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Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA. Reservados todos los derechos 2013.

B1 level 1Scheduling my goals

Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA. Reservados todos los derechos 2013. 2 /7

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Hi everyone!

Welcome back, Im delighted to see you again!

Anthony has already created the agenda with the activities he is going to accomplish along the development of the project.

Now, lets go over each one of them to state the products that will result.

Anthony: The first activity is: Search for information

Prof. Brown: Ok. So the product, after achieving this activity, is a compilation of information related to ways of recycling paper, previous theories and implementation plans.

Anthony: The second activity is: Select the information

Prof. Brown: In this step, the product is also a compilation of information, but just of relevant information that will be used in the development of the project.

Anthony: The third activity is: Choose the best options

Prof. Brown: After completing this step, you will have two or three options. The idea of this step is to limit your project.

Anthony: The fourth activity is: Test your options

Prof. Brown: Once you carry this activity through, you will discover the effectiveness of each of the selected options. You will have results.

Anthony: The fifth activity is: Evaluate outcomes

Prof. Brown: By conducting this activity, you will find which the most useful option of recycling paper at home is, and you will be able to utter why.

Anthony: And the last activity is: Write conclusions

Prof. Brown: Once you accomplish all the previous activities, you will have your final results and will be able to write a list of conclusions. By finishing this step, you will have completed your final paper.


Anthony: OK professor, we just reviewed the activities I am going to develop in the course of my project.

Prof. Brown: Thats right! This was the first step: describing what you are going to do.

Anthony: And now, what do I have to do? Should I start by developing each one of them?

Prof. Brown: No, pal. The next move is to define when you are going to develop each activity. This will help you be more organized and not leave important activities behind.

Anthony: Hmmm, and how do I do that?

Prof. Brown: Simple, the easier way to organize when you are going to develop the activities programmed is by designing a schedule.

A schedule is a plan that allows you to arrange all the activities depending on their priority and time. By making a schedule, you will have a general view of the project. Scheduling not only will help you in this task, it will be very helpful in organizing your companys departments and employees.

To make a schedule, you just need to:

Have a list of activities.

Have intended start and finish dates.

Have estimated times for each activity.

There is not a strict way in which you can make a schedule. Here, we are going to show you the most used one: The Gantt Chart.

Lets get inside


Lets get inside

Definition

Gantt charts are a way to graphically show the progress of a project. With this project management tool, you are able to track at the same time all the activities, their start and finish dates, and their progress (Open office, 2013). When you set up a Gantt chart, you will work out who will be responsible for each task, how long each task will take, and what problems your team may encounter (Mind tools, 2013).

First, create a chart in Word or Excel. It must have one column to put the activities and the columns you consider necessary depending on the time estimates. You can use one column per week or one column per month.

Then, put each of the activities in the first column, one below the other until you finish.

Finally, in the rows of each of the activities, select with an x the assigned time estimate.

To make a Gantt chart, you need:

A list of the activities you are going to develop with their estimated times.

Intended start and finish dates.


Lets analize

Anthony: Now, lets define the estimated times for each activity.

Prof. Brown: Right, but before doing so, lets check some time expressions that would be very useful.

Prof. Brown: Time expressions are words or sentences used to denote time. These are the most common ones.

Now that I know how to make a schedule, lets get to work and organize mine.

First, lets make the list of activities.

1. Search for information. 2. Select the information. 3. Choose the best options. 4. Test the options. 5. Evaluate outcomes. 6. Write conclusions.


Prof. Brown: Anthony, now that you learned some functional expressions, indicate the estimated times for each activity.

Anthony: Hmmm, tomorrow I will start by searching for information and I think I would select it the following week. Later, I will choose the best options and, during the following two weeks, I will test them.

Next month, I will evaluate the outcomes and, straight away, I will write the conclusions of my project.

Prof. Brown: Well done, now lets see how your Gantt chart looks like!

Lets analize

/t/ Sound


References

Credits

Mind tools. (2013). Mindtools.com. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from:http://goo.gl/3rD181

Open office. (2013). Openoffice.org. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from:http://goo.gl/WqLMUn

Pedagogical Direction Paul Cifuentes Carlos Amaya

Direction of Art Cesar Pez

ICT Leadership Yeison Ospina

Quality management Juan Carlos Rojas

Script composition Laura Tibaquir

Content support Laura Tibaquir

Multimedia development Edmundo Watts Luis Alejandro Valencia L. Miguel Hurtado

Voices Equipo Regional San Andrs

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Documents

previous activities

list of activities

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aprendizaje sena

important activities

compilation of information

relevant information

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