Course Outline

Problem-based Learning (PBL) Project Timeline and Assignments (35%)

• Group Collaboration Experiences - Due by Jan. 30
• Project Interests and Preferences - Due by Feb. 6
• Project Title and Group Members -- Due by Feb. 13
• PBL Project Proposals -- Due by Feb. 20
• PBL Progress Report 1 - Due by March 6
• PBL Project Report 2 - Due by March 20
• PBL Final Project and Presentation - Due by April 10
• PBL Project Feedback - Due by April 17
• PBL Self and Peer Assessment - Due by April 24
• Technology and PBL – Due by May 1 

The PBL Project assignment is an important part of the course. The goal is for everyone to make connections between the theories and issues discussed and tools explored in the class and to implement the connections in a real-life (or semi real-life) context.

Group Collaboration Experiences - Due by Jan. 30

Share past group experience and describe your preferred learning or work environment as a potential context for the project: You may all have had wonderful and/or frustrating group experiences (face to face or online). Group experiences are influenced by group dynamics, leadership, personality, and communication styles, expectations, schedules, and various issues that currently occupy our lives. Please feel free to share your past group experiences – bad or good.

Project Interests and Preferences - Due by Feb. 6

Please initiate project ideas and/or respond to any posted project ideas that you find interesting. Please also tell us a bit about your styles and preferences. The following are some suggestions for your reference:

• Do you usually enjoy being a leader, organizer, or facilitator or being someone who chooses or is willing to take on any role that you think helpful for the goal of the group?
• Do you prefer to communicate synchronous or asynchronously?
• Do you prefer to use phone, email, or face-to-face meeting to communicate with the other members of a group?
• What’s your schedule like this semester?
• What are best times to reach you?

Please try to mention all things that you think are important to you and/or that you think can help the group which you will form or join work more effectively.

Project Title and Group Members -- Due by Feb. 13

With the PBL project, we will use wiki as a baseline space. Each member or group will create a wiki and use it to work on their project. Since all members can make changes, it is an excellent way to facilitate group work. Please post the problem/title of your PBL project under http://computerapplications.wikispaces.com/PBL+projects.

PBL Project Proposals -- Due by Feb. 20

Project Proposal - This initial proposal document should be a word document, which includes the following elements:

• The group members’ names and pictures embedded in the word document
• If possible or applicable, roles that each member will play in the project, or the expectations/goals that each member expects to have in the project)
• Description of the problem (What problem are you trying to solve?)
• Description of the setting or type of environment for which you are going to design (learning/work, formal/informal, size, location, characteristics, etc.). please include subject matter, grade level if applicable
• Target audience (e.g., characteristics; their needs; technology literacy)
• Scope of the project
• Brief description of the theory behind your project design (a paragraph or so)
• Technologies that you expect to include in the project

Please attach the project proposal as a word document under the PBL discussion forum. Please feel free to include relevant parts of the proposal in your group wiki or as part of descriptions for the final project

PBL Progress Report 1 - Due by March 6

For the report, please send in a word document embedded with pictures, graphs, clipart, drawings, tables, and styles and formatting. Please describe where you are at your project.

PBL Project Report 2 - Due by March 10

For this report, please create a PowerPoint Presentation. This presentation can be modified and added to serve as final project presentation. Please see the final project PowerPoint presentation for details.

PBL Final Project and Presentation - Due by April 10

Final Project (wiki or/and web project)
The final project should be a web-based project. The purpose of the project is that you design computer applications to support some form of educational or work environment. To that effect, some applications are easier to develop than others. Therefore, it is possible (and acceptable based on circumstances) that your project is not completely finished. The project can be a combination of blog, wiki, and other web pages created with Frontpage, Dreamweaver, or other web editing tools. We recommend that the project be a coherent piece even if it is not completely finished (with good reasons).

Presentation (PowerPoint)
This piece highlights and summarizes your project which will include:

• An Introduction (a refined version of the project proposal you submitted earlier in the process; see project proposal above for information to include)
• A brief theoretical framework (you might incorporate issues that were discussed in the class throughout the semester)
• The design (which can include but not limited to a discussion of the relevant technologies incorporated in your project that most effectively or efficiently help satisfy the needs of your target audience within its context; the mode of use of your project)
• Conclusion (relevant items such as maintenance plan, limitations, future developments, etc.)

A Note on Process & Product:
Your final product will represent a cumulus of your learning efforts in this course throughout the entire semester. The documents you submit during the early stages of the process will contain only draft information that you have learned up to the dates of submission. New information acquired later in the process might complement information that was submitted earlier. Design decisions made during the earlier stages might be revised in light of new theories or tools that you explore during later stages. Therefore, consider your first submissions as working documents that can and will be modified along the process as you work towards your final product.

PBL Project Feedback - Due by April 17

Review the other colleague or group’s projects based on criteria such as the following:

• Do you think the group identified the problem(s) appropriately? Why or why not? What would you suggest if not?
• Did the group provide relevant theories to describe the nature of computer applications necessary to their context / purposes? How did the theoretical framework provided by the group reflect the theories we've discussed in the class?
• How was the selection of technologies consistent with the theoretical framework and problems proposed?
• Was the selection of technologies appropriate to fulfill the needs in the context of the project? Why or why not?
• Other comments

PBL Self and Peer Assessment - Due by April 24

This survey focuses on self and peer review and reflection. With questions related to ratings, please use 1 as the least effort, knowledge or skill, and 7 for the most effort, knowledge or skill. Please know that all members can be rated as 1 or 7, or any rating in between. Please also know that you and your group members? PBL project grades will be influenced by your responses between 0-5 points out of 45 points for the PBL project in total. 
 *  1. Your name:

 *  2. Please indicate what group you belong to, how many members there are in your group, and write out your (group) project title. 
   
3. Please write down your group members’ names (including yours) below in ALPHABETICAL order of everyone's Last Name. Please make sure to remember the alphabet you assigned to each member in your group, because they need to be consistent throughout the survey. Please ignore the additional alphabets.
Member A:   
Member B:   
Member C:   
Member D:   
Member E:   
Member F:   
Member G:   
Member H:   
Member I: (e.g., Jack Zuca)   
 
    4. Please rate yourself and your group members regarding the demonstration of knowledge in concepts and theories related to the PBL project:
 
     1 Least effort or knowledge   2   3   4   5   6   7 Most effort or knowledge  
 
    5. Please rate yourself and your group members regarding the demonstration of knowledge and skills in technologies related to the PBL project:
 
     1 Least effort or skills   2   3   4   5   6   7 Most effort or skills 
 
    6. Please rate yourself and your group members regarding the active participation in decision making related to the PBL project:
 
     1 Least active   2   3   4   5   6   7 Most active 
 
    7. Please rate yourself and your group members regarding the quality of contributions to decision making related to the PBL project.
 
     1 - Lowest quality   2   3   4   5   6   7 - Highest quality 
 
    8. Please rate yourself and your group members regarding the timely accomplishment of responsibilities related to the PBL project. 
 
     1 - Least timely   2   3   4   5   6   7 - Most timely  

    9. Please describe a facilitation action from a group member that was HELPFUL in the group development process, work towards proposal, and work towards the final project, if any. 
 
   10. Please describe a facilitation action from a group member that was NOT HELPFUL in the group development process, work towards proposal, and work towards the final project, if any. 

 *  11. How would you describe your feelings towards the PBL experience at different stages? 

Negative -  
Neutral  
Positive + 
 
Project development                        
Work towards proposal                        
Work towards final project and presentation     
 
 *  12. What caused those feelings?
 
Dynamics between group members  
Interaction through online technologies  
Participation of instructors  
Absence from instructors  
Nature of the content  
Other 
 
Project development                        
Work towards proposal                        
Work towards final project and presentation                   
 
  *  13. Please explain your selections above and indicate other factors that might have caused your feelings besides the ones mentioned above.  
 
 *  14. What have you learned most from this experience? What would you do differently if you were working on an online PBL project again in near future?  

 *  15. What do you think the instructors could do or improve to help online PBL projects work better in future?
 
    16. Other comments or suggestions

Technology and PBL – Due by May 1

Survey on Technology and PBL

Weekly Schedule

Reading & Discuss

Tech Resources

PBL Project Timeline