BrightLITES Proposal
Prepared for Southern Intercontinental University

Introduction
In our effort to support you in your endeavor to provide a world class education to your students, we present this proposal to enhance your current online learning presence.  We would like nothing more than to help the Southern Intercontinental University School of Education continue its mission of training and preparing inquirer-professional teachers for the challenges ahead in their careers.
We hope that this proposal will give a thorough understanding of our vision for the project, outline some of the major features, and provide a simplified budget.  At this point we will concentrate on the “big ideas” of the project, and will fill in the details with your input throughout the production process.  
Vision and Goals
The proposed project is will be conducted in four phases.  The initial phase will determine the scale and scope of the project, determine the technical and aesthetic needs of the client and the end user, as well as outline design strategies.  At the conclusion of this phase, a document will be created outlining the results of our analysis and a strategy recommendation for the completion of the project.  
Assumptions and Understandings
This section discusses some of the assumptions and understandings that will impact the scale, scope and final cost of the project.  As the project progresses, additional factors may arise that will warrant revising these assumptions.
Purpose and Process:
•	The purpose of Phase One is to scope the design and determine the technical requirements.
•	This phase will culminate in a Design Document and mock up renderings of the final product.
•	The production phase will begin in earnest upon completion of Phase One, contingent upon agreement by all parties involved.

The Learners:
•	The Southern Intercontinental University School of Education is a well-respected leader in the field of education.  Their training program is based on the inquirer-professional model and consists of a partnership with local schools to provide authentic field experience for the teacher candidates.
•	 The Southern Intercontinental University School of Education trains elementary and middle school teachers, high school teachers, as well as specialty teachers in fields such as kinesiology.  Additionally, the School of Education works in partnership with the university’s graduate program to further develop the skills of educators.
The Content
•	In the past, teacher candidates were required to maintain a paper portfolio containing artifacts of their work in the program.  Such artifacts include sample lesson plans, philosophy statements, and reflections on their progress.  With the awarding of the Technology Implementation in Education grant, however, the School of Education wants to facilitate the teacher candidates in creating an online portfolio.
•	Surveys conducted by the client show that the teacher candidates are unsure of their proficiency in using the latest technologies, such as advanced graphics functions, spreadsheet tools, and generating HTML content.
The Technology
•	Currently, the School of Education uses WhiteBoard to meet their online educational needs.  
•	The completed project must integrate seamlessly with WhiteBoard.
•	The final product must be both PC and Macintosh compatible, as well as consume little bandwidth to accommodate the School’s students from rural communities with only marginal internet capabilities.
Design and Development Strategy 
Solution Proposal:
Goal:  Allow users to collaborate with their peers and instructors, access supplemental content, generate new portfolio content, and document their completion of the university’s training.
Approach:  Create a multiple user virtual environment (MUVE) that will provide the teacher candidates a virtual world where they can interact with their peers and instructors in an asynchronous or synchronous fashion.  The users will have instant access to a variety of content generated by the university as well as other users.
Product:  In the virtual environment, the user will create an online persona, or avatar, that they will use to explore the world.  Each user will be given a “hall” where they can display digital copies of their portfolio artifacts, as well as evidence of completion of the supplemental content available only in the virtual environment.  Upon leaving their hall, the user will enter the “Marketplace of Ideas.”  Within the market, they will have access to a variety of bulletin boards where they can converse across the virtual world with their fellow users.  
The market will also be populated with General User Response Units, or GURUs.  These GURUs will be scripted, computer controlled avatars that will supply the user with tasks to complete.  These tasks, in the beginning, will require the user to learn and then demonstrate their proficiency with a variety of programs, such as a creating a simple spreadsheet.  Once they have completed the task, the GURU will award them with a virtual trophy that the user can then use to decorate their hall.  There will also be GURUs that will provide a variety of HTML templates that can later be expanded by other users that already possess the skills to create them.  The GURUs can also be used to enrich the experience of the users by providing access to supplemental content that goes beyond what the students would encounter in the course of their regular studies.
Schedule and Budget
We have attached a proposed budget and timeline to this proposal.  These are only estimates at this time and may change upon completion of Phase One.  Obviously, we will keep you abreast of any adjustments that may be required as we get a better understanding of the scale and scope of the project.