COMP491/492 - Senior Seminar

Computer Science 491/492
Senior Seminar

Dickinson College
Academic Year 2007/08
Grant Braught

Student Led Discussions

Each student will lead a class discussion on a topic in computer science of their choice (some possible topics are listed below). The steps that you need to complete for this assignment include:

Choose a topic in computer science in which you are interested. Your topic must be suitable for discussion - it must have some moral or ethical implications, or otherwise allow for legitimate differences of opinion. Some possible topics include:
- file sharing and other intellectual property issues
- privacy / anonymity issues on the Internet
- free speech issues on the Internet
- hacking / cracking
- equity and access issues (gender, persons with disabilities, ...)
- open source software
The following topics are already on the discussion schedule, and so are not available for student-led discussions:
- ethical theories (Chapter 2 of Quinn)
- professional ethics for software engineers (Chapter 9 of Quinn)
- the case of the Killer Robot
Develop a reading list for your topic. All class members will be responsible for reading the materials that you assign. Your list must include at least one reading not contained in Quinn. This external reading can be a web page, a journal article that is available in the Dickinson library, or in general any reading that you can make available to the class. You must have sufficient readings to support a 2 hour class discussion.
Generate a list of at least 8 discussion questions based on your readings.
Construct a web page containing your reading list and discussion questions. Use the pages from the discussion classes from last semester as a template (e.g. Ethical Theories). You must send me this web page prior to the class meeting the week before your scheduled discussion date.
Schedule a time to meet with me (and actually meet with me) at some point during the week before their discussion date to discuss your plan for leading the discussion.
Your grade for this assignment will be based on the appropriateness of the readings, the quality of the topics proposed for discussion and the quality of the discussion during the class period. As such, your grade will depend in part on the preparation and participation of the other members of the class.