Soc.
3280 Group Project Requirements
FS
2007

All
assigned projects must be published within the class MyGateway site using the
the available Wikis found in the Group Areas section of the class MyGateway
site.
Project
1 (due Tuesday, September 4, 2007 end of day: 11:59 PM)
Project
2 (due Technology and Everyday Life: Essay due Monday September
10, 2007 end of day)
Project
3 (due Monday,
October 1, 2007 by beginning of class. Group presentations done on October 1
and 8)
Project
4 (due Monday
October 29, 2007 by beginning of class. Group presentations done on October
29 and November 5)
Project
5 (due Monday, November 26, 2007 beginning of class. Presentations
done on November 26 and December 3)
A
few points:
- Each group must complete
all of the projects. Your work, individual and group, should be presented in your group
wiki as a series of inter-linked web pages. The wiki allows members of the
group to share information and collaborate on the development of a “website.”
- Wiki Structure: There should be one report (main
page) linked to the group’s wiki home page for each part of the project. This
synthesis of group research and discussion can and should be supported with
a set of inter-linked wiki pages documenting your group’s (i.e., including
each individual participating member’s) research on the individual components
of each part of the project and your group's discussion pertaining to each
part. For an example of a wiki modeling the ideal structure for the project,
go to ‘Group Areas’ in the mygateway course site, click on ‘Sample Wikis from
Previous Semesters’. For an elaborate example of a wiki online, click
here.
- Group Members’ Responsibilities: Group members must document their individual contributions for group
projects in the discussion forum (all individual contributions to the forum
and wiki must be completed at least 48 hours before the activity's due date
to allow the group leader 2 days to finalize the wiki site, and the group
to add final comments and suggestions). Group members who complete some, but
not all, of their chosen/assigned component(s) of an activity may be eligible
for partial credit. Students will be evaluated for the work they contribute
to the project. In effect, you will be building a web site that focuses on
the details of your chosen project.
- Group Leader Responsibilities: Group leaders are responsible for coordinating and finalizing group
work on activities. Group leaders must identify themselves and post the full
names of all the individuals completing the requirements for the activities.
Group leaders are also responsible for organizing the group’s work
on the wiki. For an example of a wiki modeling the ideal
structure for the project, go to ‘Group Areas’ in the mygateway course site,
click on ‘Sample Wikis from Previous Semesters’.
- Grading: Each part of the activity is
grading according to:
- Documented contributions
on the discussion board: This refers to each member’s posts in the group’s
discussion board for each part of the project. Each message is graded on a scale of 1-3
according to the quality of the message. Individual members must contribute to
the organization of the group (including assignment of roles for each part,
discussion ideals, and generally communicating with the group) in the discussion
board at least 48 hours before that part of the project is due.
If other mediums are used to communicate with the group (e.g., meeting
face-to-face or in the live classroom, email, etc.) then the meetings must
be documented in the group discussion board to receive credit.
- Individual Contributions:
This refers
to each individual group member’s work in the wiki for the project.
Individual contributions are grading according to the quality and
quantity of work performed for the group, as well as the presentation of
their work. Rubrics for evaluating individual and group work are available
in both the Group Areas and Assignments/Group Projects: Wiki Work sections
of MyGateway.
- Group Presentation:
This refers to the final wiki presentation (style,
spelling, grammar, images, links to other resources, and overall quality
of the presentation) and the content of your presentation (use of course
materials, demonstration of sociological imaginations, and application of
course concepts, theories, and other relevant materials).
- All group members are responsible
for the final presentation of each activity (i.e., inclusion of graphics and
links, the organization of the group’s work, and the inclusion of each individual
member’s contribution). If a group leader is unable to complete an activity,
another member of the group must be contacted so that the activity can be
completed. For this reason, it is wise for groups to designate co-leaders
or back-up leaders for each activity. Group leaders can earn up to 5 additional
points per activity for the extra work they take on.
- Rely on reputable studies, articles, and books.
Websites that meet the criteria for reputable
work (or here
) can also be used. Course materials
are expected to be utilized for every part of the project.
- Be sure to correctly cite all information
used from research resources (in-text citations and a list of references for
each page) using the ASA
style guide (full
version). Additional assistance with referencing
online resources can be found here (or here). Also, remember we are undertaking an academic
activity, so please refrain from using opinion, unreliable or
invalid resources, sensationalism, and other non-academic practices.
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1.
Project 1: Group Wiki Site Set-up:
Due Monday, September 4, 2007 at end of day (11:59 PM).
- Students will
be assigned to groups, and will have access to their specific "group
areas." Each group will have a variety of tools at its disposal: discussion
forum and a wiki site. The requirements for this project is for each group
to get their area set-up, work on wiki construction for the group and individuals
in the group, use the discussion forum to organize your group and decide on
individual assignments for projects 2, 3, 4, and 5.
- Introduce
yourself to the group and organize the group.
- Find your group and
open the group pages.
- Click on the "Group
Discussion Board" link.
- Click on your
group's discussion forum for Group Organization and post messages to get the
group organized.
- Group roles and assignments
should be determined. Set up specific meeting dates for work throughout the
semester--either face-to-face or online (all communications must be documented
on the discussion board to receive credit for ‘documented contributions’).
Work together as a group!
- Access the group wiki, and each group member
must create their own wiki page providing a bit of information about yourselves
and other interests you might have. Experiment with the different features
of the wiki--add external links, internal links (link back to your "home
page") add an image or two--especially a picture of yourself. Update
this page throughout the semester--adding links to your individual contributions
to the project your group chooses.
- The group leader should work on creating a
page to document your project choice and assignment of roles. The group
leader is responsible for the "Home" page (first page you come to).
This page should have links to other pages your group creates (i.e., a page
for each part of the project), and have list of group members with links
to their individual pages
- 25 points
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2.
Project
2: Web Essay 1: Technology and Everyday Life: Essay due Monday September
10, 2007 end of day
- This is a short
(2-3 page, approximately 500--750 word) essay intended to help you depict
depict the intimate and omnipresent character of our social relationship with
technology. Assigned Topic: Your understanding of the technology you experience
throughout the 24 hours of a given day: What is technology? What forms does
it take? What are the social dimensions of technology? How does technology
enhance or limit human interaction and identity?
- Students must
post their own "page" on the assigned topic in their group wiki
and comment on at least two other student's postings.
- There should
be a separate page in your group wiki that provides a brief introduction to
this assignment and links to the work of the individual group members. Individuals
should also link to their essay from their personal wiki page.
- Explore the
work of other students and submit at least three, approximately 100-125 word
comments on other student's work.
- See the grading
rubric and information on resources, writing guides, and templates for analyzing
articles in the "Assignments/GROUP PROJECTS: WIKI WORK" and the
"Groups Areas" area of Mygateway.
- 30 points for
individual essay, 10 points for group presentation, 10 points for comments:
50 points
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3.
Project
3 and 4: Group Wiki Presentations.
- Project
3 wiki-work due on Monday, October 1, 2007 by beginning of class. Group
presentations done on October 1 and 8. These reports are based
on the assigned articles/chapters from The Social Shaping of Technology,
2nd edition, Donald MacKenzie and Judy Wajcman, Open University Press, Philadelphia,
1999.
- Project
4 presentations due on Monday October 29, 2007 by beginning of class. Group
presentations done on October 29 and November 5. These reports
are based on the assigned articles/chapters from Society and Technological
Change and Rudi Volti, 5th edition, Worth Publishing,
2005.
- These are more
formal, approximately 6-8 pages (2 pages per student, plus group presentation)
review presentations of the assigned readings, intended to
reflect your understanding of the theoretical understandings of the relationship
between technology and socio-cultural reality we have developed in our class
discussions.
- You will use
the wiki site available in the individual group areas in MyGateway.
- You are expected
to create something more than just an "essay," and certainly more
than a series of individual essays. Use the web (wiki) space to your advantage
and create a hypertext presentation.
- You will also
need to include at least 2 recent sociological articles your
group determines to be of value in presenting the core ideas and perspectives.
Rather than relying simply on websites to provide supplementary information
and documentation for your presentations (and discussions), please make use
of the wonderful academic databases available online through the UMSL library.
You might need to work on your search terms, etc (and don't neglect the advanced
search features of many of the databases). Here's the link to the library's
database page: http://www.umsl.edu/services/library/databases/databases.html.
Some of the databases to check out: "JSTOR," Journals@ovid full
text, "Sociological Abstracts," and "EconLit," and a variety
of others (check under the subject heading--history, social science, etc).
- Group assignments
will be made early in the semester
- We'll discuss
these assignments in class, and groups will have the opportunity to select
their own topical areas.
- Specific
group assignments will be posted in MyGateway.
- Each group will
be responsible for presenting the material from a particular
set of articles.
- Each individual
student must explore the work of other groups and submit at least two, 125
word comments on other groups' work, for each project.
- See the grading
rubric and information on resources, writing guides, and templates for analyzing
articles in the "Assignments/GROUP PROJECTS: WIKI WORK" and the
"Groups Areas" area of Mygateway.
- Scoring: 30
points for individual work, 30 points for group presentation, 10 points for
definitions, organization and bibliography, and 10 points for comments: 80
points total per project. Groups can also earn 2.5 points each for up
to 4 multiple choice questions concerning their work. See format for question
submission in the "Assignments/GROUP PROJECTS: WIKI WORK" and the
"Groups Areas" area of Mygateway).
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4.
Group Project 5: Technology, Social Change, and Social Structure.
Due Monday,
November 26, 2007 beginning of class. Presentations done on November 26 and
December 3.
- This formal
project (equivalent of a 5 page paper, per student) is intended to reflect
your understanding of the impact of the relationship between technology, social
change, and the structure of human relationships. Appropriate topics
include: a historical analysis of the development of particular technics and
their relationship to social structural elements, the shape of modern information
technology and its relationship to ongoing social change, an analysis of the
social forces which shape and direct technological change, etc.
- You will also
need to include at least 4 recent sociological articles you
determine to be of value in presenting the core ideas and perspectives. Rather
than relying simply on websites to provide supplementary information and documentation
for your presentations (and discussions), please make use of the wonderful
academic databases available online through the UMSL library. You might need
to work on your search terms, etc (and don?t neglect the advanced search features
of many of the databases). Here's the link to the library's database page:
http://www.umsl.edu/services/library/databases/databases.html.
Some of the databases to check out: "JSTOR," Journals@ovid full
text, "Sociological Abstracts," and "EconLit," and a variety
of others (check under the subject heading--history, social science, etc).
- See the information
on resources, writing guides, and templates for analyzing articles in the
"Assignments" area of Mygateway.
- See the grading
rubric and information on resources, writing guides, and templates for analyzing
articles in the "Assignments/GROUP PROJECTS: WIKI WORK" and the
"Groups Areas" area of Mygateway.
- This
project will be presented "live" to the class during the last three
weeks of the semester.
- 100 points
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URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/crittech.html
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated:
Friday, October 17, 2008 8:31