Remote Web-based Science Laboratory (RWSL)

Project Reports

Web-based Associate of Science Degree Program Development
2007 - 2008, Revision 2

Inukshuk Mid-Project Report

June 30, 2008

Progress report on all project tasks and activities as outlined in the Work Plan.

List of deliverables Completed to date:

All initial positions advertised and filled
Project Website and WIKI (PWW) in place. http://rwsl.nic.bc.ca
Web-based Kick-off Conference. Inukshuk invited (See PWW site)
Initial RWSL Design Completed and posted (See PWW)
RWSL prototype in place and demonstrable. (See PWW)
Mid-project Report completed, posted on PWW, and submitted (See PWW)

Note - Physics Lab curriculum preparation is to the first draft stage and should be completed on time. Go to the PWW to see a list of the lab exercises being developed along with a brief description of the lab and its planned delivery method.

Financial Status Report

Expenditures to June 20, 2008:

Item	Inukshuk Funding (Schedule A)	Utilized Funds	Funds Committed	Funds Remaining
Direct Salaries & Benefits	31,553.13	11,946.17	19,606.96	0.00
Consulting Fees	70,000.00	5,781.87	41,218.13	23,000.00
Overhead	10,000.00	10,000.00	0.00	0.00
Budget Totals	111,553.13	19,728.04	60,825.09	23,000.00

Budgeting Variations to Date:

To date the budgeting put forth in Schedule A has not changed from the way it was proposed.

There were some budget variations below the Schedule A level. The Inukshuk portion of the Project Coordinator/Report Writer Position was increased from $1553.13 up to $5553.13 to help cover the significant time commitment that this position requires. To compensate for this change the Multi-Media Preparation budget was reduced from $4000.00 to zero. The Multi Media Preparation position will now be covered under a consultant contract and not from direct Salary and Benefits as originally proposed. Neither of these changes has affected the budgeted values proposed in Schedule A.

As of this report date we are basically on track with expenditures.

Detailed Expenditure List (To Date):

	Funds Utillized	Funds Committed	Item Totals
Direct Salaries and Benefits
Coordinator	2,064.62	3,488.51	5,553.13
RWSL Tech (NIC Distributed Learning)	~8,000.00	~8,000.00	16,000.00
Physics Lab Curriculum	1,881.55	6,184.45	8,066.00
Physics Peer Collaborator (labs)		1,934.00	1,934.00
Total	~11,946.17	~19,606.96	31,553.13

Consultants
Velmex	5,781.87	~29,218.13	~35,000.00
Tatlayoko Think (Not signed yet)		12,000.00	12,000.00
Total	5,781.87	~41,218.13	~47,000.00

Overhead
Administration	10,000.00		10,000.00

Total Expenditures	27,728.04	60,825.09	$88,5553.13

As Yet Un-committed Grant Funds			~$23,000.00

Potential Future Variations:

As the project continues, we may need to ask for some of the Consultant funds to be moved to Direct Salaries & Benefits. However, this is not currently planned, but we can see a scenario where it might become necessary.

Problems Encountered

Due to start-up delays we got a later than expected start. While this and subsequent ordering delays have resulted in RWSL development being delayed somewhat we have still been able to meet the deadlines for the various project deliverables as originally planned. We are working to mitigate the start-up delays by putting extra time into RWSL development and at this time we expect all project activities and deliverables will be completed before the Final Project Report is due in December. It should be noted that we attempted to foresee such delays by building extra time into each project activity. The delays we have experienced so far still fall within the timing parameters we estimated.

Overall Assessment of how the Project is Proceeding

Current project progress indicates that we should be able to meet our over-all project deadlines with all deliverables in place before December 12, 2008.

News

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