Community of Online Research Assignments

Finding a Book

In post-session feedback, first-year students frequently express anxiety over how to physically navigate the library to find a book on the shelf. This is a simple, pre-session activity to help students try this out before class, so that they can discuss with their librarian any challenges they faced in attempting to complete the task. With the help of the course instructor, students are asked to find a book on their research topic (or course topic) and bring it to class.

Developing an Interdisciplinary Search Strategy

This is an activity that helps students develop an interdisciplinary search strategy in stages. Students define their topic, brainstorm questions related to their topic area, and connect these questions to the disciplines and experts where they might find more research and information. Students learn how to identify search tools & information sources based on their questions using the library’s website.

Exhibition Explorer Card Deck: Experiential Learning for Rhetorical and Critical Thinking

Many academic and public libraries display their unique archives and special collections materials in exhibition spaces. With an array of primary sources and visuals, special collections exhibitions offer a wonderful venue for experiential learning of constructed narratives and perspectives. This Exhibition Explorer Card Deck is designed to guide students to experience close viewing of special collections materials through explicit steps for thinking rhetorically and critically in an exhibit space.

Stump the Database

This is a simple activity intended to warm up students, break the ice, and introduce the concept of keyword searching. Ask students to come up with a single word search that gives zero results. It’s harder than it sounds. It may be too elementary for graduate students or upperclassmen; use your judgement about students’ abilities and familiarity with searching. This activity can be a great segue in to a lesson on keyword development, Boolean operators, popular terminology vs. technical jargon, and the differences between different kinds of databases.

Wikipedia Edit-a-thon BINGO

Each year, I host an Art+Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon and I often get students who are new to Wikipedia editing, as well as students who show up for class credit. To help engage students in different activities on Wikipedia, I created the following BINGO cards. These can be used by instructors or event organizers in any way that fits your approach to edit-a-thons. I always provide instruction and an Art+Feminism research and event guide to help everyone get started editing. These BINGO cards are especially useful for new editors and content creators.

Analyzing search engines: What narrative is told through the algorithm

This assignment was created for a credit bearing course for first year students. It's designed to help students take what they've learned about algorithmic bias from the course lectures and readings and apply it to their own search practices. They also critically analyze search results for advertisements and compare DuckDuckGo to Google. [You could also look at this assignment as an adaptation of Jacob Berg's wonderful, "Googling Google," assignment at https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/googling-google-search-engines-market-actors ]

Business Task Cards Activity

The Business Task Cards is a 1-hour team-based activity. The activity was created for a business management course that needed to complete a business opportunity project. The activity requires students to complete four tasks: 1) Find company information, 2) Find a company's income statement, 3) Find articles on a company's management strategy, and 4) Find current industry trends that will impact the company. A print and online version of the activity is provided.

Student Applied Benchmark for Introduction to Business

The purpose of this Business Benchmark assignment is to professionally present (3-5 minutes) a new idea to improve and aspect of the college. This presentation has no mandated materials, students are however expected to provide an excellent, well explained, supported and presented new idea. Your goal is to inspire your audience to take a specific action or position.

Four Cases aligned to Course Student Outcomes

This project has four Business case elements. Each element is related to one of the student course outcomes. Each case will require students to complete the following: Read all elements of each case, including exhibits. Write a one page summary for each case answering the questions in each case, for a total of a 4 page report. The report should be submitted as one consolidated report addressing all four cases below.

Shark Tank

Ready to be an entrepreneur? Your final project is to create a business/product and sell it to your classmates, Shark Tank style! You will complete this assignment individually OR with a partner and your classmates will play the role of the Sharks! Your company can offer a physical product or a service, but it should not just be a copy of something already offered … BE CREATIVE! Think outside of the box …