Overview
Throughout this course you will be asked to document your experiential learning work through a work plan. Your work plan is a roadmap for your experiential learning opportunity. How do you plan to learn (websites you might want to use, other study resources)? What do you plan to do (practice, read, create sample products, etc.)? What will each step help you achieve (learn about something, develop a new skill, etc.)? And how much time do you plan to spend on each activity? This roadmap will give you a place to start, as well as help you determine if you can stick with your original plan or if you need to amend your plan a bit as you move forward. You will probably find that your plan changes a little as you work through this experiential learning opportunity, and that is appropriate. Part of the fun is comparing where you started and where you eventually ended.
Explore various experiential learning opportunities. You can start by looking at the software and certification websites listed on the Approved Software and Certifications document. Look around. See what excites you, determine what you might need for your career, or think about what you might want to learn. Once you decide on your experience, you can start on your work plan. What will you do to learn the software? You can look around for various websites, books, videos, or whatever way you learn best and put those in your work plan. Then decide what you want to do. This is where the real learning takes place. Do you want to practice making visualizations? How about doing something with certain types of data? Maybe you want to do military or international tax returns? You choose what you want to do for the experiential learning opportunity. Then decide how much time you plan to spend on your experience each week. All these things make up your work plan.
Directions
First, spend time exploring a software technology or certification found within the Approved Software and Certifications document, located in the course Resources section for Module One. You also have the option of choosing another accounting-related software not listed in this resource. Next, choose a software or certification to work on throughout this course. Then, review the steps to developing a work plan in the How to Develop a Work Plan – A Step-by-Step Guide resource, also located in the Supporting Materials section. Last, consider what steps need to be taken to successfully execute a work plan and become proficient in the software chosen or to complete the certification you wish to obtain.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- SMART Goals: Set SMART goals for developing a work plan.
- Tasks: Break SMART goals into tasks.
- Priorities: Set priorities to complete tasks.
- Resources: Identify resources for the chosen technology or certification.
- Timeline: Develop a timeline for completing the work plan.
What to Submit
Submit your work plan using the Module One Assignment Template. Any sources should be cited according to APA style.
Supporting Materials
The following resource supports your work on the project:
Resource: How to Develop a Work Plan – A Step-by-Step Guide This resource will help you with directions to begin your work plan.