Notes
This page will include links to notes and materials to help students complete this module. You'll find some links to theory provided in the Project Methodology section. Here, I'll deal with the actual projects and the sort of paperwork and processes you'll need to know about.
FdSc Computing 2nd Year Student projects 2008
Information and Learning Technology Projects
The purpose of these activities would be to look at a range of topics involving the application of new technology to enhance the learning environment. Objectives would be to help plan and implement developments in the following areas:
ICT in the Classroom
Desktop layout, access to most-used applications, additional applications not currently available etc.
This will entail research as to what applications students currently use most frequently in classrooms and recommendations for additional or alternative provision based on course requirements and any preferences indicated by tutors. You may also have new proposals based on your own knowledge or experience in some fields. After discussion of your findings with me and other staff the changes will be allocated priorities. Some will be urgent and essential, others will be desirable but with cost or practical implications to be overcome and others just something that would be a good idea but not of great importance. It will then be a matter of negotiation with IT Services to plan and make changes. Those that are made within your project term should also be monitored and further recommendations made where necessary and a survey conducted which will hopefully illustrate successful completion of the project.
Whilst the main focus is on applications for students and desktop delivery, there is an opportunity to obtain information on students' and staff opinions on a wider range of IT services such as equipment maintenance, access to print services or other matters and where your particular knowledge or skills could usefully contribute to resolving other problems your project aims may be broadened accordingly.
Web 2.0 and new ideas
Which new web applications could usefully be made available to staff and or students? Research what is out there and, for selected applications, assist with planning and implementing them as appropriate. Contribute to knowledge sharing and development within the Eastern Region.
In this project you will initially need to become familiar with the range of Web2.0 applications that are being developed and to determine which could be relatively easily and usefully trialled in the College in particular teaching or administrative areas. Working with staff (and possibly a student group where appropriate) the objective would be to look at a range of tasks currently being undertaken and consider whether utilisation of web technology (and perhaps other new developments in applications that require download) could have a significant impact on qualities such as efficiency, reliability, security or accessibility.
Having selected a particular product or group of products, you will compare them in operation and output, noting problems and particular successes. You will also have an opportunity to liaise with other Colleges who may have trialled similar products and to provide brief reviews of your trials to share with the community.
Staff intranet
Research what facilities staff require access to and how best to provide them. Review the current utilisation of Microsoft SharePoint. Plan and assist with implementation of changes as agreed.
IT Services currently manage the 'staff intranet' and the desktop environment on most staff computers. Some development of Microsoft SharePoint has taken place in this respect. In this project you would research what staff want on their home page, what they use in this intranet and general views on usability. From your findings there will be some changes or requests for new provision and you will determine which are essential and urgent, those that are desirable and others that may be impracticable in the short term for various reasons. Depending on your own skills, you will have an opportunity to discuss with IT Services and other key staff actual development of Microsoft Sharepoint or even recommend and trial a completely fresh approach. This may entail preparation of new designs for presentation of the staff intranet on-screen and/or its technical operation.
You will conduct a review to ascertain the impact of changes implemented during the project term. There may be an opportunity for further development of your ideas, where these are regarded as particularly desirable in the review, in a paid capacity.
Moodle: technical support
Assist with development of Moodle and provision of technical support
During this term the provision of access to course materials on-line for all students has a high priority with a view to all staff and students being automatically logged in to the system when they log in to a College computer from the start of the next academic year. The moodle site is being hosted externally and the better speed and reliability of operation anticipated should enhance its appeal. Your project entails researching the many features that moodle can offer tutors and students in addition to the basic provision of a place to store links to files and web sites. In this respect you will also liaise with other moodle groups and users with a view to taking the best ideas and trialling them at College. The project will also include work on the look and feel of the site to establish a stable and attractive theme and set of font styles for general use across the site.
This project is primarily focussed on the technical operation of moodle and any associated technologies with a view to ensuring that it runs well and looks professional, meeting the requirements of staff and student users as well as possible. Understanding of the underlying code and some of the background operational features is required and the ability to communicate effectively with support staff here and at other institutions or on moodle development forums would be either necessary or something that your skills would enable you to acquire reasonably quickly. You would also be expected to work closely with colleague(s) involved in staff training to overcome problems encountered.
It is possible that this project could be broadened or combined with the web2.0 research project to investigate alternatives to moodle for longer term consideration.
Moodle: Staff liaison and training
Liaison with staff and assistance with staff training and achievement of growth of well-presented on-line course information and material.
This project entails working with staff and support colleagues to ensure that as wide a take-up by staff as is feasible is achieved this term. Staff will have a range of materials in an equally wide range of formats which they would like to make available to students and your task is to assist in uploading them, arranging them appropriately on the course pages and generally arranging for any problems that arise to be efficiently dealt with. In addition to assistance at specific group staff development sessions run by staff you will be working individually with staff and will need to be able to organise when and where you can do so. You should maintain records of staff course development so that we can monitor take-up and, in due course, preparation of statistics to record usage by students.
There may be opportunities for further paid work in both the technical and training support roles upon completion of a successful first project.
College web site development
Liaison with Marketing Department and technical and/or design work in establishing new areas of site development
Submission of ideas for re-design of the main site with new features as specified by Marketing Department
Marketing department are producing a brief for developments of the College web site and this project provides an opportunity for you to liaise with them and staff with a view to submitting proposals for a new site that meets their requirements. You may also have an opportunity to adjust their brief too, depending upon the timing of the start of your activity in this respect. It is understood that several individuals are currently involved in providing ideas for consideration and this project would include negotiation with Marketing Department with a view to co-ordinating activity of others within the College and determining the best approach for utilising talents available to provide an attractive and workable solution to their requirements.
It is understood that at least a new section designed top promote specific themes should be available in early March which means you must be able to allocate sufficient time at the outset of this project to complete required deliverables in time. This 'front-loading' of time requirement would be taken into account with less time being necessary to be allocated to the later development of more general site proposals.
The general site will require individuals with sufficient skills to negotiate effectively with key staff at College the collection and display of data for a course search facility that, once set up, is automatically kept up-to-date by links to central data and with minimal manual editing for course availability changes. It should also incorporate application forms and the facility for authorised staff to edit certain parts of pages without the need for special skills or software. In this respect there have been samples prepared of systems that might be suitable by others and your project would include evaluation of their proposals and recommendations as to which, if any, should be taken further. Subject to your own skills, you can, of course, also submit your own ideas and, indeed, recommend them!
Marketing Department have a budget for site development and it may be the case that payment could be made for implementation of a selected option in part or in whole. This would have to be a separate arrangement to this project but may warrant putting a it more time into design and building relationships with key staff than the allotted timetable time!
Student Voice
Liaison with College staff and student groups with a view to web-related developments to enhance appreciation and visibility of College progress in a range of current Government initiatives and priorities for young people in education.
This is a broadly-based project in which you would work with staff at College with a particular focus on student needs and how the College meets them effectively and can be seen doing so. There have been all sorts of 'initiatives' published by Government and the College aims to provide the best support for students to meet its responsibilities under these publications. There are several important areas where the College wishes to promote its services and make it easy for students to understand what help is available and to get their views heard through various forums and groups. You will be expected to look at how staff are currently promoting what they do and how they communicate with students and to advise how a combination of good design and web technology could be particularly effective. This may range from a simple addition to the College web site where posters and campaigns are featured, with links to more information, or inclusion within moodle or a similar vehicle of an area where students can discuss things or access information.
There are also several student organisations within the College and they may benefit from the development of a new area specially for their use and maybe quite separate from the College site or intranet. Ideas suggested to date also include getting students to make short videos or podcasts which could be utilised by Marketing Department. A DVD of students at College was produced a short while ago and the transfer of this, in part, to a more accessible vehicle may also be required.
College information displays
Design logos and various text displays for notice boards and display areas across College with a view to creating a smart and co-ordinated look and feel to the wide range of departments and services provided at the main campus and at Kingsland. Working in conjunction with managers and Marketing personnel, plan and implement replacement of sad-looking posters with new ones. Produce templates and graphics for use by staff in future.
This is a very simple project but it has the potential to be hugely effective and have great impact on day-to-day life at the College. You would just review how staff (and maybe students too) promote course information, events, training sessions and a whole range of other things by the use of (almost entirely) A4 posters and the extent to which noticeboards themselves have an identifiable topic, heading or specific purpose. It should be relatively easy to appreciate that there is scope for considerable improvement in how these notices are displayed by utilising better design skills, colour printing where appropriate, better quality paper and, of course, there are some monitors around College with information displays of dubious quality. In this project you would ascertain, for those posters that have a reasonable life-span remaining, who is responsible for them and offer to create a new design. In some cases you may find that the individual would be interested in acquiring skills to do them themselves and this may be a development within your project that can be considered. You would also need to liaise with Marketing staff and other key staff with a view to labelling the notice board appropriately and with a house style which you would need to develop and agree. With many departments and a range of topics to be covered there is scope for significant change to be achieved and tremendous improvement in this aspect of how staff, students and visitors perceive the College.
You may also investigate the types of monitor being used for displays of presentation-type information and make recommendations as to how these could be more effective in terms of equipment used, software or how the information is presented and, indeed, the content itself.
Your aim should be to inspire others to think a little before they print an A4 WordArt / Clipart effort, provide readily accessible templates for people to use and identify individuals who might be able to assist on an ongoing basis for future displays.
Whilst this project does really require an individual with good design skills and an interest in making a visual difference, it would be a reasonable development within the project to liaise with Art, Design & Media personnel as well as other recognised talented people within other areas and Reprographics department to set up a network for future co-ordination and quality management. (Note: there will always be the last minute slap-up notice in Times New Roman size 72 bold . . . it is the more long-lasting items that require particular attention).
Kingsland Football Development Scheme
Further development and refinement of marketing work to promote this Scheme and associated projects to be negotiated with staff at Kingsland.
In this project you will work closely with staff at Kingsland Campus and could expand the role to include other sports development and also promotion of the Hair & Beauty services there. To a large extent this project speaks for itself and the objective would be to develop interest in their activities and promotion of their successes.
Private business projects
There are also a number of opportunities for work in conjunction with staff at local organisations, including:
Mill Vale School web site
Liaison with ICT staff at school to train one individual in using web design software to manage the new school web site
Assistance in site development and management as required until staff fully competent
CFBA
Production of a product and service review/rating web site with a range of interactive features
Training staff at CFBA to continue development when competent
CIDBT
Production of an administrative system to record progress by students through a range of training programmes and notify appropriate staff or students of imminent and overdue events
Training staff at CIDBT to continue using system as effectively as possible without assistance other than reference to manual
More details on these commercial organisations will be provided separately and appointment to any role with them would be subject to interview with their representatives. Whilst specific payments to individuals during the project period may not be possible, it is recognised that your work would produce significant savings for them by not having to use their own staff or external agencies. It is likely, however, that individuals who perform well and who may be interested in further work with an organisation would be offered work for which they could be paid in future.
