CBTC

toc = Central Bucks Technology Corporation - Collaborative Simulation =

You are employees of the Central Bucks Technology Corporation. CBTC, like many other international businesses, is in the process of restructuring in an effort to maximize profits for its shareholders and remain competitive in an increasingly global marketplace. CBTC has decided to relocate its Research and Development Division to South Korea, whose corporate business climate, reputation as a global technology leader, and the willingness of its citizen to work for less compensation than their American peers, creates favorable conditions that may allow the company to remain profitable and competitive in the global economy.

Task
While none of you will be making the move to South Korea, you have been assigned to the CBTC transition team to support those American workers who will be relocated to CBTC's South Korean R&D Division. You will be competing against the other transition teams to develop the most effective and complete product. Your final products will be reviewed by outside experts and the winning team will retain their jobs and and be awarded bonuses for their efforts. Employees of the other teams will find their positions eliminated in CBTC's corporate restructuring.

Your job will include developing the following resources to facilitate the transition for the American expatriate workers:


 * Orientation video that overviews life in South Korea to help the American workers assimilate into South Korean culture. This video should provide background information on the following details of life in South Korea: government, economy, society, history, climate, and recreation. The video will be 5 minutes in length and a script and storyboard will be required before filming and editing.
 * Wiki site with pages for the following topics: (All topics indicated with an * are required - others are highly suggested.)
 * Business and economy in South Korea *
 * Housing and real estate in South Korea *
 * Health care in South Korea
 * Education in South Korea (for the children of relocating employees) *
 * News and other current event resources for South Korea *
 * Embassy resources for American citizens in South Korea *
 * Resources for language learning (learning to speak Korean)
 * Resources for moving people and property to South Korea
 * Voting in U.S.political elections while overseas
 * U.S. State Department resources for international visas, passports, and other required documentation for the relocating employees
 * Cultural resources (including religious and state holidays, societal customs, etc.) to help American assimilate into South Korean society *
 * Ning social network with various forum discussion threads, groups, videos, and blog posts to help the expatriate Americans connect with each other, their friends and family in the USA, and their new South Korean colleagues to help prevent home sickness and isolation. The Ning should conenct back to the wiki when appropriate.

Research Requirements

 * **Research Topic** || **Wiki Requirement** || **Ning Requirement** || **Video Requirement** ||
 * Business and economy in South Korea || X || X || X ||
 * Housing and real estate in South Korea || X || X ||  ||
 * Health care in South Korea || X || X ||  ||
 * Education in South Korea (for the children of relocating employees) || X || X ||  ||
 * News and other current event resources for South Korea || X ||  ||   ||
 * Embassy resources for American citizens in South Korea || X ||  ||   ||
 * Resources for language learning (learning to speak Korean) || X || X ||  ||
 * Resources for moving people and property to South Korea || X ||  ||   ||
 * Voting in U.S.political elections while overseas || X ||  ||   ||
 * U.S. State Department resources || X || X ||  ||
 * Cultural resources || X || X || X ||
 * Climate of South Korea ||  ||   || X ||
 * History of South Korea (20th & 21st Centuries) ||  ||   || X ||
 * Government of South Korea ||  ||   || X ||
 * Recreation in South Korea ||  ||   || X ||
 * Photographs || X || X || X ||
 * Video Clips ||  ||   || X ||
 * Audio Clips ||  ||   || X ||


 * //While every group member will contribute to __all__ portions of the project, each person will also hold a leadership role or roles. Individuals will sign up for their leadership roles through the Zoho database on the Transition Teams page.//**


 * **Team Leader**- this is your group's "captain," the team leader will meet with Mrs. Dorman on a regular basis to report group progress and will set due dates, update the group task graphic organizer and calendar on a daily basis, and record group progress on the task log (the team leader may delegate specific organizational tasks, but is ultimately accountable for the functioning of the group and the quality of the final products.)
 * **Project Managers** - each group will have __three__ project managers (one for the video, one for the wiki, and one for the Ning)
 * **Financial Officer** - this person will be responsible for maintaining the group's budget spreadsheet (adding awarded bonuses and deducting expenditures or penalties)
 * **Quality Assurance Engineer** - this person will be responsible for overseeing the aesthetics (attractiveness and ease-of-use) and the of the group's products. This person should assure that all three team products integrate common themes, color schemes, and visuals and that all hyperlinks and other embedded media function properly.
 * **Quality Control Directors** - this person will meet regularly with the project managers and creative directors to assure the visual quality, content quality, and organizational quality of the team products.
 * **Operations Manager** - this person will be responsible for submitting RFPs, working with the team leader to adjust the calendar, and maintaining contact with South Korean team members.

//Each group must create a flow chart using [|Bubbl.us] to illustrate your chain of command and track the individual responsibilities and assigned project tasks for each group member. A [|Google Calendar] will track team project due dates. Both the flow chart and the calendar will be embedded as widgets on the team's planning page.//

Budget
Each team will start with an operating budget of $100,000. Bonuses will be awarded when project goals are completed early and dollars will be deducted when tasks are completed late or are below standard. You will have the support of South Korean CBTC employees to whom you can outsource project tasks - at a cost to your operating budget. Teams will be required to track their operating budget on a Google Spreadsheet. Each team will be able to outsource up to five project tasks by submitting [|Requests for Proposals (RFPs)]. All outsourced project must be recorded on the Bid List to be reviewed.

Outsourcing Project Tasks

 * Order for Submitting RFPs - Operations Managers**
 * 1) Confirm the specific task you want the students at KIS to complete by talking with your Team Leader
 * 2) Complete the [|RFP] (located in your Google Docs account) - if this is your first RFP, be sure to follow the instructions for creating and renaming a copy of the RFP template for your team
 * 3) [|Send Mrs. Dorman a Wikispaces message] to let her know to review your RFP
 * 4) Review any suggestions that Mrs. Dorman may send back - revise/edit the RFP details as necessary
 * 5) After Mrs. Dorman assigns a $ amount to your RFP tasks, discuss the cost with your Team Leader to determine if the cost is worth the product you anticipate receiving - if yes, add your RPF details to the Bid List
 * 6) Advise your Financial Officer to deduct the cost of your RFP from your team's expenditures spreadsheet

Tools
You will be able to make use of the following collaborative and organizational tools to support you in this process:

__Planning / Organizing Tools__

 * [|Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations]
 * Collaboration on word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files
 * [|Google Calendar]
 * For recording task start and due dates
 * [|Bubbl.us]
 * collaborative brainstorming, task assignment and maintenance
 * Wikispaces
 * wiki hosting
 * Pinnacle Studio DV
 * digital video editing

__Research Tools__

 * [|Flickr] ([|Online Connections Flickr group])
 * image sharing
 * [|FlickrStorm] - easily search Flickr by tags
 * [|Creative Commons] - search for media that you can use for non-commercial educational projects
 * [|Diigo] ([|Online Connections Diigo group] )
 * sharing your links and comments
 * [|NoodleTools], [|KnightCite], [|Zotero] (just for Firefox users) - bibliography citations

__Content Tools / Widgets__

 * [|Google Reader] or [|Pageflakes] - RSS feed readers (both services have a public page, but Google Reader allows for embedding clips and feeds into other websites)
 * [|Bubblr] - create comic strips with Flickr photos
 * [|Bookr] - create a photo book with captions with Flickr photos
 * Create comic strips using any of the following applications:
 * [|Make Beliefs Comix]
 * [|Toonlet]
 * [|ToonDoo]
 * [|Comiqs]
 * Create interactive maps using [|Google Maps]
 * Make a photograph interactive with [|Blabberize] or create a talking avatar with [|Voki]
 * Create a photo suite with audio narrative using [|Voicethread]
 * Create and embed a quiz with [|MyStudiyo]
 * Create a SlideCast with [|SlideShare]
 * Create a video collage with [|Animoto,]
 * Use [|Grazr] or [|Google Reader] to create a constantly updating RSS feed for news and other information
 * [|Jumpcut], [|Eyespot], [|Jaycut] - free online video editors
 * [|SplashUp], [|Picnik], [|FotoFlexer] - free online photo editors
 * [|TeacherTube] - video hosting

//**Check out the Online Connections Toolbox for more Web 2.0 applications.**//

Moving Abroad / Transition Resources

 * [|Transitions Abroad.com]
 * [|Preparing for Life Abroad]
 * [|Going Abroad: Where to Begin]
 * [|Expatacular] (this is an example of a Ning network to support those moving to another country)