Project 3

Adapted from Dr. Cynthia Lee, Stanford University

Timeline #

1. Topic Brainstorming + Group Selection. link

   Due , 11:59 PM PT, activity during discussion

2. Proposal. link

   Due Wednesday 4/19, 11:59 PM PT

3. Presentation. link

   TBD, either 4/28 in extended section or early RRR

Overview #

This project is (thematically) a continuation of Project 2. You are free to do “whatever you want,” as it relates to the themes of our class. While Project 2 focused on a discussion section for students, Project 3’s deliverable could accomplish some of the following goals for a community:

• Raise awareness
• Design an intervention
• Engage the community in an issue

This project may be (and is encouragedt to be) completed in groups.

Guidelines on Project Scope #

Since we are a 3-unit class and are supposed to have about 6 hours of work outside of class per week, and this project should occupy your last 1-2 weeks of the class, plan on doing something that takes about 9-15 hours. That number should be understood very generously–i.e., it’s understood to include time spent pondering what you want to do for your project, not just time actively typing.

1. Topic and Project Selection #

In Week 12 (), we will do a “post-it” brainstorming activity in pairs or groups on possible topics and projects; and possibly form groups.

Some past projects from students that have done a similar project at Stanford:

• Write a paper gathering and analyzing information about something (e.g., look at the “Diversity” page on the website of major tech companies and analyze what it seems the companies want to communicate or what they want the audience to believe about them; how believable is this in practice?)
• Create a website with profiles of Stanford CS/engineering students with a variety of backgrounds, sharing their stories and what excites them about tech
• Make tiktok videos educating teens about issues with search engine and autocomplete results
• Record a podcast episode talking about your own experience in CS/tech/Berkeley EECS classes, and connecting it to what research says about broader trends in how tech cultures affect individuals
• Design a PSA about a particular technology, such as the effects it has on your chosen community
• Note: We’d like you to do something that is not a lesson plan, given that Project 2 already engaged with the classroom environment.

2. Proposal #

The project proposal outlines what your project will be and is due via bCourses by Wednesday 4/19, 11:59pm. The sections of the proposal are as follows:

1. 1-2 paragraphs (about 500 words) describing the project vision.
2. Separate list of additional resources or readings, like those on our syllabus, that relate to your project or inform its design. You aren’t strictly required to have any, but many projects will have some and it will be good to track them.
3. (If you worked in a group) A list of the members of your team, and a bullet list breakdown describing what each member is responsible for. (If a team of one, still give a bullet list breakdown of the individual tasks required to complete this project.) Assign a very rough hours estimate to complete each task. This is an opportunity to practice the skill of professionalism in project management. In part that means: please do not be heroic in assigning these estimates. Would it take 10 minutes if everything goes right and you know exactly what to do and how to do it at the outset? That’s probably a minimum 1 hour task then, being realistic. Good project managers build in time for fishing about for what to do, re-doing work that was done when there is an unexpected hiccup, etc. That said, professionalism also means not grotesquely “padding” the estimates.
4. 1-2 paragraphs (about 500 words) describing the main open questions or potential areas of concern on the horizon for this project. This is in part to help you foresee problems for yourselves by stopping to consider this. It is also in part to communicate with us so we can help you address open questions, find additional resources, organize around concerns, etc.

3. Presentation #

Target between 7-10 minutes, and cover the following:

• Project goals. Who were you trying to reach? On what topic? Why?
• What you did
• How do you feel about how it went? What is the impact? What are you most proud of about regarding how your project unfolded? How did your project influence others or influence your own views?

We will send out a survey about which presentation date would work best: either 4/28 as an extended section, or early RRR.