Instructor: | Amy Bruckman |
---|---|
Email: | asb@cc.gatech.edu |
Office: | TSRB 338 |
Office Hours: | Find me after class, or email for an appointment. |
TA: | Andrea Forte |
---|---|
Email: | aforte at cc |
Office: | elc lab is next to amy's office |
Office Hours: | email me |
Location: | College of Computing 102 |
---|---|
Time: | Tuesday, Thursday 3:00-4:30 |
Class Schedule: | Calendar |
Online communities are becoming an increasing part of how we work, play, and learn. But how are they designed? What are they really good for? Why are some communities more successful than others? What are the key issues in this field of research?
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
This class counts as an HCI class for the purpose of specializations (pre-Threads curriculum). It has not been officially added to a Thread, but if you would like it to be counted as an elective in the People Thread, email me and I will see if we can get that approved.
Required:
Recommended:
Your grade is based on one short paper, two longer papers, two presentations, a final exam, and class participation:
Short paper (2-6 pages): What are your best and worst experiences in an online community? (individual, 10%)
Homeworks (individual, 15%)
Midterm (15%)
Final paper (20-30 pages):
Participate in a virtual community for a significant amount of
time (at least 10 hours) and observe it. Each team member
will interview at least three community members. Analyze
how the community is designed and in what ways it is successful.
(groups of approx. three, 25%)
In-class presentation of final paper (group, 5%)
Final exam. (25%)
(Sample exams from the graduate version of this class: 2001
final exam; 2005 final exam with
sample answers)
Class participation. (5%)
Homeworks will be graded on a list of criteria (specified on the assignment) such as quality of writing, completeness, insight into design issues, insight into social issues, etc. For each criterion, you will receive either a check plus, check, or check minus. Most criterion will receive a check. A plus means "you impressed me." A minus means the assignment is incomplete, incorrect, or sloppy in some fashion with respect to that criterion. Pluses and minues are combined to give your grade for the assignment. For most assignments, you start out half way between a B+ and A-. One plus makes it an A-; one minus makes it a B+. These are general guidelines to let you know what to expect. Grading on specific assignments may differ.
Assignments are due at the start of class on the day they are due. Over
the course of the term, you have three "late days" where work
may be late with no explanation needed.
Once you have used up your late days, late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 3 pts (one grade step: A becomes A-) per day. Assignments more than one week late will not be accepted. Presentations may not be late.
If Engish is not your first language, you may request to not be graded on your writing for a particular individual assignment. This means you won't be penalized for bad writing, but you also won't get credit for good writing. To take advantage of this option, you must mark "ESL" (English as a Second Language) on the first page of your assignment/paper. This option is not available for group assignments. We still of course expect you to try to write in correct English, and will do our best to offer useful feedback on your writing.
This class abides by the Georgia Tech Honor Code. All assigned work is expected to be individual, except where explicitly written otherwise. You are encouraged to discuss the assignments with your classmates; however, what you hand in should be your own work.