| "Not quite prime" by
Barbara Fillicaro
PrimeProject Management Fundamentals, online, 2001,
14 hours, Prime Learning (917-210-8173, www.PrimeLearning.com®),
$325.
You can compare the quality of training courseware
to different cuts of beef: prime, choice, good, etc.
I would label the project management fundamentals course
from Prime Learning a "good" to "choice" with potential
to be "prime." The content and course design are good
to excellent, but due to technical problems, I was unable
to experience a key course component.
Project management has become a premier job skill
required of many positions in diverse industries. Project
managers are found where the rubber meets the road.
They have responsibility for the completion of a project
defined as an event or process with a designated ending.
The project manager is responsible for staffing, scheduling,
budgeting, and tracking a project. The project manager's
job consists primarily in wrestling with the devil in
the details. Prime Learning's course introduces the
learner to the tools required for dealing with the devil.
Course design
Taking an online course will not replace on-the-job
experience or good classroom instruction. The Prime
course, however, is intelligently designed, with self-assessments,
self-paced and virtual classroom instruction, collaborative
resources, and concept testing that can help build a
foundation of knowledge.
In this course, Prime Learning uses a 26-question
pre-assessment to gauge the learner's current understanding.
Each course module is introduced with a benefit statement
and learning objective. There are numerous hyperlinks
to course concepts-an important feature missing from
other vendors' courses that I have reviewed. It makes
a difference in reinforcing concept learning. Mouseovers
are also used effectively to reinforce and elaborate
on concepts. There are ample illustrations of project
management principles throughout the Prime course.
Pop quizzes are used to test understanding of concepts.
I observed two negatives about the quizzes: instructions
are not put at the top of the screen to tell you how
to answer the question, and sometimes, if you answer
incorrectly, the correct answer isn't shown.
The Prime Learning courseware incorporates a virtual
classroom to deliver some of the teaching. The feature
is potentially valuable, but I couldn't evaluate it
due to technical problems (see below for more details).
Prime has also incorporated collaborative tools: a mentor
and chatroom and discussion functions. The total package
is a step away from the conventional self-paced online
course, which has received persistent criticism from
the people who count the most: users. In addition, the
Prime course has an extensive help system that tells
you how to operate all course features.
Technical issues
Pay attention to the minimum hardware and software
requirements for Prime Learning courses: 20 MHz processor,
32 MB of RAM, 16-bit sound card, microphone, MS Explorer
4.0 or Netscape 4.5, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Centra and
Flash plug-ins, and a 56Kb modem with Internet access.
I was able to print out a sample project analysis
but was disappointed that other sample project tools
aren't printable. Via email and an 800 number, customer
support was responsive to my problem with the virtual
classroom. Unfortunately, we couldn't solve the problem.
I ultimately was able to view only seven minutes of
virtual classroom. I was using a 56K modem and POTS
(plain ole telephone service). You'll want to make sure
your users aren't going to have the same problem-and
that your IT department doesn't object to the Centra
plug-in (the Flash plug-in comes bundled with late model
browsers and shouldn't be a problem).
One basic screen instruction is unnecessarily vague.
You're told to "Click next page button to continue,"
but there is only a right arrow button with no text
label. Why not say "Click right arrow to continue"?
Recommendation
Here's how I would sum up the pros and cons of the
course:
Pros
Good course content and design
Accommodates large groups of learners
Pre-assessment tools
Post-assessment tools
Collaborative tools including a mentor
Content-sensitive glossary
Cons
Could not access virtual classroom sessions
Flaw in pop quizzes
Overall, the course gives the learner a good foundation
in project management. It's a good starting point for
people new to the job or someone interested in becoming
a project manager, but you need to be sure you can run
the virtual classroom on your computers.
Barbara Fillicaro (barbiejf@earthlink.net) is an
instructional designer and trainer based in Niles, IL,
a suburb of Chicago. Her experience includes designing
training for two Internet-based companies: an on-line
auction house and a supply chain management system.
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