CIS2: Final Project Guidelines

Module 7
• It is time to start thinking about the Final Project. Groups of 3-5 students work together to prepare a report on one of the topics covered in this course. The final paper should be 7-8 pages long. Include references to 6-8 online articles that are appropriate to your discussion.

• On your own, create a project proposal, following the directions provided in the Project Proposal information below. Post your ideas for a final project topic to Final Project Topic Ideas discussion. Include a 2-3 sentence description of the objective, point of view and list of subtopics that might be addressed.

• Review the ideas or others and comment on 2-3, adding your thoughts about the proposal and provide feedback to improve or enhance the report content.

• Review Collaboration and Group Projects for an overview of the process of collaborating online.

• Additional information is available in Group Work and Collaborative Writing

• Start working to form groups. If someone posted a proposal that you want to work on, make contact and work out a plan for the project. If your idea is similar to someone else's, consider combining your ideas and working together. Let everyone know when you have your groups formed. Set up a separate discussion topic for your group - this is a good way to keep the group communications organized and available to all. If you are not part of a group by Module 7 DUE DATE, please let me know and I will help you join or form a group.
  
  Module 8

• Divide up the work so everyone will make a contribution to the final project. Everyone on the team should understand what work they have to do and the date when it must be completed. Prepare a timeline or schedule with due dates. Include dates for final paper outline, individual reseach, individual section completion, introduction and conclusion writing, review and editing.
  Be sure to leave enough time to review the final complete group paper for feedback and corrections. Post the schedule to your project group discussion topic so it is available to all members for future reference.

• If you want to "meet" with your group, consider using e-conferencing. I can arrange for a meeting time for you. You can also use the Catalyst Chat function.

• Prepare an outline of the entire report. This will help you organize the contributions of each member to the final report by reducing possible duplication and serious omissions. Use the outline points for subheading in the final report. Also, each team member creates a detailed outline of their section and provides that outline to the group. Post these outlines to your project group discussion topic for review and reference.

• Send me a message including an outline for your section of the final project report and the status of your work on your Final project by the Module 8 DUE DATE.

• Also see the notes on Collaboration and Group Projects, for information on how to work as a group online.
  
  Module 9

• You should be working with your team on your Final Project. If you need help with your project team organization, please post your questions to the discussion. Communication within your group is essential. Use the Catalyst Messages and/or the discussion forum to keep track of your discussions for future reference.
  
  Module 10

• You should be working with your team on your Final Project. If you need help with your project team organization, please post your questions to the discussion.

• Every member should be participating in the final report review and contributing suggestions. The best learning comes in this part of the project. If you have questions about information being included in the report, ask those questions now. Everyone in the group should be thinking about the overall report.
  Are the key points about your issue clearly stated? Do you make a good argument about the importance of this issue over others you considered? Can you support your statements with research? Are other points of view stated and compared to your position? Can you explain your position if it is challenged?

• Use tools the Catalyst Wiki for sharing and revising your paper. The change tracking feature will ensure that the most current version is being reviewed. Decide who makes changes to the final report document and how to integrate the contribtions of each member.
  
  Module 11

• When you have completed your Final Project place your report in the Final Projects Reports discussion.

• Use Final Project Test to "submit" your project. There are several questions to answer, including the name of your group's project report.
  
  Module 12

• The final assignment for this course is your opportunity to review and critique the final projects for other groups. Review and provide feedback on at least 2 projects. Post your reviews to the Review and Feedback discussion. Use this Rubric as a guide to evaulating the other project reports. Grading Criteria

• an important issue that was raised during class from the text, the study guide or in class discussions.
• 2-3 sentence description of the objective, point of view and list of subtopics that might be addressed.
• describe some research that you would expect to find about the subject that would support these views
• suggest some roles and responsibilities for the 3-5 team members who will be completing the project paper

• Project manager - oversees project goals, timeline
• Team coordinator - follows up with team members, reminds others to get deliverables done on time
• Recorder - keeps project notes, summarizes information
• Writer / Subject matter expert - everyone should be or become the expert in their area of responsibility
• Content manager / librarian - keeps versions, member submissions
• Style coordinator - ensures standards, conventions followed by all. This should be someone familiar with college writing and appropriate use of reference citations.
• Tech wiz - helps the team with web delivery of the project presentation
• Reviewer - everyone should review the final paper
• Editor - consistent "voice" throughout project

• List all the things that need to be done and the order they must be completed - team brainstorm so everyone participates, use the presentation facility so everyone is adding to a shared list
• Choose roles - works best if people pick what they think they are good at and are interested in doing, or try something you have never done before - this is supposed to be a learning experience!
• Divide up tasks, set time times, assign responsibilities
• Communicate, communicate, communicate - let everyone know how you are doing, ask for help if you need it.
• Schedule regular "check in" times - there is nothing worse than not knowing that a key piece is not finished.
• Rearrange roles and responsibilities if necessary - things happen that prevent well-meaning classmates from being able to put in the time they thought they could, so don't let that mess up the project for everyone else.
• Collaborate - it is ok the challenge ideas (nothing presonal, though). If some other group member challenges your idea, explain your position again. Try using different words or a different explantion or add examples. This is how we learn best. You should be challenging your own ideas, anticipating the questions of others.
• Be flexible - do the best you can with what you have - time, resources, ideas. Pitch in and help if you have extra time.
• Have fun - this is your chance to really have a great learning experience. It will be as good as you make it for yourself.

• Groups of 3-5 students work together to prepare a project on one of the topics covered in this course.
• The "report" will be wiki pages. The final presentation should be the equivalent of 5-8 text pages long and must include links/references. MLA includes formatting for web references.
  For the web-based report, the format can be wiki or regular web pages. If someone in the group has some expertise or at least some familiarity with web page creation, that will help. However, the Catalyst wiki tools are very easy to use, even for a novice.
• Be sure to include a discussion about the impact on society. This can be opinion but it must be based on facts found in the references. You should present both sides of a controversial topic, but be sure to back-up the arguments with references.
• Include references to 6-8 online articles that are appropriate to your discussion. If possible include the date of the article. Consider how current the information is for the topic. For subjects like viruses and copyright laws, articles published more than a year ago may not reflect the current situation.
• Citations should be MLA style and used consistently. Citation can be a separate page or section and referenced in the body of the project report.
  
  Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html
• Create an outline for the report. This will help the group organize the work. Include an introduction and a summary. Be sure to discuss your conclusions - So what? Why should we care about this? Why is it important to society?
• Use headers as appropriate. Help your readers follow the main topics of the report.
• Use bullet lists sparingly if you have several short points to include in a topic.

• Create an outline for your paper. Include a brief description of the information that will be in each section. Making a very detailed outline and sticking to it will help keep everyone on track and reduce duplication of effort.

• Each team member should research and write one or more sections. Before any writing starts, be sure that you know how all the pieces will fit together. This will save time and ensure that your final paper flows smoothly.

• Dividing the work in a way that each person’s section is related but not dependent on the others’ sections is effective. Each person takes one topic and explores it from the beginning to the end. This way integrating each person’s part to the final paper is easier.

• This is a group effort, so writing should not include "I" statements.

• Depending on the group, the final report review and revision can be done by the entire group OR by the group member who volunteers to be the Editor with input and suggestions from the group.

• If all groups members are reviewing and revising the final paper, the paper can be passed around in a circle. Each person suggests the changes and revisions before passing it to the next person. Each person makes a note if they agreed that each revision is a good idea, and the paper keeps going around until there are no more revisions to be made. This avoid duplication but may extend the time to complete the reviews and revisions.

• If there is an Editor, that person makes changes to the final, combined document. Others should review the paper and make suggestions for final edits. However, the editor for the group project reports should not be making significant changes to the submission of others. If the editor feels that there should be revisions, discuss it with the author of the section. Correcting spelling and minor grammatical errors is ok.

• Spelling and neatness count. Even though this is a course in the Computer Information Systems (CIS) department, all writing, citations and formatting are being graded by college-level writing standards.

• Online writing assistance is available for distance learning students taking classes that involve writing assignments. In order to use the service, students must register by filling out a tutee application, which you can access online from the URL. However, check the dates of service - the tutorial service usually ends before the end of the quarter, so you may need to plan accordingly. http://faculty.deanza.fhda.edu/writingcenter/

• Allow more time than you think you will need. create a timeline and stick to it. Schedule rough drafts to be done early so there is enough time to review and revise the combined report. Collaborating online takes time.

• Consider using the edit tracking on MS Word. This is a useful tool when it came to editing rough drafts.