Current Affairs Assignment for IST 331

Frank E. Ritter

25 August 09

Once during the semester your group may find an article or resource from a current magazine, newspaper, periodical, or other media or create your own resourse that addresses issues of information and information technology with respect to course material. A set of resources describing an emerging technology or a particular user group would be very appropriate.

The resource should be a real resource. Some time should appear to have gone into its choice. Random newspaper articles or the first thing you find in a search in Google are not high quality resources. The resource you find should be useful to the class, potentially for several semesters. Java applets, seminal works that are now online, and web sites are potential candidates.

The topic must be discussed with me and approved 10 days in advance of the presentation.

In one page or less, you will comment on how that resource relates to the current class discussion or topic. You will share both the resource and your comments with the class. The purposes of this assignment are:

• To help you develop a sense of the current affairs regarding the developments in information and communication technologies and their roles in our society, and the way society and these new developments interact.
• To find new technologies and explain why they work with people
• To coment on class material/sites, to find other relevant material, or both
• To find (perhaps from the web) material that provides insight or alternatives to issues that are brought forward in class.
• To provide a means for you to practice critical reading, analysis, and summary.
• To practice speaking in public.

The resource must:

• be long enough that the author(s) can fully develop their ideas or argument.
• cannot be on the class web site already.
• come from a reputable source. It may be timely or it may be fundamental.
• be publicly accessible and the full citation must be included in the write-up. Web sites that require cookies are not considered publically accessible (added 10/00). Phil Agre and an online privacy digest help explain why they are dangerous.

The resource that you create may be a program or text or web page. See me for details and/or ask in class.

Ideas for topics (unless already reported on)

other textbooks

programs that are useful, particularly JAVA based ones

RSI (could be done again)

Cognitive models (more could be done)

Papers on how teams and groups work and how to help them

The writeup

* one standard page (with standard fonts and margins). Please bring two copies of the writeup and the article (stapled together) to class on the days when you are to speak. Keep one for yourself, the other is for me.

* with your name, email, date, and indicate what the paper is (a resource talk for ist 331).

* include the following sections:

• Points to make in class (up to 4 sentences)
• Summary of article (one paragraph)
• Relationship between article and class topic (one paragraph)
• Your comments/insights/observation (one paragraph)
• A copy of the resource, or some thing from it if possible. For a URL, the first page or so, for a program, a listing or a printout. For a book, bring it along so that I can see it. You should provide a direct URL, e.g., not a 5 line URL that goes through a search engine, although they are a fine way to find resources.
• Example question for use on the midterm or final

* You will be asked to present the article to your peers near the start of class. You will have one, timed, minute.

See the current web site for guidance, as the resources listed there are offered as genuine resources. Some of them came from previous students.

Grading

Grading will be based on:

Clarity of presentation

Quality of summary

Link between article and class topic

Insights and observation

(For a total of 5 points/review)