The ease of creating and exchanging digital information is transforming the way we conduct our social, cultural, business, educational, political and economic affairs. For this assignment, you will be formed into groups (ideally no more than 5 people to a group) to do research and report on some topic related to the digital revolution in the broad categories listed above.  If you can think of an appropriate category not listed that you want to report on, let us know. 

I
Pick your broad theme, then narrow it down to a specific focus
Within the framework of that broad theme, narrow down to a specific sub topic.  For example, if your broad theme is "education," then your narrowed theme might might be "distance education via the Internet."  To narrow your focus even further, you might concentrate on "college level courses via the Internet."  If there is sufficient material to justify a full report, you might want to narrow down even further to "masters degree programs in computer-aided design, for example."

You could report on some digital aspect of the presidential campaign, or e-commerce or virtual communities, for example.  Your topic will be subject to our approval.  You will write a proposal, subject to revision, about outlining the subject and scope of your report. Don't proceed until we accept your proposal. Always try to choose a subject that seriously interests all group members.

II
Define your major questions 
Think about why you are seeking this information.  Are you a group of students thinking about applying to schools which have a masters degree program in a particular concentration? Are you a group of students who are interested in finding out about the Digital Divide, the inequities in the "haves" and "have nots" in the digital revolution?
Student looking for courses in a particular major?  Teachers looking for ways to teach a college-level course in a particular subject? Search for sources, which can be a mixture of text and electronic sources, interviews, videos, etc.

Examine your search and evaluation process. How did you sort, categorize, determine the value of, and draw conclusions from the material you gathered. How did you change it from data to information and then to knowledge? Try to analyze this process in depth.

III
Provide detailed reference to your research process and the texts you used
Include links, where relevant, to the electronic sources that you use in your report: Write about your research process. Given the amount of time you had and available resources, how did you decide that you had looked at enough sources? How did you determine whether or not they were valuable and credible sources?  Look at the balance between digital and non-digital sources. What criteria influenced you to select the digital and non-digital sources?  The criteria below will help you consider why you chose particular sources:

a) Full text

b) Ease of Access

c) Speed of access

d) User-friendliness of the database or search engine

e) Relevance to the topic

f) Authority of source

g) Reputation of sponsoring institution or organization

IV
Provide in-text citations where you use the sources and include an annotated bibliograhy: To annotate a bibliography means to provide a short description of the content of each source.  Insert the annotation below the citation of the source in your "References" page.  You should have at least 10-12 credible sources, using the APA citation method..

V
Write a Reflection: What have you learned about the subject of your group's investigation?  What have you learned about creating and publishing knowledge from and in a digital environment?  What have you learned about the advantages of and pitfalls of seeking information and creating knowledge in a digital environment? Explain how your learning experiences in this assignment relates to the New Century College Competencies (http://www.ncc.gmu.edu/competency.htm).

VI
Evaluate your group's performance:  This evaluation is to be given only to your professors.  You will evaluate each other's contributions to the group project.