Download Team project: Stopping Spam

COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS
TEAM PROJECT: STOPPING SPAM
25 Points
Introduction
There once was a time when the word “spam” conjured up a chunk of gelatinous canned pork. Now the word
“spam” can act as a catalyst for a hotly contested debate between consumer advocates, direct marketers, Internet
Service Providers and legislators. Spam is defined as unsolicited, unwanted, bulk, advertising email. The term
spam is used in honor of the infamous Monty Python Spam skit (View the Video on the CIS drive SPAM.avi) in which a group of Vikings visit a restaurant and start ordering all dishes with Spam. They also
start singing 'Spam, Spam, Spam' loudly and over and over again, which is irritating and makes all other
conversation impossible.
The amount of unsolicited email has reached massive proportions and is a growing threat to the usefulness of
the Internet. Unlike regular mail where the sender pays the cost of delivering the mail, email does not require
the mailer to pay postage. In many cases email is cheap to send, and may be expensive to receive (depending on
service provider pricing and connection speed). The process of sending unsolicited email to large, untargeted
lists, or through mailing list discussion groups or Usenet newsgroups, is known as “spamming.” However, there
are many businesses who successfully and responsibly market by email. The consumer also benefits due to the
fact that some of the free email services are supported by these direct marketers.
The Question
What is a fair and equitable solution to the spam problem?
Task
Your task in this WebQuest is to explore the spam issue from different perspectives and reach consensus on a
fair and equitable solution to the spam problem. This is a small group project where each group of students will
choose a role to play. Through group discussion and individual research, your group will collaborate on a
presentation to be delivered to the class.
Objectives:
1. Your instructor will assign you to a team of 3-6 students.
2. Each team will be assigned a WebQuest role to play.
3. Collaborate to create a presentation to the class describing the results of your team’s research.
4. Your presentation will propose a fair and equitable solution to the spam problem. Each team will be an
advocate for one of the following roles:
a. Consumer Advocate
b. Legislator
c. Direct Marketer
d. Internet Service Provider (ISP)
5. Your presentation must include supporting resources.
6. Each team member must complete a self-assessment.
7. Each team member must complete a team assessment.
Phase 1: Assigning Specialized Roles
In order to maximize productivity and minimize frustration, it is helpful to assign specialized roles for your
team. To begin this WebQuest, initiate a meeting of your group and assign specialized roles.
Specialized Roles
These roles are in addition to the normal team roles that each person plays. They should be assigned for
each meeting or discussion session. It is very important that these roles be rotated among team members.
Note that an assigned leader is not one of the specialized roles. Teams do need effective leadership,
but they do not need a leader. It is best if the leaders develop as a result of the team process and
change over time.
Facilitator: The responsibilities of the facilitator are to schedule the meeting and to manage the meeting.
Recorder: The responsibilities of the recorder are to make sure that the team stays within agreed upon
time frames and to keep a record of the meeting.
Spokesperson: It is the responsibility of the spokesperson to clearly represent team results to the
instructor and the class and to act as the team’s liaison with the instructor.
Phase 2: The Big Picture
Together, your team will gather to investigate the topic. Before tackling the subject from the perspective of your
role, the entire team will meet to discuss the major issues related to spamming. Use the Web links below to
answer the basic question. Be creative, insightful and curious as you explore the Web for answers. Begin with
these resources:

Internet Society Information on Spam
http://www.internetsociety.org/spam

Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
http://www.cauce.org/cauce/about.html

Spamhaus
http://www.spamhaus.org/
Phase 3: Digging Deeper
Each team member will now assume a WebQuest role. You will represent your constituency regarding the
conundrum that is spam. What factors are most important to you?
Read through the files linked to your role. If you print out the files, underline the passages that you feel are the
most important. If you look at the files on the computer, copy sections you feel are important by dragging the
mouse across the passage and copying / pasting it into a word processor or other writing software.
Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the passage from so you can quickly
go back to it if you need to support your findings.
Be prepared to articulate what you've learned into one main opinion that answers the WebQuest based on what
you have learned from the links for your role.
WebQuest Roles
Consumer Advocate: The students assigned to the role of consumer advocate will argue that your email
is just that – yours. You pay for the Internet account and invest your time in reading email messages.
Your argument is that spam wastes your time and money. What are your expectations of anti-spam
legislation?
Links for consumer advocates:
 Net Watchdog: Seemingly Unstoppable Spam
http://www.pcworld.com/article/128261/article.html
 Do-it-yourself: Stop junk mail, email and phone calls
http://www.obviously.com/junkmail/ (scroll to the SPAM section)
Legislator: The students assigned to the role of legislator will research the rights of both consumers and
direct marketers. Who has the upper hand here? Is spam a First Amendment issue? What do the voters in
your state expect you to do about spam?
Links for legislators:
 CAN-SPAM Act of 2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN-SPAM_Act_of_2003
 First Amendment is Obstacle to Spam Legislation
http://www-cgi.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/09/amend.spam.idg/index.html
Direct Marketer: The students assigned to the role of direct marketer will argue that it is their right to
market their goods and services. However, you have recently realized that spamming may be hurting
your business. You want to continue using direct email strategies in your marketing campaigns, but are
looking for guidance and compromise.
Links for the direct marketer:
 Direct Marketing Association
http://www.the-dma.org/
 Marketing Group Scrapes Off Spam Label
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-822053.html
Internet Service Provider: The students assigned to the role of ISP will research what other ISPs are
doing to fight spam. Will posting an anti-spam policy be sufficient to protect their subscribers? They
will want to adopt a responsible approach to spam filtering that will make their customers happy, but
keep them out of court.
Links for the consumer:
 How to Avoid Spam Filters
http://mailchimp.com/resources/guides/how-to-avoid-spam-filters/html/

When Everything was Spam to ISP
http://www.rackaid.com/blog/spam-blacklist-removal/


ADDITIONALLY – Each group should find two more resources on the web directed at it’s target
audience/role. Include these in your resources slide/page.
Phase 4: Debate, Discuss and Reach Consensus
Now you should have a team meeting. Each student will provide a list of suggestions gained by researching
their role. Then, work as a group to create consensus for developing a fair and equitable solution to the spam
problem while balancing the needs of the consumer and ISPs with those of direct marketers. Everyone should
be prepared to contribute to the discussion.
Decide as a group how you will collaborate to create your final presentation to the class. At the end of your
meeting, make of list of steps that must be done to have your presentation ready by the BEGINNING OF
CLASS ON MONDAY. This was designed to take two days of class time.
Phase 5: The Presentation
You may choose any medium to deliver your team presentation. It may be presented as a Web site, a
PowerPoint presentation, a skit or, a paper or a narrative story. Each medium will be presented to the class by
members of the team in an oral report format.
Your presentation must define and describe ONE the following (depending on what you were assigned)
a. The consumer’s point of view.
b. The direct marketer’s point of view.
c. The ISP’s point of view.
d. A fair and equitable solution to the spam problem.
Be sure you include appropriate references to the resources you have used on a final slide or page.
Assessment and Evaluation

Self-assessment: Each team member assesses her or his own behavior during the duration of the
WebQuest by completing the WebQuest Rubric. This will be done for the team member’s own use in
assessing his or her team skills. This assessment will provide a basis for individual grading for the
WebQuest project and will be handed in to the instructor at the end of the term by the individual team
member.

Team assessment: Each team member will assess the success of their team through the completion of
the WebQuest Rubric. This will provide the basis for a team discussion about its performance and will
be handed in to the instructor at the end of the term by the team spokesperson.

Evaluation: The instructor will use the WebQuest Rubric to evaluate the team’s successful completion
of the project, the team process and the quality of the final presentation.
Web Quest Rubric: The following rubric will be used in for the self-assessment, the team assessment and
the instructor’s evaluation.
Name __________________________________
FILL THE FIRST TWO SECTIONS OUT AND RETURN IT TO YOUR TEACHER
Rubric
Beginning
1 point
Developing
2 points
Proficient
3 points
Individual Effort
Very little effort or
Evidence of effort, but Clear learning on
understanding of the lacking in preparation the topic has
topic shown.
and understanding.
occurred. Ability to
discuss topic
effectively.
Team Effort
Team members did
not function as a
group when given the
opportunity. There
was only individual
work with no
evidence of
collaboration.
The final presentation
had major grammar,
spelling, and
formatting errors. It
seemed rushed and
incomplete.
Final Product
Instructor Feedback Little or no attempt
was made to receive
feedback from the
instructor.
Evaluation
0 points
Team members had
some major problems
working as a group.
There was little
collaboration and
teamwork evident.
Exemplary
4 points
Score
A sound
understanding of
the topic is
exhibited with
enthusiasm and
creativity.
The team worked
as a cohesive unit.
There was mature
collaboration,
compromise, and
discussion evident
at all times.
The team members
mostly worked well
together, with few
problems. There
could have been
improvement in the
level of teamwork
that was utilized.
The final presentation The final
The presentation
had a significant
presentation is a
was developed with
number of grammar, carefully developed care and creativity
spelling or formatting product with few
making it
errors, but is
grammar, spelling
interesting,
complete.
or formatting
polished and errorerrors.
free.
Feedback was
Feedback was
received, but none of received and the
the suggestions were suggestions were
incorporated into the incorporated into
presentation.
the presentation.
1 point
2 points
No assessments were
completed and handed in to
the instructor.
Raw score:____________
Source: Prentice Hall, Course Compass.
One assessment was
completed and handed in to
the instructor.
All assessments were
completed and handed in to
the instructor.
TOTAL SCORE
(raw score/2)
_____/25
TEAMS:
AM
Consumer Advocates:
PM
Consumer Advocates:
Aaron Seidel
Brandon Spaulding
Brandon Smith
Team 1:
Vanshika Agarwal
Daniel Oesterling
Noah Casey
Team 2:
Colton Liddick
Kyle Snell
Tyler Yoder
Legislators:
Legislators:
Logan Norris
Nick Barber
Jared Wilson
Team 1:
Mitch McConnell
Danny Tejada
Wayne Hoffman
Team 2:
Dakota Bowers
Austin Wenger
Kristin Dodson
Direct Marketers:
Direct Marketers:
Mike Boyer
Kurt Russell
Joe Wells
Tim Bowers
Team 1:
Adrian Garcia
Lawson Vinson
Tristan Mial
Team 2:
Jarryd Shindledecker
Dylan Day
Kyle Foy
Internet Service Providers:
Internet Service Providers:
Blake Benway
Evan Kline
Ryan Waddington
Sean Handley
Team 1:
Jordan Cambell
Kole Barrick
Kaleb MacCall
Team 2:
Carter Kellogg
Anh Nguyen
Eric Gerow