Virtual Public / Space Collaboration

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Project 4 is a collaborative project, connecting virtual space and real space. You will create a website about a public place. You will provide information about the place and propose a course of action for its future.

There are two primary goals for your website:

• To present the history, description, and current use of the place.
• To identify a current issue or problem with the place and propose a feasible course of action. Your website should include a detailed action plan that includes multimedia advocacy and publicity (i.e. using the website and other web-based tools to address the issue), as well as real world action (i.e. actual changes in use, policy, etc.).

Considerations/Getting Started

• Identify a public place. What is a public place? Anything owned by the public, including places in the University, including streets, parks, building, streams, schools, the statue of the Mountaineer, High Street, Stansbury Hall, etc. For purposes of access, focus on public places in and around Morgantown.
• Identify an issue or problem. The issue should be something of significance and interest to the community. Most significant public places have issues and are bound to have a history and debate (articles in the newspaper, etc.). Parks need funding, streams are polluted, streets have controversies over their use, etc. (For example: post-game issues in Sunnyside... perhaps too easy an example?)
• Research and make contact. At the least: you will need to contact and meet with one person involved with the place. You will need to observe and describe the place. You will need to look up materials on the web, research history, etc.
• Questions to ask. What exactly is the problem? Who is most affected by the problem? What causes the problem? Has anyone tried to do anything about it? If so, why haven’t they succeeded? What is likely to happen in the future if the problem isn’t solved?
• Propose your solution. State your solution as specifically as you can: a specific claim about the specific course of action needed, in the form "We should (not) do this." What exactly do you want to achieve? How exactly will your solution work? Can it be accomplished quickly or would it have to be phased in over a few years? Has anything like it been tried elsewhere? Who will be involved? Can you think of any arguments why your solution might not work? How will you address those arguments? Can you think of any ways of strengthening your proposed solution in light of those possible criticisms?
• Consider other solutions. What other solutions have been or might be proposed for this problem, including doing nothing? What are the advantages and disadvantages of those solutions? Why is your solution better?
• Examine the feasibility of your solution. How easy is your solution to implement? Will the people most affected be willing to go along with it? (For example, lots of things can be accomplished if enough people volunteer, but groups often have difficulty getting enough volunteers to work without pay.) If it costs money, how do you propose paying for it? Who is most likely to reject your proposal because it is not practical enough? How can you convince your readers that your proposal can be achieved?
• Your audience is fellow WVU Students, the larger WVU community, and the Morgantown community. Keep this in mind as you design and write the site. Who specifically are you writing for? How interested will your readers be in this problem? How do you interest them? How much does this problem affect them? How would your solution benefit them directly and indirectly? Note: We will do user testing on April 24.

Technical Requirements

• At least 1000 words distributed across at least 10 web pages.
• Accessible multimedia writing format, e.g. short text, scannability, hypertext structure.
• A splash page with at least the following: a clear and limiting title, an introduction to the project, a site menu and at least one other form of navigation.
• CSS to control style and layout (no tables).
• Appropriate images and other graphics. You must create the images. Some other images are acceptable, but identify the sources.
• An FAQ page including what to expect in the site, the purpose of the site, contact information, outbound links to related sites, and other information as needed.
• Clear use of at least one design pattern from each Chapter 1-4 and 9 of the Tidwell book, i.e. at least five total patterns (from What Users Do, Organizing the Content, Getting Around, Organizing the Page, and Making It Look Good).
• A complete copy of the final project uploaded in each group members' website.

Key Dates / Deadlines

Apr 3 Intro to Virtual Public / Space Collaboration.
Feedback.
Read PM up to Part 3
PM.
R

April 5 Workshop Project 3 in class. Sitemaps.
As a group, brainstorm on project 4.
Read PM up to Part 4.

April 10 Discuss del.icio.us and tag clouds. Discuss Public / Space Projects.
Read PM up to Part 6.
R

April 12 Re-Vision Project due by 6pm.Class cancelled. Read PM up to Part 7.

April 17 1) Reflective posting to blogs. 2) Group discussion. 3) Write a provisional paragraph that describes briefly the problem and a possible solution. 4) Discuss paragraphs. 5) Make a timeline, assign tasks, etc.
Read PM up to Part 9.
R

April 19 Work in groups on your own. Some goals:
- Add to wiki to include: 1) considerations of other solutions; 2) revised argument for your solution (why, in balance, it is the right one); 3) examination of the feasibility of your solution. For all this, look at the prompt.
- Add discussion of site structure to wiki.
- Leave class with clear timeline and tasks for all group members.
Read PM up to Part 10.

April 24 Work with groups.
Finish PM.

April 26 Evaluations and Conclusions. User Testing: by class time, each group should upload a "draft" (i.e. the current state of the project).

• For today, we'll simply get comments on your drafts.
• First, each group will meet and decide on two or three key questions or areas you need feedback on. These will vary depending on the state of your draft. Post these along with a link to your draft on your group wiki. Make the subject line DRAFT 4/26.
• Second, everyone will read and respond to two other group's drafts, using the group wiki pages. Do not respond to the group you evaluated last week.
• For your response, refer to the criteria in the prompt, above. How closely is the draft meeting the criteria?
• Finally, address what do they need to do - list the tasks. How should they prioritize these tasks? What do you like about the project and draft? What don't you like?
• Groups should use the response as a guide for developing and completing Project 4. Leave the class with a clear sense of the next steps.

May 3 Virtual Public / Space Collaboration due by 6pm. Don't forget a reflective email to Sandy on the project and group experience.

Some Useful Links

Final Projects from ENGL303 Spring 2006. Note: A slightly different assignment.

Explorations of public/virtual space as inspiration: Murmur, Degree Confluence, Annotate Space, Realtime Amsterdam Project, 34 North 118 West Project Narrative Archeology, Glowlab's One Block Radius, City of Memory, Pocket Full of Memories, Flashmob, Mappr, Talking Street, World Wide Media ExchangeTerirueb, Geocaching, GPster, Geocoder, Foundcity, Frappr, Platial, OpenguidesSocial Tapestries, MILK Project, Whereify Wireless, Googlesiteseeing, More Googlesiteseeing, Small World, Algorithmic Psychogeography, Equator Experiences, Thoreau on Walking, Mobile Phone Graffitti, Map Hub (Pittsburgh), Manual for Generative Psychogeography, NASA World Wind, Streetmemes, The Bubble Project, NY Songlines, Browser Archive, Geocaching, Internet Mapping Project, Google Earth, Google Maps, Space HiJackers, Feral Robots Public Authoring, VOPOS

Groups

Sara Bailey
Christina Malcomb
Emily Prompovitch
Brittany Swisher
Group 1 Wiki

Jeffrey Bowers
April Marrara
James McCeney
Meghann Wilson
Group 2 Wiki

Patrick Brooks
Andrea Dispenza
Kimberly Miller
Michael Withrow
Group 3 Wiki

Kristen Crestfield
Jennifer Gavette
Angela Moscaritolo
Erica Reib
Group 4 Wiki

Alison Daly
Jennifer Habina
Erica O'Briant
Alison Sanfacon
Group 5 Wiki