Tuesday, June 30, 2009

online orientation and getting started

There is NO on-campus orientation for CIS2 Computers and the Internet in Society

The orientation is online and can be completed at any time. It includes useful information about distance learning and the Catalyst course management system. It is most helpful if completed as soon as possible.
http://deanza.edu/distance/show_orientation.html?class=3554&p=0

The course has started. Students should log in as per information provided in the email that went out to all registered students this morning.

Other important information for getting started is provided in the CIS2 course - Welcome, Syllabus, Getting Started and Assignment 1.

Assignments for topic 1 are due Thursday July 2 at 11:30pm.

Please let me know if you have questions.
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college-level reading and writing

Advisory: English Writing 100B and Reading 100 (or Language Arts 100), or English as a Second Language 24 and 72 (or English as a Second Language 4).

There is a lot of writing required for this course. Your work is expected to demonstrate college-level research, analysis, writing and paper formatting and will be graded accordingly.

This is an ONLINE course. There are NO on-campus meetings. The course is based around the textbook which contains a lot of important information that is technical and complex. Because so much of the information is written, it is essential that your reading, as well as writing skills meet or exceed the level acceptable for completion of the writing classes in the advisory.

If your reading and writing are not college-level, your will not be able to complete the assignments. You will not be able to demonstrate your knowledge of course information to pass the course.
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Sunday, June 21, 2009

real-time communication

Several students were frustrated by the delays in communication.

There is a 1 hour delay from the time you post to the discussion until it is emailed or available to others. This is a "feature" so you can change your post before anyone else sees it. However, it is a big problem for the Final Group project as the deadline approaches.

Other suggestions
  • Catalyst chat
  • Instant messages (IM)
  • Twitter
  • Wiki edits
  • Google docs
  • CCC Confer conferencing
Be sure to try some of these alternatives.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009

coming to the end

As we are approaching the end of the quarter, I want to thank everyone for their participation. The course works because everyone contributes. I hope that you enjoyed the experience and learned a lot. I encourage you to spend some time thinking about the whole course - Computers and the Internet in Society, and how you learned as well as on what you learned.

All the assignments will be graded in the next few days. Reviewing all the final projects is a BIG job and takes time to ensure that everyone's work is appropriately considered.

If you have outstanding assignments, do them now. Even though late penalties may apply, some points are better than no points. More importantly, you will have a more complete understanding of that portion of the course topics.

Please let me know if you have questions.
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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

When good project teams go bad

When good project teams go bad

It happens. Some teams just don't work out. So long as you make a reasonable effort to identify and resolve the problems - usually through discussion, flexibility and hard work - the team work can get completed satisfactorily.

Some things to remember
  • This is a distance learning class. Most students take online classes because they don't have time to get to on-campus classes. It stands to reason that they don't have a whole lot of time for this course work. Some students with a lot of time may expect and unreasonable commitment from other team members. This can lead to conflict and frustration. Be sure that your expectations of other team members and their time are appropriate.

  • Many students tend to wait until the very last minute to complete their work. If this working style is not yours, pick a group with other early contributors. Big differences in work style and time seem to be the leading cause of group project problems.

  • Project grades as structured so that team members get grades appropriate to their contribution. If someone is not doing their part, missing deadlines or otherwise causing problems for other members, the other students can report this in the project summary.

  • Please inform the instructor. This is a learning experience. Too often, students will try to solve the problem themselves or do the work of the problem team member. This is not necessary - just keep me informed. I may be able to help.
I see that you are doing a terrific job on the project. I know that the others have language issues. Please remember, it is about group collaboration. I strongly suggest that you let the others contribute to the best of their ability. Encourage them, but don't do their work. They need to step up and contribute. You can help them by helping them do better. The project grade is based on the team work demonstrated.

You are doing a great job in very difficult circumstances. The assignment is to work as a group to the extent possible. Sometimes this doesn't work out because other problems come up. Do what you can and ensure that the others can contribute too. I would expect to see an outline for the entire project. You should then complete only your part of that. It should be clear to the others what they need to do. If they do it, great. However, as long as you have made an effort on the collaboration, and encouraged the others, you will have done your part. Continue to encourage the others, help them do their work, but they need to do their part, too. If there is an opportunity to do some final editing when all the sections are completed, that would be appropriate.
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Tuesday, June 9, 2009

changes

Oops. I was moving some things around in WikiEducator and moved too much.

Sorry about that. Let me know if you have any problems finding things. Everything is still there ... someplace.

From WikiEducator

"DeAnza College/CIS2/Students work" has been moved to "DeAnza College/CIS2/Spring 2009"

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Monday, June 8, 2009

late assignments

Be sure to look through your grades and check for missing assignments.

You can still turn them in late for partial points. Some points are better than no points.
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wiki instructions

New to using a wiki?

There is help
http://wikieducator.org/Help:Contents

There is also a series of tutorials that explain at the major functions in detail
http://wikieducator.org/Wikieducator_Tutorials

Print this handy reference page
http://www.wikieducator.org/images/0/05/Cheatsheet-en.pdf
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Thursday, June 4, 2009

final project progress

It is great to see that some groups are making progress on the final projects.

Using the discussions in Catalyst and writing directly to the wiki usually work best. Creating the presentation in the wiki saves having to copy, reformat and edit the information, and learn to use the wiki all when the pressure of the final due date is near.

This assignment is about working together in a group online and using the technologies available for collaboration. This is most important. Yes, you might write a "better paper" if you worked on your own, but you wouldn't have learned much about the future of communication, strategies for team work or about the group topic.

This assignment is about producing a group project in a limited time with co-workers you don't see in person using the resources available.

Be sure to ask questions if you need help.
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