15/5 #12

As the showcase looms in the shadows and is now less than 24 hours away. I reflect on the past week and almost shiver. Everything that possibly could have went wrong did. Our ability to think quickly and on our feet was definitely tested as we had to make reassignments and basically redesign our initial plan of action to prepare for the showcase dress rehearsal.

The root of the problem centered around one of our most critical elements: access to the server. For some reason, no one on my team, besides, myself was able to gain access to the remote server. Therefore, everyone’s role moving forward in preparation for the dress rehearsal had to be changed. I now had to be responsible for creating all the HTML pages, which means importing content and embedding all the animations and videos that we needed for the lessons we planned to complete. It may not seem like a lot of work, but trust me, it was, especially embedding the videos. This was a challenge for 2 reasons:

1. I had never done it before in Dreamweaver so I was forced to go in and do some research on how to do it
2. I do not have the software required to view the video file type we use for this project, therefore, I had no way of checking to see if any of the videos were correctly embedded.
   

However, despite all the setbacks, I was able to complete 3 of our 7 lessons in time to show for tomorrow, so I think we did pretty well. Depending on how much time I have tonight, I may even complete a 4th lesson (no promises here).


On top of all the problems we encountered this week, we also had to take time to try and plan for our 8-min presentation. Seeing the events of the week, I decided to stray away for the typical showcase format, where the PM leads out the entire presentation. This time, everyone in the team will participate and will present a different aspect of the project. This format was essentially helpful, as I have just been too busy with other project activities, it would have been almost impossible for me to create and prepare for the entire presentation myself. Also, if tomorrow’s presentation goes well, we may just use the same format for the actual showcase in a few weeks,, and who knows begin a revolution for future 6210 teams, where the PM is not the only one in charge of the presentation.

In the upcoming weeks after the rehearsal, we plan to:

• Figure out how to allow everyone else on the team access to the remote server
• Complete the remaining 4 (or 3) sections
• Make revisions (based on feedback) to lessons 1-3
• Begin and finalize the photo and video galleries
• Create transcripts for all the remaining videos
• Conduct evaluations
• Complete remaining documentation

15_5 #11

This week proved to be a very busy week for team Global Solutions. We have been working laboriously trying to prepare for the showcase dress rehearsal next week. As a team we were able to:

1. Complete the presentation of the content
2. Continue animation production
3. Begin video editing

In spite of all the other activities we have had to focus on such as the comps exams and projects for other classes, we are not as far ahead as I would like our team to be. However, we have all decided to forge ahead at full speed and have at least 3 of the seven lessons completed in time for the rehearsal. This will be a little hard to do as half of our team will be away for the conference in Orlando, however, I still believe we can do it. The plan moving forward is for Ali and I to work on the creation of the HTML pages in Dreamweaver; and Suhwa and Sunny are in charge of the editing of the videos.

The upcoming weeks, will be mayhem for us, as it seems as though there is so much to do and not enough time. We still have tons of editing to do, transcripts to create and on top of that we have to figure out how we will be able to access the videos (as no one on our team is familiar with the use of a streaming server). Also, there are 3 other main sections to our project, which we have not begun to design, these sections are the videos, photos and more information links that is available from our main interface.

Hopefully, once everyone gets back from conferences that we will be able to dedicate the time and resources needed to this project, so that we can have the best possible product completed in time for the final showcase!

15/5 #10

This week was a SUPER busy week for Global Solutions. Everyone has been working individually on their own assignments. Suhwa and I have been working to create the various animations and interactions, Ali has been working on putting the content together so that we can see exactly what text will be on each page, and Sunny and Suhwa have been working to edit existing videos and create storyboards for new videos. Since we are each working on different aspects it was a bit difficult to see the project as a cohesive, however, I have found that sharing with each other what as we develop helps us all to see the project as a whole. I am so excited that our group is able to produce great quality work independently and also that we are able to come together as needed and work as a team. For example, Sunny and I met with Dr. Powell and some alumni of the program to record some new videos. Tour expectations were greatly exceeded and we were able to get some great footage in addition to what we had initially intended to record.

Personally this week, along with the usual PM duties I have been working relentlessly on creating the some of the animations that we need for the project and the css style sheet for all the template HTML pages that we will need. This has been quite a tedious task, as I am also trying to prepare for the comprehensive exams; however, thanks to EDIT 7550, I kind of have a better handle on managing my time and resources. With that said, I am pleased to announce that we finally assigned some work to our consultants!!! We have Darin creating some really simple animations for us and Lisa doing a little research. It feels great to have the extra help and I just hope that in the next week or so, we will be able to put the rest of our consultants to work!

In the next week we plan to:
1. Wrap-up animation development
2. Finish content layout
3. Continue video editing
4. Begin creating transcripts for some of the completed videos
5. Input completed animations and videos in HTML pages
6. Upload HTML pages to russia.uga server
7. Upload completed videos to UGA streaming server
8. Get ready for dress rehearsal

As the showcase dress rehearsal lurks in the near future, Global solutions will be working around the clock to get as much of the product completed by that time, so that we will have sufficient time after the showcase to make revisions and also to conduct evaluations. However, as usual I have great confidence in our team and client and I can say without a doubt that we will be able to create a GREAT product.

15/5 #9

Finally, we are now fully immersed in the development stage. A few weeks ago this stage seemed so far out of reach. This week, the team has been working diligently to complete the flow and storyboard documents for the entire program we plan to develop. We have also begun the storyboarding, editing and development of the animations and videos that will be available in the site. Suhwa, I and Sunny are working on those and Ali has been working on arranging the content, splitting it up into the actual pages. The only thing we are waiting on now is the actual server space on which we will house the site. We have heard back from the client and will discuss this further in Thursday’s meeting.

As to what I did this week, apart from working on the animation development, I am also trying to get the videos sorted out, go through what we were given by the client and selecting those I think we will use in the main part of the program.

In the next week, we hope to continue working in the development phase completing the following tasks:

1. Continue animation development
2. Finalize content flow
3. Begin development on the actual server
4. Begin creation of new videos
5. Utilize consultants

For the first time, I think our team is a little bit concerned, as the reality of how much work we actually have to do set in. However, there is still that aura of confidence in ourselves that once we work together that we will get the work done.

15/5 # 8

Somehow I manage to keep forgetting to do these on Wednesday nights:-( I am really going to need to pay closer attention to that. Now on to the project, this week was a busy one for us, and we anticipate being busy for the weeks that followed. We are steadily entering the development phase of the project, where the REAL work begins. This past week, members of our team reviewed the initial flow we have developed a few weeks back. By the end of this process we intend to have a complete flow and storyboard for the entire program. This means we will have a layout of each screen, the content and the resources needed. We believe that this will help us in the future to stay organized and to also look at the project as a whole. We are hoping this will help to allow there to be a level of consistency throughout the entire program. We also identified the specific aspects that each member will be working on moving forward. We plan to have only one individual working on a main aspect with a secondary contact. We decided this would be best, instead of splitting up the program into different sections and having one member complete a whole section. We believe that the method we have chosen will reduce redundancy and therefore, help us to work in a more efficient way.

Personally this week, it was my job to get the flow we had verbally discussed some few weeks back down on paper for the rest of the team members to review and edit. I also completed the flash introduction page, and the HTML template page for the lesson screens.

For the next week, we plan to have completed the flow and storyboard of the site. We also, plan to begin the actual development of the HTML pages, videos and animations. We have already contacted the client to secure server space for us that will be able to host a program that is so heavily focused on video.

As we dive deeper and deeper into the project, I hope that the spirit of great team work will continue and that we will continue to work cohesively as a team and produce the best possible product that we can.

15/5 # 7

Time just seems to be going by so quickly, the good thing is though, that Global Solutions as a team has yet to feel overwhelmed. Hopefully, this feeling (or lack thereof) will last throughout the entire project.

This past week the team was able to accomplish and finalize a great deal of documentation. We met together on Sunday and then again on Monday night to finalize the documents that are due on the 9th. These documents include:

1. Learner Profile
2. Hardware/Software Specification
3. Treatment Rationale
4. Screen Design
5. Evaluation Plan

Once again this week, it was refreshing to see how well the team worked together and how efficiently we are able to get things done. Another important milestone that we met this week was that we were able to share the screen design with the client and she loved it. She also mentioned another group that would be interested in using the program we develop. So this was a great motivational element for the team.

Personally, my tasks for this week included completing the screen design and putting together all the elements for each document together and ensuring that they are correctly formatted. I also, put together the .ppt for this week's STUDIO presentation. Of course I did the usual PM tasks, such as hold meetings, update the client with the week’s activities, document control etc.

In the upcoming week, Global Solutions plans to:

1. Finalize the flow of each section
2. Begin working on a flow chart
3. Begin working on the prototype
4. Put together a list of all the videos/animations that must be created

‘Near’ Future Activities:

* Begin the first stages of HTML development

15/5 # 6

Another week, another 15/5 and as usual, our team has been working very well together. Last week’s meeting went very well, and we managed to develop an initial draft of each of the different sections that we plan to include in the project. We developed an initial flow and the various resources (video, graphics, and animation) that we will need to complete each section. We also, discussed in further detail the documents that we had split up among each other that is due on the 9th. So basically this week we each worked individually on our assigned sections.

Personally, this week I continued work on the screen Design. I am currently trying to do the flash animation for the main entry page of the program.

For the upcoming week, we plan to finalize the Evaluation Plan and the other documents in time to meet the October 9th deadline. The team has already been working on all the documents except for the Evaluation Plan, which we plan to discuss in tomorrow night’s online meeting. Also, in the next week, we hope to have developed a more definite storyboard for the project, so that we can begin working on the prototype in preparation for the Oct 23 deadline.

My hopes going forward, as we get closer and closer to the most crucial part of the Instructional Design phase, which is development, is that we can keep the great team dynamic that we have built and established over the past weeks.