in Jicha
Technology Society and Culture (Section 003)
Current Events Blog Instructions and Rubric
One entry and three responses due each unit (10 % of Course Grade)
The current events blog is an opportunity for students to apply course concepts and theories to events
occurring today and to see the role of technology in the modern world around us. It is also an opportunity
for students to explore certain aspects of technology and its impacts that they find personally interesting.
These three blog entries will be more involved than the discussion board entries . Once each unit, every
student will find some current event, in the form of an on-line news story or video. They will post a
summary of that event, a link to the original story or video, a brief discussion of how they see t his event
tying into the course, and two discussion questions for the rest of their group to address. Each student
will also be responsible for posting three responses to a post made by one of their group members.
Instructions
For each unit, each student is expected to make one Event Post and three responses to their group
members Event Posts. The forum for each blog will appear on Moodle under the week that the
Event Post is due as a Current Events Blog - Event Post link. Students may select any current event
that they find both interesting and related to the course. It can be a breaking story about a technology
(new or old), news from a particular field about a technology, a new invention, an application of a
particular technology, or consequences associated with a particular technology. The topic selected must
be both tasteful and relevant to the course! (Any questions on whether or not a certain event qualifies
should be directed to Karl) The Event Post will consist of a summary of the event topic, a link (or links)
to a news story or video that describes the event, a course connection (how it relates to a topic from one of
the sections of that unit), and two discussion questions. The Event Post requires students to work on their
own. Students will then make a total of three responses to either one of the questions posed by a student
in their group or another students answer to a question.
All students will be assigned to a group in which they will interact with 8-10 other students. All of your
Event Posts and responses will be made within your discussion group. Students will not be able to
see other students posts until they complete their initial Event Post. Once students have posted their
Event Post, they will be able to see all of their group members posts. Students posts will be graded
based on the quality of their posts, the degree to which the posts meet the stated requirements, and their
ability to relate their discussions to the course materials.
Rubrics and Expectations
Each current events blog will be graded out of 10 possible points, with students potentially receiving half
points. The Event Post will be worth 7 of the 10 points, and the students three responses will be worth
one point each.
The Event Post: (Seven points)
The Event Post should be a comprehensive description of the current event that the student has selected,
and the beginning of a discussion of how this event applied to what we are learning in the course or how
what we have learned in the course can help us to better understand the event. Each post will consist of
four separate sections: a summary, a link, a course connection, and two discussion questions. The
summary and course connection sections are worth two points each, while the link and each discussion
question will be worth one point each.
Jicha
Technology in Society and Culture (Section 003)
For the summation section, students should provide a comprehensive (one well developed paragraph)
description of the event they have selected. A reader of this section should be able to obtain a clear idea
of what is going on, where it is occurring, who is involved, why this event is important/interesting, and
what are the potential consequences of this event.
The link section should simply include a working link (or links) to an on-line story or video that describes
the current event. Students are only required to pull from one source, but they are welcome and
encouraged to draw from multiple sources that describe the same event.
The course connection section requires students to make a connection between the current event that th ey
are describing and some section, idea, or concept from the course. The event may be a demonstration of a
principle we discussed in class, something that we can analyze using class material, or something that
challenges a certain position or assertion made in the course. Students are encouraged to be creative in
how they relate the current event to the course.
For the question section, students must pose at least two discussion questions about their current event.
(Students may pose more, but at least two are required) Questions should be of the type that could be
answered with a short essay. (One paragraph) Students are encouraged to ask questions that require their
classmates to relate the current event to course material. Unlike the discussion boa rds, students can ask
opinion based questions, as long as they foster discussion that involves course material and concepts. The
purpose of these questions is to foster discussion among your group that further explores these current
events and their relevance to the course.
The Event Post will be graded out of seven points. Each section has specific criteria it must meet in order
to obtain full credit.
To receive full credit (2 points) for the summation section of your post, you must meet the following
criteria:
1) Provides the reader with a clear idea of what is going on
2) Is sufficiently developed
3) Avoids excessive grammatical mistakes
To receive full credit (1 point) for the link section of your post, you must simply provide a functional link
to a story or video that provides background for the current event you are using.
To receive full credit (2 points) for the course connection section of your post, you must meet the
following criteria:
1) Provides a clear connection between the event and the course
2) Correctly uses the course concepts
3) Ties in an adequate amount of relevant course concepts (Does not miss any major obvious
ones)
4) Is sufficiently developed
5) Avoids excessive grammatical mistakes
To receive full credit for the question part of your post (1 point each), you must meet the following
criteria:
1) Provides two clear discussion questions that are based on the event being described
2) The questions cannot be answered by yes or no answers
Jicha
Technology in Society and Culture (Section 003)
The Responses: (Three points, one per response)
After you have made your Event Post you required are to respond three times on that blog. Your
responses can consist of answers to other students discussion questions or a continuation of a discussion
built around a response to another students discussion question. Each individual post need not be more
than 5-7 reasonably detailed sentences, but you are free to contribute as much as you feel is necessary to
make your point. More important than the length, each post needs to be a well thought -out contribution
to the discussion.
To receive full credit for each response (1 point each), each response must meet the following criteria:
1) Sufficient development
2) Be an appropriate response to the prior post
3) Avoid redundancy. If a question has already been answered or a point made, rep licating the
previous content (or simply stating agreement) is not a sufficient contribution
4) Be properly respectful and courteous.
All posts must be made within the required timeframe! Any posts made beyond their due date WILL
NOT RECEIVE CREDIT!!!
Online Etiquette
While I do hope that lively and thought-provoking debates or conversations emerge, I have ZERO
tolerance for disrespectful comments and online bullying . You are to keep your contributions
respectful and professional at all timesno exceptions. The assistant instructors and I will monitor the
blogs and will post comments when necessary and will be there to provide additional information/follow up questions if needed.
To avoid connection problems and to make use of the writing tools built into most word processing
software, it is recommended that students develop their Event Posts in a word document, and then paste it
into the discussion board window. This can help avoid the loss of content and make students work more
presentable.
Current Events Blog Schedule with dues dates:
September 9th- First Event Post (your topic) due by 11:55pm
September 16th- First three Responses due by 11:55pm
October 7th- Second Event Post due by 11:55pm
October 17th- Second three Responses due by 11:55pm
November 18th- Third Event Post due by 11:55pm
November 28th- Third three Responses due by 11:55pm
Jicha
Technology in Society and Culture (Section 003)
Example Event Post:
SummaryA recent technology scare that has been making headlines the last few years or so has been the
possible connection between cell phone use and brain cancer. As cell phone use, particularly within
Western nations, has increased dramatically over the last 15 years or so, there is sufficient grounds for
concern about any possible connection between the two. There has been a large ongoing debate about
this connection, and it seems as if the jury is still out on whether or not the connection exists.
The scientific basis for the concern is that cell phones emit non -ionizing radiation (like what is
used in a microwave oven). This is different from X-ray radiation, exposure to which has been more
strongly connected to increases in cancer incidence. Only a few studies have linked cell phone use to a
higher incidence rate of brain glioma, a type of tumor, and only among heavy users (those who use a cell
phone more than 900 minutes a month). There are potentially a number of other possible effects, as some
studies have shown that long periods of cell phone use can cause increased glucose metabolism on the
cell phone side of the brain, as well as increased heating. Of particular concern are the potential effects of
cell phone use among children. Children have smaller skulls and thinner scalps, and therefore the
radiation can penetrate deeper into their brains. Apparently, there have been no lon g-term studies on the
effects of cell phone use among children.
There is quite a bit of controversy over whether or not this connection exists, as different
scientists have published conflicting studies. The National Institutes of Health report that a consistent
link between cell phone use and cancer has not been established, but that more study is needed. However,
the World Health Organization has classified cell phone use as a Group 2B, possible carcinogen. This
classification indicates that they are not certain, but some evidence suggests that there is a good
possibility of a link.
So obviously, more research is needed on the matter. Hopefully, more scientists will study this
potential connection and be able to more firmly establish whether or not it exists. The WHO does
recommend minimizing cell phone use and keeping the phone away from the body. I know that Im
going to start using an ear piece and stop leaving my cell phone in my pocket when Im at home or
working at my desk.
Link(s)Here is what the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health has to say on the matter .
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones
This is a summary of a World Health Organization press release on the subject. (It also contains links to
the original press release and a CNN summary)
http://socialtimes.com/who-cancer-research-says-heavy-cell-phone-use-may-cause-type-of-braincancer_b64684
Course ConnectionWhen reading about this controversy, I was first reminded of Rudi Voltis discussion about
technology and progress in chapter one. While Volti was primarily describing how technological
advances can be used deliberately for barbaric or amoral purposes, I would think that the idea also applied
to unintended consequences. In the case of cell phones and cancer, the engineers and designers were not
attempting to give people cancer, but it seems like that may be a possible outcome. Technological
Jicha
Technology in Society and Culture (Section 003)
progress (the invention of cell phones) may not automatically be social progress, and in fact, may be
movement in the opposite direction (increased incidence of brain cancer among the population).
Another concept from the course that this event made me think about was the third force of
continuity that Nolan and Lenski describe on pages 45 and 46. (The one that the lecture calls Vested
Interests) This force of continuity describes how whenever certain classes or groups stand to lose from a
particular change, they will resist that change. I think about how much money must be tied up in the
manufacture and sale of cell phones and cell phone plans and wonder how much those companies are
funding certain research projects that will establish the safety of cell phones or possibly even suppressing
any research that supports the link.
Discussion QuestionsCell phone use has virtually exploded in the last few decades? Which of Nolan and Lenskis causes of
innovation (pg. 47) do you think accounts for this and why?
If the link between cell phones and cancer becomes more established and supported within the scientific
community, do you think well see peoples behavior change that much? Why or why not?