LIS 550: Information in a Social Context

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• Overview

• Schedule

• Assignments

• Grading

Assignments

Overview •  Assignment 1 • Assignment 2 • Participation

 

Overview

You will have four different opportunities to demonstrate your understanding of the course content:

1. Assignment 1: Exploration of an information issue
2. Assignment 2: Dialogue with instructor
3. Assignment 3: Group project
4. In-class individual participation

Assignment	Due Date	Percent of Grade
Assignment 1: Exploration of an information issue	January 19	15%
Assignment 2: Dialogue with instructor		15%
2a. Initial one-on-one meeting with instructor	Week 1 or 2
2b. Written reflection on course	March 4
2c. Final one-on-one meeting with instructor	Week 10
Assignment 3: Group project
3a: Groups constituted	January 12
3b: Issue identified	January 14
3c: Plan of action prepared	January 19
3d: In-class group project reports	January 26, February 16
3e: Draft of initial sections of written report	February 9
3f: Final in-class presentation	March 4, 9, or 11	10%
3g: Final report due	March 11	40%
In-class individual participation		20%
Classroom discussion	---
Periodic written reading responses	---

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Assignment 1: Exploration of an information issue

For this assignment you will identify, analyze, and write about an information issue using the sociotechnical framework that is central to this course. The aim of the assignment is to help you understand the framework (and to surface questions about it) so that you will be in a good position to embark upon Assignment 3, the quarter-long group investigation of an information issue.

Start by identifying an information issue that has arisen in your own life. This issue may have arisen in your work life, your schooling (at the iSchool or in a prior institution) or in your home or family life. It may be something current (unresolved), recent, or even distant in time (e.g. something that happened in your childhood). The selection process is an important part of this exercise: What makes the issue you’ve identified an “information issue”? Have you selected one that is substantial enough to merit the analysis you are being asked to perform?

Once you’ve chosen your issue, analyze it using the questions listed in the assignment template, writing your responses to each. Please use the actual assignment template, a Microsoft Word file, filling in your responses, saving and submitting it.

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Assignment 2: Dialogue with instructor

I will meet with each member of the class at least twice during the quarter. The first meeting (20 minutes long) will take place during the first two weeks of the course. This meeting is meant to allow us to get to know one another--more than the "normal" classroom setting usually permits. I am eager to hear what you're hoping to accomplish in the iSchool, what you're hoping to do afterwards, and also to answer any questions you might have--about the course, about me, or about anything else.

The second meeting will take place during the last week of the quarter. This is meant to allow us to discuss your participation in the group project, what you learned in the course, and your suggestions for improving the course in the future. I will also ask you for input on your final grade.

In preparation for this second meeting, I will ask you to write a short personal reflection on the course, in which you discuss your involvement in the group project and reflect on what you learned, not only from the group project but from the readings and classroom discussion. The template for this reflection will be available [here].

Assignment 3: Analysis of local information issue

For the final project, you will be asked to research an information issue in a local (Puget Sound) institution and to present your findings in two ways: in an in-class presentation and in a final written report.

A description of Assignment 3 can be found here. A list of prior group projects (to help stimulate your thinking) can be found here.

This is a group project. We will discuss the composition of groups in class.

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In-class individual participation

You will be asked to express your understanding of (as well as your questions and concerns about) the course content in both oral and written form, that is, through your participation in classroom discussion (oral) and through brief in-class (written) responses to the readings.

Classroom participation is vital to the success of the course. Some people, however, are more comfortable speaking in a group than are others. By periodically asking you to write about a topic in class, I am able to hear from everyone. I may choose to read or refer to some of your writings in class (without necessarily identifying the writer), thereby feeding back your reflections to the rest of of you.

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Overview • Schedule • Assignments • Grading