Gina M Mason
Managing Instructional Development Projects
Book Prospectus
Gina M Mason
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
IT 530
July 15, 2008
Table of Contents
Qualities of a Good Manager
Listen effectively
Be available
See the big picture
Getting Your Hands Dirty
Be an instructional designer first, a manager second
Be a resource to your team
Jump in and help when the going is rough
Know the Project Goal
Communicate a clear picture to the team
Develop an elevator speech
Write a couple of clear objectives
Develop the Project Scope
What does the customer want?
What does the team think?
What does the budget dictate?
How Much Can You Spend?
Detail bugets as much as possible
Keep scope and goals in mind
Decide which area to splurge and which to save
Big Plans
Give the customer as much bang for their buck as you can
Create a “wow” feeling even on a limited budget
Give the customer some additional “fun” ala carte items
Teamwork
Build a safe place to share ideas
Let your experts be the expert
Practice effective communication
Ooops!
Plan for setbacks and problems
Plan for customer changes
Plan for team member changes
Keeping Up With The Jones’
New technology
New techniques
Research and development
Next Steps…
Project milestones
Test the prototype
Delivery of finished product
Introduction
The process of developing an instructional project from idea to completed product can be a daunting task for an experienced design professional. The challenges are magnified when taking on the role of the project manager for a large project. This book is intended to be a resource for the new manager or for the beginning designer looking for a way to get that next great job or impress the boss.
The first hurdle to overcome when thinking of project management is not the project but rather the management. Think back to previous bosses. You’ve had some great ones, some mediocre ones, and some absolutely horrendous ones. Think of the qualities that made each of them appear that way to you. Were they micromanagers or hands-off types? Did they let you flounder or give plenty of feedback? The first chapter of this book will discuss “soft skills” for managers. This will help you be an effective leader of a great team!
Again, before you think about some fantastic project that will get your name out there, hold up a minute. How are your skills as an instructional designer? As a multimedia artist? As a web developer? Whatever you niche may be, ensure that you still have what it takes to work beside you team. At some point in the process, you might be called upon to get your hands dirty. Your team will value your ability to do the job, not simply to coach them.
Finally, on to the project. Chapter three takes us to the initial stages of project design. As you learned way back in your introductory classes, starting with Analysis and Design is the first part to any instructional design project. However, as a project manager, you need to do a few additional steps. First – create a clear vision of the project for your team. Inspire them. Paint a picture of the end product you have in your head. Secondly, develop an elevator speech that your team can use to describe the project in a few very clear and very vivid sentences. And lastly, write a couple of key objectives to keep everyone on task. If the team is looking at the same goal, the project will run much smoother.
Once the groundwork has been laid, it is time to get into the design phase. The next three chapters cover scope and budget. How big can this project get? How are we going to pay for it? Ensure that several scenarios are covered – a bare bones, basic budget scope, a moderately complex and more expensive option, and a high tech, glossy, WOW kind of product with a matching hefty price tag. More than likely the customer will pick and choose options they want and others they can live without. The team can have input at the formation of the proposal but the manager will have the ultimate job of writing and pitching the final customer offer.
The next couple of chapters deal with teamwork. Again, the best thing a manager can do is support the team. A team that is handpicked for expertise will produce good work. That is if adequate communication and mutual respect are provided. Allow the experts to do their thing, guide and coach, provide constructive feedback. All the while with one common goal in mind.
A chapter has been included on technology. Most designers want to use fun new software and learning platforms. Caution is needed in this area – only use the technology that is indicated for the learning needs. Sometimes a simple presentation is much more effective than a flashy one. Work with the customer to define the scope and goal of the education then you can integrate technology as indicated.
To finish out the book and your first project, ensure that the customer is kept up to date on the progress. The team should have milestones with specific dates to keep the project moving forward. If one team member gets stuck, have the rest of the team rally until a solution is found. There should be a prototype toward the end of the project. Test it and check with a test audience. If resources are available, do additional testing and tweaking. And then the team can celebrate the final milestone: the day the product is delivered to the customer.
Annotated Bibliography
Adkins, Sam S. (2003). The Brave New World of Learning. [Electronic Version].
Technology Development. 29-37.
Adkins describes how quickly technology, language, and applications are changing in today’s tech driven world. It is essential for project managers to stay informed of current trends in industry so that they will have an acceptable and timely product at the end of production. Workflow, time, and money are all key points in this article.
Brill, Jennifer, et.al. (2006). The Competencies and Characteristics Required of an
Effective Project Manager: A Web-Based Delphi Study. [Electronic Version]. Education Tech Research Dev. 54(2), 115-140.
This article by Brill was the most useful of all for my research. The author specifically laid out 78 competencies and characteristics of an effective project manager then ranked them according to importance. Many of the top skills were not skills traditionally associated with a manager but very important people skills.
Kenny, R., et.al. (2005). A Review of What Instructional Designers Do: Questions
Answered and Questions Not Asked. [Electronic Version]. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 31(1).
This author reviewed the rigid use of ID models in professionals. He found little adherence to the strict models but rather more time spent in non-traditional functions like project management.
Kinzie, Mable, et.al. (1998). An Instructional Design Case Event: Exploring Issues in
Professional Practice. [Electronic Version]. Education Tech Research Dev. 46(1), 53-71.
Team collaboration and cooperation were the hallmarks of this research paper that focused on student teams. These are very important in team building and team work which in turn is a key role for the project manager. Case studies can be both a powerful instructional too and a great team building activity.
Larson, Miriam B. and Lockee, Barbara B. (2007). Preparing Instructional Designers for
Different Career Environments: A Case Study. [Electronic Version]. Education Tech Research Dev.
The authors examined one IDT program for interesting uses of career exploration and learning. This flexibility gave students important experiences in the wide range of career options available after graduation. This study was helpful to the prospectus by listing many categories of competencies useful for the project manager IDT professional.
Liu, Jyi-Shane, and Sycara, Katia. (1997). Coordination of Multiple Agents for
Production Management. [Electronic Version]. Annals of Operations Research. 79, 235-289.
Liu and Sycara explored issues surrounding job shop scheduling and presented a solution for scheduling by using an agent model. One particular issue that I found interesting was that too much communication can be as detrimental to the project as too little communication.
Martin, Florence. (2008). A Performance Technologist’s Approach to Process
Performance Improvement. [Electronic Version]. Performance Improvement. 47(2), 30-40.
I chose this article because of the close ties of Six Sigma process improvement strategies to ID strategies. Since I have experience with Six Sigma, the transition to the ADDIE design process is quite natural. This article just reinforced basic project management concepts.
McDaniel, Kathleen and Liu, Min.(1996). A Study of Project Management Techniques
for Developing Interactive Multimedia Programs: A Practitioner’s Perspective.
[Electronic Version].
McDaniel and Liu describe a study conducted with questionnaires sent to professionals. The research goal was to find which management practices were utilized in real life situations. They also discuss Gentry and Greer’s Project Management Models which was very helpful to the organization of this project.
Qureshi, Sajda, et.al. (2006). The Effects of Electronic Collaboration in Distributed
Project Management. [Electronic Version]. Group Decision and Negotiation (15), 55-75.
Coordination, communication and adaptation were three key points in the management of the authors’ paper. They first analzyed these factors then developed a distributed project management model.
Spector, J. Michael. (2002). Knowledge Management Tools for Instructional Design.
[Electronic Version]. Education Tech Research Dev. 50(4), 37-46.
Knowledge management systems exist to support the project manager in decision making and organization. However, with rapidly changing technology, it is sometimes difficult to pick the correct application. This paper reviews the current systems for usability and functionality.
Sullivan, Howard, et.al. (2000). Long Term Instructional Development: A 20-year ID
and Implementation Project. [Electronic Version]. Education Tech Research Dev. 48(4), 87-99.
This article was chosen simply for the length of the project. Strong organizational skills and goal oriented tasks were needed to complete this project. In the end, it took a plan of regular revisions, instructional strategy changes, content updates, and computer integration to make the project a success.
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