Web Research: Exploring the Future of the Web

1. An Undergraduate Research Course Aimed at Furthering the WebMichael WollowskiComputer Science DepartmentRose-Hulman Institute of Technology

2. Overview • Introduction • Course Components • Project • Presentations • Experiences and Conclusions

3. Introduction • Web offers a new frontier • Many technical, social, and legal challenges left to be addressed • Low lead-time to make contributions • Students are fascinated by web • Students can shape the web’s future through: • research • innovation

4. Course Objectives • In our department, students usually do not get an opportunity to choose their own projects • Our students are very good at solving problems • In this course, students learn techniques that assist in selecting and evaluating interesting projects

5. Course Components • Setting our sights: A look at some innovators • Analysis: • What is the web? • Where might it be headed? • What would a future, dominated by the web, look like? • Innovation and research: Team project • Keeping current: Presentations • Learning about tools: Introduction to major web-technologies such as Perl, XML, database interfaces, search engines

6. Project • Accepted way to learn at RHIT • Students determine their own project and group • Innovation/Research: Can be anything, provided it advances the web • We spent about three weeks on the project proposal phase • We had several “jam sessions”

7. Project Jam Sessions • In them, students presented ideas for possible projects • Goals of jam sessions: • To obtain feedback on whether project has already been undertaken • To identify project partners • First session: • At end of first week • Anything goes

8. Project Jam Sessions • Second session: • At end of second week • Students were asked to start forming groups • Students were asked to perform some initial research as to existing solutions • At end of third week: • Project proposals were due • Feedback was given over weekend • Some projects were rejected • Most project proposals were very interesting

9. Selected Projects • Web-driven Soda machine: Received local and national media attention • RHINO: Integrating existing information services into one, adding security, solving confidentiality problems. This system is in the process of being adopted by RHIT • P2P: To reduced internet traffic and deal with the limited internet pipe • I/R port for web-driven soda machine • Graphical query editor for boolean search expressions

10. Presentations • Everyone had to give a presentation of recent newspaper clippings • Presentation had to: • Summarize contents • Indicate how the work can be applied to other areas • Get a discussion going • Aim of presentations: • Underlining the importance of keeping current • Look for cross-fertilization • Learn to quickly gather information

11. Presentations • Major areas of presentations: • Shopping • Virtual classroom (performed in a virtual classroom) • Networks • Confidentiality and security • Side-effect: Discover topics students wished they would have proposed for project

12. Presentations • Additionally, students were encouraged to report on interesting web-sites as they encountered them • Students were encouraged to report on timely topics • A good number of them did • A good number took advantage of those reports (AmIHotOrNot.com to get to know people, obtain ratings on their professors, and self)

13. Experiences • The timeliness of many topics is stunning. • Town-hall meeting on Bandwidth problems and how to address them • Confidentiality of student picture scripts • Students in one way or other caused RHIT to address these issues • Students actively sought to find solutions to those problems • Lessons learned: • Our work does make a difference • Road bumps are not always of a technical nature

14. Conclusions • Easy for students to make contributions • Timeliness of many topics is stunning