We are really getting deep into development this week. And since our client expects to use this (our beta) on April 7, we need to get it done! We have agreed that we need to meet face-to-face on Mondays instead of via Wimba. That is a challenge for the three who travel, but has been worth the effort the last two Mondays. It makes it even more important that we use our time wisely and agree on our desired meeting outcome before we start. This week we found it helpful to work individually for a while, but call on one another if we needed help. This is a bit faster than doing everything as a group, but also gives us the backup we need from one another.
We have developed questions for the pre and post tests and the pretest will be administered through Dr. Powell’s WebCT site this week. Since some of our group are accustomed to writing test questions from content, we’ve had to be sure that we are worrying only about assessing the tasks we have set out for each learning goal and objective.
After discussions with Dr. Powell last Thursday, we realized that we needed to change the module on computerization to deal with hardware and software for the office instead of the transition from manual to computerized accounting tasks. Although the text was updated four years ago, the ACA’s more recent business operations report indicates that computerizing accounting functions is not as much an issue as choosing appropriate hardware and software to handle all camp management functions. We’ll need to make this adjustment in the Scope Document as well as the Task Analysis, but it does not create a significant change in our design and development work.
We are using the storyboards to insert content from the text, which is really a challenge. The text is not very well organized, so we can’t just blindly cut and paste. For example, in one paragraph in the camp store section, the text begins with “careful accounting practices should be established” and ends with “may want to limit the number of snacks a camper can buy each day.” In between is also a rationale for carrying souvenirs with the camp logo. So we’re having to pull out the pieces that fit, sometimes one of two sentences at a time. And in a few instances, we’re having to write another paragraph or so to complete the module. Fortunately, I have enough experience with camps and with writing that this is not a big deal.
At the same time, we are working on graphics. We have assigned some to our 6200 consultants. Dr. Powell has gotten access for us to the ACA’s stock photo subscription service and Melinda has a couple of places we can draw from. When we met with our client last Thursday evening, she was enthusiastic about some light-hearted graphics to moderate what many see as daunting subject matter. She also expressed her pleasure with what we are doing.
Finally, Roman now has access to the ACA web site, so we can load our materials and check them out there. We will continue to be very busy with content development.
