Part I -- So Teach Me Something

Contrary to popular belief, Computer Science is more than just programming. While you will spend a majority of your time programming in this introductory course, I also want you to appreciate the wider discipline of computer science and in particular, the ethical issues associated with society's new "love" with information and the machines that process that information. Towards this end, each of you will become an "expert" in a mini-topic of your choice. You are charged with educating the college community (and beyond) about "what's hot in your area". I will guide your progress throughout the semester by (i) giving short mini-lectures to help with some of the technical details and (ii) making deadlines. However, this part of the course (8% of your final grade) is purposely open-ended, that is, your choice of topic, your expression and creativity, and the final product is up to you.

The Entire Project

• You'll pick a topic (see list of potential topics below)
• Over the entire semester in five(5) parts, you'll write a paper about the topic, educating others about the importance of this issue
• You'll compile an extensive review of literature (articles, journal papers, World-Wide-Web (WWW) sites, News sites, etc)
• You'll build a web page which summarizes your topic and collects your thoughts and the works of others into a convenient place for others to browse
• collectively, we'll publish our work

Potential Choices of Ethical Issues (there are many others ... be creative!)