Purpose of assignment: Each week, a small group of students will be assigned to present individually over a current event pertaining to our weekly topic. The purpose of this assignment is to add updated context to our topic by supplying relevant examples to the concepts discussed in the assigned readings and videos. For example, if we are discussing privacy, you should identify several recent privacy issues to illustrate the concepts from the readings.
Current event: To begin, you will need to identify at least one news article that reflects a current event pertaining to your assigned topic. The goal of this current event is to demonstrate how the area of focus impacts society and/or daily life. If your topic is privacy for example, you might identify a recent data breach on a popular technology platform and use that as your current event. It’s okay to include more than one current event if you think they are all relevant.
It is also important to connect the information in your source to the class readings and videos. You must comb through the assigned readings and pull pieces of the text that match things in the presentation. Please include author’s name and page numbers when making connections. For example, you might say something like: “The current event discusses a data breach by Facebook. The assigned article by Kyle Torpey describes something called the ‘I don’t care’ mantra on page 13. Torpey states that the ‘I don’t care’ mantra reflects the idea that people do not want to take the time to control their own privacy because it’s too complicated. The fact that Facebook continues to violate personal privacy, but people continue to use it, is a good example of the point Torpey is trying to make.”
Requirements:
Article may not be more than a month old from when the assignment is due.
Think of the following questions to help you construct your presentation: How does this event relate to my assigned topic?
How is this event important to me?
How is this event important to others? Does it impact a specific group of people/things? If so, how? Does it have a global impact? Does it have a worldwide affect?
Does the article present a problem? If so, what possible solution can you think of?
Avoid statements like: “This event does not affect me.” If the event does not affect you, focus your reflection on how it impacts those people/places/things that it does affect.
Your closing should tell what you think or feel about the EVENT (not the article itself) and why you have the reaction you do.
Multimedia source: You should identify at least one multimedia source that enhances the class’s understanding of your current event. Multimedia sources can be YouTube videos, sound bites, original graphics, clips of television shows, book reviews, etc. This is a very broad category, but the goal is to add to the entire presentation with interesting or connective media. Your presentation should show the media and provide a rationale for why this media piece was chosen and what it tells us about the topic.
Presentation: Last, you should take all the information collected in the previous steps and use it to build a presentation using Powerpoint, Google Slides, VoiceThread, or another presentation building software that allows you to record voice and media over your slides. The presentation should be clean, well-organized, and should not contain too much text on each slide. Please remember to include an introduction and a conclusion, plus a works cited page somewhere in the presentation. Your presentation should include both an introduction and conclusion. I would like your presentation to be at least 5 minutes, but no longer than 10.
Grading Rubric for Assignment:
30 points: Your current event selection fits your topic and meets all the requirements listed in this document. You adequately describe the impact of your current event, who it affects, and any possible solutions/conclusions.
20 points: Presentation style: All the sources are correctly cited. Your presentation is organized and clear. Your presentation is at least 5 minutes long, but not longer than 10.
20 points: Multimedia source: Your source(s) is relevant, and you spend time relating it back to the current event article and/or the assigned readings for the week. THE PROJECT IS ABOUT NEW”S CONSUMPTION
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30 points: Presentation topic well tied to the class topic and the assigned readings. In other words, I want you to show me throughout the presentation how what you presented ties back to the weekly topic and the readings and give examples of where and when it does.
