INTRODUCTION
Hi, my name is Merlyn.
This website is a tutorial designed to show you what Project Courses are and how to
use them. In the last two years I have used three Athabasca University Project
Courses to design and develop the Safe OnLine Outreach Project (SOLO).
Throughout this tutorial I will use my experiences to discuss some ideas that may
help you to develop your own projects. I'll be telling the story of SOLO and giving
you some suggestions in the sidebars. It's a long and twisty road, so hang on for the
ride, and I'll do my best to show you how project courses can work for you.
Part One of this tutorial will be an introduction. I will give you some background
about where I come from and my experiences that led me to returning to school.
1. The Saga Begins
2. Getting Started
3. Tools
1. Makings Lists
2. Look in the Closet
4. Making a Big Mess
5. Suggested Readings
Part Two will focus on the process of designing the project courses.
1. Background of the SOLO Idea
2. Tools - Identifying Themes in your Dreams
3. SOLO - Safe OnLine Outreach
4. Tools - Ideas and Suggestions
5. The First Project Course
6. Tools - How Project and Directed Readings Courses Work
7. Learning Contract - Noose or Net
8. The Second and Third Project Course
9. Doing the Work
10. Summary
11. Last Words
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THE SAGA BEGINS
I've been working with youth for the last 15 years in a
variety of settings; residential work, youth work, street work
and outdoor education. By the late 1990's I had reached a
place in my working life where I was unable to move beyond
frontline youth without a university degree.
The field of youth work has professionalized. Increasingly a
university degree is required for positions in youth work. I
wasn't even getting calls for interviews because I didn't have
a degree.
I have a diploma in Journalism that I earned in the mid-eighties. My interest and
experience in youth work came later. Once employed as a youth worker I had taken
lots of workshops as well as a certificate course. But this work related professional
development was no longer seen by employers as equivalent to a degree.
When I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get a degree, I wanted to find a
way to pull all my previous education together and have it count towards a degree. I
researched my options in several different educational institutions.
I am a mature student. In my research about different programs I was often
frustrated by other Institutions' insistence on considering me a blank slate. I'm a 40year-old woman with years of varied experience. I'm certainly no blank slate. What I
wanted was new ways to reframe my knowledge and experience to set a fresh career
path for myself. My goal in going back to school was to integrate my past
experiences into a recognizable credential.
Eventually I settled on Athabasca University for three reasons. First, I've found AU
especially dynamic in its orientation toward mature students. The University
understood my needs.
Second, the Bachelor of Professional Arts Degree accepted my Journalism Diploma
for block credit transfer. I got credit for my first two years of study based on my
college diploma. I didn't lose any of that earlier education in my efforts to move
forward toward completing an undergraduate degree.
Third, I was very pleased with the Prior Learning Assessment process and staff.
Before I started the Bachelor of Professional Arts, Communications Program, I
created and submitted for evaluation a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition
(PLAR) Portfolio. The Portfolio was an eighty-page document that was assessed at 21
credits. The process of creating the Portfolio was very helpful in identifying my past
learning experiences and was a good exercise in self-assessment. If you are
interested in Prior Learning Assessment you can contact the PLA Center at (780)
675-6348 or 1-800-788-9041, ext. 6348, or visit their website."
PLAR varies from program to program. Which program you want to use the credits
toward determines what skills and knowledge you have to demonstrate. So, having a
firm idea of the program you plan to complete is crucial. Otherwise, the effort may
produce less than an optimal result. Check out the skill sets for various programs.
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GETTING STARTED
Once I got the Prior Learning Assessment done I was ready to tackle the core
courses of the Bachelor of Professional Arts (BPA). I was interested in Project
Courses from quite early on in my studies.
The beauty of self-designed courses for me was that topics of interest that I usually
couldn't spend much time on, became legitimate areas of intellectual inquiry. I could
receive academic credit for the academic study of these topics.
Any pressure to make the course content immediately profitable, or to justify it in
any career-oriented way, was removed. I could take ideas that had seemed farfetched and really roll around in them. I then explored what was possible. By rolling
around in a topic I mean following a line of research, or association that interested
me the most for the pure joy of it. The SOLO Project has emerged in bits and pieces,
like a puzzle. I used both PLAR and Project Courses to explore ideas and themes that
had been of interest to me. From there, the big picture has emerged. I had no idea
when I started where my ideas would lead or what would come out of my
exploration.
Over time, ideas congealed, and a core emerged. I worked hard to have this happen
without being able to say at the time how, when, or precisely what form it would
take.
INTERESTS THAT I WANTED TO EXPLORE:
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The internet - My BPA major is Communications. I was interested in how this
new media would impact youth.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE) of youth - I had worked with both
street kids and sexually exploited youth for ten years.
United Nations, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and
Human Rights in general.
Law enforcement aspects of CSE as they applied to the Internet - INTERPOL's
efforts to identify the scope and impact of CSE.
Studies of pedophiles and their online activities.
International organizations and non-governmental organizations, (NGO's)
disseminating information about CSE on the international stage.
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TOOLS
As I go through my story, you'll find these pages to
accompany the narrative. Here I'll attempt to point
out the most useful ideas and tools that I used.
Perhaps they'll be useful to you too. Please feel free
to modify, revise or completely invent your own
pathways. That's the exciting part of the journey.
In considering how Independent Study courses
and/or directed reading courses could work for you, it
may be helpful to start with some brainstorming
exercises about possible project ideas.
Make Lists or Word Pictures. I'm a list person so this worked for me, but if you are
more visual - make pictures; different pieces of coloured paper, felt pens, whatever
helps you to examine what it is that you already know. Make a list of:
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Skills you already have.
Workshops you've taken.
The things you've dreamed of doing.
All the things you want to do before you die. I'm serious. Really! Just because
you list it, doesn't mean that you have to complete it.
Brainstorm without limitations - free up your inner voice and let yourself
imagine possible and not so possible futures.
Complete the following - When I was a child I wanted to _______ when I
grew up.
Come up with a list of anything you currently aspire or once aspired to do.
There are no rules about this, only that you try and let the little voice of
limitation in your head take a break. Don't censure or skip something because
is sounds silly now. Write down ALL your ideas, dreams, fantasies, and almost
forgotten aspirations. Follow each thought as far as you can. You don't
actually have to do them, but only to think them through consciously.
Get a big piece of paper and look at every possibility of what you could do
with the rest of your life. Use bubble charts or cluster drawings to examine
fully the possible and the impossible before limiting yourself to anything.
Look in the Closet:
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Look at old resumes, and newspaper cuttings of things you've been involved
in.
Go through the old box or boxes you have that will give you ideas about skills
you have, ideas you had, or forgotten dreams that are packed away.
The thing about project courses is that lots of the work has to be done up front.
Picking a project, and then designing a course around it, is as meaningful as you
make it. Lots of the work is about getting your ideas together and focusing on an
attainable goal. The structure of Independent Study courses guides you to get
progressively more specific in your inquiry. What is it you want to accomplish or
learn? Cast your net as widely as you can, right from the start.
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MAKING A BIG MESS
This brainstorming phase created a big mess in my studio. I
found lots of things I'd forgotten about. A newspaper article stuck
in an old journal reminded me that I'd been involved in Board
work since the early 90's, and, at one point, had been Chair of a
Food Bank Committee.
The big themes that came up for me were my passion for working with youth, for
youth, and on issues relating to youth. Even though I'd burnt-out doing frontline
work and didn't want to work directly with individual youths anymore, I realized that
I remained very enthusiastic about teaching younger youth workers about advocacy,
sexual exploitation, and streetwork.
I also realized that being a computer geek was a hidden aspiration of mine. While I
had stubbornly resisted using computers for years, I found that once I started to
learn about them, I was very interested in how I could make them do what I wanted.
I also thought that while youth work was a low income field, dependent on the whim
of whatever government was setting the priorities of youth services that year, the
technology sector was a growth industry and was likely to remain so (even after the
big dot com crash of 2000).
SUGGESTED READINGS
I did a lot of reading during this phase. Maybe it was because of the career choices I
was making while I was going to school. I found the following books which all
provided a different perspective on work, career and life goals.
THE JOY OF NOT WORKING: A BOOK FOR THE RETIRED, UNEMPLOYED, AND
OVERWORKED BY ERNIE J. ZELINSKI. WHOLESM PUBLISHING
CORPORATION, 1997.
This is a GREAT book. The author's basic premise is to stop working so you can do
what you love, and start doing what excites and inspires you. Along the road look for
ways to sustain yourself financially doing what you love - even if when you start you
don't see how you possibly could. According to Zelinski, success involves following
your passion and trusting. This book was very inspiring and encouraged me to think
outside the parameters of "how will I pay the bills" doing this. Don't be limited in
what you dream. I know, the bills do still have to be paid. Zelinski suggests that
money not be the primary motivation for why you do something.
WORK LESS: LIVE MORE BY PAULA BROOK. DOUBLEDAY CANADA, 1997.
This is another book about finding ways to work in the world that utilize your
passion.
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LISTENING TO MIDLIFE. TURNING YOUR CRISIS INTO A QUEST BY MARK
GERZON. SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC, 1996.
Not for everyone, but if you have returned to university because you are in midcareer transition, this book will give you some ideas about how to rethink what may
appear right now to be a crisis.
LIVE THE LIFE YOU LOVE: IN TEN EASY STEP LESSONS BY BARBARA SHER.
DELL DISTRIBUTING, JANUARY 1997.
Sher is a great motivational speaker and author. This book is a template for realizing
the "impossible" and an encouraging resource for those hoping to live their dreams.
BACKGROUND OF THE SOLO IDEA
A long time ago, in 1996, I was working with youth on the
streets and raising a baby. We lived in a rural setting, with a
wood stove and three television channels. Winters here are
long, dark and rainy. Besides reading Dr. Seuss (no
disrespect intended), there wasn't much to do with my extra
mental energy.
I had a good friend at the time, who was an early-adopter of
the Internet. We'd visit and he'd tell me about this new world
of cyberspace. I read William Gibson's Neuromancer and
argued about the need to keep in the real world. My
argument at the time ran towards "It's all fine and well to
create a new dimension to community, but you'll still need
someone to pick the apples." It wasn't a very sophisticated
argument in retrospect, but represents the beginning of my wondering about the line
between cyberspace and real space, and how changes in communication were going
to unfold. Many years later, and almost one degree completed, I am still working on
the answers to these big questions.
I think it might have been the mid-nineties phrase, which has since passed into
obscurity, information super highway that gave me the idea that became central to
my later studies. It might have been my partner, who was also a street worker at
the time. Or, it might have been my experience in Internet Relay Chats. Somewhere
along the line I started to speak about the idea of taking the concepts of youth
advocacy, peer mentoring and honouring the voice of youth into virtual worlds. I
have worked with youth, many of whom have been sexually exploited, recruited and
worked the streets for several years. I can't actually remember when I first heard
that the Internet was being used as a tool to exploit children. But I knew it, and it
was an idea that wouldn't go away.
These ideas had percolated for some time while I was doing a bunch of other things:
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I was doing a sex education talk in the local high schools.
Was on a local action team looking at the prevention and awareness about
the sexual exploitation of youth.
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I saw Stolen Lives an NFB film on the exploitation of youth in Vancouver and
Calgary.
I was asked to join the board of the Alliance for the Rights of Children.
And, I went to a four day institute on the United Nations Convention for the
Rights of the Child at the University of Victoria.
How could I use these activities to launch the next stage of my career?
IDENTIFYING THEMES IN YOUR DREAMS
Look into the themes that begin to emerge.
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What themes begin to emerge? What are the main ideas that have to do with
your current interests, work, or volunteer activities? Consider your entire
world, and try to identify what you are most passionate about. What topic
fully engages and excites you? Where is your passion? What do you do even if
you don't get paid for it? What ideas or projects could you base on that
passion?
Ask supervisors, or coworkers, or other people you respect what they would
do with the opportunity to research or explore something.
Search for ideas in libraries or on the web using a few key terms to clarify
your idea. This might bring up new aspects of the theme you hadn't
considered before.
Look in industry publications. Is there a trend or area of interest you have
that you would like to explore?
SOLO—SAFE ONLINE OUTREACH
The themes that I identified led me to the ideas for SOLO. SOLO
grew out of my interest in youth, youth issues and cyberspace. It
has been built almost entirely using Project and Directed Reading
Courses that I have taken to complete my Bachelor of Professional
Arts, Communication Major. I started my first Project course in
January of 2001, and have used three courses all together; one 300
level project course, and one project course and directed readings
course at a 400 level.
The Plan evolved through conversations and phone calls over the period of the last
year. I can't say exactly where it started because it's still evolving today. The ideas I
started with haven't always stood the test of examination. I am a talker and
sometimes come up with my best ideas by trying to explain to others what I'm
thinking. One of the things I found helpful is to dialogue with other people. Just
because I'm an online student does not mean my social needs get met on the
computer! I kept contact with people I respected and with projects I was interested
in supporting. I mobilized a network fairly early on. I sought out conversations with
sharp, thinking, innovative peers, and shared ideas about their projects, and plans
and shared mine.
Through these contacts and conversations, the idea for SOLO began to take form
after my first semester. My idea was to create an online outreach service - initially I
thought it would have a staff of youth workers who would respond in real time to
youth who contacted SOLO through chats or email or IM (Instant Messaging). I knew
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that I would need to have a more extensive background on what online exploitation
is, where it occurs etc.
The pressing question was where to start...
IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS
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Individualized study can pay for groceries.
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Use your existing networks.
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Don't hesitate to talk to others about your ideas and plans. Often a
conversation over coffee will do more to get a project going than all
the lists and diagrams combined!
Involving others.
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Remember that just because it is schoolwork doesn't mean that you
can't blend economic and academic aspirations. If there is a need for
research or project development that is going to be done in your
community, there's nothing wrong with getting paid to do the work.
Just be sure to be clear with everyone involved. Make sure you will
meet the academic requirements of the project course.
Approach professionals you admire or respect.
Ask questions.
Take advantage of being a student; you might be surprised by the
response you get.
Remember: if you have a project that appears to be too large for a project
course, you can always break it into more manageable chunks.
You might use more than one course for discrete parts of a large project.
Be open to possibilities.
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Synchronicity and opportunities sometimes appear at surprising times.
Use them when they happen.
Remain flexible.
Some of the information I initially found didn't seem relevant until
later.
THE FIRST PROJECT COURSE
My first project course developed in three parts. (All courses must have three pieces
of work that will be graded). The research paper I ended up writing was on the
relevant laws, legislation, policies, and conventions that have jurisdiction or
relevance to the area of sexual exploitation online.
I did this Project with the help of Renata Aebi, who is Executive Director of the
Alliance on the Rights of the Child.
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The Alliance had been working with one of the local municipalities on creating
municipal policy for Internet use.
They were looking for someone to facilitate a municipal-wide consultation of
city policies, municipal staff guidelines, school board policies and protocols
and city by-laws administration. In conversation with her, she said that she
needed to be able to educate the city administrators about what laws etc.
already exist in order to inform a process of reevaluation. I was anxious to
research any aspect of online exploitation, so I offered to do the literature
review on this topic.
The added bonus of this project course was that the municipality had money
set aside for research.
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I actually got paid to do the work. I was able to buy some groceries
and offset some student loans with the money I made on what became
the report Reducing Child Victimization. The municipality has since
published the report and will be distributing it in the near future.
This work also added a fresh line to my resume.
This one project was a springboard to the next one, contributing to it
in significant ways.
The subject of the project has since become part of my core research,
and, as I'll tell you at the end, I now make my living doing this.
HOW PROJECT AND DIRECTED READING COURSES WORK
Creating and submitting an idea for a Project, or Directed Readings course should be
done in close consultation with the Project professor.
There are three people involved in a project course:
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Course Coordinator - a professor at Athabasca University
Course Supervisor - a person who has at least a Master's-level education and
some expertise in the area the Project will cover.
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Generally someone who already knows the administrative ropes – an
academic or one of your previous tutors is your best bet.
This person gets paid to supervise your coursework.
Having the course supervisor in the same geographical area is helpful
too, as is being able to access someone in your work place or
community.
Identifying an independent study course supervisor doesn't have to be
painful.
You do have to have a Course Supervisor before you can register and
start the course.
and the student.
There are three parts to setting up and completing an Independent Study Course:
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Project Proposal - a short document written before the course begins.
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You submit a preliminary plan to the course coordinator prior to
registering for a project or directed readings course. The Project
Proposal is an overview of the idea.
Use the Project Proposal to test what will fly and what won't. The
process of negotiation may spark new ideas. This initial interaction is
intended to develop your idea far enough to generate a viable topic for
a project proposal.
Learning Contract - More about this in a minute
Course Work - This is the actual work!
Use the Project Proposal to test what will fly and what won't. The process of
negotiation may spark new ideas and refinement to the project.
Once the Course Coordinator has accepted the Project Proposal, then you can
register for the course and start on the Learning Contract.
NEGOTIATING
Remember that you can negotiate with the Course Coordinator and your project
supervisor. Sometimes this process of negotiating sparks new ideas and directions
for your work.
LEARNING CONTRACT—NOOSE OR NET?
Learning Contracts when done right, work for you.
Learning Contracts in general can be broken down into five sections:
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Goals,
Objectives,
Learning activities,
Resources and
Evaluation.
Work through the sections methodically. Don't worry if you seem to be repeating
yourself. Learning activities should meet objectives; objectives should meet goals,
and the language throughout should be consistent. Your task is to complete the
circle.
I often found that when I wasn't sure what to research. I'd then refer back to my
Learning Contract and get reoriented. It's worth the time to work through the
Learning Contract systematically—it will help you, and your Course Supervisor, be
clear and remain focused about what is expected of each of you.
BE OPEN TO MODIFYING THE IDEAS
You may find that a certain component of the Learning Contract is not as relevant as
you thought it would be. Contact your Course Coordinator. It is possible to modify
some of the course objectives if it makes sense to do so. Being open to rethinking
your project leaves you the room to make sure you get as much learning as you can
in the process.
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THE SECOND AND THIRD PROJECT COURSES
I signed up for the second project course right after the first one.
The Reducing Child Victimization (RCV) report had allowed me to explore the legal
and political aspects of online child victimization. The core component of SOLO, the
online aspect, proved to be a complex area. While I've always known about politics,
and while I've spent my share of time in a courtroom, I was concerned that my
knowledge of the technical aspects of the web would be deficient. I'm a wannabe
geek after all, and the medium of the Internet is so new that the research only really
started in the late 1990's.
I had found in the RCV research that the laws were pretty sketchy. My interests
increasingly involved the aspect of the Internet that was opening up to the
psychological community. I already knew that individuals who endanger and harm
youth – some people call them perverts – were on the Web. They are very skilled at
enticing youth to trust them. What I wanted to know was what the helping
professions were doing on the web to counter this activity.
At the same time I realized that my geekness had real limits. I didn't want to end up
in the position of designing SOLO only to find that it wasn't possible from a technical
viewpoint. After consulting with the Course Coordinator, I designed a second
Learning Contract.
From this body of research, I have been able to complete two more project courses.
The first was a directed readings course that produced the Places of Risk / Places of
Help report. This report looks at the Internet mediums that are being used by
pedophiles and psychologists alike. It identifies the features of the Internet that
facilitate communication for both. The report also contains a summary and non-geek
explanation of the different avenues of communication on the Internet; chat sites,
Internet relay chats, instant messaging, Napster, e-mail and others (groups by
synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods).
The second project course resulted in two pieces; an annotated bibliography, and a
review of online youth culture to date.
I BROKE THIS RESEARCH DOWN INTO SEVERAL PARTS:
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Online Exploitation
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Legal
Reports
News media report
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CyberSpace & Online Therapy & Theories
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Technical
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Law Enforcement
Stats
Online Safety
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DOING THE WORK
At this point I was pretty sure that I had an idea that had potential. What I wanted
to do was to research as much of the field as possible to understand the parameters
of the issue. I spent hours combing the web and reading reports. It was great to
have the support to become immersed in my subject. At the time I had little idea of
where it would eventually lead, or whether all of the pieces would ever fit together
neatly. The process of working through the research and the added incentive of
assigned reports with deadlines meant that I focused more clearly and specifically on
exactly what I wanted to know about this topic.
My Course Supervisor was available to bounce ideas off. My hours of study went by
quickly.
SOLO started to have a life of its own because I was able to use the documents and
research that I had done to gain support for my idea. I had approached several
experts in the field during my research phase, and after working with some, asked
them to join an advisory board for SOLO. These professionals have proven
invaluable. Their wisdom and feedback enriched the project. Support for SOLO
developed as the result of my talking up the idea up in their networks. Soon they
were discussing the idea too.
Another aspect, not of project courses, but of university education that I found
helpful when designing SOLO was transfer credits. Use them. I found on the Internet
a link to a conference at the University of Victoria. It had a profound impact on the
Project. In August of 2000, U. Vic. and the UIERCE hosted an international Institute
on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, (CRC). This institute
offered a credited option that I enrolled in for transfer credits to my degree. This
course was supervised by Dr. Philip Cook who is an expert in the CRC. The CRC
values, which I'd known about before, but not fully understood, have proven to be a
solid baseline for the philosophical development of SOLO. When using university
education to develop an idea or project, consider browsing your local college or
university for particular courses or seminars that you may be able to use towards
your degree. The variety is helpful. In addition, you might get another library card!
SUMMARY
SOLO has evolved into a five-year plan with three major objectives over those 5
years. The Project has been written up as a Proposal that was submitted to the
National Crime Prevention Program in October of 2001. I have negotiated with two
groups whose members are interested in partnering with the SOLO. One is a nonprofit society and the other is an academic web portal project that will partner with
the high tech industry to create an information resource about Canadian
communication interests. I have assembled an Advisory Board for the Project
consisting of 8 varied, educated professionals in the law enforcement, forensic
psychiatry, human rights, academic, and social service sectors who are willing to be
advisors and advocates for SOLO.
I've used these specific academic opportunities to become well versed in the work
that has been done in this area, with networking and stimulating interest in people I
already knew in the social service field. It hasn't been without its risks. I consciously
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made myself research any area that might reveal why my online outreach idea
wouldn't work so that I would be sure I was on solid ground. I haven't yet found a
reason why it won't work and am becoming more skilled at communicating that to
funding partners.
It can be said that lots of what has happened with the SOLO Project has been luck
and timing to this point. I agree. I have almost completed my degree and picked a
future direction for myself. As well, I have become knowledgeable in a specialized
field with the potential to make my living by parenting SOLO for the foreseeable
future.
I live and work in a time of rapidly changing issues and technologies and have been
able to come up with an idea that is timely, topical, relevant and not addressed by
any other person or group in Canada.
Project courses were instrumental in this process because the courses do provide
some necessary limited structure with supportive supervision. They enabled me to
spend energy consciously exploring a field and areas where I might not have gone, if
I didn't have deadlines and commitments to meet while doing it. They have provided
the freedom to explore a little developed field on the cusp of an information
revolution.
Some days I have been amazed at the synchronicity of events, people and
information that have been part of the process of developing this idea. The Project
has become a demanding toddler known as SOLO - the Safe On-Line Outreach.
LAST WORDS
I hope this story and suggestions will assist you in planning your project course
work. I know that for me, the opportunity to complete self-directed courses has
helped me tremendously. It's given me the opportunity not only to complete a
degree, but also to create a project that is viable. My experience is only one example
of what can be done. Yours will obviously be different. Here are a few final
suggestions for you as you work through this process:
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Respect your own expertise.
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Jump into the great unknown!
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Don't be afraid to head into unknown territory.
Prepare for a personal intellectual journey.
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Don't minimize what you know. Use it to your full advantage. You are
the starting point.
You never know what may be useful.
A University degree can reframe experience.
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Reframing experience can produce learning.
Learning may produce new knowledge and degree completion.
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Rethink experience, learning, and new knowledge.
You are the starting point.
Use course work toward your university degree.
Brainstorm.
Messy and complex is good!
Affirm personal intellectual commitment with the aid of new resources.
Put yourself in the centre of the picture.
Identify themes threading through your dream and expand on the
possibilities.
Pay the bills and network while meeting course requirements.
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