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| SIMS
202: Information Organization and Retrieval Frequently Asked Questions Individual and Group Work Tips:
 1. Where can I go for quiet individual study when South Hall is buzzing with too much activity? Although it is intended for "recreational reading and browsing," many students find that the Morrison Library (101 Doe) is a great place to escape for strictly silent work. The UCB Library offers a variety of reading rooms, including Graduate Services (208 Doe), a comfortable study space for graduate students where you can escape the crowds, study in a quiet environment, and check your email at one of four computer stations. With a little exploration, you'll find that the various libraries on campus offer many great quiet study places. (Have another suggestion? Please let us know.) 2. Where can project groups meet for brainstorming and other collaborative work? We recommend that project groups meet regularly to discuss milestones, distribute tasks, share information and anticipate problems. You may find it helpful to schedule a weekly meeting time and place early on. There are plenty of options for students wanting to meet and work in project groups. South Hall is the obvious one; SIMS students may take advantage of 24x7 access to the computer labs (rooms 3, 5, and 210), and part-time access to empty classrooms (such as rooms 107 and 205) with white boards. Be sure to speak with Lety about scheduling a classroom in advance. At times, however, South Hall can seem too distracting or insular for focused group discussion. The Main Library (Doe), located a short walk from SIMS, offers study rooms furnished with tables, chairs, electrical outlets and wall-mounted chalkboards. One- to two-hour sessions can be reserved up to 24 hours in advance at the Main Stack desk using your current UCB student ID or library card. (More information.) The area immediately surrounding the Berkeley campus offers a number of spacious cafes that groups might find a perfect atmosphere for meetings. The Free Speech Movement Cafe, adjacent to Moffitt Library, is a great meeting place (indoor and outdoor seating) but very popular and often too crowded. If the weather's cooperating, your group might just prefer to meet on a grassy patch outdoors on campus. Be creative, and don't forget to factor in some time for laughter.... (Have another suggestion? Please let us know.) 3. What collaboration tools are available to SIMS students? An email alias will be created for each group, and will help facilitate virtual conversations. Each group will also have a shared group folder in G:/groups/is202_photos/group[number]/ on the SIMS network. Additionally, a public web-based storage area (e.g. Yahoo! Briefcase) may also serve your shared folder needs, while also providing universal access to documents from any Internet-connected location. You might find that eD (short for e-Decisions) helps your group reach consensus while working remotely. Brainstorming does not just happen, and won't necessarily come naturally to your group; defining a set of brainstorming rules up-front will help your team get more out of the experience. Document sharing within groups can be quite challenging. Some students find it helpful to use the track changes feature in MS Word (Tools > Track Changes > Highlight Changes...) when editing each other's work. Word also offers a versioning feature (File > Versions...) that lets you capture annotations. SIMS computers are equipped with Adobe Acrobat to allow you to create PDF versions of your documents, as a means of capturing work in a fixed form as well as preserving formatting across platforms. (Acrobat Reader, required to read PDF documents, may be downloaded for free.) 4. What other tools and equipment are available? Take some time to explore your surroundings at South Hall. The upstairs lab (room 210) offers workstations with scanners near the printers, and Wacom tablets at various station locations throughout. Each lab -- located in rooms 3, 5, and 210 -- is equipped with at least one printer, some of which conveniently support double-sided printing (check printer properties). SIMS students working in the labs have access to a variety of licensed software applications, some of which may be unfamiliar to you. A communal library of technical books and manuals, found in bookcases both upstairs and downstairs, is there to help you. The school subscribes to a number of trade magazines, also for students' shared use. 5. I'm nervous about presenting to the class. How can I become more confident? Speaking to a room of people can be intimidating, especially for those who have little experience doing it. Your time at SIMS offers an excellent opportunity to improve on this important professional skill in a safe environment. The very best thing you can do for yourself and your fellow project mates is practice your presentation until you are comfortable with it. Some find it helpful to use notes to stay oriented, but try hard not to read directly from them. Whenever possible, avoid just reading the text or bullet points off your PowerPoint slides -- we've all had to watch that, and it's not very interesting. Also avoid unnecessarily wordy presentations; a succinct message can be quite powerful, and will be a requirement for your relatively brief presentation allotments. Don't underestimate the power of images, offering a "show" rather than a "tell" to illustrate your point. Practice in front of your classmates and seek their constructive critique. Do the same for them... they'll appreciate the favor. You may also try videotaping yourselves and watching with your group for specific comments. Your professors and TAs are also happy to be a practice audience if you like. Just ask! It's also a good idea to "test drive" your presentation in the classroom prior to your actual presentation. Are the slides legible from the back of the room? Can you be heard and understood anywhere in the room? It's always best to find out in advance. Other resources: Dave Messerschmitt's Pointers on Giving a Talk; Presentation Skills slideshow from CS160 (Spring 2002). 6. English is not my first language. I'd like to strengthen my fluency -- what resources are available to me? There are a number of free services offered by the campus Student Learning Center, including conversation practice, grammar and editing workshops, tutoring services, etc. See the "Non-Native Speakers" link on their website for more details. There are also a number of formal classes offered throughout the Berkeley community. Unlike workshops, these classes will give a more set curriculum with on-going supervision and feedback. Services for International Students and Scholars (SISS) has assembled information into a document that you might find helpful. You'll also find a number of ESL (English as a Second Language) programs offered through UCB Extension and at area community colleges. Some of the listed courses are even free. Finally, Sabrina Saracco is offering an Academic Writing Group this fall for free (description). If you're interested in attending the writing group, please contact her via e-mail. |