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/

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

GLS Final 15/5 043008

We’ve done it! The project is finished (or practically finished), all the reports are completed, sign-offs gained and the site is working like a charm. Tomorrow, I shall deliver to Dr. Clinton a DVD with all the content and documentation and we shall call it a wrap!

The last couple of weeks have been tough. The beta test required a lot of prep and coordination, but it went well. We got lots of excellent feedback from the students, especially about navigation, small errors and that sort of thing. At first we were distressed to learn that only half of the students who took both the pre- and post-tests improved their scores. Closer analysis showed that they spent an average of only about 12 minutes on the 34-item test and skipped some questions all together. We concluded that the extra credit incentive for completing the tests did not motivate students to try to do well on the test and we believe most of them rushed through marking random answers or not paying much attention to the questions. Dr. Powell will include all 34 questions on her final exam and that should give us a better picture of their mastery.

Our Showcase presentation went well and I believe we’re all pleasantly surprised at how good the site looks and works. Our clients are delighted with the results and we received many compliments on both the design and the way we applied our knowledge of educational theory.

That said, we have had some disagreement about several things, most specifically a couple of the guided practices created using Hot Potatoes software. Most of us believe it is unprofessional looking, is inconsistent with the look and feel of the site and could cause interactivity problems. Of the three pieces, one of them was put up as a stop-gap measure (by me) to have something for the Beta test. Most of us agreed that we need to re-do all these exercises in Flash or in Dreamweaver, but one member declined to revise the submitted files. Melinda has re-done one of thsoe and I continue to try to find ways to re-do mine. One way or the other, we will have all the Hot Potatoes files out of the site before we turn it over to the ACA. Several of us will continue the final tweaking, even though we have submitted all our course materials.

I believe I speak for all of us when I say we have learned a tremendous amount. The team put in more than 550 hours on the project. You can’t spend that much time and not hit a few bumps here and there. Some of us had a hard time letting go of “our” units, even when the group believed we needed revision. We all have different skills, different styles and different ways of expressing ourselves. In the end, we made it work and made it work well. Donna, Melinda and I are graduating, leaving Roman and Radcliffe to carry on. This project will be an excellent addition to our professional portfolios and certainly the skills we developed will stand us in good stead for many years.

Gwynn Powell and Kat Shreve have been wonderful clients, with enthusiastic support, constructive feedback and constant availability. And we hope the project will stand the ACA in good stead for many years, as well.

Posted by Myra Blackmon at 5:36 PM

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