Group items tagged

Facebook may have found a way to break the Egyptian government's blockade of its website. The government there has been blocking several social media sites that demonstrators are using to organize and document protests. Today marks the third day of protests in Egypt calling for the ouster of long-time President Hosni Mubarak. Facebook is using lessons it learned in Tunisia, where the government allegedly hacked its Web site and tried to steal the passwords and personal information of protesters in that country. Jillian York of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society monitors the Arab world online and discusses efforts to get around governments' blockades of social media sites.

"...the recorded presentation from Web science: a new frontier discussion meeting."

Lays out useful issues for discussion.

"The Obama Administration has approved five times the number of covert drone strikes that his predecessor did. Thomson Reuters Digital Editor Chrystia Freeland sits down with Reuters' Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Rohde to discuss his special report detailing the quiet expansion of presidential power under Obama."

Read the comment  by Han Jun Zeng. Could lead to a good discussion of what robots can and can't do.

Interesting class discussion topic regarding the pros cons and applicable technology. Sensors, databases, keeping data up to date etc cost benefit analysis.

Good use of image recognition etc. to solve a simple problem. Good for discussions on how far we take automation.

This article should promote some lively discussion.

"This model simulates the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), via sexual transmission, through a small isolated human population." Quite interesting as a discussion of models and their accuracy, especially since this model only discusses one form of HIV transmission.

"Gregory F. Treverton discusses how organized crime is increasingly involved in the piracy of feature films, with syndicates active along the entire supply chain from manufacture to street sales of pirated movies. His detailed investigation looks into the connections between intellectual-property piracy, organized crime, and terrorism, including case studies of criminal and terrorist groups and recommendations for reducing the demand for and supply of pirated goods."

Good discussion of different types of card used throughout the world."Cards containing chips, called smart cards, simply cannot match something that's supposedly dumb and has been around since the 1970s: ordinary credit cards with magnetic stripes running across their backs. The dumb cards don't need a brain of their own: the network supplies the necessary smarts."

Assange will be tagged electronically! that's something to discuss as it does raise a lot of issues.

A Class blog, but the discussion has some good info and interesting links concerning the social aspects focusing on trust issues

Cartoon. Great discussion starter for discussions on authenticity

This is an interesting topic - as this has been broadcast on TV, it is not that graphic to be shown in a class of 16-18 year olds. The legality of this is discussed. Tracey Smith from the CBS Early Show explores the "steamier side of SL" SexGen Escorting and Virtual Sex are high...

Interesting discussion topic.

Excellent video that discusses the impact of Internet on democracy/censorship

Discusses the drawbacks of Gantt charts in project management.

Information Technology in a Global Society is the first textbook written specifically for the new IB ITGS syllabus, covering IT systems, social impacts and ethical issues, and each area of application. The text provides engaging content that blends clear examples of technical concepts with consideration of social issues. Discussion points for extended independent learning and complete, modern examples are included to enhance teaching and understanding. Over 200 student exercises and 300 diagrams and photographs are included to clearly explain content and ensure students get the best possible experience from the ITGS course. Support material and additional activities are available on the book's web site.

An interesting article on the myriad electronic systems in modern cars. Also covers leading edge developments such as systems which prevent 'lane drift' automatically. Interesting for a discussion on reliability and the wisdom of handing control over to a machine.