PART D - Findings and Implications

•    Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?

Yes, a large portion (about 60%) of the project did get implemented as planned. I was very happy that with the help of this class I was able to implement something that’s been on my agenda for a very long time.

•    Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

I was able to survey my department administrators and determine what kind of training plan I should provide to them – group training, handout, and video tutorials.

I created “Department INSZoom Login Request Form.” The department administrators will submit “Department INSZoom Login Request Form” to the Office for International Students and Scholars in order to gain initial INSZoom access.

I created an email that was sent to 129 department administrators this week.

In the email I attached “Department INSZoom Login Request Form” to request access to the INSZoom system and a training manual that they can refer to when accessing the INSZoom system to track employees, run reports and send emails. In the email I gave departments an option to schedule individual training.

What is left to do:

-       schedule in-person group training (this Fall 2011).

-       create a few video tutorials for navigating the INSZoom system.

-       survey department administrators in a few months to get a feedback and find out whether the training implementation was successful.

•    How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?

I wish I had more time to complete the project. I wish I had sent my survey to departments earlier than I had planned to so I could have received the survey results a little earlier, which would have given me more time to analyze the survey results. I needed more time to create a training manual. At first I thought it would be a very simple task until I actually started preparing a manual. There were so many details I had to include in the training manual. Next time I would like to work on the project more independently and not rely on my supervisors. Since I had to get approvals from my supervisor on everything I was doing, it took a lot of time to complete this project. 

•    What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?

I really enjoyed designing my own survey. I was able to incorporate the survey in my project. I surveyed 129 MSU department administrators. I was able to design my training plan based on the survey results.

I highly recommend of surveying either your colleagues or students before taking on a big project.

In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?

If I were to do the same project again, I definitely would like to spend more time working on it. I would have also liked to have a few department administrators try out the INSZoom system and give me some feedback. I think this would have helped me design my tutorial more effectively. 

Next time I take on a similar project, I plan to survey my audience before implementing it. I plan to use Jing a lot for screencasting for my next projects (for form instruction and for visual instruction). I would like to also learn how to use Camtasia because I think the visual instruction looks more professional on Camtasia than Jing.