Introduction~SWI@MS.COM Mission Statement

"Wouldn't it be nice to have a service that found the best information to answer a question, complete a project, or write a report so that you wouldn't have to sift through a lot of junk?" Well, SWI@MS.COM is being launched to do just that.

SWI, Student Web Investigators, is launching a new site called SWI@MS.COM, where students go right to the "flow" of information without drowning in it! Send us your problem and we'll find the answer. The site is designed to assist students in finding the best information on specific topics quickly. The organization realizes that the market for the student audience and student time is very competitive. They need experts to evaluate the web sites available. The experts are students like you who know what kids look for in web sites. SWI is #1 because it's a smart company, and hires the best people in their fields, and that's why you and your classmates are invited to SWI headquarters. Remember! When working on other pages, always click on SWI@MS to return to this page.

The SWI@MS.COM project managers give you and your classmates a lovely continental breakfast, a nice plastic pen, a complimentary mouse pad, and a badge with colored dots on it. The product managers ask you to take a seat in front of a state of the art laptop computer (you're hoping it's also going to be a gift), and then they proceed to describe the task.

The Task
You and your classmates will work in teams of three. Each team will evaluate three web sites based on a rubric provided by SWI. You will recommend the best site for solving your team's student request. The team's recommendation will be posted on the SWI@MS.COM site. Student Web Investigators hopes to launch SWI@MS.COM before the competition learns about the idea. Time is of the essence.

The Process

Step #1

Step #2

Step #3

Step #4

Step #5

Step #6

Step One: The Selection Begins

You and the other student experts will form groups based on the colors on the individual project badges. Together you and your group will read the SWI@MS contract, and circle, underline, count, and check (CUCC) all the directions.

Step Two: Together and Apart
Next, you and your teammates will independently record evaluations of the three assigned web sites. You may save the document to your personal directory and enter the data on line and then print the sheet, or print a copy and enter the data in pen or pencil. Each team member is responsible for submitting three completed EVALUATOR WORKSHEETS (one for each site) with the other documents at the conclusion of the task. Evaluate the web sites individually before you discuss them as a group. Remember to keep referring to the task the student needs to complete. It is essential that the site has the kind of information the student needs to get the job done.

SWI@MS.COM TEAM WEB SITES

RED Team	BLUE Team	PURPLE Team
ORANGE Team	GREEN Team	PALE BLUE Team
BROWN Team	GOLDTeam	SILVER Team
YELLOWTeam	PINK Team	BURGUNDY Team

 

Step Three: A Meeting of the Minds
You and your team will meet and discuss the results of your evaluations and complete the team's CHOICE sheet and then the team's REJECTION sheet. You and your team will reach consensus (agreement) on the most appropriate, informative, and task-specific web site for the middle school student's purpose. Always keep in mind the specific purpose of the task. You are selecting the web site that will be most helpful to the student as she/he works to complete the assigned task.

Step Four: Winners and Losers
Now, one teammate will write one formal, diplomatic business letter to the web site advising it of the choice your team has made. Each web site that was rejected will receive a formal business letter as well.

Each team member must write one letter. No two team members write the same letter to the same web site. Team members must decide who writes each of the letters. Three letters are essential for the successful completion of the team's project. Use the information from the recommendation and rejection sheets as well as other significant data collected on your web site evaluation form to organize your letter.

Each letter must explain how the choices were made and why the selected web site was chosen and why the other two were rejected.

Use business letter form. Refer to the business letter template. Use it as your guide.

Step Five: Check Your Work
Before submitting your team's work to the project manager at SWI, be certain that your team has all the necessary documents in place and in your official SWI folder. The requirements include:

Task sheet with your team's mission
Evaluator worksheets with all essential information entered
Three signed business letters written in Microsoft Word
(one from each team member)
Team's recommendations and rejections
recorded on summary sheets completed
Separate project rubric for each team member
Separate attitude inventory rubric for one member of the team

Step Six: SWI@MS is Launched!
Once your site selection is approved, create a page for the SWI@MS.COM web site using PowerPoint with your team's recommendations. This is important. This is where the student will come to get his/her response. This is where SWI@MS.COM shows the World Wide Web that it is a major player on the Information Super Highway! The slide(s) must have the problem your team solved, the web site solution, and the "losers." Be creative. It will be added to SWI@MS.COM's super site.
 

$$$ Looking for a Big Bonus?
If you complete the project early, please evaluate these additional web sites using the evaluation form. They are designed to help middle school students with general research. The SWI@MS.COM middle school project manager would be most appreciative.

http://school.discovery.com/ homeworkhelp/worldbook/at ozgeography/

http://school.discovery.com/ homeworkhelp/worldbook/at ozhistory/index.html

http://www.childrensatlas. com/

EVALUATION:
SWI@MS would really like to know if you think a service like the one the organization is designing would be helpful to you as a middle school student. It is important to get your opinion. Please complete the data checklist.

CONCLUSION:
SWI@MS, like any employer has an employee evaluation form. You have been contracted to do a job and will be assessed based on how well the task is completed. The following two rubrics will apply:

Rubric #1 is a Student Attitude Inventory. It will evaluate your participation as a member of the team. It will be completed by another member of your team T.B.D. at the end of the assignment.

Rubric #2 is Product Inventory. It will evaluate the work you completed independently as a member of your team. It will be completed by the product manager A.K.A. the teacher.

CREDITS:
Many thanks to Ira Tauber, the dear, patient man whose ideas, creativity, and inspiration make my life and work better every day. It was his idea to call this project SWI@MS.COM so students could go with the "flow" of information.
The Web Evaluation worksheet was adapted from a document at this location:

TEACHER PAGE:
Please check out the teacher page for objectives, outcomes, and indicators for this project.