Collaboration project

We will put together short answers to the question "how does your personal life or university budget cuts affect your studies?"

Record at least one answer to this question and upload it to our shared class directory at:

     FTP server name: sws.csudh.edu
     Username: cis275 (do not precede it with \toronet).
     (I emailed the password)

When you have uploaded your file, add a link to it by completing this form.

You can see what you and others have submitted here.

Alternative introductions to Twitter

This assignment will give you an alternative introduction to Twitter and also introduce you to a form of presentation called a "Prezi." Since it is to be done in teams, you also get practice with collaborative writing.

First, watch the following presentations:

A video introduction to Twitter
A “Prezi” of the above video

Then answer the following questions.

1. The presentations introduced Twitter and then showed how it could be used in a collaborative application. What was that application?

2. Which did you prefer the Prezi or the Video? Explain your answer.

3. You also saw this PowerPoint presentation. What is one point that it covers that is not covered in the video/Prezi?

This assignment is to be done in teams of two or three people. Print and turn in a single copy of your answers with everyone's name on it.

Link to topic module

Create a Yahoo Group to support a community of common interest

This assignment gives you practice creating a Yahoo Group and reinforces the idea of an online community.

A Yahoo Group is a tool to support a community of common interest. The most important step in this assignment is thinking about the community you wish to support. Is it a few friends with a common interest, people taking a class, friends from the gym, you and your brothers and sisters, etc.? (The most successful groups will receive extra credit).

Think carefully about the group you plan to support, then write a short statement of who they are and what their common interest is. Print that out to turn in.

Next create a Yahoo Group for your community by following the three-step process at: http://groups.yahoo.com/start.

When you have completed the setup, you will receive a confirmation email. Print that out to turn in.

Link to topic module

Communities of common interest

Interent pioneers like JCR licklidder understood that it would foster collaboration. In Licklider's words, they envisioned "communities of common interest rather than communities of common location."

This assignment will give you practice creating a community around some topic you are familiar with.

Your end goal is to create a Yahoo Group to support your community. It can be for friends with a common interest, family members, a group of people at work or school. Whatever you wish. Your success will be determined by the level of activity of the group you create. You will get credit for creating a group and attracting a few members, but the group with the most posts and the group with the coolest topic will receive extra credit.

But the first step is to pick a topic and prepare a proposal answering questions like:

What is the group topic, the shared interest?
Who are the potential members?
What is their motivation to participate?

For this assignment, draft your proposal, print it out and turn it in.

Hint -- do not submit a proposal for the first idea that crosses your mind -- come up with several ideas, mull them over, talk them over with prospective community members, then propose the one that seems best.

Link to topic module

Best class database

The purpose of this assignment is to give you experience using a shared database for collaboration. You will also create a useful resource to share with your fellow students.

What is the best class you have taken at CSUDH? Think a while before you answer, then enter a description of the class (in your own words) and your reason for choosing it in this database.

We will share this with other students, so do not be careless. Follow our tips for writing short documents, and make your contribution something you are proud of.

When you are satisfied, print a listing of the database, highlight your answer, and turn it in. Also state the name of the classmate who reviewed it and gave you feedback.

This is a companion assignment to one in which you update a best classes wiki page. You will use the same content for both assignments.

While you are working on it, think about the pros and cons of collaboration using a wiki and using a database.

Link to topic module

A collaborative database

One purpose of this assignment is to give you experience using a database to create a structured, collaboratively-authored composite document. This experience can be contrasted with that of creating an unstructured, collaboratively authored composite document. A second purpose is to create a useful resource to share with your fellow students.

We will create a database of the topic modules for this course. I set it up, and each of you is responsible for entering three records in the database.

As you see, there are six fields in each record:

• Module title: already filled in
• Description: Fill this in by copying and pasting the notes from the first slide in the module PowerPoint presentation.
• Keywords and phrases: Fill this in by copying the skills and concepts from the second slide. Note that the words "Skills" and "Concepts" are not included, nor is the word "none" if there are no skills or concepts. Note further that the key words are separated by commas. The commas can have no spaces before or after them. Be very careful on this field -- if you mess it up, neither you nor the person verifying your work will get credit.
• URL: the URL of the topic module
• Entered by: the name of the person creating the record, last name first
• Verified by: the name of the classmate who verified the entry, last name first

You can pick any three modules that are not yet taken.

When you are sure that your entries are correct, copy them to a single, cleanly formatted page and print it out to turn in.

I will be a stickler on grading this because it is to be shared with other students.

Link to topic module
Link to topic module

Its all bits

This assignment gives you a chance to practice asynchronous collaboration and sharpen your understanding of data types and the way they are encoded.

Three of the questions at the end of this presentation will be included on the final exam. (Perhaps in a slightly different format).

Start by looking them over and trying to answer them yourself.

Then think of a way the class could use the Internet to collaboratively discuss and answer the questions.

Write up your proposal and post it to your blog, with the title "Proposal for Collaboration on the Final."

Print your blog post to turn in.

Link to topic module

Best class wiki

The purpose of this assignment is to give you experience using a wiki to create a collaboratively-authored document. You will also create a useful resource to share with your fellow students.

What is the best class you have taken at CSUDH? Think a while before you answer, then enter a description of the class (in your own words) and your reason for choosing it on this wiki page.

The format for your description is given here. Be sure to format your entry the way the example is formatted -- we want the page to be uniform and look good.

You might find it helpful to prepare your answers using a text editor (not a word processor!) and paste them onto the wiki page when they are ready.

We will share this with other students, so do not be careless. Follow our tips for writing short documents, and make your contribution something you are proud of.

Have a classmate give you feedback on what you have written.

When you are satisfied, print the wiki page, highlight your answer, and turn it in. Also state the name of the classmate who reviewed it and gave you feedback.

This is a companion assignment to one in which you update a best classes database, and you will use the same content for both.

While you are working on it, think about the pros and cons of collaboration using a wiki and using a database.

Link to topic module
Link to topic module
Link to topic
module