Short Paper #1

Assigned: May 17, 2007
Due: May 23, 2007 (Hard copy: 11:30am, E-copy: 5:00pm)

Assignment Parts

1. Find a recent article or report (must have been published since April 2007) from a favorite news source (some good resources are Wired, Slashdot*, New York Times, CNN Technology News, CNet.com, The Washington Post's Technology news, Reuters). Some of the articles in the In the News section of this website may also be useful.
*SlashDot - Be sure that if you're reading editorials or commentaries that you read the article it is linked to.

Here are a few examples. You may use one of these, but better yet, find one that piques your interest. There is a wide variety of options for this! If you have any questions about the use of an article, feel free to ask me.

Online Ads vs. Privacy
Sizing up the coming robotics revolution
Keep an eye out for McCain -- on YouTube
Web threats to surpass e-mail pests

2. Write a 2-3 page essay. Briefly describe the situation, then apply some of the themes/lessons/ideas that you have learned thus far in the course that are connected to the story. Here are a few examples (more will be covered in the upcoming lectures too):

- Kling's car-computer analogy
- Planning for the unthinkable
- Seeing only the benefits of new technology
- The silicon imperative (we've hinted at this)

Citations: Be sure your paper includes the complete MLA citation for your article, and for the course readings that you refer to.
Note that you are not required to include any additional sources for the integrative papers. We are trying to get you to think about and apply what you're learning in the course to various situations or stories that you encounter--so you should be able to complete the essay from course content to date (lecture notes, course readings), and from your own ideas and perspective.

Formatting: See the Writing Guidelines for more details how to format the paper. There is also a template available here, but feel free to use your own if you'd like. Just be sure that it has all the same elements.

Grading: See the Grading Rubric for Short Papers for how this assignment will be graded.

Help on the assignment: If you have questions as to what help is allowed for this assignment, please check the honor code. I will be available for help in answering questions or discussing your topic. Out of fairness to all students, I will not be able to read and critique entire papers ahead of time. Though, I would be happy to read over a few paragraphs if your are having trobule with them.

As usual, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with me.