INF3910Y Workplace Project

Executive Delivery Option Information Systems & Design (ISD) Executive Delivery Option

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Faculty of Information

Instructor: Professor Kelly Lyons

Dates/Times: 1pm to 5pm Sat., Jan. 13, Sat., Jan. 27, Sat., Feb. 10, Sat., March 3, Sat., March 17, and Sat., March 31 (days/times in the Summer Term will be determined with each student individually)

Office Hours: Tuesdays 3pm to 5pm or by appointment or contact via Skype: kelly.lyons310

Meeting Room: We will meet in BL728 in the Bissell Building on the University of Toronto St. George Campus. For thousands of years, the land on which the University of Toronto operates has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Let us acknowledge that our meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and let us be grateful to have the opportunity to work and learn on this land.

Course Description

INF 3910Y, Workplace Project is worth 1 FTE and spans terms 5 and 6 in the executive delivery option of the Information Systems and Design (ISD) Concentration. It comprises a student’s 8 month work placement project in their current place of employment in the area of information systems and design and the completion of a number of deliverables throughout that workplace project. Students will complete a medium-scale independent information systems design project under the supervision of their workplace and Faculty of Information culminating in a written report, demonstration, and/or oral presentation.

Pre-requisites

· Student must have completed all required courses in the ISD concentration (INF 1340, INF 1341, INF 1342, INF 1343, INF 2177)

· Students cannot take both INF 2194Y and INF 3910Y

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to provide students with an opportunity to apply the knowledge, techniques, and methods they are learning in the ISD concentration within their current workplace. In doing so, they will augment their classroom learning with important and complementary applied expertise and experience. This will enable them to better understand the constraints and challenges of applying theoretical and general concepts within specific contexts and, at the same time, the opportunities and benefits of doing so. Students will also learn the best ways to be able to make future contributions within their workplace based on their course-based learning in the MI program.

Course Learning Outcomes

Following the successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

· Identify concepts and knowledge learned in ISD courses that apply in a specific context (assessed primarily through assignments 1 and 5)

· Apply specific concepts from course-based learning to a real-world project (assessed primarily through assignments 2, 3, and 4)

· Identify and navigate constraints associated with the application of course-based concepts in a real-world environment (assessed primarily through assignments 2, 3, 4, and 5)

· Negotiate and navigate tensions between individual learning goals and workplace goals and constraints (assessed primarily through assignments 2, 3, 4, and 5)

· Develop a project proposal, justification, and project plan (assessed primarily through assignment 1)

· Identify challenging, achievable, and measurable deliverables in an ISD project (assessed primarily through assignment 1)

· Identify and articulate their own learning objectives and reflect on and assess their achievement of those objectives (assessed primarily through assignments 1 and 5)

Relationship between Course Learning Outcomes and Program Learning Outcomes

MI SLO #1: Students understand and are conversant with fundamental concepts, theories, practices, and the diverse horizons of information disciplines, and can respond to changing information practices and needs of society. – Students will identify concepts, theories, practices that apply and respond to needs within their workplace setting

MI SLO #5 Students develop an understanding of the application of new technological developments to the preservation and communication of information, and in the identification of the impact of such developments on society. – Students apply technological developments learned in the ISD concentration within the real world environment of their workplace

MI SLO #6 Students continue in life-long intellectual growth beyond graduation. – By situating student learning in the context of their workplace, students will master the skills associated with long-term professional learning.

Structure of Course

In the winter term, this course will be offered in a modular format meeting roughly every two weeks. This will enable the students to meet as a cohort in the early stages of the project definition and planning to support their ability to learn from one another and share challenges and ideas. There will also be weekly activities that students must complete and there may also be check-in calls with the instructor to ensure progress and enable feedback. In the summer term, a regular meeting schedule will be established with each student that supports the individual nature of their specific workplace project. Throughout the two terms, a meeting schedule with the workplace supervisor will be arranged that satisfies the requirements of the project and the needs of the workplace supervisor and student.

Readings and materials will be identified for all students to help prepare them for Assignment 1. Specific additional readings and materials for individual students will be determined based on the defined deliverables, as needed.

Assignments (all of these are individual assignments)

· Assignment 1: Project proposal, plan, and specific student-defined goals / learning outcomes (reviewed and approved by instructor and workplace supervisor). The proposal will indicate the justification / need for the project, the scope of the project, and will describe how carrying out the project will make use of the concepts learned in ISD courses. The proposal and plan will identify 3 deliverables (including measures for assessing achievement of those deliverables) and due dates that will be accomplished through the workplace project. These deliverables will make up the next three assignments. (20%) Drafts of each section will be reviewed each class leading up to the Due Date: March 17, 2018 at 1:00pm.

· Assignment 2: Deliverable 1 This will typically be one of: data collection and analysis, a literature review or review of existing tools or techniques, a model of some aspect of the workplace, etc. (15%) Due sometime in April 2018

· Assignment 3: Deliverable 2 This will typically be one of: a low-fidelity prototype, a selection of tools and justification, a comparison of different approaches, etc., (15%) Due sometime in June 2018

· Assignment 4: Deliverable 3 This will be the final project outcome (typically one of: an implementation, a report, a prototype, a detailed set of models, etc.) and demonstration and/or oral presentation (to workplace supervisor and instructor) (20%) Due sometime in mid-August 2018

· Assignment 5: A report reflecting on the project outcomes in relation to concepts learned in the course, the proposal, plan, and a reflection and assessment of the student-defined goals / learning-objectives (~800 words) (15%) Due August 31, 2018 at 11:59pm.

· Workplace supervisor evaluation (this will be a survey) (15%) To be completed between completion of Assignment 4 and August 31, 2018

Grading: This course will be graded “credit/non-credit” The CR/NCR will be assessed by the course instructor based on the assignment deliverables and an evaluation by the workplace supervisor.

Writing Support

Please make use of the writing support provided to graduate students by the SGS Office of English Language and Writing Support http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/currentstudents/Pages/English-Language-and-Writing-Support.aspx The services are designed to target the needs of both native and non-native speakers and all programs are free. Please consult the current workshop schedule http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/currentstudents/Pages/Current-Years-Courses.aspx for more information.

Academic integrity

Please consult the University’s site on Academic Integrity http://academicintegrity.utoronto.ca/ The iSchool has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism as defined in section B.I.1.(d) of the University’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Policies/PDF/ppjun011995.pdf You should acquaint yourself with the Code.

Please review the material in Cite it Right and if you require further clarification, consult the site How Not to Plagiarize http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-to-plagiarize

Cite it Right covers relevant parts of the U of T Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters (1995). It is expected that all iSchool students take the Cite it Right workshop and the online quiz. Completion of the online Cite it Right quiz should be made prior to the second week of classes. To review and complete the workshop, visit the orientation portion of the iSkills site: https://inforum.library.utoronto.ca/workshops/orientation

Accommodations

Students with diverse learning styles and needs are welcome in this course. If you have a disability or a health consideration that may require accommodations, please feel free to approach me and/or the Accessibility Services Office http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/ as soon as possible. The Accessibility Services staff are available by appointment to assess needs, provide referrals and arrange appropriate accommodations. The sooner you let them and I know your needs, the quicker we can assist you in achieving your learning goals in this course.