Kira
From CyberOne Wiki
CyberOne Experience: Thinking Outside the Box
CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion introduced me to projects that challenged the public’s complacency with the status quo. Each project presented a unique problem for students to solve, giving each person an opportunity to work with the matter that was most appealing to them. While each project was interesting, the FreeRice group appeared to fit best with my personal experiences – philanthropy, business, education and children. This semester I had an opportunity to work for the betterment of FreeRice, assist with the class structure, engage in discourse about projects that I was not a member, and leave the semester more knowledgeable about each project’s subject matter. Unlike most law school courses, CyberOne allowed students a unique learning experience in which contribution and participation were necessary for a holistic understanding of the course.
At the start of the semester, the FreeRice group did not have concrete goals. This presented our group with the opportunity to craft our own vision of success. As a philanthropic, educational site, we saw the opportunity for growth. Our first sub-project was to create a pitch for our target audience. Our group broke up in sub-groups of two to three persons and created video clips. Two clips were interviews with parents and teachers and one was a pitch to solicit children’s contributions. Meanwhile, our group began to draft responses to the Google grant application for Project Ten to the 100th. This allowed our group to formulate a concrete plan for the expansion of FreeRice. Two students and I worked directly with Isaac to create the video for the application. Throughout the semester, our group met to formulate a plan; we determined the short- and long-term goals for FreeRice. In order to keep the group organized, we regularly updated the Wiki. Following the Google grant application, our group was presented with the Carnegie application. Many of the questions called for similar responses as the Google grant, but being that we were further in the semester we had a clearer idea of the immediate goals and how Carnegie could help us achieve them. In the meantime, our group completed other tasks, such as, contributions to the blog site and content for the promotional page.
One aspect of the project that I am grateful for is the opportunity to take a leadership position. Organization and delegation were vital for the group’s success. Throughout the semester, I would initiate the discussions and help organize how we would execute our goals. With the input of each group member, we smoothly accomplished what we set out to do. Nicole Jackson and I constantly updated the tasks list, keeping the group abreast of what we needed to accomplish. This allowed for a smooth transition from one task to the next.
Assisting with the classroom structure provided me an opportunity to utilize my organizational skills. Working with Nnamdi was a great experience. The two of us were compatible in articulating our classmates’ comments to develop an effective scheme. Presenting the plan to the class helped me with my fear of public speaking. Although we may not have been able to utilize the entire proposal this semester, we hope our contributions will be useful for future courses.
The class sessions opened the floor for discourse about each group’s project. During these sessions, I learned about a range of material that I was not exposed to prior to the course. The RIAA group was the most active. With briefs, motions, and press releases, the course gave me insight to the inner workings of litigation. Being that I am drawn to corporate law, it was interesting to see the strategies required for a lawsuit. The class discussions allowed students to assist the group with “thinking outside the box” and helped produce the highest quality material. I enjoyed breaking up into sub-groups with my classmates. Not only did I get to know my peers better, but it also allowed a range of ideas to be presented for class discussion.
The next project that I gained the most from was the poker group. I had never played poker prior to CyberOne. I enjoyed the class sessions dedicated to learning the strategy of the game, and I am now persuaded to its usefulness as a teaching tool. Furthermore, after finishing the assigned reading Lawyers’ Poker: 52 Lessons that Lawyers Can Learn from Card Players, I see how analogous poker and lawyering may be.
The marijuana group project was intriguing because it involved challenging the public’s long-standing opinion about the negative effects of marijuana. The group’s presentation and the discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of the group’s argument gave me an opportunity to analyze a real-life attempt to change the current law. In most law school courses, we deal with hypotheticals. CyberOne presented a real-life proposal allowing us to see the possible reactions of the public.
As for my own project with FreeRice, I learned about business structure and planning. I also learned the importance of open-access and using the internet for civic education. After watching my eight-year old niece play on FreeRice, I see how useful the site can be as an educational tool. The contributions that FreeRice has made while maintaining its philanthropic appeal are remarkable. It was an honor to work with this project.
