User:Vtaylor/Computers and Society/7. Evaluating and Controlling Technology


 * This week we will be looking at some broader issues. There are many issues that are less well defined than some we have explored. There are people who have no interest in the benefits of computers in society and believe that we, as a society, are better off without the technology. What are the implications for a global society when a very small percentage of the world population has access to computers and computing, while most other people do not? Will this imbalance lead to unrest or encourage the have-not's to work harder to close the gap?

Learning outcomes


 * investigate broader issues on the impact and control of computers
 * search for web resources that address the future of computers and society
 * evaluate the sources and content
 * compare and contrast the issues discussed in the resources
 * critically examine an issue and provide a detailed analysis

Keywords


 * information sources, reliability, authentication, community, digital divide, knowledge sharing, machine intelligence, control systems

Study notes


 * Can communities exist in cyberspace? What makes a community? Is it lonely in cyberspace?


 * Is "addiction" to the internet real? Is it a problem?


 * Is there a "digital divide"? What if anything should be done to resolve or eliminate the problem?


 * What are the implications for a global society when a very small percentage of the world population has access to computers and computing, while most other people do not? Will this imbalance lead to unrest or encourage the have-nots to work harder to close the gap?


 * Is "free" email really free?


 * What skills are being lost? What new skills are being learned or developed? Is this a reasonable trade-off?


 * What changes in human life styles are emerging? What are "good"? What are "bad"?

== ==


 * Understanding and Evaluating Technology - What is it about technology that does not change? What persistent patterns can we learn—can society at large learn—in order to understand and evaluate the technologies underlying our important personal, political, social, and economic decisions?


 * Control System - manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other device(s) or system(s) This is pretty complex but you get the idea about what goes into the technologies that control stuff.


 * What is artificial intelligence? This article for the layman answers basic questions about artificial intelligence. The opinions expressed here are not all consensus opinion among researchers in AI.


 * Finding ET May Require Giant Robotic Leap — Autonomous, self-replicating robots -- exobots -- are the way to explore the universe, find and identify extraterrestrial life and perhaps clean up space debris in the process


 * Self-driving cars - Stanford computer scientist Sebastian Thrun has long been driven to make smart machines. Now a smart machine named Stanley can drive him.


 * MERLOT - simulations


 * Open textbooks by subject


 * The Search Serpent: The Next Wave in Robotics - Researchers are designing snake robots that can navigate a variety of terrains, surmount obstacles in their way and function in range of conditions


 * Lego version of the oldest know computer


 * Why We Collaborate - TED Radio Hour - “The Internet as a tool allows for really brilliant people to do things that they weren’t really able to do in the past.” — Jimmy Wales


 * As more jobs are automated, how many of us will still have productive work? -

== Assignments==


 * 1) Before you start the reading and the assignments, take a few minutes to think about what you already know about the topic - Evaluating and Controlling Technology. Write a sentence or two about this in the I know... discussion.


 * 1) Read the Study notes for an overview for the topics that will be covered.


 * 1) Read, view, listen to the selections in the Selected media list.


 * 1) Choose 1 word from the Keywords list for this module. Find TWO (2) web articles that provide information about the word and how it relates to the course. Rate each article on a scale of 1 to 5. To determine the score, identify 5 characteristics of each article (good and bad). If there are 3 good things and 2 not-so-good things about the article, you give it a rating of 3/5. Do this for both articles you select. Post the word, links to your selected web articles, the article score and the list of good and not-so-good characteristics, and a brief description about your selection for each, to the discussion Evaluating and Controlling Technology keywords. Follow links provided by 3 other students, review their suggested articles, and write a brief reply to the author for each.

REMINDER: Your responses to this and all other assignments will be graded for college-level writing. Spelling and grammar errors will result in deductions. Late submissions will be accepted but points will be deducted. Your submission must include complete and thoughtful replies that demonstrate original thinking and personal experience.


 * 1) Simulations are great learning tools. Find an example of a simulation on the web. There are lots of simulations listed in the educational resource MERLOT http://www.merlot.org web site. Post the web address and brief description to Simulations discussion.

http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/opentextbookcontent/open-textbooks-by-subject.html Take a look through the textbook. What do you think? Would you use a book like this? Is the difference in cost between published textbooks these books important to you? Are any of your instructor using open textbooks in their classes? If so, which ones? Post a link to the open textbook you select and your comments to the Open Textbooks discussion.
 * 1) Open textbooks - most are free in their electronic format, and many only cost $30-50 for the print version. Look through the list of Open Textbooks and pick one for a topic of interest to you or for an actual class.


 * 1) Evaluating and Controlling Technology - What does this mean to you? Find an article that talks about these ideas. What questions does this raise for society? Post a link to the article, a description of your understanding of these terms and your questions to the Evaluating and Controlling Technology discussion. Read and reply to 3 other posts. Include a question of your own.


 * 1) For most of this course, information is in text format. However, multimedia is becoming more available. Select a YouTube or a TED Talk video http://www.youtube.com that has some relevance to the course. Post a link to your selection and brief description to the Computers and Society video discussion.


 * 1) There are so many web services and technologies available for free, it is important to have a current list for reference. One technology is the wiki that can be used by anyone. For this collaborative writing assignment, the  Great Technologies List - Fall 2013 can be edited by everyone. Add 2-3 technologies to the list. Include your initials after your entries (eg. ..vt).


 * 1) Reflection - There a plenty of scary stories and movies about computers harming humans. Do you think this is possible? What have you learned in this class that has influenced your thinking about the possibility? Has your thinking changed? This should be one or two paragraphs. Submit your response in the I wonder... assignment.

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