This assignment is about the wiki encyclopedia Wikipedia. This is the big famous online encyclopedia that some instructors love and others don't trust. This assignment is to have you look around and understand the process of creating and editing these entries. By looking at these articles and the history, you can begin to understand the process and decide if your think the entries are valuable and trustworthy.
There is a huge group of volunteer editors who work very hard to ensure that Wikipedia entries are accurate and reliable. They note any problems or inconsistencies. The encourage authors to provide links to "better" authenticated sources. It is a very impressive process.
WikiEducator is also pblic but it is more for students and instructors to use to write and "publish" course related information. Student projects like the CIS2 final group projects are pretty typical of the information presented in WikiEducator. For the final project your group will be creating a page on a different wiki - WikiEducator. Links to the appropriate WikiEducator page and template pages have been set up.
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Thursday, May 28, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Half way
The community service summaries that have been submitted are great! Thanks to everyone for all the effort on behalf of the community partner organizations.
The Global Fellows are really pleased with the contributions made by DeAnza students. The Tech is very appreciative of the volunteering by CIS2 students. I don't have personal contact with Project Gutenberg but they regularly express their thanks for their volunteers in public forums.
So we are at the half-way point in the course. The topics become more theoretical. There are several very interesting activities and discussions coming up that will help you appreciate the impact of computers and the internet on society. I hope that you will enjoy the reading and the coursework about these complex issues.
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The Global Fellows are really pleased with the contributions made by DeAnza students. The Tech is very appreciative of the volunteering by CIS2 students. I don't have personal contact with Project Gutenberg but they regularly express their thanks for their volunteers in public forums.
So we are at the half-way point in the course. The topics become more theoretical. There are several very interesting activities and discussions coming up that will help you appreciate the impact of computers and the internet on society. I hope that you will enjoy the reading and the coursework about these complex issues.
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Sunday, May 17, 2009
Community service project due
How is your community service project going?
Have you completed your 12 hours of service work? Have you logged your time and what you worked on?
Have you completed and submitted your proposal outlining the work that you were planning to do?
When you have completed the work, complete and submit the Community service SUMMARY quiz. This is how your community "service" ties in with "learning" about the impact on society. Think about what you did as just one person. Your work and the work of hundreds of thousands of others has a huge benefit to society.
Look around the Global Fellows wiki pages.
http://thetechvirtual.org/global-fellows/wiki-home-page/
Several CIS2 student have already added to the wiki pages, either through direct edits or as comments. The information from the comments is being added to the wiki page as the pages are written and edited collaboratively.
This is exciting work that is being done. It will benefit others beyond the class and the community partners. This is important work you are doing for the global community.
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Have you completed your 12 hours of service work? Have you logged your time and what you worked on?
Have you completed and submitted your proposal outlining the work that you were planning to do?
When you have completed the work, complete and submit the Community service SUMMARY quiz. This is how your community "service" ties in with "learning" about the impact on society. Think about what you did as just one person. Your work and the work of hundreds of thousands of others has a huge benefit to society.
Look around the Global Fellows wiki pages.
http://thetechvirtual.org/global-fellows/wiki-home-page/
Several CIS2 student have already added to the wiki pages, either through direct edits or as comments. The information from the comments is being added to the wiki page as the pages are written and edited collaboratively.
This is exciting work that is being done. It will benefit others beyond the class and the community partners. This is important work you are doing for the global community.
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Community service - Summary
The deliverable for the community service project is the "quiz"
Community service SUMMARY QUIZ- instructor graded
Look through the quiz and see what you need to complete your response.
There are a number of questions to answer to summarize and analyze your experience. Your log of your work hours is required and is included as part of this submission.
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Community service SUMMARY QUIZ- instructor graded
Look through the quiz and see what you need to complete your response.
There are a number of questions to answer to summarize and analyze your experience. Your log of your work hours is required and is included as part of this submission.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Community service and work
Thanks to everyone who is making progress on their community service projects. We are starting to see some things happening. I really appreciate the time and effort from several folks who had to struggle with new procedures, instructions needing clarifications, and access restrictions. Things are getting better but they could be better still. So thanks for your questions and suggestions. I really appreciate all your help.
Several students have selected Project Gutenberg. This is a good project that benefits people all over the world. It isn't as creative or collaborative as the Global Fellows of The Tech Virtual projects, but that's ok.
The discussions about the Crime topic last week were very interesting. I hope that you are more aware of the "opportunities" for crimes and criminals as well as for law enforcement.
This week we will be looking at many different aspects of work and jobs that can be impacted by computers and the internet. The book emphasizes the negative effects. Keep a more balanced view and think about all the positive indirect effects as well. It is more difficult to see these secondary benefits, but they are very important when considering the impact on society as a whole.
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Several students have selected Project Gutenberg. This is a good project that benefits people all over the world. It isn't as creative or collaborative as the Global Fellows of The Tech Virtual projects, but that's ok.
The discussions about the Crime topic last week were very interesting. I hope that you are more aware of the "opportunities" for crimes and criminals as well as for law enforcement.
This week we will be looking at many different aspects of work and jobs that can be impacted by computers and the internet. The book emphasizes the negative effects. Keep a more balanced view and think about all the positive indirect effects as well. It is more difficult to see these secondary benefits, but they are very important when considering the impact on society as a whole.
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Monday, May 11, 2009
online group projects
Q: This is serious question that I have been asking you continously. I do not see my group to do work together, in my case , I think it is individual work. So, how can you grade the credit.?
A: And I have answered this question each time you ask it.
The whole point is that you can do group work without meeting! Many very interesting and important projects are being done by people who never meet in person and never even communicate "live" in chats or instant messaging.
You track your own time working on the community service project. It is an "honor system" - I have to trust that you record your time and tell me the truth about the time you work.
When you complete the community service learning summary quiz, you will include the log of your community service hours, along with other information about the project and your work. I grade this quiz.
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A: And I have answered this question each time you ask it.
The whole point is that you can do group work without meeting! Many very interesting and important projects are being done by people who never meet in person and never even communicate "live" in chats or instant messaging.
You track your own time working on the community service project. It is an "honor system" - I have to trust that you record your time and tell me the truth about the time you work.
When you complete the community service learning summary quiz, you will include the log of your community service hours, along with other information about the project and your work. I grade this quiz.
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Saturday, May 9, 2009
community service learning - weekly status reports
Add your weekly status report as a comment.
Provide your initials, the partner organization and project, a description of the work you have done, and the number of hours worked.
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Provide your initials, the partner organization and project, a description of the work you have done, and the number of hours worked.
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Wednesday, May 6, 2009
podcast search
You have been searching for text articles by topic - and everyone is doing a great job finding interesting and relevant information.
There are thousands of audio "articles" or podcasts available on the internet as well. Many are really interesting and address a broad range of issues. Finding podcasts is similar to finding web sites.
Search for podcasts by topic. For this assignment, the topic is "issues of teaching and learning" and select one. Listen to it, and post your comments about it to the discussion.
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There are thousands of audio "articles" or podcasts available on the internet as well. Many are really interesting and address a broad range of issues. Finding podcasts is similar to finding web sites.
Search for podcasts by topic. For this assignment, the topic is "issues of teaching and learning" and select one. Listen to it, and post your comments about it to the discussion.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Politics and the Internet
The articulation agreement for CIS2 as a transfer credit requires that the impact of computers and the internet on politics be addressed in the course material. So we are looking at political web sites.
When you access a political site, what do you see? What information is provided? How is it provided? Images? Media? Interactivity? What information would you expect to find on a political site - contact information? News updates? These are very subjective evaluations. That is precisely the point. What is YOUR impression?
These sites are now part of the political process, as was clearly demonstrated in the last Presidential election. Whether you vote or not, you can be informed and persuaded or not by the messages on these site. These sites provide what organizers think voters should know. By comparing two, you are thinking about many complex issues associated with the evolution of the political process facilitated by the the internet.
Please note that the assignment has been expanded to include some explicit prompt questions to guide the activity.
When you access a political site, what do you see? What information is provided? How is it provided? Images? Media? Interactivity? What information would you expect to find on a political site - contact information? News updates? These are very subjective evaluations. That is precisely the point. What is YOUR impression?
These sites are now part of the political process, as was clearly demonstrated in the last Presidential election. Whether you vote or not, you can be informed and persuaded or not by the messages on these site. These sites provide what organizers think voters should know. By comparing two, you are thinking about many complex issues associated with the evolution of the political process facilitated by the the internet.
Please note that the assignment has been expanded to include some explicit prompt questions to guide the activity.
Search the web for 2 political web sites - political party, candidate, ballot initiative, etc. Does the site provide useful and interesting information? Is the web site design attractive? Does this site contribute to the political process in a way that was not possible without the internet? Rate the effectiveness of each site on a scale of 1-5. Then provide pros and cons (total of 5) to explain your rating. For example, if you rate one of the sites as a 4, then provide 4 reasons why the site works that well and 1 reason why it didn't get 5 out of 5. Do this for both sites you select. Find one effective political site (4-5) and one that isn't very good (2 or less). Provide your rating and reasons for both sites along with the web addresses, and post your evaluations to the Politics and the web discussion forum.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Catalyst technical support
This information is also available at http://catalyst.deanza.edu
A couple of students have experienced technical issues with Catalyst this semester. If you have a technical problem - can't access Catalyst, delayed response display of discussions... try this
Step 1: Read the short Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.
Answers to 95% of all questions can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.) pages.Step 2: Choose appropriate submission method.
* For questions about your course, please refer to the course syllabus. Your instructor's contact information will be listed there.* For general questions about Distance Learning and mediated instruction, please contact the Distance Learning office at 408.864.8969
* For other technical support questions, refer to the directions below
Step 3: Contact Technical Support
Choose one of the following methods:* De Anza Catalyst Online Learning Support Center
* Access the De Anza Catalyst (Moodle) Knowledge base (left menu links)
* Submit a Ticket (email support)
* Browse more FAQs
* Call Us - phone support for the De Anza Catalyst Help Desk: 1-866-518-3953
If you are submitting a Ticket or using phone support, please provide the following information to the representative to better assist them in serving you:
* Your email address
* Your student ID (NOT your SSN!!!)
* Your Name
* Your Operating System
* Your Web Browser
* The course you are trying to access
* Your Question/Problem
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Project Gutenberg
If you aren't working on your community service learning project now, you need to get started.
- Complete a total of 12 hours of service for the community partner organization.
- In addition to the project work for the community partner, submit a proposal following the outline in the Guidelines.
- When you have completed the service hours (12 hours minimum), complete the "quiz" as the summary and analysis of your work.
- Weekly status reports are submitted as well.
Still confused? Can't figure out how to get going on community service learning with either The Tech Virtual or Global Fellows projects?
How about this - a nice straight forward, robust online community service project used by 10,000s to digitize public domain texts for free and open distribution via the internet.
Project GutenbergThere are over 25,000 free books in the Project Gutenberg Online Book Catalog. The Project Gutenberg collection was produced by tens of thousands of volunteers. You can help. Distributed Proofreaders provides a web-based method to ease the conversion of Public Domain books into e-books. By dividing the workload into individual pages, many volunteers can work on a book at the same time, which significantly speeds up the creation process.
During proofreading, volunteers are presented with a scanned page image and the corresponding OCR text on a single web page. This allows the text to be easily compared to the image, proofread, and sent back to the site. A second volunteer is then presented with the first volunteer's work and the same page image, verifies and corrects the work as necessary, and submits it back to the site. The book then similarly progresses through two formatting rounds using the same web interface.
Once all the pages have completed these steps, a post-processor carefully assembles them into an e-book, optionally makes it available to interested parties for 'smooth reading', and submits it to the Project Gutenberg archive.
- Register with the site as a volunteer.
- Read the introductory email you receive and the Beginning Proofreader's FAQ.
- Confirm your registration, sign in, choose a project, and try proofreading a page or two!
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