From Printed Participant Guide to Digital Delivery By Margo Bedford
Change Proposal: Assignment 1 for INTE6750
The Problem
I am a Senior Instructional Designer at Cherwell Software, an ITSM software
development company. Our flagship product is Cherwell Service Management
(CSM). I am one of two instructors who teach customers the basics of how to use
CSM. The development and maintenance of the training manual for the CSM
class is my responsibility. It is a 750-page document that is also used as source
content for many other smaller courses.
Until December of 2014, we were shipping manuals to every training
engagement. There were a lot of issues with this; here is a list of the main
problems:
We could not guarantee on-time delivery.
We could not control the printing quality, and the occasional error with order placement.
The cost fluctuated between $65.00 and $100.00 per manual not including shipping. Although the cost was not the biggest issue, it was a
pain-point for those we subcontracted with to perform our training.
I can think of many stories that tell the pain we were in with the manual in
printed format, Ill share about one such situation in the fall of 2014. We had a
large class, about 20 students signed up and we didnt have enough manuals in
stock so we placed an order for manuals for each student in the class.
As the instructor, I wanted to check the training room the day before class start
to make sure everything was set up. I walked in the room and saw the huge, 10-
inch thick 3-ring binders on each students desk. I was in shock; I could not
believe we had to actually use these single-side printed manuals that weighed
about 10 pounds each. Due to an ordering error we were stuck with these for the
week. As the instructor I had to put a positive spin on it for the students, so I
offered a PDF of the manual to each student, which made everyone happy.
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Although I could never figure out exactly why, and almost every student
requested it, we were always discouraged from providing PDFs to students. But
at the conclusion of this class with the monster manuals, only 3 out of 20 of
the students took their manual with them- the rest were left in our training room
for us to figure out what to do with.
After this situation, I did some research and found out that our competitors
stopped printing their courseware for classes around 2013. In light of that, and
the issues we had with printing, my manager decided to take a hard look at
providing our manual in digital format. The benefits included guaranteeing on-
time delivery, no need to control print quality and no more errors with print
orders and finally, the cost was the technology involved to provide a download
and someone to manage that.
Subsequently, in December of 2014 we began providing each student with a PDF
of the participant guide. Because we did not have a plan in place to address this,
we left it up to the student to figure out how they would view the PDF guide
during class, whether on a tablet, laptop or to split the screen on the monitor
they were provided with during class.
There were some unanticipated results to digital delivery. The first was that
students had difficulty obtaining the manual. Because the file was too big to e-
mail we used an FTP site, which was not secure. Some students would change
the password on the FTP site, making it impossible for anyone else to download
the manual. Another unexpected result was issue was that students had a hard
time figuring out the best way to work with the digital manual in the instructor-
led course. This was mainly because they had three key visuals to pay attention
to:
The class demonstrations projected by the instructor, onto a large screen in the front of the room.
The software on each student computer as the lab environment.
A digital PDF of the 750 page participant guide.
The instructors also had the issue of juggling multiple PDF and PowerPoint
documents at the same time. The instructors had asked for some improvements
to the PDF such as adjusting the page numbers so they match the page numbers
in Adobe and also make the table of contents link to the content so when you
click on Lesson 13, you will go to Lesson 13 in the PDF.
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The idea for this change project was to improve processes and minimize the
complaints we have had regarding our PDF.
The purpose of this change project is to introduce an alternative option for
customers to use to download the digital manual, and collect usage data.
Improve our digital training manual with technology that would improve the
learner experience with the manual in all of our classes, regardless of mode of
delivery. This change plan will accomplish the following:
1. Find the best download medium for controlled access, easy access, tracking, and analysis and the single location for document download.
2. Find the best format that accommodates the way our students and instructors interact with the participant guide in our ILT, VILT and self-
paced classes. We know our students want links to content from the table
of contents, they want to annotate, bookmark, highlight and take notes
in the document. They also use the document as a reference post-class.
Our instructors want to combine three digital documents into one, if
possible.
3. Determine if there are accommodations we can make for viewing the digital manual in our ILT class.
Planned Intervention
Our decision to move away from printed manuals was driven by customer
requests and logistics issues to move away from uncontrollable printing and
delivery issues and costs. Our digital delivery effort began in December 2014
with a PDF accessed via a non-secured FTP site.
The intervention will result in delivering the following:
- A more secured, central location to download the manual.
- Instructions and any necessary information for downloading.
- A communication to existing learners to inform them how to download the latest version of the manual.
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- A person to administer and maintain the download.
- A person to reformat the PDF into the desired format. This will take at least two weeks of effort.
- A person to collect survey data and turn it into meaningful information and deliver to those who need it.
I will use a framework to discover possible options and technologies to use for
the download and to improve the manual. The framework I will use provides a
lens for viewing technology integration in the classroom. The Substitution,
Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition (SAMR) model (Schrock).
I chose this framework because it focuses on exploring technology to achieve a
goal.
I also like Jonathan Brubakers example of the SAMR model (shown below) as a
simplistic approach to what a cup of coffee could be. His illustration compares
the drinks a person could order from Starbucks and the coffee he or she could
make at home.
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The first two levels in the SAMR model focus on enhancing the task or printed
manual.
The first level, Substitution takes the same task (printed manual) and replaces it
with new technology, a digital manual. The result is to use digital technology as
a direct tool substitute with no extended options beyond what the student could
do with a printed manual such as being able to easily access it, highlight text,
and add simple notes in the margin.
The second level, Augmentation takes the same task (printed manual) and
increases the functionality. Some possibilities of augmentation could be the
ability to keep the participant guide updated and anyone who has access to it
digitally receives notification to download the latest version. Another
augmentation could be to perform searches for words, and phrases, to annotate,
and add extensive notes in their own version of the digital document.
The next two levels in the SAMR model are focused on transforming student
learning.
The Modification level redesigns parts of the task (printed manual) in order to
transform the students learning experience. An example of this might be to
digitize the manual in such a way that the students interact with it. For example,
a student clicks play on a demonstration video in the manual to view one-minute
demonstration and then performs the same task in the lab environment. Or, a
student must make a selection on a page in the manual; he or she has three
options. The options are levels of depth of instruction: beginner, intermediate,
and/or advanced. The student explores each one and learns how an object is
created in each level of expertise. This helps when a class has a mixed audience
of beginners and advanced students.
The Redefinition level creates and designs new tasks that were once
unimaginable. An example of this might be to allow multi-students interactions
where the starting point is a lab accessible through the manual that opens an
exercise that assigned students participate together to solve a software riddle or
puzzle. It enhances the learning experience as students learn from each other
and explore different solutions together. An example of this technology is online
gaming.
For this change proposal, these options were explored as viable possibilities
using interactive eBook technology, integrated with a learning management
system. It was determined that this would take advanced talent and resources,
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but it was acknowledged that all of these options were doable. The graphic
below depicts the explanations for each of the phases in the SAMR model
explained above.
S A M R
Take the printed
manual and
replace it with
new technology,
i.e., a digital
manual such as a
PDF.
Take the printed
manual and
increase the
functionality to
searching,
hyperlinks,
annotate, adding
extensive notes,
and students
always have
access to the
latest version.
Take the printed
manual and
redesign it to be
interactive. For
example, a
student clicks play
on a button in the
PDF and a
demonstration
video opens to a
one-minute
demonstration.
The student then
performs the
same task in the
lab environment.
Take the printed
manual and
redefine it as an
eBook and create
interactions where
the starting point
is a lab accessible
through the
manual. It
connects to the
LMS through an
API. It groups
participants online
together to solve
a software riddle
or puzzle not
unlike online
gaming. It
enhances the
learning
experience as
students learn
from each other
and explore
different solutions
together.
After research and exploring the possibilities using the SAMR model our team
began to accomplish each of the goals. My role in this intervention was to assist
with testing and implementing the new options, and to keep the FTP site (which
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was a patch) working until the solution was in place. It was also my job to
collect data and keep leadership apprised of progress and issues.
The timeline for the first phase is provided below:
February 1, 2015 Evaluate technology to replace the FTP site download.
February 5, 2016 Begin to investigate alternative document format options
for format (besides PDF).
February 20, 2015 Secure resources to implement the technology that
replaces the FTP site download.
March 10, 2015 Implement the replacement for the FTP site download.
March 10 2015 Begin to evaluate the PDF site replacement.
March 15, 2015 Select the replacement for the PDF format.
April 1 2015 Implement the PDF format replacement.
April 10, 2015 Evaluate the replacement for the FTP format.
April 10, 2015 Continual improvement to the digital format of the
Manual. A planned cutover to eBook is being planned!
Evaluation Plan
The success of this project can be determined through the following:
1. Collect in-person updates. Once the new download technology and process are implemented check in every couple of days with the
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coordinators on our team to determine whether there are any issues
downloading the manual.
2. Modify the class survey. Once the PDF replacement is in place I added a question to our student survey to determine the overall satisfaction with
the PDF manual, and capture student thoughts on improvement.
3. Once the change project has been implemented I provided survey results to my leadership.
Expected Findings
I expected that this Change Project would be successful but continue to evolve
as we continually discovered new technology to make our manual more
interactive for students and continue to make it more accessible and easy to
download.
Potential Issues
An issue I envisioned early on was that we would find a better technological
solution part way into implementing the selected solution. This is a common
progress in the high-tech industry. Ultimately we let leadership make the call as
to whether to stop what we are doing and test the new solution, or to keep going
and test the new option when the open window presents itself.
Implementation
We determined the FTP site solution and proceeded to implement it. The original
goal was:
1. Find the best download medium for controlled access, easy access, tracking, and keeping the document current.
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One of our instructors took on the task to test out a theory he had. He pitched
his idea to us and we tested it and it worked. Our team (the Learning Services
Team) decided to use our current learning management system (LMS) as the
vehicle to deliver the digital manual. Existing students already had accounts and
could easily access the current release. New students would be added eventually
anyway, but with this new process they would be added sooner. This provided a
way to control access to the manual through account management, and to track
who actually downloaded it. This technology and process provided a single place
that everyone goes to in order to access the most current, up-to-date version of
the manual. As long as someone attended one of our classes, they could access
the manual on the LMS.
The PDF replacement was discussed at length and we decided to stick with PDF
in the short-term. The original goal for the PDF replacement was:
2. Find the best format that accommodates the way our students and instructors interact with the participant guide in our ILT, VILT and self-
paced classes. We know our students want to annotate, bookmark,
highlight and take notes in the document. They also use the document as
a reference post-class.
In the short-term we stayed with the PDF format of the manual. This allowed
students to highlight, add comments and perform searches in the manual. Also,
the LMS provided a single place to obtain the most current version of the
manual, allowing students to access the latest version post-class. The actual
change we made was to add instructions during the download process that
explained how to add comments and search within a PDF document.
Finally, in the long-term we planned to develop the manual into an eBook that
incorporated HTML5 and Flash for interactivity. This would enable a more
interactive manual for VILT and self-paced students.
The last goal involved a better viewing experience for students in our live
instructor-led classes. The only reason we needed to augment the monitors we
already had in the classroom was because of the new need to view the
participant guide on a monitor. The original goal for better viewing was:
3. Determine if there are accommodations we can make for viewing the digital manual in our ILT class.
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To achieve this goal we installed dual monitors as a normal configuration for
each students lab environment in our live instructor-led classroom. We are
communicating to VILT and self-paced students they will need to have two
monitors for an optimal experience with the course.
Findings
The findings of this Change Project were as expected. The LMS download option
worked so well for our customers to obtain their copy of the manual that we will
not be actively looking for an alternative.
When the participant accesses the LMS to download the manual- they are
presented with instructions to interaction with the manual. It explains how to
add comments, search the manual and highlight text. It also explains the access
to download the latest participant guide is persistent as long as their account is
in good standing with our company.
The following new question was added to the course survey for all delivery
modes: Rate your satisfaction with the process for obtaining the course
materials. All ratings ranged from Satisfied to Very Satisfied. Considering this
was a pain point prior to this Change Project, this was highly successful.
The following question was added to the course survey concerning the digital or
PDF manual forma: Rate your satisfaction with the manual in PDF format. The
scores for February and March were all Satisfied and Very Satisfied. We attribute
this to the successful delivery process for the download and the instructions for
efficiently using the manual during class.
Conclusion
Using this process from Change Proposal to Change Report was very helpful for
making sure we didnt miss anything. Brainstorming with the SAMR is now our
teams favorite way to explore technical possibilities. The replacement for the
FTP site download was a success. Using the LMS meant we could track who
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downloaded the manual and when. Additionally, this helped our processes by
getting students into the LMS earlier in our processes, which really proved to be
successful. Students were exploring the free offerings in the LMS improving their
preparation and readiness for class.
The PDF manual is still not ideal. After a lot of research and brainstorming, our
team came together and decided than an interactive eBook was the best possible
outcome for our manual. The reason for this is because the demand for our self-
paced and virtual offerings are increasing, thus the need for a more interactive
manual that augments the limited teacher and peer interactivity. For example,
we envision creating a puzzle of one of our software screens that is solved when
each student solves the problem to reveal their piece of the puzzle. Each student
must solve his or her own puzzle piece.
The data we are capturing as a result of these two key changes (download from
LMS and more communication re how to use the PDF) is very positive. After only
one real month of data and feedback (March) we are determine this was the right
plan and path.
Robinson (2009) asserts there are five qualities that determine the success of an
innovation and make them spread more quickly than others:
1. Relative advantage
Our project emerged with great success. It afforded our customers with
advantages such as customers getting being provided with an LMS account for
Cherwell University right when they sign up for a class. This immediate access to
our LMS is new. Previously they did not get an account unless they purchased
online training- many customers have not purchased that but they did pay for an
instructor-led CSM class. Now they get the account right when they sign up for
the CSM class and this access provides them with additional learning options
that they previously didnt have access to.
With this great success, we will be using our LMS to deliver other larger training
materials.
2. Compatibility with existing values and practices
The new LMS download and instructions that accompany the download are
consistent with our customer-centric approach. This accommodates a need,
making it easier for customers to obtain a copy of the CSM manual. Although
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this document format is not one we all entirely love, we are working on an eBook
that will continue to improve and enhance our customers learning experience.
3. Simplicity and ease of use
This was probably the easiest quality to explain. This solution was so much
easier for our customers than download from FTP site. This ease of use plus the
additional training customers now have access to makes this solution a success.
This is also evidenced with very few questions about the download, and how to
use the PDF of the manual
4. Trial ability
We were able to test both options extremely quickly and determined these
options would work will for our customers and work well within our own teams
processes.
5. Observable results
The fact that we receive 90% fewer questions (or complaints) about the
download, and the manual from the day we launched is amazing. We would have
an average of one question or complaint per day. Now it is less than one per
week. This truly is a success indicator.
Ultimately our team is pleased with our results, but determined to make it even
better.
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Resources
Les Robinson, (2009). A Summary of Diffusion of Innovation, Enabling Change.
Retrieved from
http://www.enablingchange.com.au/Summary_Diffusion_Theory.pdf
Jonathan Brubaker, (2013). SAMR Model Metaphor. Retrieved from
http://techtipsedu.blogspot.com/2013/11/samr-model-metaphor-mistakes.html
Kathy Schrock, (2015). Resources to support the SAMR model. Retrieved from
www.schrockguide.net/samr.html).