Guidelines and Tips for Making Your
Presentation
There is certainly enough material on each
topic to spend the whole week (Mon & Wed). I would suggest
you read your sections very thoroughly and
see how well the materials integrate. You may wish to present
ideas in a different order than our authors handle the material.
There is also no need to discuss everything that is presented in the texts. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Concentrate on the introductory material,
background, history, definitions of terms on your first day to
set the stage. This helps make sure that everyone has the same
understanding before we go too far.
- You can spend some time asking questions about the
scenarios in the Johnson book, they help draw out many of the
issues you'll be discussing.
- Dig into the deeper issues - depending
on the scenario and intro discussion. Look for news articles and current events (some sources are here) that are relevent to your topic that might enhance your presentation. Movie clips, commercials, journal articles, personal experiences all make great sources that will spark lively discussions.
- Put together a series of 5-10 questions that
you can use to help guide your class discussion. You may use
power point if that will help with your organization.
- Send me your questions and presentation materials at least
one class ahead of time and I'll post them on the
web page for everyone to read. This will help guide the others
in class as they read to prepare for your discussion. If you
want, I'll give you some feedback or guidance on your questions.
Of course, I may still have my own set of questions to mix in
with yours.
It will be your job to lead
the discussion, ask thought provoking questions, etc. The interaction
you are able to generate will be a major part of your presentation
evaluation.
How I will evaluate the quality your presentation:
- Your ability to pose thought provoking questions
to the class, and generate an interactive discussion of the issues
involved. You should focus on specific questions
such as "Why should software be considered property? What
are arguments for and against owning software?" rather than
"What do you think about owning software?" This will
constitute the majority of your presentation grade.
- Your integration of current events
news stories that fit your topic and help illustrate
specific points that you wish to make or that help generate class
discussion. I have provided many links to IS related news
publications for you to use.
- Your integration of other outside sources
of materials relevant to your topic. This includes articles
that you find on organizational web sites (many of the topics
we address are supported by various organizations - privacy,
copyright, etc - that have their own web pages with very detailed
information) as well as short clips from movies
(movie clips are great, but they should be limited to 5-10 minutes)
that may help to illustrate various concepts. In the past, one
group successfully implemented a role-playing scenario that involved
everyone in the class, while another group came up with a creative
reward for everyone who participated in answering their questions.
Use you imagination!
- At least one class day before your presentation, e-mail me copies of your notes,
powerpoint slides, links to articles or web sites, or other materials
that you will use during your presentation. I will post everything
except your notes (Members of the class
are responsible for taking their own notes!) to the web page
for your topic, thus creating a list of resources for each topic.
- There are certainly other items that can
be included in your presentation and discussion of the materials.
This list should be viewed as a starting point. Use your imagination...
Yup, it's a lot of responsibility...
...but
nothing compared to the responsibilities each of you will have
on your first job after graduation
You will be expected
to give presentations, lead discussions, and think critically
about situations you run into on a very frequent basis. Think
of it as professional development to accompany your education
about Living in the Information Age.
I have also been known to give pop quizes when
it appears to me that you are not keeping up with your readings.
If we have a lively discussion each week that demonstrates understanding
of the material, it is likely that you will never see a quiz during
the semester. However, I am not impressed when conversations lag,
or when people are not able to answer questions! When they occur,
these quizes usually count for a significant portion of your individual
participation grade...