Project Abstract

The Business & Finance unit of the Basic Camp Director’s Course (BCDC) has, until now, been delivered exclusively in a week-long training conference. The course is offered four times per year, but there is always a waiting list for sessions. Because the logistics and expense of a week-long training session are increasingly challenging, Dr. Gwynn Powell , a member of the ACA National Board of Directors, has asked to create an online version of the unit.

We will develop this module as a prototype that the ACA can then use to develop similar online versions of the other 13 units in the training session.

Client Profile

The client for our project is The American Camp Association as represented by Dr. Gwynn Powell and Kat Shreve. Dr. Powell is an Associate Professor in the Recreation and Leisure Studies Department in the College of Education at The University of Georgia. She is also a volunteer for the American Camp Association, specializing in curriculum development and research application. She will serve as the liaison between Genesis Learning and the American Camp Association. Ms. Shreve is an ACA national staff member with nationwide responsibility for training. She will provide content and ongoing input to help us design this unit in a way that will be most practical for the organization.

The ACA Web site describes the organization as follows:
“The American Camp Association (formerly known as the American Camping Association) is a community of camp professionals who, for nearly 100 years, have joined together to share our knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. Because of our diverse 7,000 plus membership and exceptional programs, children and adults have the opportunity to learn powerful lessons in community, character-building, skill development, and healthy living — lessons that can be learned nowhere else.
“As a leading authority in child development, the ACA works to preserve, promote, and improve the camp experience. Our association is committed to helping our members and all camps provide:

• Camp communities committed to a safe, nurturing environment
• Caring, competent adult role models
• Healthy, developmentally-appropriate experiences
• Service to the community and the natural world
• Opportunities for leadership and personal growth
• Discovery, experiential education, and learning opportunities
• Excellence and continuous self-improvement “
(http://www.acacamps.org/about/profile.php)

Adapted with permission from http://www.nov8tivedesigns.com/

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Genesis Learning 15/5 Mar0608

This has been a watershed week for us. We have finished up the last big chunks of planning and documentation, at least for now. We’re working on our first module, figuring that getting the simplest one done first will be the easiest way to get the kinks out before we do the other five.

We’ve divided up the tasks, with each of us taking a different piece. We hope we can put them together, at least as a draft, at our meeting tonight. That, along with working out some details like file-naming protocols will take us the major portion of our meeting time.

I had an excellent meeting with our client yesterday and gained sign-off on the evaluation plan, the software/software specs, the learner profile and the treatment rationale. In addition, we discussed how to handle some content issues. The textbook we are working from is poorly organized, including some illustrations for things not mentioned, blank forms with no instructions about where to get the information or how to use it. There are also some overly-simple instructions like “sufficient space for records and storage is essential” in a camp office and “computers with Internet connections should be near phone lines.” Dr. Powell has agreed that we may delete these minor sections and that, if necessary, we may add clarifying material to other sections. We will have to keep an eye out for scope creep.

We have located a number of excellent resources, including a site of free accounting games that Melinda found. I have found a number of templates for basic forms and Donna came up with some great tools for storyboarding.

We’re moving right along. Although next week is Spring Break, at least three of us will meet online Monday evening.

Posted by Myra Blackmon at 12:49 PM
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