Almost There....

I've finished the final revision of my Prototype evaluation report. The key things that stick out in my mind about the testing include:

• I was surprised that some students didn't see the connection between skill statements and interview answers (This was designer blindness)
• One student brought up the point that Resumes seemed unnecessary for getting entry level jobs... perhaps we need to develop more modules on communication in order to drill home the link between written and oral usages of skill statements
• Most students felt they would like to see this product used in schools since they have not received this type of instruction before.

So now the task is to trim this down into 2 minutes..... arghhh but I'm too wordy. Off to edit!~

Prototyping Thoughts

So, I finally finished my Prototyping with a total of five high school students on Thursday (better late than never). I presented a “broad overview of the product” and then let them loose on a PowerPoint mockup of the 15 minute segment. My focus is on having students identify the skills employers need and how students can identify tangible examples of skills they possess. With lack of confidence being a major concern I wanted to have them start simple, have some success and then move them into deeper and more nebulous work. First off, I started with having them look at a job ad and identify what skills they thought the employer was looking for. I introduced the concept of Hard vs. Soft skills and had them sort the skills they had identified from the ad. After providing feedback (and praise… addressing the confidence issue) they watched an animated image which represented an average student who wanted to apply for the job. Using a written script in place of actual audio, the users had to ask interview-like questions to the video student about their experience (What clubs have you been in? What computer experience have you had? Have you ever had to resolve conflict? etc.) From these questions they had to write three to five sentences describing the skills or characteristics that the video student had (These could be used on the resume, cover letter or during a job interview) The next step would have been to have the learner choose the same job ad or view additional ads to practice writing their own responses based on their own skills and experience.

With teaching a “mental process” I had to start with simple examples, slowing increase the difficulty, and then let them loose on adapting the “self reflection techniques” for their own needs. The key areas I addressed were:

• Addressing confidence with graduated levels of difficulty (Simple, well defined and non-ambiguous sorting of skills. Then more subjective responses until finally “starting from scratch”)
• “Interviewing” sample student with similar lack of skills or experience
• Modeled the types of questions that may come up in an interview
• Providing examples of related experience which ties directly in with a “Real World” job ad (Trying to address transferability by showing real examples)
• Emphasize the need to communicate how skills fit into the needs of the employer

Formative Evaluation Questions

Here are the revised formative evaluation questions.

1. Is there too much information to absorb in the time given?

2. How easy is it for a typical user to navigate through the lesson?

3. Is it easy for the learner to understand how the details fit the big picture?

4. Is the lesson material sequenced properly?

5. Are the examples and practice age appropriate?

6. Are the practice sessions too repetitive?

7. How motivating or engaging will the lesson be?

I'm not sure which ones I plan to focus one for the protoype yet. I definately want to determine if the material and examples are age appropriate. Maybe I should also guage how motivated they are. I'll have to mull this over.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ahhh.... I'm finally done with the Design Concept and am ready to sleep .... I have a few days until I have to start developing the prototype. Now my biggest decision is do I sleep or make a turkey sandwich. Hmmmm.....

Back away from the content ....

So no shocker here but I’ve think I’ve gone into way too much detail in the material that I want to cover in the design concept. I’ve split my content into four sections and think I will focus on the first two but I would really like to get into the third section. I’m concerned that I will be able to cover this in the ½ hour segment. Since this module is supposed to be an hour but the design is only for half of that I not sure what to change, drop or combine. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

Part 1: Want Ads

I want to introduce them to them to the importance of communicating their skills and how to address the needs of the employer (NOT THE NEEDS OF THE STUDENT!) I’m toying with the idea of having the learner choose from a variety of want ads based on their own interests (maybe 5-10 entry level job ads which would allow for a greater hook and transferability than forcing them to follow along with an example that they are not as interested in… thoughts?)

• Show a want ad and have an audio track narrate the ad
• The learner will then be shown long list of skills from which to select the ones they feel the employer is looking for (Maybe have them rank why the skills & traits in importance so the feedback can provide deep explanation of why they match or do not? I’m not sure about how to “rank” a subjective list so I may avoid this wrinkle)
• Provide feedback via video from an employer with responses based on the learner’s choices.
• End with a video of the employer briefly explaining how they look for other skills & traits like punctuality, attitude, enthusiasm, interpersonal skills (all of which don’t require job experience and tie nicely into the soft skills module)

Part 2: Identifying Skills & Traits

• Introduce a variety of skills & traits that a student may have even without having significant job experience (class projects, clubs, presentations, community service, etc)

• Watch a video of a student who wants to apply for the previous job (This student will not articulate well the skills they have)
• Have the learner “interview” the student via a series of “Choose your adventure style questions” (Have done any projects for community service?
• Once the learner is done asking questions they will choose (or type in … I’m not sure which way to go) what skills they think the student has that relate to the job (perhaps choose from a list, or compare from the skills selected in part one…
• These identified skills will be stored in the computer and used for the next section. This should allow for a variety of responses specifically tailored to the user

***I’m considering having them interview another student and repeat the process again but having this student loaded with totally different experiences (In consideration of time I may have this be an OPTIONAL link they can click on to further expose them to other transferable skill identification. ***

Part 3: Backing up the Skills

This portion will focus on expanding a simple skill statement of “Leadership skills” into a statement that is backed up with accomplishments

• Show list of skills identified from Part 2.
• Have the learner choose a skill they want to focus on and “interview” the student again to dig deeper into their skills (i.e. You mentioned working at a grocery store, can you remember a time in which you boss was really pleased with your work? Tell me more about this project you did in your environmental sciences class.)
• The learner collects more data and writes up expanded skill statements.
• The learner’s skill statements are submitted to an online forum and gives the learner an opportunity to explore other learner’s answers from their selected want ad
• Video example of expanded skill statements (From bad to better…)
• End with “ And now it’s your turn….”

Part 4: Dig Deep

I want the learners to begin identifying the skills and traits they possess.

A video pops up and reinforces the idea that one must dig deep to find their traits and skills. It is also necessary to look at the entire process from the employers’ position and continually ask themselves “Why should I be hired? Using a series of questions, this section will help guide the learner through the process of developing their own skills and traits list and statements. This could be a focus of a totally different module or part of the online forum.

Thoughts on Instructional Content

Now that I've decided on the theories to use to guide the design, now I need to focus on the actual content of the instruction. I've identified the sequence of the instruction and the basic methods of delivery (although I think I may be trying to cram way to much information into a 1 hour module from which I can split the module in half to fit the1/2 hour design) but do not have the minute details laid out. The two main outcomes involve having the learner understand the needs of an employer and identify and flesh out their own skill statements). The following items are a stream of though listing of specific knowledge these students will be accessing:

• Translating verbiage of the job ad (i.e. EOE, f/t, K, pd vac, wpm, exp nec etc.)
• What traits are the employers looking for? (positive attitude, initiative, enthusiasm, hard-working, friendly, punctual, teamwork, communication skills)
• Communicate those traits/skills in skill statements backed up with concrete examples of those accomplishments.
• No work experience...(Time to identify transferable skills!)
• Classwork? (i.e. class projects, presentations, group work, lab assignments, sports, coaching, tutoring, mentoring)'
• Leadership opportunities? Organized, managed, clubs, sports?
• Volunteering? Community service, tutoring, class cleanup, recycling club?

I have to keep focusing on the lack of experience of the learner and how to elicit more introspection from the students.

The key to developing good skill statements is knowing what to emphasize. The best way to do this is through research on the company and the position they are applying for.

Module Breakdown

So I'm brainstorming a new sequence of instruction for the Skill Statements portion of our Job Hunt training. Here are my thoughts:

Part1(Want Ads):Text based introduction of common job ad followed by practice identifying employer desired skills with followed by video feedback of employer expanding on skills desired.

Part2(Personal Skills):Video introduction of "average" student talking about their skills, learner will practice identifying skills possessed, video feedback.

Part3(Skill Statements): Show example simple skill statements on a resume (use skills from part 2). Expand on skills (ask for more information from video student) Show expanded skill statements and explain why they communication more information.

Part 4 (Further Practice): New student, want ad, skills, personal skills, expand statements, feedback.

Part 5 (Customize statements) either have students fill out simple questionnaire which looks up statements in database or connect them to the online forum to share sample statements. Another possibility could be having the learner write a (skill desired, skills list, expanded statements) for several additional want ads. Perhaps having the student find a job description/want ad related to a position they want and have them repeat the process.