Overview:
Teams of 4 students will examine a technology or business issue of relevance to IT and Manufacturing (see attached list of suggested topics) and produce a web site on this topic.
Objectives:
1) gain in-depth knowledge of a particular topic related to the course
2) communicate this knowledge effectively to your classmates
3) build an effective web site on this topic
Detailed Description:
Because of the fast pace of change, there are no coherent sources of information on many of the essential topics in this area. As a class, we will scan the environment and report back on what we have found. The goal is to promote a common level of understanding and familiarity with the core technologies and issues that we will be discussing throughout the course. Student are expected to draw on library research, web-based research and personal contacts.
The findings will be communicated via original web sites. The web sites should include not only the hyperlinked text of a summary report, but also pointers to related resources and examples throughout the world. These sites will be accessible by class mates, as well as by others world wide, and should be the first place anyone interested in understanding the research topic would visit.
Each briefing should:
Some briefings may also include "how-to" components and advice on products & strategies.
Grading:
The grading will be based on both the content and "look & feel" of the web site. The content will constitute 60% of the grade and the appearance, functionality and innovativeness of the web site will constitute 40% of the grade. Guidelines on creating effective web sites are included in the recommend texts for the course (e.g. Cronin's books) and can be found on the web as well, for example:
http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/Authoring/Indices/
The TA can also provide advice and guidance.
Schedule:
| April 4: | Visit class website (http://web.mit.edu/15.566/www) and fill-in sign-up form. |
| April 11: | Submit 1 page proposal for project with list of team members |
| April 18: | List of teams and projects posted on class web site |
| May 2: | Skeleton web site due. Give URL to Joyce Kline |
| May 14: | Complete web site for grading. |
Some suggested topics for web pages:
There is significant overlap among many of these topics. Teams are strongly encouraged to coordinate their work with teams researching related topics. Novel ideas for projects are welcome, but must be approved by the instructor.