Homework Assignments

Assignment #1 (Due Class #2)

Selecting a Group Research Topic

Blackboard Discussion Board

For your first assignment, you will need to use the Discussion Board to select the information technology topic you'd like to research for the group project. Within the Group Research Project forum, you'll find several threads with the topics you can choose. You can also suggest a topic of your choice, but you will need at least 3 other students to form a group.

Your instructors will use the preferences you provide in your Discussion Board posts to assign you to a group.

Assignment #2 (Due Class #3)

Searching for Preliminary Sources

University Libraries

Once you've selected your preferred research topic, you'll need to find 3 preliminary sources on the topic you selected. You may use any other external resources you’d like, but at least 2 of your sources must come from the University Libraries’ collection and you must document the steps of your search process for these sources.

Create a Word document (or other text file) that includes citation information for your 3 preliminary sources.

You'll use the Digital Dropbox tool within Blackboard to submit this homework assignment. Follow the instructions below to send your homework to your instructor:

1. Click on Tools > Digital Dropbox.
   
2. Click on the Send File icon.
   
3. Enter a title that will help your instructor identify the file you are submitting (i.e. YourUserIDHW2 replacing YourUserID with your actual Andrew ID).
   
4. Click on the Browse button next to the File: field. Locate the file you want to submit.
   
5. Click on the Submit button.

Important Note - You will receive a message saying that your file was sent to the instructors. If you do not receive this message, your file was not sent properly. Retry the steps above to properly send the file to your instructor.

Assignment #3 (Due Class #3)

Scheduling Meetings and Managing Tasks

Andrew Calendar

Now that you’ve been assigned to a group and know the topic you’ll be researching for the final presentation, you’ll need to begin scheduling meetings with your group members and track the tasks you need to complete. Your third assignment is to add your entire Fall 2009 course schedule in Andrew Calendar as meetings so that the other members in your group know when you are free. Your meetings should start the first week of classes and include the following for all of your classes:

1. Titles of the course
2. Location where the course meets
3. Time the course begins
4. Duration of the course
5. Repeating information for the course (i.e. course meets Monday/Wednesday for the entire semester)

Important Note - Make sure the meetings are public so your instructor can view your entries to grade the assignment.

Assignment #4 (Due Class #5)

Managing Projects

Microsoft Excel

To successfully complete the group project, your group should spend some time planning for the final presentation. Using Microsoft Excel, your assignment is to create a worksheet detailing the following:

• Topic your group is presenting
• Name of each group member
• Component of the presentation each group member will present
• Duration of time each group member will spend presenting

You must also use various features within Microsoft Excel to complete the following tasks:

• Sort the names of the group members in ascending order
• Apply bold formatting to column headers
• Use a formula to calculate the total length of your presentation
• Set a conditional formatting rule that will indicate when your presentation does not meet the time requirement
• Create a chart that details how your presentation will be distributed.

You must use the same format as shown in the Assignment #4 Sample. You can download the spreadsheet and populate the information for your particular group, but be sure to rename the file according to step #3 below.

You'll use the Digital Dropbox tool within Blackboard to submit this homework assignment. Follow the instructions below to send your homework to your instructor:

1. Click on Tools > Digital Dropbox.
   
2. Click on the Send File icon.
   
3. Enter a title that will help your instructor identify the file you are submitting (i.e. YourUserIDHW4 replacing YourUserID with your actual Andrew ID).
   
4. Click on the Browse button next to the File: field. Locate the file you want to submit.
   
5. Click on the Submit button.

Important Note - You will receive a message saying that your file was sent to the instructors. If you do not receive this message, your file was not sent properly. Retry the steps above to properly send the file to your instructor.

Assignment #5 (Due Class #6)

Assignment #5 Resubmissions Due Class #8
(For students that attend the optional file storage and sharing classes only.)

Sharing Project Files

(FTP and Andrew Linux)

When working on group projects, students often share project files by emailing back and forth. This often results in bandwidth usage violations, email accounts going over quota or files being lost or compromised. You and your group members should utilize the secure storage space allocated to you on the AFS network.

Your assignment is to create a directory named ccm-project on AFS that you’ll use to store files related to your group project. Set access right permissions for each member of your group and your instructors to view, read and edit the files in the directory and to add new files.

Once you have created the directory and assigned the proper permissions, transfer the Excel spreadsheet you created for Homework #4 to ccm-project.

Assignment #6 (Due Class #10)

Creating Web Sites

(Adobe Dreamweaver)

Your final assignment is to create a web site to display information about your group project. You’ll need to create the following pages and link them all together. You also need to publish the files to the www directory in your AFS volume.

1. Home Page
2. Group Members
3. Research Topic Abstract
4. Project Management (link to Excel file created for Assignment #4)
5. Presentation (link to your presentation file)

Once your web site is published, create a Word document (or other text file) and paste the link to the home page of your website.

You'll use the Digital Dropbox tool within Blackboard to submit this homework assignment. Follow the instructions below to send your homework to your instructor:

1. Click on Tools > Digital Dropbox.
   
2. Click on the Send File icon.
   
3. Enter a title that will help your instructor identify the file you are submitting (i.e. YourUserIDHW6 replacing YourUserID with your actual Andrew ID).
   
4. Click on the Browse button next to the File: field. Locate the file you want to submit.
   
5. Click on the Submit button.

Important Note - You will receive a message saying that your file was sent to the instructors. If you do not receive this message, your file was not sent properly. Retry the steps above to properly send the file to your instructor.