Case 1 Core Project Implementation is the second phase of a two-semester course. Students worked in groups in Core Project Initiation (Phase 1) in Semester 1 and then proceeded to Core Project Implementation (Phase 2) to produce the final product or deliverable the business plan in Semester 2 (see Figure 4.1). For the purposes of this study, Case 1 was focused on Core Project Implementation (Phase 2).
Figure 4.1. Case 1: Core Project Initiation and Implementation roadmap.
ITB010 Project implementation (Phase 2)
ITB009 Project initiation (Phase1)
70% of learning outcomes specified, 30% to be negotiated with supervisor
50% of learning outcomes specified, 50% to be negotiated with supervisor
•Full specification
•Business Plan for Phase 2 •Proof of concept/prototype
•Final Product/Deliverable
70% of learning outcomes specified, 30% to be negotiated with teacher
50% of learning outcomes specified, 50% to be negotiated with teacher
ITB09 Project Initiation (Phase 1)
These undergraduate courses aimed to provide students with skills and experience in taking a substantial information technology project from defining suitable objectives to achieving the goals of the project. Students worked in groups where they were taught teamwork and conflict resolution skills as part of their course. The objective for the groups in Core Project Initiation (Phase1) was to start up a fictitious but authentic company or organisation to develop and specify an artefact that has potential for commercialisation. They were required to produce a business plan to describe and support their project artefact, a Multimedia-Rich Australian History Wiki. In addition, groups were required to enhance their business plan by implementing a part of the project as a prototype or to create a proof of concept model to help communicate its viability. The fictitious company had to convince a venture capitalist in Week 14 of a 14-week semester that the team’s business plan was sufficiently “venture worthy” to proceed to Core Project
Implementation (Phase 2). Groups had to present their team’s business plan and the work they had done on the project artefact in the best light possible to achieve this objective.
The researcher, who is a Learning Designer, was engaged in Core Project Implementation (Phase 2) to provide design and technology support. In so doing, the researcher found that it fitted the requirements for participants to be engaged in a naturalistic case study where the CoLeCTTE design principles were present or could be applied. Role conflict was not considered to be an issue as the researcher
provided support in terms of course design and development. The objective in Core Project Implementation (Phase 2) was for student teams to carry forward their business plan from Phase 1 to further develop and fully implement the specifications for a final product. They demonstrated the project artefact to external guests at a
tradeshow in Week 14 of Semester 2. Table 4.1 shows the semester program for Core Project Implementation (Phase 2).
Table 4.1
Case 1: Core Project Implementation (Phase 2) Semester 2 Schedule
Week Core Project:
Develop a business plan and fully implement the artefact that was referred to in the specification carried forward from Phase 1. Present this to a panel in Week 14.
1 Introduction Prepare site, instruments, forms, learning organiser/minutes sheet and devices 2 Team Conflict
theory
Team Conflict scenario readings and scenario preparation
[Self-directed - attendance not expected]
3 Team Conflict role-play, work on project
[Self-directed - attendance not expected]
4 - 9 Team Conflict presentation and discussion, team health check survey, work on project
10 - 11 Commercialisation / Entrepreneurship
Readings on commercialisation and entrepreneurship, founding the enterprise, work on project
12 - 13 Preparation for presentation
14 Presentation
For the purposes of this study, these activities were conducted by the
researcher with the Course Facilitator (responsible for course planning) in two steps: 1. Familiarisation with Project Initiation (Phase 1) and Core Project
Implementation (Phase 2) subjects and the Vyew web-based
conferencing system (the collaborative technology platform identified as appropriate for this class) to allow the Course Facilitator to become acquainted with the use of technology and to identify issues that may need to be addressed prior to the conduct of the main phases of the
study. Student groups were provided with access to and trained in use of the Vyew web conferencing system.
2. Ensured that the design of learning tasks and activities, and integration of collaborative technologies, aligned with the CoLeCTTE framework. The researcher achieved this through an initial assessment of the
suitability of the course for inclusion in the study. The researcher offered an invitation to the Course Facilitator to participate and objectives of the research explained. The researcher and Course Facilitator discussed the activity design strategies to incorporate the proposed CoLeCTTE framework and its various processes.
The web conferencing tool used for this group was Vyew (Figure 4.2), a platform for real-time and always-on interaction between people and content. It is a next-generation web-based collaboration and conferencing service that connects users and allows content sharing. With Vyew, users can host live conferences and work collaboratively on content synchronously or asynchronously over time, anytime. The user can author new content and collaborate with PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and PDF files, plus audio, video and images as well as stream live or capture what is showing on the desktop. In addition, built-in text chat and teleconferencing make live collaboration sessions highly productive. The researcher set up an account for the group on Vyew which consisted of a meeting room and access to editing, annotation and collaboration tools.
Figure 4.2. Vyew home page interface (Simulāt, 2011).