Synthesis Portfolio
In this project, I used the idea of creating and implementing a training for realtors to generate more leads in an in-person training using a hands-on approach where I lay out all parts of the project plan. These pieces are the mission and vision statements, a work breakdown structure, a Gantt chart, a critical path analysis, and a risk management plan. Much of the work was done using Microsoft Projects.
Once the project manager or instructional designer knows about a project and is in the planning stages, he/she will conduct a needs assessment to determine if a training is needed and what should be covered. I created a course for parents introducing them to the Canvas LMS platform to minimize confusion for parents overseeing their children’s learning in the online environment. At the time, I spent many hours helping friends understand what was happening online with their children while answering the same questions for parents of my own students. I had the advantage of seeing Canvas from three different aspects: the teacher, the parent observer, and the student. My motivation for this project came from personal/actual needs at the start of virtual learning.
The needs assessment was broken into 3 parts. First, I researched the organization that would be using the training and identified the major stakeholders. Next, I created two surveys that I administered to coworkers and parents of children in school using Canvas through social media and a department email blast of my coworkers and daughters’ teachers. Lastly, I organized the data from the surveys into charts to analyze exactly what was needed for the training.
This project is a skeleton of an entire project planned out only missing the recording of the project and the link to the resulting product demonstrated throughout the training. Also along the same lines as the project, this training plan involves the use of the Canvas LMS except it teaches teachers the basics of using and creating in Canvas. As a consequence of repeatedly showing many coworkers how to turn a blank Canvas page into something viewable by parents and students, I developed the idea for this training. The assignment covers all five phases in the ADDIE model of instructional design: Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate.
Analysis included a needs assessment to determine what was needed, resources, and the target audience. In the design phase, the learning objectives were stated, and the project was planned out to how it will be administered with each stakeholder in mind. The development stage included creating a PowerPoint for participants to use to keep them organized throughout the class as techniques were demonstrated. To implement the course, participants would be watching a demonstration via zoom and then practicing with their own blank course. There would be an opportunity for questions/suggestions/discourse along the way as needed by the participants and trainer. The final phase of the ADDIE model included was an evaluation of the newly created project itself and the views of the participants of the course.
Working on this project seemed very pertinent at the time because it was taking up a lot of my time in answering the same questions continuously to coworkers and friends who teach. Our school district really pushed teachers to quickly learn a program at a moment’s notice to keep children learning when we transitioned to distance education due to the onset of the pandemic. This caused great fear and unease for many where I tried to help aid teachers with less experience weather the storm. Slowly walking through the steps of ADDIE helped me to make sure I was covering all my bases and that nothing was left out for a successful training/experience. The zoom was recorded, and teachers could go back and rewatch if there were questions after the training or they forgot where a function was located. The feedback received was very positive after this class ended and the training was shared with others in the district.
This project is a completed module where I worked with a team of three other people and an outside client to create a piece of a training for newly hired staff working in the North Carolina Community College System. The link I attached is a screen recording of the module preview to spare viewers the hassle of dealing with opening a file with Adobe Captivate which can prove difficult. The purpose of the module was to inform the trainees of what community colleges do and offer to the students. To complete the project, we had to plan each step and report back to the client with updates and timelines of progress. In the process, we researched the programs, surveyed and interviewed newly hired staff members in the community college system, divided up sections of the module, and gathered material to create slides. After we had our content, I put all the slides together in Adobe Captivate with a combination of videos created through an app called Doodly, informational interactive slides, and check for understanding quiz questions.
This project culminated in the underlying theme because it had all the aspects from planning and gathering data to researching the content being used for the training. We planned how we wanted each portion and created the content for each slide individually from scratch. After putting it all together, the group tested the module and modified what needed changing. Then we submitted our finalized module to the client where she could give us feedback for what she liked and what she thought was too much or not enough. Afterward, we sent her the file so that she could put all her modules together to create her complete training with a unified look.