May 22, 2008
Session Objectives Ideas for technology modules that may be incorporated into group projects. New cost effective technical / productivity tools that students can master to improve performance and marketability in the workplace.
Group Projects The educational benefits of students working cooperatively in groups are well recognized. Among other things, Studying collaboratively has been shown to directly enhance learning; Employers value teamwork and other skills that group work may help develop; and Group activities may help academic staff to effectively utilize their own time. Source: Center for the Study of Higher Education, Assessing Group Work, http://www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/assessinglearning/03/group.html
Incorporating New Technical Tools in Group Projects Provides students with the opportunity to acquire marketable new skills for the workplace. Keeps the learning environment interesting and challenging. Provides students with productivity and time management skills that will make them more productive in their personal lives.
Potential Assignments and the Technical Tools Used to Complete Them Creation of a Group Presentation Requires Collaboration Sharpens written and oral communication skills Requires the application of critical thinking skills. Possible tools that may be used: Google Docs Presentation and collaboration tools Microsoft Office PowerPoint and Groove
Google Docs Free document creation capabilities. Documents may be edited by everyone in the group, downloaded and saved in text, Word, Excel, Calendars, pdf, and PowerPoint format. This is a free web based application. May be used to create and collaborate with Charts, Timelines, Presentations, Schedules and much more. http://www.google.com
Google Docs Since it is a web based application, no software is required other then an internet browser and an internet connection. Google Docs can be edited, and managed from cell phones and Blackberries with internet service This is an inexpensive option for students who can not invest in a computer
Microsoft Groove Free with Microsoft Office 2007 Software Excellent tool for collaborating on group projects. Groove tools are used for integrating, viewing, editing, and automatically synchronizing information. You can create workspaces that include a collection of productivity tools, such as Discussion, Calendar, Notepad, and Web Links. You access these workspaces in the Groove Workspace Explorer.
Project Management Skills Develop organizational skills that are a valued asset in the workplace. Potential Assignments Planning of project with a minimal amount of supervision and just a deadline provided. Development of process flow charts, scheduling and project scheduling charts.
Project Charts Gannt Gantt charts are used for representing the phases and activities of a project work breakdown structure (WBS), so they can be understood by a wide audience. Henry Gannt(1861 1919) designed this chart in 1910.
Gannt Charts A Gantt chart created using Microsoft Project(MSP). Note s: (1) the critical path is in red (2) the slack is the black lines connected to non-critical activities (3) when using MSP, you must use the task ID when labeling predecessor activities (4) since Saturday and Sunday are not work days (as described above) some bars on the Gantt chart are longer if they cut through a weekend.
PERT Charts Pert PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) charts were first developed in the 1950s by the Navy to help manage very large, complex projects with a high degree of intertask dependency. Classical PERT charting is used to support projects that are often completed using an assemply line approach
Pert Charts
Project Management Softwares Microsoft Project At $1000 it is cost prohibitive for most students, Open Proj Free, user friendly, requires an internet connection to download. GanntProject Free, requires an internet connection to download.
OpenProj OpenProj is an open source project management software intended as a complete desktop replacement for Microsoft Project. It can be used to open and edit existing native Project files. Being a Java program, it runs on Linus, Mac OSX, Unix, and Windows. http://openproj.org/ http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_i d=199315
Gantt Project Open Source Scheduling Software This free shareware can be used to create Gannt and Pert charts to track the progress of the project. http://ganttproject.biz/learn.php
Summary Project and Technical Tools Skill Project Tool Oral Communication Project Presentation Google Docs, PowerPoint, Microsoft Groove Written Communication Project Status Reports Google Docs, Word, Microsoft Groove Organizational Skills Plot Schedule, Gannt Chart, Pert Charts OpenProj, GanntProject, Microsoft Project, Google Calendar.
Questions?