1/27/10- 15-5's

1/27/2010

Team Assigned Task: After submitting our team webpage, I was instructed to change the navigation from a graphic based navigation to a tabbed CSS based navigation. I completed this project on Thursday, Jan. 21^st. This process was a difficult and frustrating one for me, as I did not know how to do this. After much trail and error (and four hours of work) I was able to create the appropriate navigation for the webpage I would say I completed this 100%. On Thursday night (1/28) our group met to discuss the direction of our project as well as to participate in our first virtual meeting with our subject matter expert at Long John Silvers. From this meeting the group gained valuable insight as to what she was looking for in this instructional unit. During this meeting the SME also told us that she would be sending us some of the existing training material so that we could begin to get an idea of what this project would look like. We also decided that on Saturday (1/23) we would have another virtual meeting to discuss our project charter. During this meeting we spent about two hours discussing the project charter and filling in some of the details in a Google Docs document that all three of us shared. On Monday (1/25), after each of us had time to read, review, and edit the project charter, I added the charter to our team webpage. This process took a little while to edit the readability on the webpage and add appropriate headings. I would say that the project charter is 50% completed. I would say this because although it appears completed, it may still have changes that will need to be made. While I was adding the project charter to the webpage I also changed the color of the background to match our new navigation. I also added our team photos to our bio page. The project charter and these other edits took about two hours. On Tuesday (1/26) I continued to add and make updates to the project charter and updated the information in the team schedule. This process also took about two hours. The schedule took a little longer because I had to work with tables. The team schedule is probably only 50% completed because that will continue to be added upon. Then on Wednesday (1/27) I added the team 15/5 to our team webpage. This included both changing the existing 15/5 page and creating a new, individual page for the first 15/5. The 15/5 reports is only 50% completed as this will continue to be updated as the project progresses. I also made some changes to the team charter and fixed some issues with the photos on the bio page. The team bios should now be 100% completed.

Reflection:

Remembering: This week I…

• Changed the navigation on our team webpage
• Worked on the project charter with our team
• Worked on the project charter individually
• Added our project charter to the team webpage
• Changed the background color of our team webpage
• Added team member photos to bios page
• Updated our schedule
• Added team 15/5 to our webpage

Understanding: The new CSS navigation was important because it will allow me to update the navigation with a lot more ease and it looks more professional. Working on the team charter was important because this charter provides important direction for this instructional unit. Adding the project charter to the team webpage was important because this allows all members of the instructional unit to have a common area where we can see this important information. It is important to keep up with the team schedule so that our team can correctly document the work that we are doing and when and where we are working. The team 15/5 is important because it allows us as a team to track our progression.

Applying: The stuff I learned from the navigation will help by allowing me to reuse this information in future webpages. I will able to apply the information that I learned from the project charter in future instructional design projects. I will be able to apply the information that I learned from the schedule and team 15/5 can be used in future projects that require project management.

Analyzing: One pattern that I currently see is the ongoing updating that will be required for our team webpage. No matter what I do each week, there will always be new information to add to the site. I also believe that I am getting better with the webpage every time I use it.

Evaluating: I think I am doing fairly well. The webpage has been updated and continues to see improvements during each update. However, I think I still have a lot to learn about CSS, Dreamweaver, and website creation.

Creating: The next thing that I need to do is to start looking over the materials that our SME sent us. This will hopefully give me an idea as to what she is expecting and how we will present the instruction. After that, I need to begin to look at possible ways to delivery the instruction.

1/19/10- 15-5's

1/19/2010

Team Assigned Task: The first thing that our group decided on our first night of class was to participate in a virtual meeting via a program called DimDim on Saturday, January 16. At this meeting it was decided that Kristy would serve as our project manager and that I would serve as the web designer. As web designer, my team-assigned task for the week was to develop a shell for our team webpage. The creation of the shell of the webpage took nearly 8 hours. I experienced several complications with this task. The first one was a page size problem. Every time I re-sized the page, the text and navigation would become unreadable and disorganized. To resolve this issue, I created a new page that had “fixed” boarders. This keeps all the page elements and text where I intended them to be. The next major issue I had was with the spry toolbar that I used for navigational purposes. The spry bar would not work properly in all Internet browsers and I could not find a way to keep the selected tab highlighted. As such, I created a new version of the website, that used fish looking buttons for navigation that I created in PowerPoint. Upon reviewing with my team, we decided to go with the fish navigation version of the website. I would say that I have 100% completed the shell of the website. Later on, I spent one and a half hours updating the bio page, project description, intended audience, and schedule. While doing this, I had some issues in updating the new files and had to create a new folder for the project. The next day I spent about 30 minutes updating bio information and worked on finding a solution to the page-updating problem. The next steps with this task will be to continue to update the page as more information becomes available. As an entirety, the website is only 50% complete and will be in progress for the duration of this project.

Reflection: I completed a shell for our team website and updated team and project information. This assignment is due by January 21 at 11:55pm. This project is finished and I will be able to turn it in on time. Creating this webpage shell was important because this webpage will serve as an important tool for organizing our teams files and presenting our teams work. The skills I had to use for this assignment were similar to the skills that I had to use when creating webpages for IDT 7090. The skills that I used for creating this webpage shell can, and probably will, be used by me in the future for other projects or products. The process for creating this website was very similar to the process I have used in the past. I probably could have been more efficient if I would not have tried to use the spry tools and if I would have started with a fixed page from the beginning. I believe the design and the appearance of the website was designed well. However, I think that I need to improve on my overall approach to creating websites. Unfortunately, because I am still new to creating webpages, there is still a lot of trial and error. This trail and error is inefficient and time consuming. My next steps are to continue to work with the website so I will be more efficient as new information and new pages are added to the site.