Peer evaluation as a needed web 2.0 activity in project management for teaching practical software engineering

• Authors: Kera Z. Watkins
• Venue: Proceedings of the 10th ACM conference on SIG-information technology education
• Year: 2009

Effective communication and collaboration is important in any team project. There has been a trend to use Web 2.0 tools - such as Facebook and Google Docs - for effective communication and collaboration. For example, Facebook and other social networks can be used for general discussion and communication. Google Docs can be used to create live documents that can be modified by more than one person at a time. A number of Web 2.0 tools can be used together to promote team cohesion. These tools have been shown to be effective in software engineering capstone classes at Georgia Southern University. Through the course project, students were hired to complete software projects for clients outside the university. The instructor had to consider the following for effective project management: 1) Determining the Web 2.0 tools that would be applicable to the course and 2) Determining how to assess individuals and their teams throughout the semester, while striving to meet deadlines. Results show that peer evaluation coupled with a number of other collaboration and communication Web 2.0 software can offer a way for students to evaluate each other in a short time, while producing a product that is highly pleasing to the client.