A couple years ago I received the good news that I will participate of a project to bring video conference to the classroom. I felt very happy about this project ignoring all obstacles that will prevent this project to be successful. I remember participating in different trainings and meeting with others teacher participants of the same project. Each meeting increased our motivation and made us dream of the day of joining all our classes together and reach other classes around the world.
After two months I could identify that the planning process was not effective and that implementation was not taking place. After two months they didn’t completed the connection and basically there was no basic training on equipment management. The meetings turned to be paperwork meetings and dream sharing sessions.
The right thing would be to integrate teachers in the project after realizing technical tests. The lack of planning was key to postpone the implementation of the project. The selection of personnel for the project wasn’t done in a correct way. The PM was a person with no technology knowledge and no idea on how to manage a project.
After two months I could identify that the planning process was not effective and that implementation was not taking place. After two months they didn’t completed the connection and basically there was no basic training on equipment management. The meetings turned to be paperwork meetings and dream sharing sessions.
The right thing would be to integrate teachers in the project after realizing technical tests. The lack of planning was key to postpone the implementation of the project. The selection of personnel for the project wasn’t done in a correct way. The PM was a person with no technology knowledge and no idea on how to manage a project.
A positive part of this project was to collaborate with other teachers to plan lessons and activities. Exchanging ideas and experiences enriched the process. All teachers were enthusiastic about creating high quality projects to benefit our students.
Completing a project scope was never mentioned. It was needed to identify risks and design a plan to work with these knowing what would affect the process. From my learning’s I would start from scratch. I would create a team with a PM, an ID and various professionals with educational knowledge. I would have established a curricular plan to prepare teachers in how to integrate the use of video conference to enrich instruction. They should have established a curricular plan to help teachers that refuse due to privacy myths.
This was a excellent idea, bad planned. There was no participation of directors. In my situation, we received the equipment and the principal didn’t authorize its use. The equipment was kept so safe that it disappears. She could never understand why would I want to connect my students with students around the world. The best way was to integrate all parts. Present the idea with the use of a scope and have an ID controlling its design and identifying advantages present with the use of videoconferencing.
Reference:
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
“Project Management Concerns: ‘Scope Creep’” Walden University, 2010
Posts
Carlos
ReplyDeleteSince I am a teacher, I can totally see the benefit of connecting to other people and students around the world! In my class we try to be penpals each year with local students at a nearby school, but I like the idea of video conferencing! Have you revisited this idea since this project? Technology has gotten better in the past couple years and could make that process easier.
Thanks for sharing your project!
Dean
Hi Carlos,
ReplyDeleteAs teachers we go to so many professional developments and trainings. We do so many things and go above and beyond teaching. With technology advancing everyday, educators must stay abreast with the current trends in technology. We are moving away from the traditional teaching method. I teach first grade and they can work a computer just as good as me. I would love to see video conferencing on an elementary level because I think it would be very beneficial.It would help students connect with other students around the world and see that learning is taking place everywhere.
Thanks for sharing!
Brandie
Hi Carlos,
ReplyDeleteVideo conferencing with other classes is a wonderful way to learn about other cultures. We have used Skype to conference with classrooms in Argentina and Egypt. But we are a small school so the red-tape is not nearly as long. Our Technology Coordinator managed the whole project and basically bullied it into implementation. In the end it was a great experience and the one time a project worked as hoped without a huge project plan. Did your school attempt the project again?
Anita
Hi Carlos,
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the project would be today? each year people become more open to these ideas and it seems the Principle was not on board. It sounds like this would be a great asset to the students. I wonder if anyone else uses this in their classroom?
John
Hello Carlos,
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame that the project did not conspire, video conference in the classroom would expand the learning experience in so many different ways. It is hard to believe that the principal could not see the benefits of this technology and without her approval, the project can never happen. Also without a project scope the project was bound to fail. I would agree with you that the PM needs to be a person with some technology knowledge and have some idea on how to manage a project. Without upper-level support, project scope, and a good PM most project will not have a chance to be successful. Have you or anyone else in you school tried to bring this project back to life?
Thanks for sharing your story.
Erica