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Executive Summary:

In our project, we will discuss and explain the different functions and uses of the application, Trello. We will give details and examples of why Trello would be a useful application to implement into a classroom or a workplace. These examples will consist of the board we created for our presentation to a staff member, as well as other generic examples to give a full scope of the uses of Trello. For example, we, as business students, can greatly benefit from the different aspects of Trello. We can create different groups for different projects to tackle the different challenges that face any company on an everyday basis.

We will also discuss how the developers of Trello have built upon the initial, free version of Trello by creating the “Business Class” package with further benefits to users for a price. Beyond the “Business Class” package, we will discuss the most advanced version of Trello, which is called “Enterprise”. Although our project covered the free version of Trello, we will explain the various advantages that these other versions of Trello bring to their users, because we will show that Trello can be used to continue business growth for any group of people.

A few of the details we will cover are about how a Trello user can create study groups, note cards, as well as, upload class notes, and practice tests/quizzes with Trello. We will explain why doing these various things is so easy to do by using Trello. To our peers, we will show how using Trello to either study, organize their schedule, or even share information with their classmates will likely lead to a higher grade in their class.

For the benefit of professors and faculty, we will bring up the many advantages that Trello would bring to their classes or departments. As an example, we created a board for the ‘Plants and our World’ class and showed how this app could improve the class. The professor of this class, the one we presented to, was Professor Dennis Ray. We will discuss his opinion of the application and of our presentation and we will talk about his specific praises and critiques of our presentation to him. We will go into more depth about our good qualities and into the places we could improve. We will also explain how simple it is to get started with the application through watching tutorials and simply signing in to the application and trying out the different aspects of the application. If a professor wanted to adapt Trello to their course, we will explain what he/she should consider doing in our project. We will also explain what they should before introducing Trello as well. We will also discuss what the advantages of upgrading from the free version, to the paid versions of Trello would be for faculty and staff.

Lastly, we will discuss our final thoughts of Trello and what we used it for during our work on this project. We will also reflect on the numerous benefits that any student could benefit from and why we would honestly recommend using the application for any class from a student perspective.

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Table of Contents:

I. Executive Summary: Page 1

II. Table of Figures: Page 2-3

III. Body of the Paper: Pages 4-11

IV. Conclusions: Page 11

V. Bibliography: Page 13

VI. Appendices: Page 14

Table of Figures:

Figure I

Figure II

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Figure III

Difficult to

Implement

into the

Classroom

Easy to

Implement

into the

Classroom ✔Somewhat Useful to

Learning

Very Useful to Learning

Body of Paper:

Introduction

The overall object of our project was to refine our knowledge of Trello, which is

an organizational application tool with a variety of uses. We then provided information

about Trello in a presentation format to Professor Dennis Ray. Our recommendation to

Professor Ray was for him to adopt Trello in his class as an outlet that all students could

use to form a class-wide study group. It would fit his class size very well and would

benefit his students. If he were to adopt our recommendation, our group feels that it

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would only work to his benefit. It requires very little to no work on his part and provides a

collaborative resource for his students to study class material.

Product Assessment / Overview

The value proposition for this application is an easy-to use and easy-to set up

organizational program that benefits users in a variety of ways. Users are able to use

Trello to build checklists, create notecards for studying, upload and share class notes,

ask questions, and a variety of other things. Education is definitely a target market, as it

can easily be applied to students in a variety of classes. It is the best place to market

the free version of the app, because students tend to have a limited budget when it

comes to organizing school expenses. The pricing structure for Trello is pretty

straightforward. The initial download is free and provides all of the pieces of the app to

function properly. There are three purchasable add-ons. One is called “Trello Gold,”

which provides users with an increased amount of storage space, a few more

decorative components, and the ability to save searches on recent boards for $5 a

month. The other is called “Business Class,” which provides more data sharing and

added layers of security for more sensitive information for around $8 a month. The third

is called “Enterprise,” which big businesses can purchase to use all the features of the

“Business Class” add-on, with so many more features for around $20 a month. For the

purpose of our project, we are looking at the free, simplest version of the Trello

application. As students, we encountered no issues using the free version for the whole

of our project, therefore we refrained from purchasing one of the more advanced

versions.

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The Trello app and the company around it are trying to branch out from just the

academic side of organization. With their recently added business packages, they are

attempting to appeal to groups outside of the lower-level users of the app. They have

private offices and offer very inclusive benefits to their employees. There are no visible

ads on the site, so the majority of the revenue comes from the monthly payments from

each of the packages. If a business were to use Trello for anything more than a simple

organizational tool, it would quickly become a necessity to upgrade to at least the

“Business Class” package to have more storage space, which is what Trello is betting

on. Trello is a private company, so they have an undisclosed amount of employees and

a few other undisclosed figures about their company. The company is headquartered in

New York City.

The great features of Trello are that it is easy to understand and use, it allows for

simple organization of any information a user could want, and it allows groups to work

seamlessly together to study, create, or work on almost anything. On a laptop or home

computer, Trello can be accessed through the website trello.com. It can also be

downloaded onto mobile devices as a user-friendly application. This allows for a variety

of usable technologies, including apple and android devices, along with any computer or

laptop with internet access.

Proposed Instructional Activity

The suitable market for Trello is in group projects in the educational field:

especially ones with definable terms. It bases on lower division instructional level

materials, due to its limited features and simplistic nature, which restricts the capability

and freedom of design in the program. However, it is not strictly limited by lower division

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courses and can be used in upper division classes as well. It can be used as a highly

innovative alternative to study groups and online collaboration between multiple

members.

It can be used as a way for the teacher to help students have the resources and

ability to connect with each other. Inside the classroom, the teacher could in theory

create a group session where multiple students can join. Inside these sessions or

‘boards’, as they are referred to in Trello, students can ask and answer each other’s

questions, post images and documents, and help facilitate the learning process by

allowing more availability than the teacher alone could grant. Students would be able to

ask and answer each other’s questions at any time of day, allowing for a more flexible

environment. For example, a question on a previous lecture or homework assignment

could be downloaded straight from the app after uploaded. The result, would allow more

students to ask questions and get answers rather than waiting on their teacher’s email

schedule, and furthermore, allow students who may feel intimidated by their

authoritative teacher to connect with other students who they may feel more

comfortable with.

The assessment criteria would have to be on participation, for this technology.

However, one could grade papers and submitted documents – this is not as effective as

some other technologies. Asking a daily question such as, in the case for the Plants and

Our World course, ‘Name your assigned plant and one cool fact about it’, could be

graded in a forum-like setting. However, this technology is better suited avoiding such

assessed criteria and rather as a supplementary study guide.

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Arguably, through use of Trello, students would perform better on exams, and

retain the material at a higher rate. The ability to understand concepts, and help explain

difficult theories to classmates would allow for greater potential for success.

Furthermore, the possibility of more questions being asked and answered would also

lead to exam score increases, and more understanding at the conceptual level. The

additional engagement amongst students in a classroom setting, however protected by

being in a virtual environment, encourages those seeking help to seek help more

frequently thus allowing for more questions to, definitely, be answered.

Specifically the class at the University of Arizona, Plants and Our World, is an

appropriate candidate for adopting Trello due to its numerous definable terms, and

structure which can easily incorporate the technology. For example, asking about

properties and definitions of plants, or what the plant of the day was are just some of the

ways this technology could be intertwined into the classroom.

This product influences the existing method of asking the professor questions,

enabling students to interact with each other and leave more important major concerns

to the professor. Minute, and trivial questions which students may be discouraged to

ask, can now be answered by their fellow classmates.

Feasibility/Design Assessment

Instructional Assessment- Our team interviewed Dr. Dennis Ray, a university

distinguished professor, a professor in the The School of Plant Sciences. His relation to

our team is that he is Juan Figueroa-Cecco’s professor in a natural sciences class

called Plants and Our World. Our group decided to have Dr. Ray as our faculty interview

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because we felt that this class in particular would work great for Trello, being that it is a

small class, and Dr. Ray encourages study groups and group work. Based on Dr. Ray’s

reactions and his comments, I think the interview went on the side of positive. Our group

incorporated Trello as it would if it were in his class (and so there were many terms

used in the class and pictures of plants) which Dr. Ray really enjoyed. As far as his

reaction for the technology itself, he did not seem to be blown away, though he did tell

us that he found it to be a very useful tool. Dr. Ray’s main feedback was to make sure

that everyone in the group speaks when we present. He also told the group to make

sure we know certain information about Trello, such as its origin, its owners, and what

big names have used it.

Technical Assessment- Trello is very simple to use when it comes to technology.

The big requirement is that it does need internet access. Trello can be used through the

web, or through an app. When it comes to using it through the web, Trello is supported

by the following web browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. When it

comes to using Trello through an app, the app can be downloaded for free for Android

devices, Apple devices, and Kindle Fire. Otherwise, there is no software installation

required.

Operational Assessment- Learning to use Trello is actually very simple. Our

group learned to use it within 10 minutes of learning that Trello was our technology. It is

very easy to access, as mentioned before, being that it can be used through an app or

through the web. If a teacher wanted to have a class formally use Trello, it would take

about 10 minutes to go through and teach the class on how to use Trello. Aside from

that, Trello does have a video that is a little under 5 minutes on how to use Trello. There

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are also several forums on the Trello website on how to go about utilizing all the

features of Trello.

Economic Assessment- The economic costs come more from accessing Trello. If

a student did not have a smartphone or a computer, then Trello would not be as

accessible. When it comes to the University, if a student has access to a computer with

internet, they would have access to Trello. Most students today, especially at the

University of Arizona will find that they will have free access to resources such as

internet and a computer. There are no licensing costs to students, instructors, or

institution, Trello is completely free in that sense. Trello does have upgraded versions

such as a Trello Business Class upgrade and a Trello Enterprise upgrade. These

upgraded versions of the app offer more formal and wide use of the app, and is more

directed towards businesses and corporations. The free version of Trello would suffice

for university students.

Risk Management- The risk of Trello going out of business or not being available

is not too bad. Our team’s selling point of Trello is that it is simply a tool, and it makes

things simpler. In essence, it is not a requirement, and students can get by without it. If

we look at most things we use for school, that is probably the case though. That being,

Trello too, will make things easier for students, but the risk factor of it not working is not

too high.

Legal/Regulatory Assessment- Trello unfortunately does not meet all the

requirements of FERPA. Trello almost entirely meets the criteria for FERPA, except for

the fact that a student using Trello as a study group, would already be breaking the

criteria, being that they would be posting about content concerning their school work.

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Otherwise, a student’s educational records or biographical information would not be a

compromised because it would not be on Trello. Again, the selling point of our team is

that Trello is only a tool, and therefore is not required by a class. That being said,

instructors are allowed to suggest the use of Trello, but not make it a requirement to

use. For example, in the Plants and Our World class, Dr. Ray could tell us about Trello

and that if we wanted to, we could make a study group with Trello. Dr. Ray would have

not be part of it, and neither would the University of Arizona. It is simply as if a group of

students decided to have a chat on Facebook, but instead they decided to have a study

group on Trello. Trello

Privacy/Intellectual Property- The terms and services of Trello do not break any

expectations of the user. This means that any user content posted onto Trello remains

the property of the user, and Trello respects that. The only thing to be noted is that

Trello does reserve the right to “store and display” your user content (although the it

would only be displayed to the owner of the content.

Next Steps / Future Work

Trello is definitely better-suited in it’s simplest form for smaller groups and/or

smaller-sized classrooms. The next step if any faculty member were to choose to

implement Trello into their classroom would be to first allow the faculty member to work

with the application for 10-15 minutes just to play with it and begin to understand it. At

the point they understood the concept somewhat, the following step would be to let their

students download the app in class and talk about the different features, and take some

class time to allow the students to work with the app as well. At that point, most

students and faculty members would have a pretty good idea of how the technology

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works and what they would need to do to use it successfully. Smaller classes would

provide a more conducive environment to use Trello in.

Conclusions

Trello is an organizational tool that works on both laptop/computers and mobile

devices. It easily allows for groups to work together on creating checklists for projects or

creating study pages for their classes. It is important for the modern day students,

because it allows them to form study groups, without having to be constrained to a

certain time for everyone to meet up. Members of the group can work on their parts of

the project or review whenever it fits into their schedules, benefiting everyone involved.

As stated, Trello will easily improve the lack of connectedness among students in the

same classes. It improves collaborative effort on group projects, while giving

accountability to all members of the group and not just a few. Trello is an application

that could benefit any small classrooms around the U of A campus.

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Bibliography:

Kabzinski, Marcin. Taco the Husky, the Trello Mascot. Digital image. ANTY. N.p., n.d.

Web. 6 Dec. 2015. <antyapps.pl>.

Trello. Digital image. Word Press, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

<https://dillieodigital.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/hello-trello-my-fine-fellow/>.

Trello. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015. <https://trello.com/>.

"Trello Business Class." Trello. Trello, n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

<https://trello.com/business-class?

utm_source=blog&utm_medium=banner&utm_term=footer&utm_campaign=blog-

business-class>.

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Appendices:

Appendix A:

Our team interviewed Dr. Dennis Ray, a university distinguished professor, a

professor in the The School of Plant Sciences. The specific class that our team was

looking at was Plants and Our World. Our group decided to have Dr. Ray as our faculty

interview because we felt that this class in particular would work great for Trello, being

that it is a small class, and Dr. Ray encourages study groups and group work. Based on

Dr. Ray’s reactions and his comments, I think the interview went on the side of positive.

Our group incorporated Trello as it would if it were in his class (and so there were many

terms used in the class and pictures of plants) which Dr. Ray really enjoyed. As far as

his reaction for the technology itself, he did not seem to be blown away, although he did

tell us that he found it to be a very useful tool. There did not seem to be any negative

feedback. There was a few things he thought we should know and do though. One such

thing was that everyone in the group speaks when we present. Dr. Ray also suggested

that we should know information other than just how Trello works and what it could be

used. For example, he told us that we should know certain information about Trello,

such as its origin, its owners, and what big names have used it. Overall the faculty

interview was a positive experience and definitely a learning experience.

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