Weekly Reports

Week: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Jan. 19, 2004 (Week 1)
Thus far, our group has started strong and we hope to maintain our momentum throughout the semester. This past week, our lead instructional designer and evaluator met with the client to begin the initial stages of needs analysis. We were able to glean a good bit of information during this meeting. However, we felt that we still needed additional information to get a better picture of the instructional needs. Thus, our evaluator constructed an online survey that will be administered to the housing employees who participated in the program this past summer. This survey has been posted and the deadline for submittal has been set as Friday, January 23, 2004. In addition, we have gathered the content from the client so that we will be able to begin the instructional design process once the needs analysis is complete. Items that we are looking to complete in the next week include: gathering the data from the surveys, constructing a project timeline, having our first meeting with our consultants, continuing to think about design aspects of the project, and finally to maintain the momentum that we currently have going for us.

Jan. 26, 2004 (Week 2)
Currently we are finishing our needs analysis of the client and the project idea that we have proposed. We have formulated ideas from this assessment and established some goals for instruction, but we are also finishing our attempts to gather information from the target audience as well. However, we have not encountered the response that we had hoped for when administering the survey and hope to gather responses in order to establish a more complete view of the need in the project area. Once we have completed this task we will move on to the design stage of the project by beginning to formulate a concrete list of objectives as well as establish the content format and flow. This will require work on the part of the instructional designers, who will begin the lengthy design process. In addition to these tasks, we also met with our consultants for the first time this week and introduced them to our project and some of the process that they will be a part of this semester. Currently, they do not have many assignments to complete other than keep up with the project documentation. However, we discussed with them the role that they will play in the project and described some of the future tasks that they will be asked to complete. 

Feb. 2, 2004 (Week 3)
This past week saw noticeable achievement in our project’s growth. Our lead evaluator compiled the data from the student staff surveys and was able to draw a number of conclusions from this data concerning the needs of the learners in the context of the online course. This data was then combined with various other parts of the needs analysis to create our needs assessment document. In addition, we were also able to finalize our project timeline including the necessary document deadlines that we need to meet throughout the semester. With these documents completed, we were then able to present both the needs assessment and project timeline to the client for the purpose of obtaining client sign-off on these documents. With this sign-off we are now able to proceed to the next step in the process, which will be to create our instructional objectives and content analysis. These documents are already being formulated, but the next week will see them being finalized and presented to the client. Other items to be completed in the upcoming week include work on the learner profile and treatment rationale, formative evaluation plan, and continued growth of our team dynamic.

Feb. 9, 2004 (Week 4)
We have continued to make progress this week towards achieving our landmarks in the analysis and design stages. This past week we finished our instructional objectives and content analysis documents and gained client sign-off on both. With these documents in place we were then able to have an in-depth group discussion concerning the treatment rationale for our project. We were able to decide on a general scheme, which will be depicted through screen shots and described in depth in the upcoming treatment rationale document. In addition, we are creating a learner profile so that we are clear on who the learner is when constructing the lesson. This information has already been established, but has not been described in a document. In addition, we assigned our consultants a project in which they are recreating the RA/CA manual. This project will take them a couple of weeks and thus they are getting a head-start. Over the course of the next week, we will finish the learner profile and treatment rationale documents, get client sign-off, begin the formative evaluation plan, and begin defining the screen design specs as well as hardware and software specs.

Feb. 16, 2004 (Week 5)
This week there was nothing due to the studio supervisor, other than the already completed project timeline. Thus, we took the opportunity to get ahead on some of the tasks that we must complete. We finished producing the learner profile and treatment rationale documents and presented them to the client for sign-off. The client was enthused about the treatment choice and gave us the go-ahead to continue in the design process. In addition, we made further strides in developing our formative evaluation plan. We have made a few revisions to the original document and have asked the consultants to review it in depth and make further suggestions before we present the document to the client for approval. With these items completed or near completion, we are looking ahead at the next week and making plans concerning what we would like to accomplish. With client sign-off on the treatment rationale, we will head next week into the task of storyboarding module one. In addition, we will continue to work on the formative evaluation plan, screen design specifications, and hardware/software specifications for the project.

Feb. 23, 2004 (Week 6)
Team Murphy’s Law had a busy week this past week and was able to meet every landmark set for the week and exceed them. We were able to complete the formative evaluation plan incorporating feedback from all the team members. In addition, our lead programmer was able to finish constructing our specifications document. This document was an in-depth description of the necessary components of the program as well as the basic visual elements of the navigation scheme. Additionally, the instructional design team was able to complete the storyboarding for module one as well as the introduction pages. In the next week, we will present the aforementioned documents to the client for sign-off. Once we have received sign-off, we will go ahead and begin the development of the introductory pages as well as module one. In addition, we will begin to storyboard modules two and three.

Mar. 1, 2004 (Week 7)
This past week saw a slight lull in Team Murphy’s Law’s progress, but this was not due to any error on our part. This week was spent mainly in the process of gaining client sign-off on the hardware/software specifications as well as the formative evaluation plan, documents which were completed last week. In addition, we met with the client to discuss the storyboard for module one as well as the introduction to the modules. We did not gain sign-off on this module as the client wanted us to present the storyboards to the RA/CA training committee to gain input from them as well. However, this meeting was cancelled due to the snow and thus we were unable to present the material to them. We will be contacting the client next week to set-up an alternate manner of distributing the storyboards to this group so that we can gain sign-off to begin development of the first module in earnest. In addition we have numerous other tasks to complete over the next week: begin development of module two and three storyboards, begin gathering pictures to include in module one and introductory pages, and construct a logo and header format for the interface. We are still running smoothly and the missed meeting this week due to weather should not place us behind schedule in any manner.

Mar. 8, 2004 (Week 8)
Currently, Team Murphy’s Law is buzzing with activity constructing this project. The Lead Instructional Designer is constructing the storyboards for modules two and three, while the Lead Programmer is working on constructing an alpha version of the recently client-approved module one. The Lead Graphic Design/Video Developer is working on scheduling department members for interviews, has finished constructing the logo for our project, and is currently compiling a repertoire of pictures to use throughout the modules. In addition, our Lead Evaluator is compiling the necessary resources to begin our formative evaluation plan utilizing our consultants for the initial stages. This next week is our Spring Break, and thus we will not be meeting as a team. However, we will all still be hard at work completing the following tasks: completing module one development; completing modules two and three storyboards; and continued work on gathering video and pictures.

Mar. 15, 2004 (Week 9)
This past week was Spring Break for the University of Georgia, and thus we did not meet as a team. However, there was continued work on the project during this past week. The storyboards for module two were completed and the storyboards for module three stand to be completed early this week before the project is presented to the RA/CA training committee. In addition, the development process of module one has continued this week and should be complete by the time that we meet on Thursday. This next week will be a pivotal one for our team as we will finish all of the design processes and will begin the development process at full-speed with a narrow time frame to construct everything and allow adequate time for evaluation. Once the module one alpha version is constructed, the consultants will be utilized to perform a usability test in order to determine if the interface is easily navigated and intuitive.

Mar. 22, 2004 (Week 10)
Currently, we are immersed in the development stage of the instructional design and development process. Earlier this week, we received client sign-off on module two and three storyboards, leaving us ready to begin development full-scale. The process of creating the rooms is taking longer than expected, but the time is well spent due to the richness and detail of the graphic interface. However, we have mapped out a plan to use other members of our team in the development stage so that we can free up the programmer to make sure to maximize the quality of the room design and interface. The next week will be a very crucial one for our project. We need to finish the entire development process for module one and begin the usability test utilizing our consultants. In addition, we need to make great strides in the development of the other two modules and the WebCT interface. In addition, we will be asking the client to do a content expert review on the modules to make sure that the content is accurate and within the desired scope. All in all, this next week will be quite a busy one.

Mar. 29, 2004 (Week 11)
Numerous landmarks were met this past week by our team. We have gathered information from the client concerning the content expert review and will be implementing the necessary changes in the upcoming week. In addition, we have made significant strides in the video development for our project, having completed all of the introductory videos and nearing completion of the instructional videos to be included in the modules. The interface is also coming along nicely as we have all of the rooms completed for module one and nearly all completed for module two. In fact, module one is complete including room interactions, content level information, and WebCT assessment. Our task for this upcoming week will be to complete the development for modules two and three to present to the full team and begin the evaluation stage of the process. This is feasible considering the progress made over the past week and the manner in which we have been able to each fill a role in the process. However, only time will tell if we are successful in meeting our goals for this crucial week forthcoming.

Apr. 5, 2004 (Week 12)
We are getting down to the last part of the semester and we are starting to feel the pressure of getting everything done. However, we are more than capable of meeting the challenge before us. Currently, we have completed all of modules one and two, in addition to the content level pages for module three. Also, we have completed all but one of the WebCT portions of the class and will be able to set up everything next week for our formative evaluation. Currently, there are a few items that need to be addressed in order to be finished by next week. We are encountering problems with the videos that we are creating with scheduling as well as technical difficulties. However, we fully expect to have them ready by Wednesday of next week to add into the modules. In addition, we are still waiting on a few items from our client, including the list of student staff members who will be helping us with our formative evaluation. This next week is pivotal for the success of our project and will test our team’s ability to work under pressure. However, we are more than aware of what is needed and have the capacity to do what the situation requires.

Apr. 12, 2004 (Week 13)
Well, we survived the studio showcase and are currently putting the final touches on our project. The formative evaluation stage has begun, as we have begun to schedule RA/CAs for usability tests, and are also identifying others to participate in module testing. Once we have the data from these tests, we will be able to identify areas in our project that need to be modified. With this data in hand, we will be able to make corrections and produce the final product, which we can then pass on to our client. In addition to the evaluation, we will also be working on producing auxiliary paperwork for our project concerning implementation, our time spent on the project, and other summations of our project. We have two weeks until the showcase to get these things done and we feel up to the challenge.

Apr. 19, 2004 (Week 14)
This past week has been very productive for our team. We have compiled all of the necessary information from the instructional expert review, usability observations, as well as learner questionnaires. Based on this data, we have constructed a list of necessary changes to be made before we produce our finalized product. These changes will involve everyone on our team in some aspect as the changes involve many aspects of the production. However, the changes required are very minor and will involve small modifications. Overall, the feedback that we received was positive and provided valuable information. In addition, we made plans in our last meeting to complete the auxiliary paperwork for the end of our project. This involved a lengthy discussion between us and a debriefing on the entire process that we engaged in. I feel that we gained a greater understanding of this process that we have nearly completed and a sense of what we did well and what could be improved. However, this week was somewhat sad due to the fact that our consultants are no longer with us. The next week will involve us putting the final touches on the project and completing the necessary paperwork for our project management site.

Apr. 26, 2004 (Week 15)