E-Books for Language Learning: Production and Best Practices
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The document outlines a project aimed at producing e-books for language learning, specifically to bridge Spanish and English vocabulary in elementary schools in Northern Florida from July 2013 to June 2016. It details the management of distributed multimedia production teams, including production cycles, tracking of reading time, and challenges faced such as communication and funding constraints. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of a project management process to ensure effective communication, cost control, and error management.
E-Books for Language Learning: Production and Best Practices
- 1. E-Books for Language Learning: Production and Best Practices Jonathan Adams Taehyeong Lim McKenzie Fitzpatrick
- 2. The Project BLOOM • BLOOM: Bridging for Language Outcomes in the Classroom • Grant: 3 year granted by CIES • Goal: Bridging Spanish and English vocabulary by e-books • Target: Elementary schools in Northern Florida
- 3. Purpose To describe a process for managing several distributed multimedia production teams and the techniques that were developed to organize, track and manage the production of e-books
- 4. Project Background • 4 Principal Investigators, 16 Research Assistants • Each year produces 30 e-books for each grade level (kindergarten, first, and second grade) • Project duration is July 2013 to June 2016
- 5. • E-Books are accessed by the children through a laptop computer in a classroom twice per week Intervention <The Intervention Room in an Elementary School> • Currently 6 local schools with an average of 20 students per class • E-book tracking collects the reading time per book and correct answers
- 6. E-Book Communication Structure <Communication Paths between Distributed Teams>
- 7. Managing the Production Cycle Project Specification ● Media properties ● File naming conventions ● Typography details ● Image sizes <Work Package in Spec> ● Positions for buttons, titles, interactive elements, and descriptions of each digital component in e-books
- 8. Managing the Production Cycle Production Management Documents - Storyboards ● Illustrate the whole structure of each e-book Including digital components ● Guide the developers who assemble the e-book into a working Captivate file <Components assembled in Captivate> Adobe Captivate
- 9. Managing the Production Cycle Production Management Documents -Tracking Documents
- 10. Managing the Production Cycle Use of a Whiteboard to Communicate within the Production Team
- 11. Managing the Production Cycle E-Books are uploaded in MOODLE, a Learning Management System <Book Thumbnails on Homepage> <Clickable Book Covers to Launch e-Books>
- 12. Challenges • Communication • e-mail, dropbox, face-to-face meetings • High turnover rates • graduate and undergraduate students • once students graduate they are ineligible to work for the grant • Funding constraints • software was not factored into the grant • recording equipment through FSU library limited to graduate students only
- 13. Conclusion • A project management process is essential to managing time, cost, and scope. • While every project has unique features and demands, project management documents can be adjusted to establish and maintain good communication among team members. • Documentation helps to control communication, errors, and coordinate work.
- 14. Questions?