ITEC101

Tech News Group Discussions, Weekly Assignments,

And Term Paper Assignment

The goals of the group discussions are to allow students to research, present, and discuss current issues concerning technology and our society.

Learning Objectives:

Students will learn about cutting-edge technology, potential impacts of such new technology to society, and limitations of such technology.

Learning Outcomes:

Students will demonstrate recognizing cutting-edge technology, analyze how it may impact society, and identify potential ramifications of the new technology deployment.

Participant's Responsibilities

Your responsibilities for this assignment are to complete the reading assignments on time and participate fully during the group discussions. During the group discussions, you will be responsible for critically analyzing and discussing articles addressing key technological, social or political issues related to the topic. Be prepared to synthesize your readings and discuss results and analysis during class. You need to read the ACM tech news feeds 3 times per week ( tech news feed delivers a digest of a dozen or so computing and technology news events. You are to read each digest. Once a week you are to select one of the news items that interested you and email (do not attach – include in the body of the email)the instructor by 4pm on Friday the following:

  1. A copy of the news item as written in the tech news.
  2. A paragraph on why you found this news item of interest, considering the technological, social and political aspects of the item.
  3. Two or three open ended questions* the news item prompted you to consider.

*An open-ended question is one that does not have a simple or yes/no answer. These questions are typically used to facilitate discussion and deeper thought. In the context of this course, open ended questions force the use of concept and capability knowledge. Open ended questions may address an important idea or concept, they may address the participant’s opinions and/or reactions to the issues addressed in the article, and they may draw relationships between other issues or topics.

The weekly assignments are part of the Lab/HW grade in the course (30%).

Group Discussion Responsibilities

Roughly once a week, generally Monday’s, the class will have a formal group discussion on topics from the previous week’s tech news feed. Individual students will be asked to present to the group which news item they found interesting, why it was interesting, and present the open ended questions they developed about the item. Students are to bring hard copies of the news item and the paragraph e-mailed to the professor, for citing text is an expectation of the discussion.

In the group discussions you should try not to dominate any discussion. Instead, ask questions and contribute ideas to encourage further discussion. The discussion should naturally extend from one comment to another, not consist of several disjointed opinions (no matter how valid they may be). Don't be afraid to offer your opinion to the group's discussion.

Term paper/panel presentation

At the end of the term, students will each write a 3page, not including references, analysis of a topic from the tech news readings. Students will be part of a panel in which members will present their analysis of the topic and lead a class discussion. All class members will read and evaluate every other student’s paper prior to the panel discussion. Students who are not panelist at the time will be graded upon the open-ended questions they prepare for the panelists and turn in to the professor.

Studentresponsibilities for the term paper/panel assignment are to research the topic, participate in the panel presentation (2 minute max synopsis), and respond to audience questions about technological, social and political issues surrounding this topic.

Research for the paper

In addition to the assigned tech news reading, search the Internet and library for appropriate information relating to your topic including:

  • News articles
  • Current/proposed legislation
  • Web and/or blog sites
  • Related research
  • A minimum of three sources (websites, articles, papers, etc.) discussing important concepts or issues about your topic.Use a standard citation format (MLA, APA, Communications of the ACM). Whatever format you use, it must be clear what reference is being cited.

Papers will be emailed to your instructor onMonday, Dec. 2nd,by midnight.

Panels – last week of class (20 pts): After the panelists present their brief position on the topic, the class discussion will be driven by the questions each student prepared (see below). Each student not on the panel will be allowed 5 minutes to synthesize and write their own synopsis of the panel discussion topossibly be turned in that day.

What to turn in

What to turn in on Dec. 2nd.

  • Email to the instructor a3page electronic word doc named yournameITEC101paper.doccontaining your analysis of your topic and subsequent issues, impact, legislation etc. Make sure the document has the topic title and your name on the first two lines. Make sure you spell check and correct all grammar errors.

The term paper is 20% of the grade in the course. Late papers will not be accepted. Early papers will be accepted.

What to turn in on Dec. 6thby midnight.

  • After reading each paper (posted by Dec. 3rd, 5pm) from the course website, email the instructor two open-ended questions for each paper using the word doc worksheet from the course website. For each paper give the title, student author’sname, your two questions and any comments on the paper.
  • Twoopen-ended questions that either 1) address an important idea or concept, 2) address the participant’s opinions and/or reactions to the issues addressed in the paper, 3) probe further into the topic, draw relationships between other issues or topics, and/or synthesize the issues presented in the paper.

The paper comment assignment is part of the general homework grade and is worth 20 points.

The final week of class: student groups assigned to the same topic will present a panel discussion on the topic.

© 2009 Robert Bryant