Discussion Paper 2000

Darren Cannell
Cyber School
February 23, 2000
Discussion Paper
This paper is an attempt to put in writing my vision and create some direction for this project. This is by no means a final copy and is a working ever changing thought in written form. This will assist all parties involved to consider the direction and possibilities of the project.
At the present time we have six or more visions of where this project is going. This is not a bad thing, this is a great indication of how dynamic and interesting this can be for all involved. I think that it is important for all interested parties to get together and try to develop a common vision. For the sanity of the people involved this is a necessary step. Trying to make a project for six different views has been an impossible task for myself. I have found it frustrating and just a little unnerving. I have found myself questioning what I am allowed to say and what I am not. This I think has come from numerous misconceptions on my part.
My first misconception was that as project leader my vision was the one that we were moving on. A one-sided unrealistic view but still a view that I had started with. Since that time I realize that I was not the only one with this perception. Most parties involved in this project have approached this with the same one-sidedness. This is the first of my misconceptions that I think we need to work on, it is an easy one to fix. We need to sit down and work out a short term and long term plan for the project as a team. The group that we have should be able to work towards this goal.

My second misconception was my role in this project, in my eagerness to help, I have found that I have overstepped my role due to my lack of understanding of this role. Due to this misconception I felt that I am not to take the initiative in the development of anything but the courses and the rest will be handled by others. This however is a prime example of why I think it is necessary for the team to sit down and develop a common plan and then work as a team towards this. In this planning I think we need to establish who is going to do what and then it will be easier to implement this project.
The third misconception that I was working with was that in the beginning this project was going to cost money, but it was going to be a money maker after it started. This was the most costly of all the misconceptions that I have had. We are at the present time working with the idea that we will be at a no cost stance when the project starts with students. This is a hard thing to do because of the eleventh class option, and the fact that for it to be cost free you will not have a project leader of some sort. This for me has being the cause of some stress. I realize that the project cannot just be one person but I feel that I have the best set of tools to assist in the start up of this project. I was under the impression that this was something that was felt by more people than myself.

The fourth misconception that I had was that I was to try to keep ahead of the planning of this project and assist the people involved to plan for the possible problems that we will be encountering. Since I have started, I have been confused as to whom I am to pass this information on to. I had not idea of the chain of command in this project, this stems directly from the structure established from the beginning. Certain aspects of the project belong to one superintendent others to another superintendent. This makes for a real mixing of messages for the planning process. The statement, just develop the courses and let us work on the rest of it, might be perceived as support, but is not realistic when trying to develop the courses. Some aspects of the development hinge directly on the decisions that are being made, so a more open line of communication is necessary.
A prime example of some of the frustration I am feeling can be best explained by the planning of the brochure. The following steps have been used to develop the brochure:
I spent four plus hours developing a brochure, passed it on to another to proof-read content and to return to myself. It was forwarded to another, recommendations were made and revised the content based on suggestions, it was then passed on to another and at that time I was informed that the style was not acceptable and it would be a complete re-write. This copy was then passed back to myself and suggested that I should think about adding pictures to it. I had spent four hours making the first design and I am now asked to start over again, this is a frustrating procedure because I do not understand my role. One person is telling me to develop a brochure so I did, revisions were expected but to have the whole design scraped and to start over was a waste of everyone's time as well as mine. A little pre planning would have made it easier and not a duplication of work. A registration form was placed on the back of the brochure and this is a duplication of the work we have been working on. We have developed a registration form as well. We need to try to co-ordinate some of the jobs so that we are not reinventing the wheel. I devised a method of informing the school of the project based upon what I thought was necessary, and then proceeded. This may not have been my place.

Some of the problems that we are encountering in the beginning are because of the newness and original nature of this project. However it is my belief that some of the stress and problems can be avoided by developing a definite chain of command and then assigning the jobs to the involved parties.