PART A: The Wicked Problem - A Need or an Opportunity

An educational need:

An important educational need in my setting is making sure that my colleagues understand how to use our technology resources effectively.  Most of the teachers in the learning center where I work are part time workers with other jobs and responsibilities.  Some are only in the office for 6-8 hours a week, and everyone works a different schedule.  For this reason, it has always been difficult for me, as the technology director, to find convenient times for training.  In the past, I have attempted to address this problem by writing out detailed instructions including images and distributing these instructions in print form.  I have always felt that this format is limiting; like our students, our teachers and administrators all have very different ways of learning, many of which are not best served by printed instructions.  Therefore, I have found that my current methods still often require me to do hands-on, individual training and troubleshooting.  I have been searching for a more convenient and effective method of delivering instructions to the entire office, so that all of our teachers can use the resources we have to enhance their teaching.

Addressing the need:

Through my Edutech coursework, I have learned a few things that will help solve this problem.  First of all, I propose using screencasts and other instructional videos instead of printed instructions to teach my colleagues how to use our technology effectively.  I think screencasts will address those of our staff who are finding learning technology difficult, especially those who have a more visual style of learning.  I will create a variety of short instructional videos using screencast technology.
The second prong of my plan will be to incorporate these videos into a staff-only section in our company website.  I think it’s important that these resources be available and easily accessible wherever and whenever staff has time to use them.  A staff-only section of our website will also be a good place for storing other training materials and resources for new tutors, such as the employee handbook and phone lists.  I will create a new page on our company website as a central location for staff instructions.
This plan will cost nothing but my time, and from a test video I put out recently, I believe it will be the most effective solution to the problem.

Logistics:

This solution will require the creation of a number of instructional videos using screencast technology.  I plan on using screencast-o-matic.com because it is easy and web-based, and I have some experience using it.  Where available and applicable, I will use existing videos and resources available online.
In the long term, I hope that what I am doing now will serve as a resource for teachers in our workplace for years to come. When posted on our website, the videos will be available for current teachers to review and new teachers to use as they settle in.

Research/resources:

I performed a little bit of research by searching the web using Google. I found articles which mentioned that video training is more engaging and cost effective than traditional training. Most of the search results, however, lead to great resources. I do not think I will have any trouble finding good examples of training videos to use as models. Perhaps I will even find some that I can use as-is.

The plan:

I plan on recording and distributing a number of videos starting immediately.  We just got new printers for six of our staff, and I recorded an instructional screencast and distributed the link through email.  Responses have been positive so far, and I have not had nearly as many problems that require my attention as usual.  I plan on making some instructional videos for new tutors to understand how our systems work. I would also like to make a few videos sharing what I have learned in my Edutech courses, and other tricks I have learned along the way in order to help my colleagues maximize their technology use in their teaching.
In the longer term, I would like to add a page to our company website where I can host all of these videos in a user friendly format so that what I do now will remain a resource for the future.

Gauging success:

My success will be apparent in my daily workload.  Hopefully, this plan will alleviate some of the interruptions to my teaching that I experience on a daily, sometimes hourly basis.  I will also set up a feedback system where teachers can contact me with suggestions and questions about the various instructions I provide.