Social Issues in IT
This assignment involves students researching social issues with regard to information technologies. You will be required to create an in-depth study on any of the topics listed below, or possibly something that is not listed, as long as you check with one of the teachers to ok your topic before you begin. Choose the topic that you feel is the most interesting or that you consider to be a serious issue that faces IT users today. It is important that you demonstrate your personal opinions of, connections to, and experiences with the topic that you choose, and that the findings of your research into the topic are well-summarized, important, and, most of all, pertinent pieces of information.
Assignment details:You will be conducting research about your project, and creating a page (with sub-pages) on your website where you will publish your project. You will then do a presentation of your project to the class using some kind of presentation supporting software such as Microsoft PowerPoint,Prezi, SlideShare, or any other tool that can provide visual support to your project as you present it to the class.
Your project should have:
Your presentation should:
Also, a comprehensive Works Cited list (like a bibliography) must be created which lists ALL sources of information used in the project, including books, magazines, television or video, all information retrieved online, (including all photos, images, graphics, etc.). The Works Cited list must be in the proper MLA format for each source entry. See the "Plagiarism and Copyright Issues" on the Notes page on this website for detailed information about how to properly enter and format information on your Works Cited page. Note that all internet links in the Works Cited page must be functional (i.e.: the reader can click on the link to follow it to it's original source).
The project must address the following (not necessarily in the order below):
*** Important note *** It should be stressed that it is important that the research you do for the project is carefully sifted through, and well-summarized, so that your audience is getting the best information and insights into the topic, not just the most easily-found or abundant information.
Possible topics:This assignment involves students researching social issues with regard to information technologies. You will be required to create an in-depth study on any of the topics listed below, or possibly something that is not listed, as long as you check with one of the teachers to ok your topic before you begin. Choose the topic that you feel is the more interesting or that you consider to be a serious issue that faces IT users today.
Planning Your Project
Grading and Assessment:You will be graded on the following criteria areas:
Website: Completeness of information
Class Presentation
Use of class time
Assignment details:You will be conducting research about your project, and creating a page (with sub-pages) on your website where you will publish your project. You will then do a presentation of your project to the class using some kind of presentation supporting software such as Microsoft PowerPoint,Prezi, SlideShare, or any other tool that can provide visual support to your project as you present it to the class.
Your project should have:
- a good, clear introduction that tells your audience what the topic or issue is
- give background information about the topic using the guidlines\questions below
- report on the findings of your research ***(see important note below)***
- use images\photos\graphics to help convey\depict various aspects of the topic
- provide personal opinions, thoughts, and insights about your topic, such as personal experience, predictions, etc.
Your presentation should:
- be 5 - 10 minutes long.
- provide visual support to your presentation including main points and pictures or graphics that support what you're talking about.
- include a section at the end of your presentation for a question and answer period.
- *** NOTE *** your PowerPoint, Prezi, (or whatever tool you use as visual support) should use a maximum of 3 points per slide with a minimum font size of 30 point. Remember, YOU the presenter, should be the main focus of the presentation, not your slide show. Do not use excessive text on your slides!
- text in point form to support what you would be talking about -- don't write everything on the slide... MAIN & IMPORTANT POINTS ONLY!!
- photos and clip art should compliment your text, not distract nor annoy the viewer.
Also, a comprehensive Works Cited list (like a bibliography) must be created which lists ALL sources of information used in the project, including books, magazines, television or video, all information retrieved online, (including all photos, images, graphics, etc.). The Works Cited list must be in the proper MLA format for each source entry. See the "Plagiarism and Copyright Issues" on the Notes page on this website for detailed information about how to properly enter and format information on your Works Cited page. Note that all internet links in the Works Cited page must be functional (i.e.: the reader can click on the link to follow it to it's original source).
The project must address the following (not necessarily in the order below):
- reasons why this is an important issue, supported with numerous examples and evidence of the serious nature of the issue, including both pros & cons if they exist or different point of view
- how IT users can\should protect themselves or otherwise take appropriate actions to ensure safe, ethical use of ITs?
- when the issue arose, and how it has changed or progressed over time. Give your audience a sense of the history of the issue.
- what are governments, other administrative bodies, or businesses doing (or should be doing) to address various aspects of the issue or problem?
- what are your personal opinions and experiences with the topic or issue?
- where these issues are especially prevelant (countries? businesses? home computer users? schools? etc.), and reasons for such prevalence?
- who is most affected by this issue? what kinds of people \ age-groups are most at risk, or affected?
*** Important note *** It should be stressed that it is important that the research you do for the project is carefully sifted through, and well-summarized, so that your audience is getting the best information and insights into the topic, not just the most easily-found or abundant information.
Possible topics:This assignment involves students researching social issues with regard to information technologies. You will be required to create an in-depth study on any of the topics listed below, or possibly something that is not listed, as long as you check with one of the teachers to ok your topic before you begin. Choose the topic that you feel is the more interesting or that you consider to be a serious issue that faces IT users today.
- Plagiarism & copyright issues
- Viruses, spyware, and other malware, etc.
- Dataminers or keystroke recorders
- Pirating software, music, video (etc.)
- Online safety & privacy (especially with regard to social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter, IM, etc.)
- Electronic surveillance, cyber-spying, etc.
- Social effects of personal electronic & communication devices (cell\smart phones, etc.)
- Bio-technology &\or nanotechnology
- Censorship
- Equal access \ opportunity to digital information across all cross-sections or classes of society
- Alienation \ dehumanization \ anti-socialization occurring as a result of increased computer\device usage
- Gaming addiction
- Online voting & democracy in the digital age
- Cyber-crime (including one or more of: embezzlement, fraud, theft (financial, product, information, software, time, etc.)
- Education - how it is IT changing education both positively and negatively
Planning Your Project
- Brainstorm your topic! Ask peers, friends, family, etc. for ideas
- Research your topic. MAKE SURE that you are taking note of your sources of information while you are gathering your information... don't try to do it after!
- Organize your information. Analyze the information you have, and process it into logical groupings & subtopics.
- Create your project. Integrate all information, images, etc., into a cohesive presentation which incorporates text, photos, graphs, videos, and any other information that you gathered that will help effectively present the project to your audience
Grading and Assessment:You will be graded on the following criteria areas:
Website: Completeness of information
- the issue is fully explored (pros & cons, all aspects are addressed, etc.), using a wide variety of sources or sites
- the assignment clearly demonstrates why the issue is important and states personalization of the issue
- spelling & grammatical errors are non-existent or minimal, not detracting from the overall presentation of information
- effective layout structure and use of text, graphics, other media, and whitespace to create a presentation that readable, visually appealing, and user-friendly. This should include multiple pages and\or sub-pages.
- Sources: cited or referenced properly, from a variety of sources, presented in the correct format, with active hyperlinks
- the project was successfully uploaded to student's website, and teacher was notified when this was completed.
Class Presentation
- delivered in a clear, succinct manner, proper use of slides \ visual support, within time frame
- logical and clear layout
- text was appropriate in terms of readability and quantity. text size, amount
- supporting graphics and video files
- questions fielded with informed answers that demonstrate thoughtful understanding of the topic.
Use of class time
- class time was used effectively and efficiently to gather, process, and present relevant information