Part D: Wicked Problem Project – Findings and Implications

To recap, my Wicked Problem Project has focused on training other teachers in my building how to use the Compass Learning program and answer some of their frequently asked questions. For my partial implementation, I had created a PowerPoint that covered how to add a student to a Compass Learning class and how to make sure they were assigned the proper assignment and presented it to my colleague in the classroom next door to me. He had given me positive feedback, so I decided to offer the same presentation to the other teachers in the building that use Compass Learning. I had two teachers show up for the second training and they also had positive feedback. By the time that I had held the second training, I was able to add arrows using the shapes menu in PowerPoint to point to the different menus and links for better clarification. I also printed out the slides with room for notes so teachers could jot down their own reminders.

For the most part, the project has been implemented as planned. I did have to scale back how much information I put into the PowerPoint, but as I have stated before, I will continue to add to the document. I plan to keep adding to the PowerPoint or maybe create a PowerPoint for each individual topic as resource document to submit to my district for use in the future. The one thing I did not plan on was the amount of questions following the second training. Since I had only focused on one topic, the teachers that came naturally wanted to ask questions about other problem concerning the program. To address this, I used the Demo tool in my Vision program to demonstrate more solutions to the teachers. I just recently learned how to use the Demo tool in Vision. It works great for showing learners (whether it be students or fellow teachers) exactly what menus, links, etc they need to click on to accomplish a certain task. Unfortunately, I do not have a to record these demos on the school computers. There is no record function in the Vision program. I even tried installing Jing on my teacher’s computer at school. Downloading programs is not permitted. I have submitted a request to the technology department and I am waiting to hear back if they will install Jing or not. I have also requested to get a microphone and speakers. That is also still in limbo.

I feel the project so far has been quite successful. The teacher that did attend the training have expressed that it was very helpful and that they understood the directions better than when the company representative had come in when we originally purchased the program. Like the original training, the teachers expressed that they understood my directions better, because I used simple, short steps with familiar terms and language. One of the teachers also expressed that they were happy that I gave them a print out that they could add notes to as well as refer to later. They expressed they would rather refer to that document before picking up the telephone to call me directly during class. This was my original goal and I was ecstatic to actually hear my colleagues acknowledge that I might need a break from all of the phone calls.

If I were to approach another project of this type, I think I would approach it with less skepticism. I have to admit that I went into thinking I would not be able to make it work given the lack of technology. I was very skeptical that I would find a way to not only present the training and find a way to easily distribute it in the future. I had originally wanted to create videos using Jing, but once I took a step back and thought about it, I was able to come up with the solution of using PowerPoint instead. I also think I would not underestimate the teaching staff either. I truly felt that if I created the Jing videos, teachers would not know how to play them using their older computers in their classrooms. I did not even consider that they might be willing to access the videos at home and watch them there. Finally, I think I would also start off with a better idea of how much information I can prepare in a short amount of time. I originally wanted to cover much more material than I had time for. This experience has taught me to be careful about not biting off more than I can chew. I have learned to start small and add to a project instead of being overly ambitious and causing myself to get overwhelmed with the task.

I also feel that others might learn the following from my experience:

• You can make a difference in your own building.
• Districts do not need to hire expensive trainers if someone is willing to put in some time and effort – a true cost saver.
• There is a way to make the technology that you have work, no matter what the constraints. Don’t look at it as limiting. Make what you have work for you.

As stated before, if I were to do this project again, I would change the following things:

• I would create demonstration videos using Jing for teachers to access at home.
• I would complete different topics about Compass Learning in smaller, more manageable chunks. Not only would this help me achieve the goal, it would make the training more manageable. I could do a series of short trainings and not keep colleagues after school too long.
• I would like to find a way to create a video to add into PowerPoint. I can see that PowerPoint will allow me to insert a video, I just have not been able to figure out what videos it will allow me to insert.
• I would like to purchase (or have the district purchase) USB drives to save the PowerPoint documents and videos on for teachers to access.
• I would like to get the technology department to add the files to the Shared drive for the district for easy access.