OU_WebStudy DECEMBER 1998 Group Outline

WebStudy Group / Committee Outlines

The need for group assignments and activities have been long debated. I find working in groups provides unique experiences that closely relates to what has been termed "the real world." As you can imagine teaching "in groups" can be a teaching / administrative nightmare. It has been my experience the educational benefit far outweighs the immediate "problems."

The first week of class (Dec 14th - 18th). Groups meet via Internet. Students continue to develop communications skills among members. Be certain "you" can e-mail all the members of your assigned group. (Groups were identified the first day of class).

Meet your Group Members. (get acquainted).
Individual Group Members exchange e-mail addresses.
Each group member will send "every other" member at least one e-mail (each day).
Friday (December 18th) the Group Representative (selected the first day of class) will send me e-mail containing the specified information. Dennis_Fehler@ou.edu

There will be 5 groups. (Every student is a member of at least one group).
The "starting titles" of these groups (committees) are:

The Art group
The Image(s) group
The Organization group
The Rules group
The Technology group

Hopefully you will be joined with a group that closely matches your desires / abilities. You should know, there is value in cooperating in a group where you are possibly mis-matched (trust me). Don't worry if you're a "techno-geek" and you are assigned to the Rules committee. None of the groups are especially more "powerful" than another, and it is my expectation that each of the three groups will communicate and cooperate to maximize our chances of producing a successful (group) project. Yes, you can work (on a voluntary basis) on any or all groups. Group activities account for 30% (of my evaluation) of your performance. "Working and playing well with others" is the key. The point here is to accomplish "as much as" the group can do..., not as little!

The groups are to "get connected" (e-mail via Internet), then determine:

Group Organization (power, function, meeting times).
An appropriate group name.
Group officers President, VP, Sec., etc. (as needed).
Get all group members on the WebStudy list-server.
An appropriate group report (response) for Friday, December 18th.

Group Names and voting decisions are due Noon, Friday, December 18th.

Send me "one" e-mail from the group representative containing all the required (above) information. Please Cc: all members of the group. The content should be one page, concise. (Make it look like you spent some time doing this).

The first week (suggested) group activities.

Perhaps the most difficult part of working in groups is determining a "time" to meet. Using Internet tools the necessity of an absolute meeting time can be achieved. The next most difficult, important issues groups face are "who are we" and "what will we do." Make it your responsibility to participate in these decisions within the group. Here is an outline that may guide your discussions:

The Art Group

The group might create a new DEC98 WebStudy Student Gallery "first" page.
Determines primitive or elegant student page standards.
Use a paint program to create an original logo and show other class members how.
Other ideas identified by the individual group.

The Image(s) group

The group might create a new DEC98 WebStudy Banner.
Create example animated GIF's and show everyone how to do it.
Create some "Image map" examples and show everyone how.
Use a large image and cut it into pieces using tables. (more interesting visually).
Determine the group interests, create web pages based on that interest, and make those pages available to the entire WebStudy Class.
Other ideas identified by the individual group.

The Organization group

The group might approve individual and group proposals.
Offers suggestions for improving the body of work.
Get the class "body of work" on at least one search engine. (Demonstrate how to do it).
Determine the group interests, create web pages based on that interest, and make those pages available to the entire WebStudy Class.
Other ideas identified by the individual group.

The Rules group

The group might offer suggestions for improving the course body of work.
Proofs all final web submissions.
Encourages appropriate behavior and identifies inappropriate material.
Finds appropriate (or inappropriate) links within the WebStudy web pages
Other ideas identified by the individual group.

The Technology group

The group might teach everyone in the class (or group) to use the "chat" line, or Netscape Conference (p. 203), or other TBA. Experiment within your Group, then share with the class.
Download a Netscape "plug-in" (Ref: p. 86). Pick something of value to your group members. Share with the entire class "how to do it."
Determine the group interests, create web pages based on that interest, and make those pages available to the entire WebStudy Class.
Other ideas identified by the individual group.

It is my expectation that by December 18th, you will be communicating within your 3 groups, and using Netscape Messenger Mail Filters (p. 192) to place the mass list-server information into appropriate categories. Remember, the key to mail filter success is appropriate "Subject" lines / messages that allow appropriate filtering.

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