Introduction

Students who would like the opportunity to share additional experiences with their classmates and improve their final grade may participate in one of the following extra credit activities.

If you are unclear about expectations, ask about them before you submit!

These options are subject to change, so refresh the page to see the latest information.

Attend a CS/IT-related event and discuss it. (15 points)

Pick one option:

  1. Attend class on the day we have a guest speaker(s).
  2. Attend an Information Technology-related presentation with an ethical or social component to it. This can be a conference, symposium, colloquium, or seminar that you attended in person or remotely.
  3. Listen to/watch the presentation via video after the event.

Events, Podcasts, Videos to choose from

Write, Post, and Reply

In paragraph 1, summarize the content of the presentation.

In paragraph 2, summarize what you learned from its content. What was new information? How did this new information relate to other topics covered in the course?

In Paragraph 3, analyze the ethical issues... what are the positive aspects of the technology and what are the negatives? Include research to support your claims.

Reply to a classmate's post with additional research related to their post. This is Paragraph 4. Bold key concepts and hyperlink article titles.

Local and regional in-person opportunities in Oregon may be posted in the Canvas Announcements. Check your own region's high-tech organizations' websites for other opportunities. Or add your city to the SmartNews app to see what is happening near you.

Scoring Criteria

By the due date specified in Canvas, these items must be included in the assignments to earn full points:

  1. Summary provides enough detail about the event's content.
  2. Summary provides enough detail about what was learned from the event.
  3. Analysis about the positive and negative ethical considerations of the technology provides enough detail.
  4. Reply to a classmate includes additional research.
  5. Sources are cited with hyperlinked titles.
  6. Key concept names are bold.

ACM's Project (15 points)

Take a look at ACM's Ethics Case Studies and Integrity Project pages. Propose and communicate about a topic for either one (as per the Ask an Ethicist page).

Start by writing up the research in roughly 800 to 1000 words or refer to one of your best Case examinations created earlier. Produce a 5-minute or less YouTube video (or audio recording) that uses your research as a guide. Post a link to the movie in the Extra Credit Discussion.

Send the writeup/video to the ACM for inclusion in their website.

Scoring Criteria

By the due date specified in Canvas, these items must be included in the assignments to earn full points:

  1. Recording provides enough detail about the topic.
  2. Recording provides enough detail about the ethical issue.
  3. Sources are mentioned either verbally or in the credits.
  4. Voice quality and/or lighting of the recording is adequate.

Tighten-up your digital footprint. (14 points)

Using either one of these two resources, pick 7 or more steps they provide to complete, document, and evaluate changes to your digital footprint:

In each of 7 paragraphs describe which steps you completed and justify them (why were they important to do so?). Evaluate each step and note what was easy and/or difficult about the process for each.

Write between 700 and 900 words in the first-person in a word processing document with normal formatting. Hyperlink titles of supporting articles. Paste the writing into the Extra Credit Discussion. Do not attach a file.

Scoring Criteria

By the due date specified in Canvas, these items must be included in the assignments to earn full points:

  1. First step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  2. Second step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  3. Third step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  4. Fourth step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  5. Fifth step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  6. Sixth step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.
  7. Seventh step is described, justified, evaluated, and cited in a paragraph.

AI self-driving car scenario study. (15 points)

Using MIT's Moral Machine (a platform for gathering human reactions to self-driving car decisions) to design your own scenarios for a study, invite 20 or more humans to participate in the data-gathering, and analyze the results.

Write a 700- to 900-word summary in the first-person style in a word processing document with normal formatting. Hyperlink your Moral Machine study and any other related research titles. Paste the writing into the Extra Credit Discussion. Do not attach a file.

In paragraph 1, summarize the process you used to create the scenarios. (3 points)

In paragraph 2, summarize how you recruited participants to ensure your study had up to 20 participants. (3 points)

In paragraph 3, analyze the data; what you learned from the results. (9 points)

Additional resources may help you with your study:

Scoring Criteria

By the due date specified in Canvas, these items must be included in the assignments to earn full points:

  1. Summary provides enough detail about the Moral Machine scenarios design process.
  2. Summary provides enough detail about recruiting participants.
  3. Analysis provides enough detail about the resulting data.
  4. Sources are cited with hyperlinked titles.