. This project has no chance unless we get a new principal with the same drive and leadership skills needed to pull this project back into motion. Until then, the bow is in the air and I’m holding on.

Reflection

                                                                                   

If we think back 5 years or even 10 the explosion of technology has changed the way many people lived. Smartphones, Google, Facebook & Twitter, Cloud Computing, Kindle & Nook, Digital Photography, Ipods, Skype, Texting. “Generation Y has grown up, a world with diverse Internet resources, iPods, MySpace and intense multi-tasking — simultaneously chatting on AIM, finishing a problem set, watching television and listening to music. These kids are the kids of the Baby Boomers, heavily immersed in a digital world” (Yan, 2006, pg 1).  As I sit here typing this, the tv is on in the room, my iPod is on, two laptops are running and my phone is inches away, in one room of my house.

As more technology develops generations that follow will become even more comfortable with online communication and in effect be more comfortable with distance learning. Siemens referenced that students must be comfortable with the learning environment and in the future I predict students won’t even blink before enrolling in a distance learning course. If we look at the next technologically integrated generation, Generation Z, we see “from the very beginning, Generation Z-ers have grown up in a world that is all about connecting through technology” and this alone will make distance learning boom (Cross-Bystrom, 2010, pg 1). I’m also certain in 5-10 years distance learning will look nothing like it does today, just as distance learning today does not resemble distance learning from 10 years ago.

To be a proponent for improving societal perceptions of distance learning we can first be good examples of what distance learning creates, successful individuals. Also it is important that distance learning courses are of high visibility, Gambescia & Paolucci (2009) found that less and 1/3 of the schools they researched “had an online education offering reference on their homepage- a very easy and low-level marketing tactic” (2009, pg 15).

To be a positive force for continuous improvement in the field of distance education it is important to constantly look for new methods and technologies. As I mentioned before, I predict distance education will have major changes within 10 years, in order for this to happen making changes as the technology becomes available will be important for the improvement of the field. 

Cross-Bystrom, A. (2010, August 20). What you need to know about generation z . Retrieved from http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/27425.asp

Gambescia, S., & Paolucci, R. (2009). Academic fidelity and integrity as attributes of university online degree program offerings. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring121/gambescia121.html

 Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2006). The future of distance education [Video]. Baltimore, MD.

Yan, S. (2006, December 8). Understanding generation y. Retrieved from http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/2006/12/08/features/Understanding_Generation_Y.html

Converting to a Distance Learning Format

For this assignment we were asked to formulate a best practices guide for this trainer to follow when converting his program to a distance learning format. Include ideas and tips that could assist the trainer in facilitating communication and learning among his students. I have addressed the following ideas:

• What are some of the pre-planning strategies the trainer needs to consider before converting his program?
• What aspects of his original training program could be enhanced in the distance learning format?
• How will his role, as trainer, change in a distance learning environment?
• What steps should the trainer take to encourage the trainees to communicate online?

http://www.scribd.com/doc/89392640/A7MousheyJ#fullscreen

The Impact of Open Source

Before reading about Open Source courses in our readings this week, I had never heard of such a thing. Simsonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek (2012) defined open source courses as “course management systems that are free educational software that are maintained by users who implement, even modify, and ultimately support their system to meet local, specific needs” (2012, pg 162). I reviewed an open source course offered by Yale University, Roman Architecture, taught by Diana E. E. Kleiner, Dunham Professor of History of Art and Classics at http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252#overview.

Does the course appear to be carefully pre-planned and designed for a distance learning environment? How so?

This particular course was “taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes” and was recorded for “Open Yale Courses in Spring 2009” (Yale University, 2012). I do not believe this course was edited much for the online/distance learning format. This seems to be a case of “dumping a face to face course onto the web” (Simsonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012, pg 134).  I find this to be the case because the online sessions include multiple video lectures for viewing, along with transcripts with which to use for following along or making notes. For this course it would be necessary to view the lectures as the images are not included in the transcript file.

Does the course follow the recommendations for online instruction as listed in your course textbook?

The course does not follow the all recommendations for online instruction listed in our text. While the requirements for the reading assignments for each session are clearly listed, some areas are unclear. Because this is an online free course with no credit, I’m confused with the “requirements”. In the syllabus, the course grading system is listed

“Midterm examination 1: 30%
Midterm examination 2: 30%
Final paper: 30%
Participation in online forum: 10%” (Yale University, 2012).

With no explanation as to where these items are turned in, or for what purpose other than learning new information. Also while the requirements are listed, there is no explanation as to when these assignments should be completed. Our text does suggest “one of the most effective techniques to promote interaction in distance education is the threaded discussion-instructors post questions related to reading, viewing, and/or listening assignments, then students post comments in a discussion area” (Simsonson, Smaldino, Albright & Zvacek, 2012, pg 156). This is implemented to some extent, a discussion board is available for students to use, however I checked the status of it, and no one was currently signed up to use the board. It was also apparent this board was used only by students, with no input from the instructor.

Did the course designer implement course activities that maximize active learning for the students?

This course was designed to be teacher centered, rather the distance learning norm of student centered learning. We typically see “the trend to reduce the amount of information delivered and to increase the interactive value of the learning experience” in distance learning, this class was missing this component. The course activities or lack thereof did not maximize active learning, only checked to see if the students were “paying attention” during class instead of applying what they have learned to improve the transfer of this new information.

While this course wasn’t created with the best distance learning design, the course itself would serve its purpose for someone looking to learn about roman architecture without needing a “grade” or course credit. It seemed to be very informative and the videos were rich with interesting information and images.

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

Yale University. (2012). Roman architecture. Retrieved from http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252