Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computing and the Internet
(Third edition)
by Sara Baase
First-Week Assignments
I give two assignments on the first day of class that I recommend highly. Here are the assignments, followed by some comments.
Assignment 1 (Due one week later)
Exercise 10 in Chapter 1, with an added instruction:
Write a short essay (roughly 300 words) about some topic related to computing and/or the Internet that interests you and has social or ethical implications. Describe the background; then identify the social or ethical issues, problems, or questions that you think are important. (Don't make your essay be just an argument for one point of view. You may express your views if you want to, but first explain what the issues are, why there is a problem or a controversy.)
Assignment 2
Exercise 34 in Chapter 1, with the due date set at
one or two weeks before the end of the course.
Collect news articles, from print or electronic sources, on (1) benefits and valuable applications of computer technology and (2) failures and/or problems caused by computer technology. The articles should be current, that is, published during this time period. Write a brief summary and commentary on two articles in each category indicating how they relate to topics covered in this book.
Comments
Assignment 1
I use the first assignment to find out what the students are interested in,
and to emphasize the importance of exploring a problem or issue before jumping
to a conclusion. Usually, a few students write excellent essays. Sometimes I
post a few on the class Web page for the class to read. (I ask
permission of the author.)
Assignment 2
It is a good idea to remind students of this assignment a few weeks
before it is due. Many forget, and I prefer them to be on
the alert for relevant articles in various media, rather than just
looking for some on the Web the day before the assignment is due.
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