Under the hood of a survey application

The purpose of this assignment is to reinforce your understanding of the information flow between a client and server on the Internet and the functional components of a computer. It also gives you practice collaboratively writing a short document.

Now that you have completed the student background survey, write carefully worded answers to these questions:

1. I used a survey-creation program to enter and format the survey questions. Where was that program while I was creating the survey?
2. After I finished drafting the survey, where were the survey questions stored?
3. While you were completing the questionnaire, what program were you running?
4. Where are your answers now?
5. While you were completing the survey, where was the survey-completion program and when did it get there?

Be specific and use the words client, server, memory, storage, program and data when appropriate. For example, don't just say something is stored at "Survey Gizmo" -- be more specific.

Use the Google Drive word processor for this assignment. When you have a clearly written answer that you are proud of, print a copy to turn in and send me the link to your answers in an email.

Be sure to set the sharing permission so that anyone with the address can view it, but only your team members can edit it.

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

Craft a question about the Khan Academy

This assignment has two purposes -- to introduce you to Sal Khan and the Khan Academy, an important Internet education service, and to get you to think about good questions.

Read the associated topic module, then watch this TED Talk by Sal Khan of the Khan Academy.

After watching it, formulate a question that a teacher might ask a class about the talk. Try to come up with a question that would get the class thinking or stimulate discussion -- it should not be something trivial like a fact that could be looked up in the talk transcript or using a search engine. Make sure it is a question that you could answer intelligently.

When you have crafted a carefully worded question, print it out to turn in.

Also post it to our class community under the topic "questions for Sal Khan."

Link to topic module

Revise a short document

You recently completed an assignment in which you answered a question about Michael Wesch's views on education.

You can think of the database you contributed to as a collaboratively authored document.

Let's revisit the database to make it something we can all be proud of -- something we can send to Michael Wesch. To do that, pick a partner or two and revise your entries using the tips from our topic module on writing short documents (and any other things you can think of).

Update the database and turn in a printout of your revised answer.

Link to topic module
Link to topic module

Post a tweet with a hashtag

This assignment will give you practice writing very short documents and will help us collaborate in discovering some cool resources on the Web.

Your assignment is to find something that would be useful and interesting to your fellow students. (Don't pick something everyone already knows about).

Spend some time picking something cool, then post a tweet that describes it. Be sure to include a link the reader can follow if he or she is interested.

Be sure to include the hashtag #275s12 in your tweet so we can share it.

Spend some time looking for a cool site to recommend -- the best one will get extra credit.

After you post your tweet, print it out to turn in.

Link to topic module

Writing and sharing a document with the Google Drive word processor

This assignment will introduce you to the Google Drive word processor and give you practice writing and sharing a short document.

Spend some time reading our class blog, and pick the most interesting post you can find. Write a short description of that post, stating its title, what it says and how it is relevant to our class. Be sure to include a link to the post in your description.

You will be tempted to pick the first post you come across to get the assignment done quickly. Resist that temptation and search for a post on a topic you care about -- one that is interesting to you and you can honestly recommend to your classmates. Be convincing -- write something that will convince a classmate to read the blog post.

When you finish, set the sharing to allow it to be read by anyone on the Web.

Print it out to turn in along with its shared URL (Web address).

Link to topic module
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

The Google Docs word processor

This assignment will introduce you to Google Docs word processor and give you practice writing a short document,

Use Google Docs to write a short description of the best class you have taken at CSUDH. (If this is your first semester, select the best class from a previous school). Let the reader know the name of the class, who taught it, what it covered, what you liked about it and why it was important to you.

When it is finished, print it out to turn in. Also print a copy of your Google Docs home page with a listing of this document and any others you may have created.

Link to topic module on Google Docs
Link to topic module on writing short documents

Revise a poorly written short document

This comment was left on a blog post on PowerPoint presentations:

I think that power points are very imporan in the lectures bacause it gives you a visual reference to what the teacher is talking about.
Also if the teacher makes the power point presentation available the student can access it at anytime. I have had some good and bad experinces with power points.The good power points had videos and funny pictures. While the bad ones lack subtance had too many spelling errors and fail to capture audince.

I rejected it because it was so poorly written.

Turn in the following:

1. Read each sentence or fragment aloud. Which have grammatical errors?
2. List the point or points you think the writer is trying to make.
3. Rewrite the post in your own words.

Link to topic module.

Write a blog post

This will familiarize you with blog search and posting, and practice writing a short document.

Using the search box or labels, find a post that you find interesting on our class blog. Write a short description of it and post the description on your blog.

You should summarize the post in the first sentence -- to get the reader interested -- then go on to say more about what the post said, why you chose it, and where it fits in our class outline. Be sure to include a ckickable link to the post itself in your post. That way, an interested reader can refer back to the original.

Print a copy the description on your blog to turn in. Be sure to follow format I outlined above.

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

Analyze an ineffective email conversation

This assignment highlights the waste and confusion that can occur when Internet conversation is not precise and responsive.

Carefully read this email conversation. You may have to read it a few times to get a clear picture of the situation and the various participants. It is an actual conversation, not a fictitious example.

Once you are clear on what happened, answer the following questions:

1. Can you find places where someone tries to stay on track by quoting previous statements? Where? Was this effective?
2. Can you find a place where someone makes a commitment to do something by a given date? Did they carry through?
3. Are there indications that one party or another was not carefully reading other's statements? Where?
4. What were the costs to the organization of this ineffective conversation?

Print your answers to turn in.

Link to topic module

Conversation using a blog comment

This assignment will give you practice with conversational writing.

You will be posting a comment on a blog. Find a blog on a topic where you have some knowledge and opinions -- look for a blog that you would like to subscribe to and continue following. It can be on any topic, not necessarily related to our class -- perhaps sports, music, cooking, the stock market, etc. -- whatever interests you.

Read the current and recent posts on the blog, and post a comment on one of them.  Your comment should be relevant to the particular post you selected, and must contain at least one quote from that post.

Remember that you are conversing with the person who wrote the blog post -- you might want to ask him or her a question, disagree with something they said, add something they overlooked, etc. Think of it as conversing with your keyboard.

Print out a copy of the original post and your comment showing the quote to turn in.

If the blog owner replies to your comment, print that out as well and you will get extra credit for the assignment. Similarly, if you send them an email and they reply, print the exchange out and you will get extra credit.

Link to topic module
Link to topic module

Collaborative Twitter stream

This assignment will give you practice writing very short documents and will help us jointly discover some cool resources on the Web.

Start searching and being on the lookout for cool things on the Web -- a blog post, Web site, service, etc, that would be useful and interesting to your fellow students.  Make sure it is not something common that we all know about like Google, Facebook or YouTube.

Write a tweet on the neatest thing you find.  Your tweet should include a link to the site you are recommending and explain  what it is and why we will like it.  You should both describe and sell your selection.  (Doing that in 140 characters is a challenge).

Don't recommend the first thing you think of.  Pick something really cool.  I will give you three weeks to find something really great, make your selection and tweet it.

Post your tweet at http://twitter.com/cis275tweets -- ask me for the user name and password.

After tweeting your recommendation, print it out to turn in along with the answer to the following questions:

1. Once you decided which site to recommend, how long did you spend writing the tweet?
2. Which would you expect to turn up better results -- the professor recommending some sites for you to visit or distributing the task to the class as we have done here?  Explain your answer.

This is a contest -- once you've posted your selections, you will pick the best ones, which will receive extra credit.

Link to topic module
Link to topic module 2

Michael Wesch presentation

This assignment has two goals -- to get you thinking about the roles of classroom architecture and questions in learning and to give you experience with careful, mindful Internet writing of short documents.

Watch this video excerpt from a talk in which Michael Wesch discusses the role of classroom architecture and questions in education.

Then write your answer to one of these questions:

1. How did listening to Michael Wesch make you feel? Do you recognize yourself in what he says?
2. What stops you from participating in classroom discussion?
3. Which online discussion tools have you used and were they effective?

Think carefully about the question you chose and draft your answer, then watch the video again and make any changes that come to mind.

Next, set your answer aside for a day or more and rewrite it. Read it aloud -- your ear will catch grammar errors and awkward sentences. Run it through the Microsoft Word grammar and spelling checker. Show it to someone else for feedback.

When you have an answer you are proud of, enter it into this database and print a hard copy to turn in.

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