Hello!

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Hello all! My name is Sara Vogel, I am a first year doctoral student in the GC’s Urban Education program. I am interested in researching the intersection of computer science education, digital literacy, and bilingual education at the K-12 level. These interests were shaped by my work as a teacher in the US and abroad, and as an educator with young people in after school and out-of-school time programs where the students worked on developing their own video games and multimedia projects. I am excited to dive in to ITP Core 2 and to put all of the theory from last semester to work! You can find me at http://cuny.is/saraevogel

Some ideas I have been kicking around for the independent study project include:
– Fleshing out a network diagram visualization of the K-12 computer science educators network in NYC as the CS4All initiative gets off the ground (maybe using data from those who coordinate the network).
– Creating online professional development modules for teachers of emergent bilingual students — using some of the content I’ve worked on with the CUNY-NYS Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals project.
– A tool which in some way helps me analyze the multimedia/digital practices of youth whose languages I don’t speak.

Hello!

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Hello Fellow Core II People,

I was lucky enough to meet many of you last semester as a student in Core I, but would like to introduce myself regardless. I’m a second-year student in the Educational Psychology program here at the Graduate Center. This semester I’m excited to be working alongside all of you and learning different skills during labs. My interests are learning, memory, executive functions, games and collaboration.

 

Midterm Assignments: Short Proposals

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As we have discussed, your midterm assignment is to create at least two different project proposals that each have at least two scope variations: one full and a reduced version.

Each of the (at least) two proposals should follow this structure:

  1. An introductory descriptive paragraph, which should include a problem statement, and say *what* your tool/thing will do. This is your abstract, or elevator pitch. This should not have the full theoretical framing of the project. That will come in the final.
  2. A set of personas
  3. A use case scenario (where would someone find your tool/thing and how would they use it). Keep it short.
  4. How you will make the full fledged version. This is your “ideal world” version that fulfills all of your visions and fantasies (what tools you will use, how you will get them, how confident you are that all the moving parts will work together, etc)
  5. Your assessment of how much time this will take, and how much of the skills you currently know and what you would have to learn.
  6. How you will make the stripped down version. The stripped down version is the minimally viable product. It is the most *bare bones* version to prove that what you are trying to get at is viable. (what tools you will use, how you will get them, how confident you are that all the moving parts will work together, etc)
  7. Your assessment of how much time this will take, and how much of the skills you currently know and what you would have to learn.

You are welcome (but not required) to repeat the last two steps with scope variations in-between the full fledged and bare bones version.

Two proposals with two scope variations can be effectively in 4 to 7 page range (though you will be turning in online). I’m less concerned with page count, and more concerned with your process (as with all assignments in this class).

You will hopefully notice that you have done a lot of this work already. We’ve structured it this way. Your job here is to combine and revise the work you have already done, fill the holes, and assess each project’s feasibility.

The proposals will be submitted using Social Paper prior to class on March 21st.

Class that week will be dedicated to workshopping the proposals. The format we will follow will be that each participant will choose one of their two proposals to present orally. You will have 5 minutes to present, and we will have 5 minutes for feedback. Think of this as a pitch. You will want to lay out the project abstract, present very short versions of your personas, give one use case scenario, and then talk about how you would build it, and how long you think it would take.

Overview of Assignments

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This semester we will be working on three major assignments, with continuous blog writing throughout.

Provocations and responses: We’ll continue the practice of having several students act as motivators and write provocations on the blog on the reading/subject of the week, and carrying on a conversation on the blog in advance of class. Since class meets on Mondays, please post your provocations by the end of the day Saturday so that discussion can start Sunday. Several of the provocation assignments will scaffold towards the three larger assignments below.

Project Abstracts/Short Proposals: Your midterm assignment is to create at least two different project proposals that each have at least two scope variations: one full and a reduced version. Details on the full assignment will be given February 8th and the assignment is due March 21st.

Collaboration and Wikipedia: Your Wikipedia assignment this semester is to work in teams to create a Wikipedia assignment plan for an undergraduate course. We’ll discuss the details in class on February 29th, and the assignment plan is due on April 11th.

Final Project Proposal and Proof of Concept: Your final project is to turn in a proposal for a larger project, that includes a proof of concept. Your goal is to convince us that your proposal is relevant and productive AND that you can actually pull it off. The details will be discussed on March 21st. We will have three days of presentations at the end of the semester, and the written proposal will be due during finals period.