Weblog 7 - Project Analysis

The following list of projects has been created by Shirley Sidey at Townsville Grammar.  The following is a brief analysis of the 6 projects in relation to creating knowledge workers (see Weblog Activity 5).

Information Publishing System (Year 11)

• The criteria for this assignment insists that students communicate effectively what they are attempting to do, demanding extensive knowledge of the information processing system that they are to develop.  To undertake this project, students must be self directed, intuitive and constantly critiquing their efforts.  Students are also encouraged to work in pairs, but to work as a team for various aspects of the project, but to consentrate on their own development.

• Programming has got to be one of the most effective tools to provide students with the abilities of a knowledge worker.  This piece of assessment requires students to know their programming language inside out.  Students must also communicate effectively to the user of their program what they need to do in a way that minimises confusion (thus user proofing their program), but also in their documentation.  Students need to incorporate various technological applications, showing their flexibility at integrating the differing mediums.

• This expert system project is an effective tool in imparting chracteristics of the knowledge worker.  By asking students to plan and design an expert system it teaches students to be creative and intuitive in identifying elements important to the task.  The project helps students to work in a real-world situation, following guided deadlines, providing students with the basic concepts behind the pattern of designing.

• This project is intended to enforce the design process when developing an information system.  Students need to be intuitive, creative, self motivated.  Students are also required to use their communication skills and collectively making sense of task requirements in groups.  The project has been somewhat scaffolded for the students in order to assist students in their planning and implementation of their project, teaching students how to attack the problem at hand and making them aware of the skills they will need.

• This project is the crux of all projects in that it reassesses the design process taught in earlier pieces of assessment.  Students are required to draw on all the resources and skills built up from the other projects and use them in a group project for information system design.