Sheeba Datta

EDTC 6358

SP 2014

Project III: Lessons Learned

Goal:

The goal of this course, Theory and Practice of eLearning was to develop an instructional solution for an identified real life performance problem as a Capstone project. Working in the corporate sector and leading several educational projects for healthcare professionals as part of my job role helped me identify several existing real life performance issues within my own sector. The challenging task was to identify the one, which would be scalable, measurable and could be completed within the timeframe of this semester.

At my organization, HCA (Hospital Corporation of America Inc.), nursing documentation presented with non-standard methods in documentation causing discrepancies between hospitals and even within a hospital at times. The performance problem was recognized as a result of lack of awareness among nursing staff about standard HCA hospital policies and protocols about patient care documentation in the electronic documentation system (MEDITECH).

I presented the instructional solution in which an asynchronous eLearning course could be developed and assigned to every nurse through HCA’s learning management system, HealthStream. As for this course, the same course would be developed in BlackBoard. The experience was very intense and I have come away with valuable lessons for my professional growth in eLearning development.

Lessons learned:

  • Project Management Skills: I realized that, developing eLearning course must be categorized as a project and all the rules for PM applies to course development also. As I began the project, I was not following the PM path strictly and I came across many hurdles, especially with meetings with stakeholders. Soon enough I changed my strategy and started communicating more frequently and keeping notes of all the meetings and realized that ‘one can never over-communicate’! The biggest challenge I faced was the ‘scope creep’ as many of the stakeholders themselves did not adhere to scope definition. I have learned that, at the time of requirement analysis phase, as a project manager, make sure to include all the relevant personnel even if they might only be involved if there is a realized risk.
  • Time Management Skills: Although I began with time commitment and strict adherence to task completion on time, I stumbled at several occasions. Most times, unanticipated personal tragedies and job changes were the culprits in my failed time management. In retrospect, I recognize that I should have the foresight to include personal reasons for delays also as risks and take precautions accordingly.
  • Selection of Resources: Learning a new technology can add additional time constraint to the project. In my case, learning BlackBoard administration was required. Although not very difficult, I still needed to allot time for this. As an instructional designer, it is necessary to recognize the fact that technological advances will affect computerized instructional course development and hence always account for the time to learn. I chose very familiar Adobe Captivate as the main multimedia authoring tool as that would not require me to learn yet another new tool and also because this is the prevalent tool in HCA, in case changes need to be made by other authors.
  • Team work: In corporate sector, instructional course development involves extensive teamwork especially when the SME has to provide you with content and resources. Sometimes, the designer has to work with multiple SME’s and this can present challenges. I have learned that keeping notes and communicating can avoid last minute confusion and unpleasantness. At times, an instructional designer also acts as the SME, when he/she has the prior knowledge of the subject. This was the case with me in this project and that tremendously helped me. The lesson that l learned from this process is that, when recruiting instructional designers, it will be beneficial if the person can relate to the field or be prepared to learn the nuances of the particular field.
  • Processing Evaluations: Including immediate course evaluation and getting the responses can be fairly easily achievable. Ongoing evaluation was necessary in this course development as there is little room for mistakes in a healthcare field. I constantly engaged in one-on-one and small group evaluations, and suggestions that came were compiled, analyzed and incorporated with consultation with my supervisor and SME. Summative evaluation was sent out to the executive management team, but their responses were very delayed. I am trying to work with our department project director, what measures could be taken to get timely responses from the upper management team. Apparently, I was informed that the corporate culture could be significant factor and some opportunities exist in that realm to bring some improvement.
  • A Balancing Act: How does one manage family, work and study? This must be one of the most significant lessons that I have learned from this capstone course. Prioritizing is the key in situations like this. During past few months my life took a completely different turn and the resulted events put me in tight spot. I knew for sure, I would miss deadlines. I had to choose which deadlines could I afford to lose- work, study or home? I had to complete the work assignments first and then submit college assignments, even if not complete. I resigned to the fact that I still have to make a living and completing he course at this juncture is more important that getting best grade possible, although it is painful. In retrospect, I think to myself, “had I completed my Master’s program before I started a family, it would not have been so difficult”! This comes as a reflection from my past as I had that opportunity but did not utilize it. Should I attribute that to my lack of long-term vision at the time? Have I conquered my personal battle with procrastination? I am working on it continuously. Project management and procrastination cannot coexist together. I am aware of this fact and trying to live by it day by day, although failing at times and getting right back up.

Conclusion:

A project to develop a meaningful instructional solution for performance problem can be very challenging. Treating it as a full-fledged project is the key to its success. Time management is of paramount importance while trying to balance family, work and study. Learning from the best practices as well as set backs will prepare the instructional designer for future endeavors and the satisfaction of empowering others is truly rewarding.