List of classes which will be using PeerLibrary in spring 2015

[mitar]

We should start making a list of classes which will be using PeerLibary and assign a person coordinating them: being a liaison on our side for them. So that if they have any issues, we can respond fast (before and during the class). We should probably work together to build also some materials and guides (#13).

Some current ideas (we have to confirm them all, and we are at various degrees in coordinating with them):

• Chris Noone from National University of Ireland
• Satrajit Ghosh from MIT, @satra
• Cog Sci decals, @HeXXiiiZ and others (see #3 for more information)
• @subjective and @chilldude decal
• John DeNero in CS 195
• Kristina Kangas for decal

[mitar]

@gar-bear can you take this over? So I really think we should talk with decals and professors before the end of this semester so that we have time to address any concerns they might have before the start of semester. And also time to teach them and their TAs how to use PeerLibrary.

[mitar]

@subjective, @chilldude, you used PeerLibrary experimentally this semester in your decal. Can you give use feedback? How that went? What students said? What are the biggest rough edges we currently still have?

[mitar]

Wrote to John and Vern again.

[mitar]

Also it would be great if we upload all material for all this classes now, to see if they work. So that we have time over the winter break to fix anything.

[ciaobrian]

Ok this sounds very good.

[satra]

@mitar - speech communication course at MIT

at a basic level i can simply use it for people to read and comment on articles. here are a few things that i would like to see.

1. folder access with a link. students should be able to follow a link to comment on any paper for the class with only having a peer library account and not having the paper public.
2. fix annotation manipulation
3. clicking on an annotation on the right panel should take you to the annotation place in the paper (if available)
4. filtering annotations by tags, author, content keyword
5. annotating an annotation with simple +1 to see what's important. being able to do this at both primary and secondary annotation levels would be good.
6. color coding annotations by author
7. improving stability on chrome. at least with chrome on os x scrolling/responsiveness is slow.
8. ability to switch between keeping every annotation private, with just my questions public, to automatically turning on the switch to public on all student annotations. from a teaching perspective, this would be very handy.

more comments to come.

[raaswol]

@spencerhitch @opalkale @FZSS @lw7360 who can put any of these things next on their workload list? @mitar I'm thinking tfor he auto-public, maybe all student accounts can be set up to share all annotations with specific un's- like the professor's

[raaswol]

Post your materials here: https://github.com/peerlibrary/outreach/wiki/Teaching-Materials

[mitar]

@spencerhitch @opalkale @FZSS @lw7360 who can put any of these things next on their workload list?

No, they have other work to do for now. We will do this over the winter break. Other things have to be done first.

I'm thinking tfor he auto-public, maybe all student accounts can be set up to share all annotations with specific un's- like the professor's

There are default permission settings to share with the professor. For making them all public - this is something else.

[mitar]

Post your materials here: https://github.com/peerlibrary/outreach/wiki/Teaching-Materials

Just to be clear, don't post PDFs you will be using in the classroom there. :-) There should go to the PeerLibrary. This is for helpful material to help teachers use PeerLibrary. Like examples how one can map common teaching workflows into PeerLibrary features.

[mitar]

folder access with a link. students should be able to follow a link to comment on any paper for the class with only having a peer library account and not having the paper public.

Will all your students have an @mit.edu e-mail address?

[mitar]

Vern Paxson (CS 261N) said that his workflow does not suit the site, because mostly students have to read individually. I am removing him from the list, but we should think about how to use PeerLibrary in those settings as well. I know that it can be used, but we should have some nice video or something to show how and why is still better.

[mitar]

being able to do this at both primary and secondary annotation levels would be good.

We have only one level of annotations. You mean annotations and comments?

ability to switch between keeping every annotation private, with just my questions public, to automatically turning on the switch to public on all student annotations.

Do you think that annotations are questions and comments are answers? Because currently all comments are visible to all, if you can see the annotation. Or will you make some annotations which will be questions, and then students will be making another set of annotations which will be answers?

[raaswol]

Perhaps Eve Sweetser (CogSci/Ling)

[gar-bear]

Maybes Richard Dodd (Environmental Science, Policy, and Management)

[spencerhitch]

I feel like Duguid would be down. @subjective @chilldude would you be willing to ask?

[mitar]

There was an idea at the meeting that we should ask all professors from iSchool. Who will do that?

[raaswol]

I'd be happy to do that! Unless anyone has better connections?

[raaswol]

I recall Eve Sweetser has us print copies and not email bc of her preference of it over technology, so nevermind.

[mitar]

Kristina replied:

We have not decided on which papers yet, but I will let you know after our meeting this week. I anticipate making a PeerLibrary assignment for our discussion section during the week we are covering the theme of the "Future of Science", which will be in February.

[raaswol]

What about group only comment settings- so students can only post in groups they're a part of when using an edu email address...and then a professor just doesn't create a group for his class and it's unseen by their peers

[mitar]

I don't get at all what you are saying. Are you sure you wrote everything as intended?

Should "a professor just doesn't create a group" be "a professor just create a group"?

So you are saying that students can post post in a group, but cannot read what others posted there? (In contrast with a "normal" group where you can both post and read?)

[mitar]

So at is is currently, professor can create a group for all TAs and can ask students to give that group permission to read annotations they want to submit. So submitting an annotation for grading is adding permission to read to that TA group. Students would not be part of that group.

[raaswol]

Students can post and read in a group.

[raaswol]

But they can't post outside of it (and thus their classmates can't) so they're reading individually

[mitar]

Students can post and read in a group.

Then I don't understand what you wrote above. Can you please elaborate?

[raaswol]

Annotations for grading might not be legitimate replacements for enough tasks. I think annotations are always a way to brainstorm as a group With teachers watching it.

[mitar]

OK. I think we are going in a tangent here. Let's keep this ticket on the discussion about the list of classes and how we are approaching the professors in those classes and let's take discussion about features to the development mailing list or corresponding tickets in the development repository.

(And I am still not getting what you are proposing.)

[raaswol]

Yeah, this does belong in dev at this pt: I'm proposing for dev that group-only-privacy exist. I have a class, want to share papers on list p. I make a group for it, list x = students and list y = teachers. It sends all of the annotations written by people on list x to the people on list y, and never anyone else on list x. It blocks all else on list x for all the papers on list p.

If that's not too much, this would allow teachers to control the flow of information for certain people and only certain papers that they read.

[mitar]

Please open a dev ticket.

[raaswol]

Yep, will do. Just wanted to explain how this fits into workflow.

[raaswol]

I orchestrated timing with Gary and sent John an email about our availability

[raaswol]

Klara and I are meeting John on Tuesday 12.16 @1pm

[raaswol]

We just met with John. He's going to test use peerlibrary, and start adding the assignments for the first few weeks of class. In trying it out, he'll send us any suggestions or issues that arise over the next few weeks while he prepares for class.

[raaswol]

Klara just brought up a great idea! Let's not forget online classes!