JAM Productions Response to Request for Proposal
Competencies Satisfied
#1. Take a systems view (Reflective Practice): The project centered around responding to a request for a proposal to develop an ethics program, requiring us to be sensitive to the human element of training. Additionally, a project of this scope requires the understanding of how each element affects the others - a missed milestone in the project timeline would result in a cascading effect of missed deadlines down the road.
#2. Use cycles of reasoning as tools for problem solving (Reflective Practice): Throughout this class, we were given the opportunity to interact with the "client", learning how to ask the right questions in order to gain the needed information without losing credibility as experts in the field. It was necessary to research a number of different training solutions in order to develop a proposal that incorporated best practices with a training program that would fit the client's needs. As part of our proposal, we suggested that the client invest in a learning management system (LMS) to enhance the effectiveness and impact of the proposed training solution.
#3. Promote collaboration, partnerships, and relationships for full inclusion with stakeholders, clients, subject matter experts, team members, etc. (Reflective Practice): Our proposal was created by a team of three people, each with different responsibilities and expertise. As is often the case with group work in the academic environment, there were some challenges associated with coordinating our efforts; however, these issues were transparent to the "client", of which I was very proud. Despite our problems, the team still worked together to draw upon relationships with subject matter experts in project management, ethics training, proposal writing, etc., to create a proposal that met the client's needs. I also felt that the meetings we conducted with our client representative allowed us to gain valuable insight into the client's attitude towards learning and their willingness to invest in their training future.
#4. Be a lifelong learner and professional (Reflective Practice): This project introduced me to two new technologies that I am certain I will use in the future - MS Project and story-based, "choose your own adventure" training structure. I was familiar with the logic behind MS Project, yet I had never used it before. It was a crash course approach to the program, and I can certainly see the value in learning more about it. I was exposed to the story-based, "choose your own adventure" training structure when my company was accepting bids for ethics training, although it was a very closed structure which required clients to accept the rather generic journalism storyline offered. I thought it would be interesting to examine ways to create a course shell that offered the structure of choose your own adventure while still allowing a client to insert their own content. I really believe such technology may one day be available off the shelf - without looking too off the shelf.
#6. Conduct a learning or instructional analysis (Planning and Analysis): All client communication, whether through documentation, emails or face-to-face meetings, served as our instructional analysis. We learned about the client's goals, company culture, technological capabilities, willingness to update infrastructure, etc. We also learned about the basic demographics of our learners, as well as their ability to use and access online learning.
#8. Apply various theories/strategies and current research, and consider local needs and constraints to design activities and experiences for learning (Design and Development): During the design of this proposal we considered our likely learners, as well as the inherent resistence to required compliance training. Therefore, we decided upon a complex story-telling structure to allow practical application of knowledge - with immediate feedback of the consequences of their actions. The proposal envisioned several types of assessments within the course itself – embedded assessments of multiple choice, drag and drop, etc.
#9. Design learning and performance products and resources that reflect an understanding of the diversity of learners and groups of learners (Design and Development): To account for the different learning styles and abilities inherent in any corporate environment, this training proposal suggested the use of eLearning. The content would easily be Section 508 compliant, and the interactivity, media, engaging storyline and other technological capabilities would be likely to motivate the most reticent of required participants.
#15. Participate in an implementation process or change strategy (Implementation and Change): A key component of this project was the creation of a detailed project management plan. This plan covered everything from design, to development, to testing, to implementation to follow-up and analysis.
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