Category Archives: Class Notes

Countdown to next week’s presentations

Posted on December 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Just a few notes before we wrap things up for the semester:

Don’t forget that each student is responsible for a self evaluation and a group evaluation. See step #7 in the online documentation guidelines:

Evaluate your work on this project and the work of the other students in your group.
Self evaluation (minimum 200 words):
Group evaluation (minimum 200 words):
Each student in your group is responsible for writing an evaluation of her/his own work on this project and the work of others in her/his group. Please answer all of the following questions in your evaluations:
What project tasks did you complete on your own? How would you describe the amount of effort you put into your work on this project? What do you think your strengths were in your work on this project? How could you improve your work on this project?
What project tasks did you complete as a group? Was the work shared evenly between group members? How effectively did your group work together? What do you think the strengths were of the group’s work on this project? How could the group improve its work on this project?
Please type your evaluations and email them to me in a word processing document (not in the body of an email).

You must use presentation software, such as PowerPoint, to present the online documentation project. You can also demonstrate the site you built, or show screenshots from the site in your powerpoint slides. Refer to the presentation guidelines or contact me with any questions.

If your group wants to rehearse the presentation in A543, please contact me soon and we’ll figure out a time that works for everyone.

A few of you still have some late work to turn in. I’ll accept late papers, etc. until the end of the day next Wednesday, 12/21.

Good luck, everyone! As always, if you have any questions about the documentation and presentation assignments, get in touch with me by email, and please do not wait until Sunday night. Be sure that one group member posts a link to your group’s project on the course blog by 10 am on Wednesday, 12/21.

~Prof. Leonard

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Presentations next week

Posted on December 12, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Groups will present their online documentation projects next Monday, 12/19 and Wednesday, 12/21 .  Refer to the guidelines or ask me if you have any questions about the presentations. If your group wants to rehearse the presentation using the Smartboard in A543, please let me know and we’ll find a time that works for all.

The order of presentations will be as follows:

Monday, December 19

Nityah, Wale, Randell

Marc, Lukasz, Chris

Wednesday, December 21

Carla, Yan, Sebastian

Manish, Rudolf, Lissette

Tarik, Wendy, Jonathan

 

~Prof. L

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Notes about the online documentation project

Posted on December 5, 2011 by | Leave a comment

By Wednesday, 12/7 each group should have a clear idea of the project: either an information resource, a research-oriented educational game, or a research tool. Refer to the guidelines or ask me if you have questions about your proposed topic. Groups will probably find that they need to schedule time outside of class to work on the project; be sure that you have exchanged contact information in order to arrange this. Group members should find ways to divide up tasks fairly, so that the groups can make progress on the project outside of class. You might want to use BuddyPress docs (built into the OpenLab) or Google Docs to collaborate.

Soon we’ll determine an order for the group presentations, which will take place on Monday, December 19 and Wednesday, December 21. Presentations are 10 minutes with 5 minutes allowed for questions.

If your group wants to schedule time in A543 to rehearse the presentation, please let me know and we’ll work something out.

We’ll meet in A540 on Wednesday and both days next week. Please get in touch if you have any questions about the project or presentation.

~Prof. L.

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Notes from today, and looking to next week

Posted on November 30, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Next week your groups will meet in A540. The next four class meetings will be devoted to group work. Your groups might be able to complete the project in class, but it is possible that you may need to meet to work outside of class. Be sure to exchange contact information and schedules with other members of your group. If you haven’t already, please review the guidelines for the documentation project and presentation. At some point next week I’ll check in with each group to find out what your project will be. As always, you can contact me with questions, either during my office hours (M/W 11:15-12:15) or by email.

Slides for today are available here.

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Notes from today, and questions for Wednesday 11/30

Posted on November 28, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The final version of the research paper is due by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, November 30. To prepare the final version, please review the drafts I distributed and be sure you delete all comments and changes using Comments and Track Changes in the Review ribbon in MS Word. For formatting and other questions, please refer to the guidelines as well as the template and the checklist I distributed by email last week. If you have questions not answered by these documents please get in touch early; do not wait until Tuesday night.

There is no reading assignment for Wednesday. We will be talking about the future of information, and to prepare for class discussion, please consider how you would answer the following questions:

•Has the way that you think about information changed over the course of this semester?
•Has the way that you use information changed over the course of this semester?
•How?
•What do you see as the future of information?
•What challenges will this future bring?
•What opportunities?
•Are you ready?

BE PREPARED to discuss your answers in class.

Groups for the online documentation project were established:

Rudolf, Lissette, and Manish

Marc, Chris, and Lukasz

Wale, Randell, and Nityah

Carla, Yan, and Sebastian

Jonathan, Wendy, and Tarik

Slides from today are available here.

~Prof. Leonard

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Notes from today, and reading/discussion for Monday, 11/28

Posted on November 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Today we spent some time discussing the nature of process documentation, and we looked at a few blog posts that demonstrate process documentation. If you want to post your example, I’ll give you until the end of today to do so with full credit. On Monday we’ll discuss more practical applications for documentation,  and we’ll establish groups for the online documentation project. For Monday, please re-read the Edge and Robinson articles about documentation (assigned for today).

If you have questions about the research paper final, please get in touch by email. If you handed me a late draft, I’ll get it back to you with comments as soon as I can; if not later on today, then I’ll aim for Friday or Saturday. Your final papers are due on Wednesday, November 30 by 10 a.m.

Slides from today are available here.

Enjoy the long weekend!
~Prof. L.

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Notes from today, and reading/blogging for Wednesday, November 23

Posted on November 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

On Wednesday, we’ll discuss the practical applications of documentation and come up with a definition of process documentation. Your assignment is to find one example of process documentation in any format, read it, and write one blog post in which you describe, summarize and critique it. Be prepared to discuss your example in class! If you use a video or other media as an example, embed it into the course blog. Please read the following 2 articles that discuss issues in process documentation:

Edge, “Write it down! The importance of documentation”
Robinson, “Documentation Dilemmas”

By the end of class on Wednesday I would like to establish groups for the documentation project. Each group will consist of three students and will propose an information resource, an educational game, or a media outlet and document the process of research. I will post guidelines for this project later this week.

Continue to work on your research paper; you should get a graded draft back by the end of the day Wednesday. The final version of your research paper is due Wednesday, November 30. A few people still have not turned in the outline or annotated bibliography; remember that you must submit all parts of the research paper to get credit for the project.

~Prof. Leonard

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Notes from today, and reading for Monday, 11/21

Posted on November 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Today we talked about the rationale for documentation and citation. Your questions about the Hauptman reading brought up some issues that may never really be answered, which to me is evidence of careful thinking. In some cases, as for the question about common knowledge, any answer depends on the audience and context.

Remember, your research paper draft is due by 10 a.m. on Monday, November 21, either as a print copy handed in at the beginning of class, or as an attachment to an email to me sent by 10 a.m. Monday. You must submit each part of the research paper (proposal, annotated bibliography, outline, draft, final) to get credit for the paper. If you have questions about the assignment, please get in touch, and please do not wait until Sunday night.

On Monday, we’ll continue our discussion on documentation and address standards, methods and styles for citing text and non-text media. Please read chapter 9 of Badke and  browse the Purdue OWL’s APA and MLA Style sections. We will also talk a little bit about the final documentation project & presentation.

Slides from today are available here.

Have a productive weekend!
~Prof. Leonard

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Notes from today, and reading for Wednesday, November 16

Posted on November 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

On Wednesday we’ll begin to discuss the rationale for documentation and citation. Please read Hauptman pp. 7-13; if you missed class get the book on reserve in the library (call number PN171 .F56 H38 2008), as well as Howard, Hot Type: A Modern Scholar’s Ailments: Link Rot and Footnote Flight

The research paper draft is due one week from today, on Monday, November 21 at the beginning of class. Please get in touch early if you have questions or issues about the research paper draft — do not wait until the weekend.

Slides from today are available here.

~Prof. Leonard

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Notes for today, reminder about the outline due Friday, and reading and blogging for Monday, November 14

Posted on November 9, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Today we finished crowdsourcing website evaluation criteria and determined that currency, expertise, objectivity, and accuracy were some important criteria on which to evaluate web content. We also played the evaluation game in class. We have a winning team: Randell, Jonathan, and Lukasz scored the most points with the websites they found, a piece on the site TriplePundit and an article from USA Today.

Your outline for the research paper is due by 10 a.m. Friday. Refer to the guidelines or ask me if you have any questions about that assignment. On Monday we’ll discuss the writing of an academic research paper. Please read Badke, chapter 10 and Appendix 1, pp. 196-203 and write a research journal blog post; see prompt below:

You should receive annotated bibliographies with my comments and a grade by the end of the day Thursday. Those of you writing on cyberbullying and teens’ use of social networking sites and social media might be interested in this report, out today from the Pew Internet Project, an authoritative and reliable research center for current research on how the internet affects our lives.

Here is the prompt for your final research journal blog post:

Last week we read about and worked on:
1.advanced internet searching
2.searching library catalogs
3.searching article databases.
•What have you learned in these classes that’s new to you?
•How do you see yourself using your new skills outside of our course?

Slides from today are available here.

Have a good weekend!

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