Weekly Participation (30%)
Class participation is required for everyone. This means you need to engage in the class discussion and activities each week. Please note that participation means making a meaningful contribution to an ongoing discussion and actively participating in the class activities; simply attending class or nodding along as another student talks does not count as participation.
You have two free passes for the semester -- no explanation needed -- and of course you won't be penalized for a legitimate, excused absence (just drop me an email explaining what is happening, before class if possible). Each week of non-participation (beyond the two free passes and excused absences) will subtract two points from your class participation grade.
Group Exploration Notes (4 @ 5% each)
Notes due in class on Thursday, January 19; January 26; February 2; and February 9. One submission per group per week.
During weeks 2 through 5 of the semester, we will explore different emerging technologies in small, randomly-assigned groups. Your group will spend Tuesday, Thursday, and whatever additional time you feel necessary between Tuesday and Thursday experimenting with the emerging technology and conducting research in preparation for submitting notes about how we might use this technology this semester.
Each group will be responsible for submitting their research notes at end of class on Thursday each week! Notes should be written (typed or handwritten) but may include links to articles, images, videos, graphics, or other media as necessary. There should be only one submission per group, but each group member should be involved with the creation of the notes in some way.
Time-permitting, we will re-group as a whole in class on Thursdays so that each group can -- briefly! -- share what they discovered with the other students. This is intended to be an informal sharing of findings and ideas; no formal presentation required.
This is an in-class assignment only; do not submit anything to Blackboard. Length: minimum 500 words.
Group Progress Reports (2 @ 10% each)
Reports due Sunday, March 12; and Sunday, April 9. One blog post per team per report.
Twice during the semester, your assigned team will be responsible for posting a progress report / status update to the class blog.
Please provide a summary of your team's accomplishments over the past few weeks -- what you did, what worked, what didn't, what challenges you had to overcome, and what your next steps are moving forward. The goal here is to document our activities and our lessons learned.
Submit your posts to the class blog (TBD); do not submit anything to Blackboard. Length: minimum 500 words.
Individual Self-Assessment 1 (15%)
Assignment due Sunday, February 12. Please submit your assignment to Blackboard.
This is an individual writing assignment that gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you've learned during the first part of the course.
Think carefully about each of the four topic areas we covered during the "Explore" phase of the class.
Write a paper covering the following points, in this order, using headings and subheadings to separate each point:
- For EACH of the four areas covered in class, please answer the following two questions:
- What was the most interesting thing you learned about this topic during its explore week, and why?
- What do you believe will be the most challenging thing about working on this topic during the rest of the class, and why?
- Thinking about the remainder of the class as we move forward with design and development, please address the following points:
- Rank the four topic areas in order of your interest in working on each, where 1 is most interested, and 4 is least interested.
- Explain what interests you about the topic you listed as most interesting to you.
Submit your assignment to Blackboard under the "Individual Self-Assessment 1" assignment. Make sure your submission includes the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted. Length: minimum 1000 words.
Individual Self-Assessment 2 (15%)
Assignment due Sunday, April 30. Please submit your assignment to Blackboard.
This is an individual writing assignment that gives you the opportunity to reflect on what you contributed to this course, and what you got out of it.
Think about everything we accomplished -- individually and together -- over the past few months.
Write a paper covering the following points, in this order, using headings and subheadings to separate each point:
- Part 1: Self-Assessment
- What emerging technology did you focus on / take ownership over for this class?
- What do you feel was your major accomplishment that contributed the most to our mission?
- Part 2: Self-Reflection
- What's something you did in this class that you've never done before?
- What's something you learned in this class that you think will stick with you?
- How has your understanding of emerging technologies evolved because of this course?
Submit your assignment to Blackboard under the "Individual Self-Assessment 2" assignment. Make sure your submission includes the name and number of the course, the instructor's name, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date submitted. Length: minimum 1000 words.
Notes on Written Assignments
Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (EDT or EST, as appropriate) on the dates indicated above. Late assignments will not receive full credit. If you have extenuating circumstances, please contact me ASAP before the due date.
When the papers are marked, points will be assigned based on the assumption that you have carefully followed, read, and understood the assignment descriptions. Please do not hesitate to ask for clarifications!
Assignments should be submitted to Blackboard as either 1) a link to a website; or 2) an individual word processing file (PDF preferred, and please make sure your surname is part of the filename).
All submissions must include a title page (or section) listing the name and number of the course, the name of the instructor, YOUR NAME, the name of the assignment, and the date you submitted the assignment.
You are required to use headings and subheadings to make the organization of your paper clear to the reader. The main headings in your paper must correspond to the main sections of the assignment descriptions, listed above. Subdivide each section to reflect its content as necessary.
Papers must be demonstrably spell-checked, grammar-checked, and proofread for nonsense; failure to do so will result in a lower grade.