Revised: April 4, 1997

Virtual Event Schedule

• Discussion with instructor by: April 19, 1997
• Beta test complete by: May 10, 1997
• Report due: May 31, 1997
• Virtual event presentation: May 31, 1997.

Virtual Event Summary

Since some students are not returning this quarter and some students are new, there will necessarily be some changes of personnel. This will probably mean students will join existing projects. Although I will discourage it, it may also be possible to initiate a virtual event not on this list.

Background

The Internet with its inherent flexibility and potential connectively has, within a historical moment, pushed the idea of "virtual events" from science fiction to an increasingly commonplace and "normal" reality. The concept is being discussed in the popular press and by teachers, the military, business people and many others. Over the winter and spring quarters each student will work with a team of 3 - 5 students to create a "virtual event." Creating in this case means designing and implementing the event as well as doing the requisite scholarly work including hypothesizing, analyzing, researching, and reporting.

Although we need not get hung up on this, this organized investigation into virtual events may be the first of its kind. For that reason we may want to actually think of a way to disseminate our results beyond this course.

Phase I (Winter Quarter) Analysis and Design

Deliverables: (1) A report containing analysis and design (and bibliography). This will be paper-based but it can also be put on the web. (2) A 30-minute presentation based on the analysis and design to the rest of the class.

The analysis should include issues like the following.

• Origin of original event
• Purpose of original event
• Description of original event
• Why "virtualize" the event (and what aspect(s) are being / are not being "virtualized")
• Description of virtual event
• What is lost, gained? different? when the event is virtualized?

Note: The VE can be a hybrid or (even) a brand new event - but analysis is still needed.

The design should include issues like the following.

• Who should participate, their modes of participation, training.
• What design decisions existed and how did you determine the answers?
• What technology are you planning to use? Why? What technology was rejected?
• What design components are there and how will the team put them into place?

Phase II (Spring Quarter) Implementation and Evaluation

Deliverables: (1) A report (recommended format is below). The report will be paper-based but it can also be put on the web. (2) A 30-minute demonstration (which can be simulated) to the rest of the class.

1. Background Information (These elements should be kept brief)
   1. Purpose of event.
      What problems were you trying to solve?
   2. Winter quarter findings and recommendations
   3. Project team -- roles and responsibilities
2. Implementation Notes
   1. Product selection
      What product(s) was selected? Why? What others were rejected as candidates?
   2. Technology installation.
      Describe the process
   3. Event description (resources and logistics)
      Describe the event both as it was planned and as it was actually executed. Did the event proceed according to plans? What unexpected difficulties were encountered?
3. Evaluation
   1. Evaluation criteria and findings
      What criteria were used to determine whether or not the event was successful? How was the evaluation conducted? What were the results? Did the technology work the way it was supposed to? What were participant's expectations? reactions? How did their expectations and reactions differ?
   2. Research hypotheses and findings
      What research questions were answered? Describe to what extent one can generalize based on the findings.
   3. Summary of results
4. Recomendations
   1. Further research
      What further work and/or research does your team recommend? What technology improvements would be needed or useful to make the event more succesful?
   2. Suggestions for next time
      Were your planning and implementation processes effective? Why or why not? Looking back at the project was it easier or harder than you would have expected? Did you have any scheduling or coordination problems? Explain. What would you do differently next time? What would participants like to see different next time?
5. References

Possible Events

Using this Material

I have made this material freely available on the web to encourage its re-use. Please attribute its source if you use it in any way. I welcome your feedback. Please let me know what you find useful and what you find less useful. How should it be improved? Please let me know if you are interested in future collaboration.