Unit1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Lesson 13: Project - Digital Information Dilemmas Part 2

Unplugged | Concept Invention | Project

Overview

In this lesson students finish designing an artifact that represents their analysis of an article on the impacts of digitizing information. Students will complete the final two quadrants of their poster in which they identify the benefits and harms highlighted in the article and then make an overall claim about whether the world has been made better or worse through the digitization of information. At the conclusion of the class students update the position of their stickies on the "better" to "worse" spectrum they designed yesterday and then discuss whether and why they changed their opinion.

Purpose

This lesson is a continuation of the major unit project. Students continue to consider broad societal questions about the impacts of computing and the ways it is changing their world.

Agenda

Lesson Modifications

Warm Up (5 mins)

Activity (35 mins)

Wrap Up (5 mins)

View on Code Studio

Objectives

Students will be able to:

  • Argue whether the digitization of information has broadly speaking improved or damaged society
  • Examine articles to identify the social benefits and harms caused by information digitization

Preparation

  • Make sure students have access to the posters they began designing in the previous lesson

Links

Heads Up! Please make a copy of any documents you plan to share with students.

For the Teachers

For the Students

Support

Report a Bug

Forum Forum

Teaching Guide

Lesson Modifications

Attention, teachers! If you are teaching virtually or in a socially-distanced classroom, please read the full lesson plan below, then click here to access the modifications.

Warm Up (5 mins)

Teaching Tip

Get to the Activity: The warm-up is short today. Continue on to the activity as soon as possible to give students the maximum amount of time to complete their posters.

Remarks

Yesterday you began making a position poster based on an article you read. Today we are going to finish that up before debating our positions!

Activity (35 mins)

Position Posters (15 mins)

Teaching Tip

Encourage students to find creative ways to represent the information in each quadrant.

Do This: Use the lesson slides to guide students through completing their position posters.

Do This: Complete quadrants 3 & 4.

  • Quadrant 3: What are the benefits and harms of digitizing this content?

  • Quadrant 4: Is our world better or worse because of digital representation? Explain why, giving examples from the article.

Jigsaw (10 mins)

Group: Place students in groups with one representative for each article.

Discuss: Students share their position papers and discuss the articles they read with their groups.

Digital Dilemma Debate (10 mins)

Remarks

In the last class, we started the lesson by placing a sticky note on a spectrum. Based on your jigsaw discussions, put a sticky note back on the board. Has your position changed since yesterday?

Where do you stand?

Do This: Students move their sticky notes along the spectrum of worse to better.

Remarks

Now, where does our class stand? Where do the majority of our sticky notes fall on the spectrum? Let's consider our group position.

Discussion Goal

At this point, open the floor for general discussion. Students should state their case for the group position, referencing the articles and sharing from their own experiences.

Debate: Is our world better or worse because of digital representation?

Do This: Conclude the debate by grouping all sticky notes into a single location on the spectrum to represent the majority position of the class.

Wrap Up (5 mins)

Remarks

There are trade-offs in representing information digitally. Usually someone is benefitting while others are harmed.

Discussion Goal

Allow students time to think and share about the personal implications of digital representation.

Prompt: Why should we care about information being represented digitally? How does this impact you personally?

Assessment: Submit

Students turn in both the pieces of their project for assessment:

  • Annotated article
  • Position Projects
  • Check Your Understanding
  • 2
  • 3
  • (click tabs to see student view)
View on Code Studio

Student Instructions

View on Code Studio

Student Instructions

In 50 words or less, describe the concept of a number system.

Why are rules required for a number system to be useful?

Standards Alignment

View full course alignment

CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards (2017)

IC - Impacts of Computing
  • 2-IC-20 - Compare tradeoffs associated with computing technologies that affect people's everyday activities and career options.
  • 3A-IC-24 - Evaluate the ways computing impacts personal, ethical, social, economic, and cultural practices.
  • 3A-IC-28 - Explain the beneficial and harmful effects that intellectual property laws can have on innovation.