podcast_umuc.mp3 | |
File Size: | 4796 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
Podcast Script for GED 20/20 Online Preparation Program
I would like to present a brief argument for the creation of an online, multimedia training program for individuals wishing to prepare to take the GED 20/20 Tests.
In case you are not familiar with the General Education Development Tests, more commonly known as the GED, they are the alternative means of getting a high school diploma in Canada and the United States. The initial version of the GED was created in 1942 by the American Council on Education. Since this initial version, there have been three major revisions of the set of tests, most recently in 2002. A new version was expected to be created in 2012, but this project has since been tabled in favor of a new plan, called the GED 20/20. This new plan is to make the tests more rigorous to ensure that GED holders are well prepared for college and the workforce.
What many people are not aware of is that when the GED is evaluated, it is only approved when no more than three quarters of high school graduates are capable of passing it. In other words the GED is not easier to get than a high school diploma, it is in fact more difficult. This makes the job of those adult educators who prepare individuals to take the GED quite challenging.
The task of Canadian adult educators is even more difficult than their counterparts in the States. This is primarily due to the geographical dispersion of the Canadian population. With so many people living in remote areas, it is unlikely that we would be capable of reaching a large number of GED preparers by asking them to travel to their local community college or a downtown adult education center. In the past, we have attempted to distribute paper-based GED preparation products, but these have had little success. It has been concluded that the lack of human interaction and the overwhelming nature of studying an entire high school curriculum in this manner contributed to the lack of success.
For these reasons, we feel that an online, highly interactive, multimedia training application would be the best solution for the Canadian population. This program would be administrated by GED tutors who would work with a cohort of students, providing assistance and guidance to those in need, on an as needed basis. This model has been used in the past in Canada in specific provinces, such as New Brunswick, with small scale success. We feel that creating a national system of online GED preparation, aligned to the new GED 20/20 tests, would be the best direction to take.
For this project, our preliminary research suggests that a system model of instructional design, such as the Gagne and Briggs model, would be best. Instructional designers would use this model to determine the macro view of the entire system and then work their way down to the course, lesson, screen, and screen element levels. Testers would take the same approach to measure first the quality of the entire system, and then the quality of each course, lesson, and screen, and screen element.
We recommend making full use of a variety of media, including text, illustrations, photographs, video, audio, and animation. Each media would be used in a way that best conveys the skill being developed by the student. For example, we would not use a talking head for video, but possibly part of a play for the lesson on drama.
From a technical standpoint, instead of using a pre-packaged tool for creating e-learning, we would synthesize our own custom e-learning player. This custom player, which would be created using Adobe Flash, would handle the high level features of the courseware. The screen content would then be put into separate XML and Flash files. This structure allows for rapid prototyping, easy maintenance, and fast download.
The course content would cover all five parts of the GED exam, with a separate course for each part. A user would first take a pre-test, which would assign the user a curriculum for that course. After taking the lessons in the custom curriculum, the user would take a post-test, to ensure that all skills are at a satisfactory level. Once all 5 courses are complete, the user may take both an untimed and a timed GED practice exam, to finish their preparation for the actual set of tests.
To develop this project, we would require a team that would include a project and a quality manager, several subject matter experts, instructional designers, graphic artists, multimedia developers, a videographer, English and French narrators, and testers. We would also require a translation team to translate the English content into French.
We estimate that the entire project, from inception through extensive field testing, could be completed in 21 months, which would be sufficient time to have the system in place by the time the GED 20/20 is in use in Canada.
We are very excited about working on this project which would have such a great benefit to not only the citizens of Canada, but to Canadian businesses which would employ those who have attained a meaningful high school credential via the GED 20/20 Tests.
In case you are not familiar with the General Education Development Tests, more commonly known as the GED, they are the alternative means of getting a high school diploma in Canada and the United States. The initial version of the GED was created in 1942 by the American Council on Education. Since this initial version, there have been three major revisions of the set of tests, most recently in 2002. A new version was expected to be created in 2012, but this project has since been tabled in favor of a new plan, called the GED 20/20. This new plan is to make the tests more rigorous to ensure that GED holders are well prepared for college and the workforce.
What many people are not aware of is that when the GED is evaluated, it is only approved when no more than three quarters of high school graduates are capable of passing it. In other words the GED is not easier to get than a high school diploma, it is in fact more difficult. This makes the job of those adult educators who prepare individuals to take the GED quite challenging.
The task of Canadian adult educators is even more difficult than their counterparts in the States. This is primarily due to the geographical dispersion of the Canadian population. With so many people living in remote areas, it is unlikely that we would be capable of reaching a large number of GED preparers by asking them to travel to their local community college or a downtown adult education center. In the past, we have attempted to distribute paper-based GED preparation products, but these have had little success. It has been concluded that the lack of human interaction and the overwhelming nature of studying an entire high school curriculum in this manner contributed to the lack of success.
For these reasons, we feel that an online, highly interactive, multimedia training application would be the best solution for the Canadian population. This program would be administrated by GED tutors who would work with a cohort of students, providing assistance and guidance to those in need, on an as needed basis. This model has been used in the past in Canada in specific provinces, such as New Brunswick, with small scale success. We feel that creating a national system of online GED preparation, aligned to the new GED 20/20 tests, would be the best direction to take.
For this project, our preliminary research suggests that a system model of instructional design, such as the Gagne and Briggs model, would be best. Instructional designers would use this model to determine the macro view of the entire system and then work their way down to the course, lesson, screen, and screen element levels. Testers would take the same approach to measure first the quality of the entire system, and then the quality of each course, lesson, and screen, and screen element.
We recommend making full use of a variety of media, including text, illustrations, photographs, video, audio, and animation. Each media would be used in a way that best conveys the skill being developed by the student. For example, we would not use a talking head for video, but possibly part of a play for the lesson on drama.
From a technical standpoint, instead of using a pre-packaged tool for creating e-learning, we would synthesize our own custom e-learning player. This custom player, which would be created using Adobe Flash, would handle the high level features of the courseware. The screen content would then be put into separate XML and Flash files. This structure allows for rapid prototyping, easy maintenance, and fast download.
The course content would cover all five parts of the GED exam, with a separate course for each part. A user would first take a pre-test, which would assign the user a curriculum for that course. After taking the lessons in the custom curriculum, the user would take a post-test, to ensure that all skills are at a satisfactory level. Once all 5 courses are complete, the user may take both an untimed and a timed GED practice exam, to finish their preparation for the actual set of tests.
To develop this project, we would require a team that would include a project and a quality manager, several subject matter experts, instructional designers, graphic artists, multimedia developers, a videographer, English and French narrators, and testers. We would also require a translation team to translate the English content into French.
We estimate that the entire project, from inception through extensive field testing, could be completed in 21 months, which would be sufficient time to have the system in place by the time the GED 20/20 is in use in Canada.
We are very excited about working on this project which would have such a great benefit to not only the citizens of Canada, but to Canadian businesses which would employ those who have attained a meaningful high school credential via the GED 20/20 Tests.