Editing Open Source Studio (Spring 2026) (section)

=== Project: Making a Meaningful Contribution to Open Source ===

The open source contribution project is broken up into multiple tasks, each building on the previous. You will begin by reflecting on your own skills and interests, then explore potential projects where you might contribute. You'll share what you find and consider what others have found as possible projects, and then vote for a project you'd like to contribute to. I will form you into groups -- where possible, you and your groupmates will all contribute to the same project, but in some cases your group may organize around a theme of contribution type or language if student interests diverge too far. In your group, you'll develop and propose a Statement of Work to me -- a scope for your group's effort, describing what each person will contribute. You'll then develop your contribution and refine it, conducting first your own self-review and then a review for a peer, before finalizing your contribution and submitting it to the community. We'll close the quarter by showing our work projects to one another, and reflecting on our experience.

The "Open Source Project Rubric" section of [[User:Kaylea/Assessment| the detailed page on assessment]] gives the rubric I will use to evaluate your work.


==== Extra Credit: Team Bonding Activity ====

Many classes include a necessity for students to meet outside of class, and you may find that in order to complete work your group likewise needs to arrange to meet up. But outside-of-work events are also a common way for organizational work teams to develop social relationships -- and research has found this to be valuable if everyone's needs and perspectives are respected. If your group meets up outside class for '''non-work''' purposes, take a selfie and send it to me for a little extra credit (available only once and in the first 3 weeks of the quarter). Only one group member needs to send this to me.


==== Open Source Project Prep Task #1 ====
;Task: Skills and Priorities Inventory
;Due: Friday, April 3, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: You are done with task 1 if you have filled out the Skills and Priorities Assignment [Google Forms Link is posted to Canvas]
;Turn In: via a Google Form

==== Open Source Project Prep Task #2 ====
;Task: Community Field Trip and Evaluation
;Due: Friday, April 10, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: You are done with task 2 if you have evaluated 2 open source projects according to the field trip and evaluation form; it is a Google Form you can return to and edit your responses. You should then anticipate sharing the results of your field trip in class.
;Turn In: The filled-in evaluation form via Google Forms; no Canvas turn-in.

'''Steps'''
# Visit at least 2 communities you would be interested in contributing to.
# Evaluate the community according to the criteria in the form.
# Please note that this assignment is not private: the results of your evaluation will be shared with other students in the class to help them in project selection and group formation.

;Tips:
* Allow some time for this! The point value for the assignment is relatively high....
* You are investing in your future success in the class: spending time now to find a good project will pay off later in your satisfaction and success.
* Sources for projects to evaluate:
** GitHub's help wanted: https://github.com/topics/help-wanted
** An external site for browsing the above: https://github-help-wanted.com/
** Social good projects: https://meaningfulcode.org/
** Humanitarian projects: https://hfoss.etica.ai/

==== Open Source Project Prep Task #3 ====

Groups in this course are affinity-based. If several people want to contribute to the same codebase, each with their own tasks, I'll place them in the same group. Beyond that, I will try to form groups that make sense, grouping students together based on the kind of project, the language in use, other overarching traits, or student preference.

;Task: Set up work environment and group chat
;Due: Wednesday, April 15, 11:59 p.m. 
;Deliverables: You are done with task 3 if you have set up your contribution environment for the project.
;Turn in: A screenshot of your development environment 

'''Steps'''
# Meet your group members!
# Join the Discord channel for your group (hosted in the class server).
# Make sure you can install the project you are proposing to contribute to: you must be able to test changes before you try to submit them to the project. To avoid disrupting your other uses of your computer, I recommend using the Docker image from the CSS Remote Linux Lab: https://csswiki.uwb.edu/css-linux-lab-docker-image/ -- use the run as administrator options, and use the 'permanent' option when launching docker rather than the 'temporary' one, so you don't lose work. You might also explore deploying the project using GitHub's codespaces feature. If you are not able to set up a development environment for yourself, you will likely need to move to a different project.

;Tips:
* If you are running into issues, contact Dr. Champion right away -- you may need to move to a different group.
* The exact path your project takes will be different from other groups at this point. Use your group chat and standups to talk about challenges you are facing!
* Different projects will have different standards for AI usage and you must follow their rules. For course purposes, feel free to use AI tools as a tutor. However, please note that the code produced via AI may be far below the quality expected by the project. If the project you contribute to allows for AI contribution, you should always plan to revise any AI output to fit project requirements and needs.

==== Open Source Project Prep Task #4 ====
;Task: Analyze the structure of the project or projects and produce a cribsheet / quick reference card
;Due: Friday, April 17, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: You are done with Task 4 if everyone in your group has added at least one item to a cribsheet and it's pinned to the top of your channel. 
;Turn in: No need to turn in something for this; Dr. Champion should be able to grade your work right out of Discord.

'''Steps'''
# Use Discord to discuss the project and identify important links and reminders. Topics might include:
## Identify important links for your project (front-facing website, developer-facing website, important documents if not linked from the GitHub site, communication channels the project uses) 
## Identify overall genre and architecture for the project, key files, tips, reminders. (Examples: "React front-end, postgres database -- great tutorial on YouTube here:", "JavaScript bot, make sure to update both commands.yml and commands.js if you add new commands", "Python library; unit tests are required for everything and go in the command-specific file in the test/ dir", "Does a Hackathon every other Friday (next one is on....xx/xx)" 
# Share your observations about the project in the chat
# As a group, compile your observations into a single message for reference and pin it.

;Tips:
* This is mostly to help you in the future...don't cheese it.

==== Open Source Project Statement of Work (Task 5) ====
;Task: Identify areas where you can contribute and prepare a group Statement of Work 
;Due: Friday, April 24, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.
;Deliverables: You are done with this task if everyone's roles in the project are described and the scope of work explained.
; Turn in: your Statement of Work document for your group, via Canvas (1 per group), as a link to a Google doc where I have edit rights

'''Steps'''
# Review the Statement of Work template
# Identify work you personally would like to do in the project (sizing will vary here based on your interest and goals: 2 substantial bugs, a new feature of some significance, or other revisions on the scale of about 40 hours of work over a 5 week period -- 2 weeks for the first draft or progress report, 1 week for a second draft / self review, 1 week where you will work on a peer review but can also be improving your own work, and 1 week for final touches after receiving a peer review)
# Comment on the issue or communicate with the maintainer about your interest in this work. This will make it less likely that someone else will do the work before you have a chance (although this could still happen). Be polite and sincere!
# Estimate how long you think each phase will require: planning / analyzing the work, implementing the work, testing the work, refining the work in response to feedback
# Identify when you will complete each of these phases for each task
# Identify fall-back positions in the terms and conditions (if you're not able to fix the bug, what will you do instead to demonstrate what you've learned? If you do less than the work outlined, what grade do you think is fair? See rubric for this assignment.)
# Contribute to the group document with your areas of work.
# Expect to negotiate the scope of your contribution with Dr. Champion and to engage in a dialogue the maintainer; you should expect this to be a good-faith discussion.

==== Open Source Project Rough Draft -- Task 6 ====
;Task: Finish up a first draft or first milestone of your project
;Due: Friday, May 8, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: in accordance with the Statement of Work 
;Turn in: 


==== Open Source Project Code Review (Self) -- Task 7 ====
;Task: Review your work before you ask others to review it
;Due: Friday, May 15, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: You are done with this task if you have asked an LLM to review your work and made recommended changes that you think make sense.
;Turn in: the history of your conversation with the LLM, and a link to a code commit.

'''Alternative for conscientious objectors:'''
The use of LLMs is not a necessary learning goal for this course. Therefore, LLM use is not required. Students who object to LLM use may do this assignment by using static analyzers and code profiling tools.

==== Open Source Project Second Draft -- Task 8 ====
;Task: Complete the second draft or milestone
;Due: Friday, May 15, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: 
;Turn in: 

==== Open Source Project Code Review (Individual) -- Task 9 ====
;Task: Seek peer review of your work and conduct a review of someone else's work
;Due: Friday, May 22, 11:59 p.m. Pacific time
;Deliverables: You are done with this task if you have arranged for a peer review with a colleague and done a review of someone else's code.
;Turn in: your review text.

;Steps:
# Request a peer review via Discord, including a link to your repository.
# Come to an agreement as to who will review whom.
# Conduct a review of a peer's work and send it to them.
# Share the text on Canvas.

==== Open Source Project Post-Review Revision -- Task 10A ====
;Task: Respond to peer review of your work
;Due: Friday, May 29, 11:59 p.m.
;Deliverables: You are done with this task if you have revised your code in response to a peer review.
;Turn in: a link to the commit / commits associated with the peer review.

==== Open Source Project Contribution -- Task 10B ====
;Task: Make the contribution described in the statement of work.
;Due: Friday, May 29, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time
;Deliverables: You are done with this task if you have completed your portion of the statement of work. This task must be submitted on time but can be revised / resubmitted to meet community standards (within reason; talk to Dr. Champion if issues arise). 
;Turn in: A link to your pull request to the main source tree of the project (or whatever the community requires).

==== Demo + Presentation of Work -- Task 11 ====

You will share your (or your group's) efforts with the class as part of a final celebration of our work in the class.

Task: Present your / the group's work to the class.
;Due: Wednesday, June 3rd, in class
;Deliverables:
;; 1 - A virtual poster describing your individual work OR a group poster describing the group's work as a whole.
;; 2 - The oral presentation of your work (Time allocation: 5 minutes per person with up to 3 minutes for questions; if you present individually, you have 5 minutes total, if a group presents as a group, multiply time by quantity, the division of time should be reasonable and fair but does not need to be identical).
;Turn In: A PDF of your poster.

'''Steps'''
# You can lay out the poster using any tool you like; Miro or Canva should work well.
# Plan to project your poster and zoom in on elements as you talk
# Include the following elements:
## What is the project?
## Who is in your group?
## What work did you do?
## Observations. Potential topics include: 
### What did you learn
### What feedback did you get from the community
### What advice would you give to other students or new contributors
## Screenshots, visuals and other evidence
# In class, you will show your poster and talk about your work.

;Tips:
* Don't make a printout, but for future optional activities, I recommend using a standard horizontal layout (e.g., 20x30) so that it can be printed.

==== Reflection on the Project -- Task 12 ====

See the [[User:Kaylea/Assessment | brief reflection rubric]] for details on my expectations in terms of the content of the reflection. A successful essay will do the following things:

# Use content and concepts from the course.
# Use evidence from your experience, your project, and the projects of others. Mention project names, commit IDs, line numbers, dates & times as appropriate.
# Cite your sources; these sources must be real, they must provide support for the statements associated with the citation, and they must be viewable by me. Note that AI tools are notorious for fabricating these and use of AI tools for this assignment is forbidden.
# Be 1200-1500 words. Note that there is a penalty for going over length and that references don't count in length limits; I'm not interested in nitpicking, but essays over 1600 words are particularly unfair to others. Essays under length won't receive a special penalty but are '''very''' unlikely to achieve the depth I am looking for.
# Do not use AI tools.

If you are not sure what to write, think about what happened in the project and choose some of these prompts as jumping off points (do '''not''' treat the following as questions to answer in order!). What kind of work did you end up doing, and how well did you do? Was the project easy or hard, which parts, how, and why? How did the analysis go, and what did you learn? Walk through each topic we covered. How did course concepts apply (or fail to apply) to the situations you faced in developing your project? Did anything surprise you or change your mind during the project? Did you experience any failures or problems? How did you solve them? Based on your experience, what is your advice for the students who take this course next? What did you learn about yourself and the ways you prefer to work? What did you learn from the presentations done by your fellow students? Did anything surprise you in the work from other groups?

Do not write in a long single paragraph or send me a list of bullets; instead, write a standard essay with an introduction, key points, and conclusion. Choose and use a formatting standard and stick to it (APA, Chicago, ACM, etc.). Use correct citation formatting for both your inline citations and your References section. Your essay should make liberal use of many kinds of evidence, including several course readings, lectures, and videos, as well as several commit IDs or other URLs with your specific experience. Do not use AI tools. Do use examples and evidence. This should be an essay that only you could write, because it's about specific events in your experience of the course.

;Turn in: a well-formatted essay via Canvas

;Due: Friday, June 12 at 11:59 p.m.