Presentation guidelines

The goal of this presentation is to discuss ethical and social issues related to a particular technology. You may, if you'd like take one side on the issue, but you have to present arguments from all points of view.

Before you start putting together your presentation, you should do a thorough research of the subject.

In your presentation you have to:

  1. Describe the technology so that the listeners know what you are talking about. If it's a new technology, you may give a bit of history, explain how it differs from the previous ones, etc. If this technology is already in use, you may give some numbers that show how widely it is used.
  2. State the issue(s) in question. Explain which groups are going to be affected and how. Some technologies raise several ethical and social issues, you can't possibly discuss all of them in your presentation. Focus on the ones that you find the most important.
  3. Discuss the issues from the point of view of different affected groups of people.
  4. If you agree with one side of the debate, explain which one and why. If you are not sure which side is right, explain why. Different members of the group may have different points of view on the issue(s), it's OK to disagree.
The format of the presentation is your own choice. You may use visual tools, have a performance, etc. The points from the list above may be presented in any way.

You will have 35-40 minutes for the presentation. Leave 5-10 minutes for questions in the end.

Timeline of preparing the presentation is as follows:

  1. The day of the presentation is randomly selected
  2. The outline and list of sources must be submitted 3 class meetings before the presentation (i.e. if you are presenting on March 25th, the outline is due on March 16th).
  3. I will send you my feedback on the outline within the next day after I recieve it. If any changes are needed, I'll let you know.
  4. After the presentation please submit whatever materials you have (a PowerPoint presentation, a script, a list of talking points, etc.)
  5. You also have to submit your evaluation of how each member of the group (including yourself) contributed to the group work. This will help me grade individual work. These evaluations will be kept confidential.
  6. Within a week after the presentation you need to meet with me as a group to discuss the results of peer evaluations (see below).
When listening to other students' presentation, you will have to fill in a peer evaluation form (what worked and what didn't in the presentation, advice for improvements, etc.)
This page is a part of IS 1091 at UMM web pages.