Using Live Projects in the Classroom

As instructors we are always trying to improve the classroom experience, making it more interesting and meaningful to the student. Typically, I like to have team projects in our classes. In the past many of these projects were from the text or projects I have worked on in industry and have modified to fit in the context of the class. I've always wanted to use live projects in class but have been reluctant because of the issues it can present not only for myself as an instructor but also the students and project stakeholders. This past year I offered a senior level Computer and Information Technology (CIT) class that involved live projects, one internal to our campus and a second project with a local company. In this paper I will discuss how we developed and delivered the class. I will review the structure of the class along with what worked and what we would change, I will also review feedback from the students that participated in the class and the stakeholders from the two projects we chose. [For full proceedings, see ED571297.]