An Integrated Management Approach in a Higher Education Technology Support Unit

This case study is located in the Department for Education Innovation (EI), a teaching and learning support unit at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The initial problem was the need to apply project management and quality management principles to the services offered by the department to faculty members. The authors describe the implementation of a formal, online, process-based Quality Management System (QMS) designed to self evaluate, document, and improve the Instructional Design (ID) process that guides the development of educational technology solutions in EI. The project was completed in 2005 and was included in a CEN (European Committee for Standardization) Good Practice Guide for outstanding implementations of quality approaches in e-learning. The QMS provides a mechanism to support a consistent project management approach, and the case illustrates successful integration between three cycles: Project Management (PM), Quality Management (QM), and the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) instructional design process.

Refresher Training in Clinical Psychology Supervision

Supervisory training for clinical psychologists is often a pre-requisite for practitioners taking on their first graduate trainee and for seasoned practitioners who require refresher training as evidence for continuing professional development. This case study outlines some supervisory models available within the literature and discusses a blended learning model of supervisor training specifically tailored for seasoned clinical psychology supervisors – with the deliverable being an online course to supplement a face-to-face delivery of supervisory training. In managing the work, a project management methodology is journeyed through, and covers the main context of the case, the e-strategy employed, an overview of the technology used, and the content of both the online and face-to-face components. Success factors surrounding the processes used are discussed, and implications of transition phases are outlined. In implementing an online component of blended learning, such information may support other project managers who may wish to benefit from and replicate any of the processes and tools used.

Project Management, Complexity and Creativity

This case involves the implementation of an automated capture solution, aimed at replacing a manual lecture capture service at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. The implementation of such a solution, within a very short timeframe and subject to a constrained budget, was necessitated by a significant change in lecturer-student interaction brought about by a devastating earthquake and associated aftershocks. In consequence, recently adopted project management methodology at the institution had to be amended in order to incorporate software selection processes under way at another institution. The university project management approach (based on Prince 2 project management philosophy) includes an exhaustive comparison of software packages, based on detailed “Request for Information” and “Request for Proposal” procedures. Severe time constraints forced the project team to omit these procedures by tapping into the same process at another university undergoing the same exercise. This was the only way in which the project could be completed within the proposed timeframe. Currently, the automated capture solution is being prepared for handover from the project manager to the institution in December 2012, as planned.

Discovering Ways That Don’t Work on the Road to Success

Educational technology projects undertaken by higher education institutions range in complexity, scope, and impact. The Edison project created a sophisticated studio classroom that supports active learning teaching methods for both local and distant students. The team undertaking this complex project was composed of information technology and instructional design professionals with no real background in formal project management techniques. The team soon discovered that intuition and organic processes for implementing a complex project with increasing scope resulted in risks and challenges that threatened the success and potential impact of the project. The project team learned valuable lessons about the need for a systematic project management process. This case shares the project details, major accomplishments, and lessons learned by the team through the Active Learning Studio classroom (Edison) project.

The Production of Learning Resources for the Study of Information Technology with Limited Project Management Capacity

Mindset Network is a non-profit organization that develops educational resources in several sectors, including the schooling sector. In 2011, Mindset Learn, the schooling division of Mindset Network, completed a project to plan, design, and produce learning resources for grade 12 Information Technology. The learning resources provided learning support to 5,000 students in the 425 South African schools that offer the subject. Numerous challenges presented themselves during the implementation of the project. Major project management challenges were insufficient project resources and inadequate project management experience. Several content-related challenges included: the need to include two programming languages simultaneously, the diversity of language and demographics in schools, and disparities in facilities and educator competencies. Despite the limitations experienced during the implementation of the project, Mindset Learn concluded and distributed an impressive set of learning resources to IT schools in South Africa. Several lessons for future projects are evident.

Volunteer Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on an eLearning Development Project

Representatives from eight different organizations collaborated to develop a self-paced elearning course to teach preceptor skills to staff nurses in various healthcare organizations. The course employed a constructivist theory of learning and simulated many of the conversations and relationships staff nurses experience when performing preceptor responsibilities. Three of the four subject matter experts were volunteers and never compensated financially for their work on the course. The project manager used an iterative instructional design model and a generic project management methodology. The team considers the project a success because the course is complete, albeit two years later than scheduled, and generating a small amount of revenue. Additionally, the team progressed through the four stages of team development, reaching the “performing” stage, and the course is part of an effective three-pronged solution to avert a potential nursing shortage in the state.

An Online Initiative Goes Viral

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) growth initiative to increase access and enrollment in part through online education prompted its School of Business (BUS) to examine its current approach to this mode of instruction. The faculty-led Undergraduate Curriculum Committee in the school encouraged a more strategic approach than was previously employed. Desire to remain competitive in the higher education arena made administration eager to woo new students and better serve current ones. The BUS is keenly aware that students increasingly demand flexibility in attending classes and are willing to shop around for it. This case describes the implementation of online instruction at UAB School of Business yielding a five-fold increase in online courses in just three years with much larger gains in credit hour production than their traditional programs realized. Moreover, the case describes major accomplishments, challenges encountered, lessons learned, and solutions from instructional design and project management perspectives.

Implementing a Course Management System in a Religious School Cooperative

Public and private K-12 schools are turning to course management systems to provide enhanced classroom and online learning opportunities for students. This case describes the system-wide implementation of a course management system to serve 3000 students in a school system consisting of 12 independent church schools in a southeastern state. The challenges this project faced included the geographic dispersion of the involved schools and project team, the variance in individual school populations, and the limited in-house support staff available in the district office and in the schools to support the project. The project manager introduced another challenge by choosing to use formal project management methodologies and tools for the first time in the school system with this project.

Planning and Implementation of a Small-Scale 1-to-1 Pilot Program for Using E-Readers in Elementary School Classrooms

A P-12 school district implemented a pilot program providing e-readers to 45 students in a 4th and a 5th grade class. The school district administrators’ goal was to determine whether it would be feasible for the district to provide technological devices to individual district students for use at school and home, beginning with a small pilot. If the pilot proved successful, the devices would be provided to additional students throughout the district. The first step was the selection of the devices. After conducting research, the Nook from Barnes & Noble was selected. Issues to be addressed included inappropriate use of Nooks by students and parents, teachers’ and students’ learning the nuances of the devices, dropped network connections, students’ forgetting to bring Nooks to school, and unrealistic parent expectations for teacher use. This chapter informs readers of successes, problems, and lessons learned from the planning and implementation of the pilot program.

Implementing Simulators to Facilitate Learning for Initial Entry Soldiers

Much like any organization’s training program, military training schools train in technical skills, values, and common tasks. In this chapter’s project management endeavor, implementing simulator training to facilitate learning is described in general terms from an Army context. This case narrative provides a general awareness of the aspects of project management that contribute to typical project risks, cost, and quality of technology-based learning projects within a military training environment. The case is presented using fictional characters as an approach to capture real-world challenges while remaining consistent with the Department of Defense’s Principles of Information policy. In carrying out the policy, the case discloses only information that does not adversely affect national security or threaten the safety or privacy of the men and women of the Department of Defense.