Read the notes carefully and I am allowing you to pick whatever technology you want to write about. You can write thus paper in whatever format you would like per instructions below.
1. Select a changing technology that affects the career field you have chosen or in which you have an interest.
If you have not chosen a career field, or are not exploring one, you may choose any recent or emerging technology. Because this is not a tremendously long project, you need to be specific. Something like “smartphones” would be too broad. In that case you would need to pick a particular smartphone or, perhaps, a particular update.
Medical technology is always a popular topic but you would pick something particular such as a new monitoring device, diabetic aid, or prosthetic.
If you have no ideas for a topic, then I would say, “What are you interested in?” There is probably some new, developing or updated technology related to an interest of yours, even if you think you have no interests.
Do you lay around watching TV all day?
Then you could look at the latest television trends.
What is OLED technology and is it superior to an LED television?
Streaming services such as Netflix have revolutionized television. How do they work?
What is next in streaming technology?
Service that brings all your streaming services up at once and you choose a show or movie from any of them without having to particularly go into Netflix or Disney+. What is it? That is just a brainstorm off the word “television.” I am sure you can come up with something that you find interesting, just look at your hobbies. Again, if you are pursuing a particular career field or are just exploring one, that needs to be your first choice
2. Once you have narrowed down a topic what do you write:
The Most important Thing: Can you clearly and concisely tell me about the new technology and why it is important .
You don’t have to tell me in detail how it works if it is something that the average person would have difficulty grasping. But you should give an overview of how it works and then demonstrate that you know why the technology is being introduced and what impact it is having or will have.
The following are things you should mention if relevant. Which ones you address will depend on your topic:
a. How workers are accepting the new technology- are they welcoming it or are they afraid of it? Will it cause a decrease or increase in job openings?
b. Does this innovation bring new problems along with its benefits? It is a central theme of the course that new technology will introduce one problem as it solves another. So, include something promising in this technology but also something potentially negative.
c. What is the cost? Will it be available to the average person? If it is a device, how many have been sold? Are the reviews for this thing positive or negative or a mix?
d. What is the impact of this technology? Some medical innovations, such as prosthetics (artificial body parts) only affect one person at a time, but it is a profound change. Military innovations may seem to only affect the military but may protect millions. Other innovations directly affect the world. Innovations that help reverse climate change or preserve resources are examples. There are several new technologies that aim to clean up the plastic in the oceans.
Are there new plastics that are actually biodegradable?
3. What will the presentation look like?
As this is no longer an oral presentation, you will write out the information on your technology. Use complete sentences unless a list is clearly needed on a certain portion.
Though not absolutely required, some kind of visuals are important. Pictures, graphs, charts, graphics whether from another source or your own creation, are what I have in mind. There are a number of ways to do this. You may create a Power Point or use similar software if you know how to do that. I would not try to learn Power Point just for this project, though, if you have been meaning to do so anyway, it is further incentive. You could also just copy and paste pictures or graphics into your word processor, but be sure to adjust their size appropriately. If you use Power Point or similar technology you may use the traditional “points” but you would include some slides that contain paragraphs, something you would not do in an oral presentation.
Important** You should list any sources that you used to put the presentation together. For most of you this will be websites. But, if you have learned anything about the topic from a class, then list that. If you have real, on the job, experience or, even if you hold an interview with someone who knows more about it than you, list it all.
Finally, the question the majority of you are asking: How long should the presentation be? That will depend on your topic and your individual style, but a good standard would be to write down everything you would have said in a twelve to fifteen-minute oral presentation. In other words, read everything you have written out loud including an explanation of why your graphics or visuals are important. If it takes you at least twelve minutes to read it, then you are on track.
If you are still having difficulty, email me. I can assign topics as a last resort but would prefer that you choose something that interests you.
