ITA Unit 3 Outcome 2 Prototype Website for a virtual team

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ITAUnit 3 Outcome 2Prototype Website for a
virtual team
By Mark Kelly McKinnon Secondary
College kel_at_mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au
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Why U3O2 first?

• U3O2 Virtual team prototype websites
• kids already have web skills
• little training time needed
• a little theory on VT tools
• gives kids a confident start to ITA
• leaves PLENTY of prep time for...
• U3O1 big, new, complex database skills, and
  project management, all of which will be new to
  kids who didnt do IT 1 or 2.

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Lets start at the very beginning

• U3O2 consists of 2 tasks
• TASK 1 the website networking 30 marks
• TASK 2 site evaluation network 20 marks
• Task 1 2 marks must be separate
• 50 of unit 3 SAC marks
• 12.5 of the years mark

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U3O2 - TASK 1

• Design, create and evaluate a
• Prototype website that meets an organisations
  needs of
• Sharing knowledge and
• Collaborative problem solving with a
• Virtual team environment
• Explain the networked info system requirements to
  support the website.

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U3O2 TASK 2

• Evaluation of the prototype website and the
  recommended network requirements for the
  organisation and one team member
• Format must be a test or written report
• Students should evaluate their site using the
  criteria they recommended during analysis

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U3O2

• Virtual team prototype websites - theory
• What is a VT?
• Pros/cons of VT
• What tools do VTs use and why?
• Synchronous vs Asynchronous comms
• What is a prototype?
• How can things like wikis, forums, mailing lists
  be simulated?

Prototype Apple I
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Important

• Students are to create a website for a virtual
  team to use to help their knowledge sharing and
  decision making.
• They are not meant to create a normal website
  with public access!
• Assume the VT site is an password-protected
  offshoot of an organisations main site.

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Examples of virtual teams

• State representatives of a national organisation
  need to organise the annual convention.
• They need to draft documents, develop the agenda
  and timeline, decide on keynote speakers, debate
  the dinner menu etc.

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Examples of virtual teams

• Scientists in various countries are collaborating
  on research into a disease.
• They need to share their experimental data,
  contribute to papers for publication, and
  organise the future direction of their project.

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Examples of virtual teams

• Students across Victoria are planning a student
  rock concert.
• They need to decide on venues, equipment hire,
  ticket prices, which bands to invite, publicity
  wording etc.

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Examples of virtual teams

• An open-source project management software tool
  is being developed by a team of programmers
  spread around the world.

• They need to share code, help each other with
  algorithms, write the documentation, plan future
  features etc.

A genuine forum for OpenProj at
sourceforge.org. (A good replacement for MS
Project for U3O1)
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Useful VT Software Tools

• Email
• Instant messaging, live chat
• Blogs
• Content Management (e.g. Moodle, PHP-Nuke)
• Customer Relationship (e.g. Helpdesk tickets and
  issue tracking)
• Discussion Boards, Forums threaded, historical
  discussions
• F. A.Q. For team reference
• Image Galleries easy picture management, allows
  searching by metatags
• Mailing Lists
• Polls and Surveys to gauge team feelings
• Project Management to keep team members on
  track
• Site Builders simplifies website creation
• Wiki collaborative document creation
• Web Calendars
• Videoconferencing software

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What is a prototype?

• Mister Study Design says a prototype is
• A model or simulation of a solution or an
  information product that demonstrates, for
  example, its functionality, partial navigation
  options and interface.

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What I look for
The websites are demonstrations, or proofs of
concept.

• I look for evidence that the student knows
• What tools a VT can use
• What the tool does
• How the tool can help the team
• What the tool looks like, or how it works
• Possible issues arising from using them

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Demonstrating understandingAn example...

• A student decides that an easy way for a VT to
  share documents would be to all use the same
  email account.

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Demonstrating understandingAn example...

• The student takes a screenshot of a webmail
  interface and edits it with Photoshop so it
  contains relevant-looking emails and attachments.

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Demonstrating understandingAn example...

• The student is also aware that such a setup could
  be a problem if a person deleted other team
  members posts.

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Demonstrating understandingAn example...

• To demonstrate that understanding to you, the
  student adds a statement to the interface which
  warns team members against deleting other
  peoples posts.

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So

• The student has demonstrated a knowledge of
• a relevant tool
• how the tool can be used by the team
• possible problems
• possible solutions

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How much is enough?

• I would expect a student to include
• at least 3 effective, relevant and appropriate
  demonstrations of VT tools in their site (e.g.
  Email, forum, wiki)
• at least one demo of knowledge sharing
• at least one demo of collaborative
  decision-making
• You might like to mandate such things in your task

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What could the prototype site do...

• Simulate functionality e.g. Fake a login button
  that is actually just a hotspot in an image with
  a link attached

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Which means the prototype site could...
Include a few sample items instead of a full
selection of items (e.g. Have 2 topics in a forum
instead of 10. Or have 3 working links to
external sites and 7 dummy links.)
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The prototype website could...

• Look right, but not work properly - if at all
  (e.g. A wiki seems to discuss the team topic but
  is just a doctored screenshot)....

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Editing a forum screenshot to make it look like
it belongs to the virtual team...
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Important

• Main aim of the website is to support
• Knowledge sharing
• Collaborative problem solving
• Make sure your case study enforces this need.
• The final site must not be a static pile of
  information!

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I dont wish to know that

• ITA U3O2 does NOT need to cover networking
  details such as
• Protocols (e.g. TCP/IP, CSMA-CD)
• Topologies (star, bus etc)
• These are not mentioned in the study design, as
  they were in IPM

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Basic networking knowledge

• Need to know the basic networking stuff needed by
  the organisation and one team member...

i.e. the behind the scenes network
infrastructure in an organisation, and what
network parts a user sees and uses
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What the organisation might require

• Servers web, proxy, email, database?
• PHP / server-side software tools
• NOS (Network operating system)
• Router
• Network access method e.g. Cable, ADSL
• Cables, switches
• Modems
• Security devices (user authentication, VPN, file
  encryption, SSL certificate)
• Backup equipment and procedures

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What a team member might require

• Browser, Email client
• Cables, wifi
• Modem
• Firewall, antivirus, anti-malware
• Operating system
• Webcam
• Internet connection options (dialup, cable, ADSL,
  satellite, broadband wireless)
• VoIP

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Where tasks come from

• Roll your own?
• Must satisfy study design criteria
• Must allow students to achieve their best
  possible results
• Not all students should get equal marks!
• Off the shelf?
• You are still responsible for the task you use
• Many tasks are not perfect
• Even ones you pay for!
• Be very wary of recycling old IPM tasks

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Strict discipline can be good

• Enforce separate times for analysis, design,
  production, evaluation
• Protect kids against themselves
• Otherwise they jump in before theyre really
  ready

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How prescriptive?

• For their first task, I give strict guidelines
  and tight structure and tips on how to approach
  some questions. Do not give undue help.
• TASK 1 - Prototype website (60 marks)
• 1. Analysis 10 marks Time limited. Approx
  40 minutes
•  
• This section is to be done under test conditions
  with the computers turned off. It is to be
  handed in for assessment at the end of the
  allocated time.
• Information Problem
• - Briefly explain Ron Melsheimers current
  information problem. Express it as a goal to be
  achieved. (2)
• - Why has a virtual team approach to solving the
  problem been selected? (2)
• - Define the main characteristics and needs of a
  virtual team. (2)
• Equipment
• - List the types of hardware and software that
  could reasonably be used by the virtual team that
  will be solving Ron Melsheimers information
  problem. (2)
• Procedures
• - List the procedures and practices the virtual
  team may reasonably need to use to achieve its
  aim. (2)

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Very prescriptive!

• Design 24 marks 2 periods
• In two periods, with the computers turned off,
  design the prototype website.  Hand in your
  design at the end of the allocated design time.
  Your teacher will either
• a) assess it and return it to you for development
  (if time allows) or
• b) photocopy it and retain the copies for
  assessment. The original design will be returned
  to you so you can refer to it during development.
  
• Any changes or additions you make to your design
  during development will not be assessed!

Give them more freedom to decide in later
outcomes.
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Sample Design Instructions 1 (with tips)

• Design the sites architecture. Use at least one
  appropriate design tool, such as a storyboard to
  design the site structure the behind the
  scenes component of the site. It should at least
  include
• what pages will be required and how they will be
  interconnected with links
• file naming policies
• how files will be handled (e.g. copied to a web
  server)
• data protection (e.g. a backup scheme file
  check-in and check-out)
• client-side or server-side technologies needed
  for the site to work e.g. PHP scripts,
  Javascript, MySQL databases, password protected
  directories, support for Paypal
• the use of metatags and alt text
• how email addresses will be protected from
  harvesting and spam etc. (8 marks)

Make it clear what youre after. Give examples,
explain fuzzy terms.
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Design Instructions 2

• Design the sites appearance. Use at least one
  appropriate design tool, such as page/screen
  mockups or layout diagrams to thoroughly describe
  the appearance of the site. It should include
  colour schemes page structure template design
  the use of tables icons, decoration, headings
  positioning and structure of navbars font
  choices Page last modified dates image
  rollovers and image maps Flash animations
  thumbnailing of images. (12 marks)

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Design Instructions 3

• Evaluation Criteria. Propose a sensible and
  complete set of evaluation criteria by which you
  will later (in Task 2) evaluate the success of
  your site. NOTE - This task should be written on
  a separate sheet of paper with no other parts of
  the outcome on it. (4 marks)
• (So you can return their evaluation criteria to
  use when they actually do their evaluation)

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Give them a hand in checklist
Dont assume they can read instructions, organise
their time or even remember to put their names on
their work.

• What to hand in before development 
• Analysis questions
• Design
• What to hand in after Development
• Evidence of testing
• (The website itself will be assessed on-screen.)

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But...

• Even with a detailed list of things to do, some
  piglets will still leave things out!

Im trying to get out of the habit of saying
kids because they are baby goats.
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Assessing U3O2

• You should dictate at least part of the site
  storage filenaming so you can find it
• E.g. Site must be saved in your network drive in
  a folder called ITAU3O2
• The rest of the filenaming scheme is their own
  responsibility to design
• Dont print the webpages. Assess it onscreen
• You could even get each piglet to carry out a
  live demonstration and explain site features.

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A Tip For Beginner Teachers

• Mark it in stages to avoid mountainous piles at
  the end of the task.
• e.g.
• Mark analysis after its done.
• Then mark design.
• Then the actual website.
• Then the evaluation.
• Then the network requirements.

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Also

• Mark everybodys question 1, then everybodys
  question 2 etc.
• This helps consistency of marking.
• If you find youre marking differently by the
  time you get to the last piglet in the pile,
  revise your marking of the first few piglets.
• Your original scoring criteria can subtly change
  as you read many answers.

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And

• To be fair, shuffle the papers after marking each
  set of questions so the first student is not
  always being marked first, and the last is not
  always marked last and hardest!

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Teach by example

• Know the study design, including the advice for
  teachers and glossary
• Know your facts
• Use terms accurately
• Data / Information
• Mbps / MBps
• Efficient/effective
• Dont assume texts or resources are perfect.
  Most arent!

Even mine.
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Resources

• Textbook, preferably more than one
• ITA mailing list - www.edulists.com.au
• VITTA - www.vitta.org.au
• My IT Lecture Notes vceit.com
• VCAA www.vcaa.vic.edu.au

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Thanks...