Assignment One

To get you thinking about the content of IS203 here's a topic for discussion for Tuesday's first class meeting: What information sources are you using to get started at SIMS, and how effective are they?

As new SIMS students, you have many things you need to learn quickly about SIMS, about UC, about life in Berkeley. You are being exposed to, searching out, collecting, and stumbling across a lot of information from a lot of different sources. Possible information sources include formal and informal, personal and impersonal: the SIMS website, staff and faculty, new and old SIMS students; people you run into in the grocery store or on BART; signs and notices; the list can go on and on.

Between now and Tuesday, pick two of these sources to write about: one that has been useful, and one not. Also, one of these should be a person (someone you talked to or overheard but a person) and one impersonal (print, electronic, whatever, but not an interpersonal interaction).

In two to three pages total (single spaced), please describe each of these and reflect on your experience:

• How did you encounter it (e.g., something/someone you sought out or that you simply ran across);
• What question/need/point of curiosity/whatever did it (at least potentially) answer;
• How useful was it;
• How easy to use or accessible was it;
• How could it and/or your use of it be improved.

Please bring to class a printed version and be prepared to talk about your two case studied. Please be prepared to email us a copy (we'll send out instructions later).