DUE DATES:
Presentations: Dec 6 and 8 (MOO environment should be ready)
Written Proposals Due: Dec 8
*(remember, you will also have an individual analysis of this project
due around this same time, so plan accordingly)
From the syllabus:
"Final Project: For the final project, you will create (based on your
proposal) your working group's virtual office space on OldPuebloMOO. You
will present your working group's philosophy to the class, explain the
space and the contents of the space, including outlines of proposed projects/activities
for the organization. The project will be grounded in an analytical understanding
of the implications of your decisions about space, organizational structure,
and communication."
Rhetorical context for the assignment:
IRI is at this point (as far as we are concerned) just a good idea. We know what we want to do, and we have a group of people who have the skills and talent to make that goal happen. So now what? We have nothing in place. We have no packages; we have no workspace other than a big room in a town called "OldPuebloMOO" and a few workrooms attached. We have no budget, no brochures, no real idea of what would be in a brochure if we had one. We are all in OldPeubloMOO--no one is in Indonesia or Brazil or wherever--and to be honest, we don't even know what country we might want to be in.
While I think it would be absolutely fabulous if we could end this semester with packages all set up, an education center built, and brochures distributed, I somehow suspect that is not really within the realm of the possible. If we did have that all done, you would either be super-human students, or we'd have a pretty shoddy operation.
Therefore, our goal for the final project is to propose a sort of "business
plan" for each area of operations. Your groups need to figure out what
you need to do in order to begin operations. You need to propose to me
the steps you are going to take in order to do the following:
Some important elements to consider (and which I will consider in evaluating these assignments):
A proposal is a persuasive document.
A proposal, in as much as it is a recommendation, requires justifications,
supporting explanations, evidence, and well articulated reasons for the
decisions you have made.
A proposal includes the elements of:
*the overriding goal the proposal seeks to achieve
*the benefits of implementing your proposal in terms of that goal
*the methods by which your proposal will be implemented
*cost/benefit analyses (why another proposal would be less effective
or if this proposal has some additional costs, why they are justified)
The MOO environment needs to reflect some critical awareness of how
things work on the MOO.
I do not expect MOO expertise, but I do expect some reflection of a
competent awareness of the way descriptions and text work on the MOO.
The MOO environment should include more than just a generic description
of space; it should include objects such as noteboards or other essential
elements to facilitate operations and communications.
Timeline:
While you all work differently and I don't wish to impose any of my own working strategies on you, I can suggest some basic timelines to consider as you are writing this proposal and building your workspace.
You have approximately 6 weeks from now to complete this project (assuming you are reading this on or around the end of October). I recommend the following progress guidelines:
By Nov 5: Individual roles generically/generally defined; begin considering job descriptions for individuals (if you are focusing on individual job descriptions). Working group structure articulated. Start identifying the elements of the proposal and how you will do the work (as a group) to write the proposal. Are you making individuals responsible for parts of the writing? Does someone need to learn the MOO or focus on the workspace design?
By Nov 12: Have a good sense of what kind of research an actual group
like your would have to do in order to begin working. For example, if you
are marketing, how would you go about identifying the target audience and
how would you then research that audience? If you are building an on-site
center, how do you go about determining where "on-site" will be?
Have an outline of the proposal and see how well you are able to fill
in the slots. Have a draft of an idea for the virtual workplace and reasons
why you chose to structure the "office" this way.
By Nov 19: Rough Draft of proposal. Run it past the instructor. Rough
draft of vision of workspace and analysis of that workspace. Run it past
the instructor. Instructor recommends group conferences.
Work with instructor to really get "building" on the MOO. Once the
basics are built, revise the descriptions and add objects.
By Nov 26: Revise proposal (chances are instructor pointed out that you didn't consider a bunch of things and need more information, more justification, more details). Work on individual analyses of your group projects, critique what is happening within your group and the implications. Run that past your instructor. Eat turkey, if that's what you like to do.
By Dec 3: Meet with instructor or each other to make sure your MOO environment represents the model you want it to. Have a completed draft of the proposal ready and outline a presentation of your MOO space and proposal for the class.
Dec 6 and 8: Present your workspace on the MOO and your basic proposal to the class. May want to include short lists of tasks and outlines of structures, along with a statement of your group's philosophy.
Dec 8: give instructor a final proposal that makes her think that you all are amazing people.
Before Dec 10: post your final individual analysis of the project and
the group in the MOO on the appropriate board. (see guidelines for that
assignemnt).
Note: The group project, including the proposal, the MOO environment,
and the presentation is worth 25% of your grade. It will be graded as a
group project. You will all earn one grade. The other assignment, the individual
analysis of the group and project, will also be worth 25% of your grade.