Sharp Elementary Parent Calendar

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College

By Elizabeth Zamarron

EDTC-6329-80

Spring 2009

Client (s)• Dr. Mike Sullivan (UTB/TSC)

• Pete Harris (Sharp Elementary Parent)

• Joe De La Fuente (Parent and Pres of PTO Meetings)

Grade Level• The project will allow all grade levels in

Sharp Elementary to spend more time at the playground and to have more supervision at other school events also

• It is mainly for volunteer parents to schedule free time for playground supervision and other school events

Objective (s)• To learn how to self-direct a project for a

real client that will allow student in Sharp Elementary to spend more time in the playground and have some more supervision in other events as well

• To assist the Sharp Elementary community in the scheduling process using “cloud computing” and Google tools

Project Task (s)• Research on “cloud computing”• Research on Google Tools• Create a Demo to present to PTO

members• Create a scheduling calendar for

parents to supervise the playground and other school events

Timeline of Activities1. Introduce my self to the client (name, why

the contact, project, preferred method of communication, my qualifications, etc.)

2. Ask questions (clarify objective of project, establish means of communication, etc.)

3. Establish a meeting (personal and virtual) 4. Listen (discuss, take notes, establish time

line, discuss technology tools, etc.)5. Start research on project

Timeline of Activities Cont.

6. Make suggestion for the project and provide samples

7. Send suggestions to the client8. Analyze feedback from client and modify

project accordingly 9. Continue with steps 6, 7 and 8 until you

have the end product the client wanted10. Communication and feedback are the most

important steps of the project

Feedback and Contributions

• Researched “Cloud Computing” and Google Tools• Introduced Google Calendar to client (Client was

not familiar with Google Tools)• Created a Demo event on the calendar as a

sample to the client • Client believed that creating an email will be an

obstacle for parents, not computer literate, suggested a memo with steps on creating an email

• Created a step-by-step memo for secondary clients (students’ parents)

Collaborative Involvement

• Consulted with Distance Education over Google tools possibilities

• Distance Education Instructional Designer: not familiar with Google Calendar

• Researched “Cloud Computing” and Google Tools

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing• http://www.google.com/support/calendar/?hl=en• Introduced Google Calendar to client (Client

was not familiar with Google Calendar)

Collaborative Involvement Cont.

• Parents of Sharp Elementary students: not computer literate

• Created a memo to be sent to parents explaining step-by-step on how to create an email account

• Did not received feedback from client if it was fine to send it to the parents

• Suggested for teachers to provide parent feedback to PTO members

Collaborative Involvement Cont.

• Consulted with PTO members about school district’s emails possibilities

• Emailed client and PTO members over concern

• Obtained feedback that emails were fine since calendar was to be created for the Sharp Elementary Gmail account

• Created a calendar event and sent it to all (client and PTO member)

Communication•Here are some examples on how I conducted myself with the client and the PTO members

Evaluation• Clients got some samples of invitations

to the participate as volunteers (Project Testing)

• Clients got a change to look at the sample memo that described step-by-step how to create an email account (before it got sent to parents)

• Supervisor was also able to preview the invitation for the calendar

• Feedback form client and supervisor got assessed and project got modified accordingly

Project

Project• The purpose of the project was to provide

means of “Cloud Computing” for Sharp Elementary Parents to be able to volunteer some free time to assist at the schools events

• A shared Calendar (Sharp Elementary Calendar) was to serve as the scheduling tool

• All parents were to provide email addresses so they will receive notices on when the school needed to have volunteers for different activities scheduled

• Parent were to respond (online) by accepting or denying the invitation

The Client• My client knows a lot about technology• He made very good suggestions for the project

and I did some research on his suggestions• Throughout the project he learned about

Google Calendar and how we were going to approach the elementary parents through it

• Unfortunately we missed each other in some meetings, phone calls and feedback was not consistent

• We are still in touch and will take care of the project throughout the Summer

My Growth• I was very excited and nervous at the same time of

having to self-direct a project with a real client• I was happy to have an opportunity to assist the

community in Sharp Elementary• I learned about Google Calendar and other tools• I met other clients that were going to be affected by the

project• I learned that technology can also be a barrier under

certain circumstances• I learned that having to work on a project remotely is

very challenging mainly because it is hard to find a common time for you and the client to discuss the project issues

• I learned that we must set timelines and responsibilities in order for the project to succeed

• I learned that communication is the most important aspect in a self-directed project such as this one

THANK YOU