© International Baccalaureate Organization 2004
A Presentation of the Issue
Some studies claim that laptops are linked with increased student motivation, improved class attendance, and a "sustained level of academic achievement" (Belanger, 2000). However, negative aspects can also be raised, for example, that laptops prevent students from concentrating on their school work, and degrade learning (Borja, 2000). Not all students can afford laptops to buy a laptop for school, so their introduction has also raised the issue of equality and financial discrimination (Corcoran, 2002).
Laptops at schools have also an extended social impact on global equity, by helping to bridge the digital divide in third world countries (Lent, 2003). The donation of laptops to underprivileged schools around the world not only aids underprivileged students during school hours, but also allows students to bring their mobile computers home to their parents, slowly and comfortably exposing the wider disadvantaged community to the prospects of technology.
B IT Background of the Issue
Laptop usage in U.S. schools increased by 43% in the 2001-2002 school year (Suryaraman, 2002). Last year, 15% of school districts in America were participating in a laptop initiative (Corcoran, 2002). Although desktop computers far outnumber laptops in the school environment, an increasing trend in laptop usage at school has become clear: “The direction we're moving is absolutely away from PC labs'' (Suryaraman, 2002). As more and more educational tasks require, or are enhanced by technology, it is predicted to be only a matter of time before a personal computer at school becomes essential as pen and paper (Suryaraman, 2002).
The laptop is small and light enough to be easily carried between classes, and home, by hand. The laptop has become possible with the development of thin LCD monitors, long life batteries, and low heat processors. Stronger built, cost effective models of laptops have been produced specifically for students, such as the I-book or the StudyPro (Belanger, 2002).
Now, with wireless network cards, laptops can share file storage between teachers and students, internet access, and printing facilities, making them as effective as a desktop computer, and more flexible.
C The Impact of the Issue
The use of laptops at school has been claimed to "improve the speed, quality and depth of their work" (Beck, 2002) and to be responsible for a “significant increase on standardized tests” (Learning with Laptops, 2000). Education studies report that these improvements are due to an improved attitude towards learning, as laptops encourage a fun, hands-on approach to education (Belanger, 2002).
Also, disabled or struggling students are benefited by the flexibility of owning and maintaining their own personal laptop. Students with particular areas of individual need can install their choice of programmes that will help them learn more in a school day. For example, a program called Co-Writer can help dyslexic student who are struggling with
spelling (Ansary, 2002). On the other hand, the added mobility and flexibility of laptops have allowed students to become more easily distracted from the focus of education (Borja, 2002). Misuse of technology at school, such as file swapping, pornography, and instant messaging have become more prevalent at schools with the introduction of student laptops.
Education has a great affect on a student’s future life, and job opportunities, so the affect of laptops on education quality is an issue of the upmost importance. Weighing up, the motivational benefits outweigh the prospect of added distractions, as such distractions are solvable by teachers enforcing policies at the school.
Lawrence Hardy claims laptops cause economic discrimination against students of lower socio-economical backgrounds, who would not be able to afford to buy their own laptop for school (Hardy, 1999). However, subsidised leasing programmes have made the financial burden to parents more affordable (Hardy, 1999). Resultantly students from all socioeconomic backgrounds will have similar opportunities to use technology both at school and home.
The issue of educational benefit is more important than the financial issue. While the negative issue of financial will lessen in the near future as government and public support grows, and technology costs decrease, the issue of education must be addressed immediately, before lifelong damage might be caused to a student’s education.
D Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue
The main problem regarding laptops is the ability for students to become distracted and become off task. One solution to the problem of distraction is to create a set of strict laptop usage policies that make clear what is and what is not appropriate at school. The policy should describe what third party programs are allowed to be installed or executed, explain the prohibition of games, outline acceptable use of instant messaging and internet usage, and make clear the situations when mp3s are allowed to be used. By setting up a detailed set of rules there is no excuse for the misuse of computers at school. This policy would be enforced by teachers patrolling computer usage for students who break this policy. If a rule is broken, the student will be given a detention, and be temporally prohibited from using their personal laptop during school hours. This solution is limited as it relies on a student’s honesty. It does not really solve the problem as students can hide their mischievous actions from teachers on the other side of their screens
Another solution is to give the teacher of a class the ability to view student laptop usage, through screenshots of what is present on the student’s screens. This could be made possible with a small mandatory utility that captures regular pictures from a student’s laptop, and passes this information through a wireless network connection to the teacher’s computer. The teacher could view a number of student’s screens at one time, presented on the teachers screen as small, continually updating thumbnail images. The teacher would be able to notice on his or her screen if a student was visiting an off topic internet sight, listening to mp3s, chatting to other classmates, or otherwise misusing their computer privileges. It involves less personal time and effort and can be used also during the normal teaching process. In such cases, the teacher could confront the student, and make sure they returned back to the task at hand. This solution is limited as it involves a breach of privacy. The purchase of software means it will be more expensive to implement than the policy.
Word Count: 979
E Selection and Use of Sources
Bibliography
Ansary, Tamim, 2002, "Computers in Schools: Are We There Yet?"
http://encarta.msn.com/column/computerschoolsmain.asp (06/14/03 16:19:49)
Beck, Robin, 2002, "Laptops Power Learning to New Dimension at Elementary School."
http://boothbayregister.maine.com/2002- ... ogram.html (06/14/03 17:41:16)
Belanger, Yvonne, 2000, "Laptop Computers in the K-12 Classroom." http://ericit.org/digests/EDO-IR-
2000-05.shtml (06/14/03 17:53:05)
Borja, Rhea, 2002, "Student Misuse of School Laptops Forces District to Tighten"
http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=20laptop.h21 (06/14/03 16:55:20)
Corcoran, Katherine, 2002, “Educators dream of laptops for all students”,
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/silico ... 994121.htm (06/14/03 16:56:30)
Dean, Katie, 2002, "Students Treat Laptops with TLC."
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,56295,00.html (05/22/03 21:45:41)
Hardy, Lawrence, 1999, "Electronic School: Lap of Luxury." http://www.electronicschool.
com/199903/0399sbot.html (06/14/03 17:34:38)
Lent, Colleen, 2003, “Reuse, recycle computers“,
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/exet ... /40729.htm
Learning with Laptops, 2002, “Third Year Laptop Program Reflections“,
http://www.learningwithlaptops.org/file ... 20Prog.pdf
Mathewson, James, 2002, "On Topic - Gadgets for today's digital classroom..",
http://www.computeruser.com/articles/21 ... 01,02.html (06/14/03 16:43:01)
Rocha, Daniel, 2000, “The Emperor's New Laptop", Education Week on the Web,
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=04rocha.h20 (06/14/03 16:36:28)
Suryaraman, Maya, 2002 “New S.J. school gives every student a laptop."
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/ ... 662002.htm (06/14/03 17:39:24)
NEWS ITEM - EXTRACT
The future of mobile computing in K-12 education is still uncertain. Laptops may never become as common in classrooms as hand-held calculators. Solutions for issues of cost, technical support needs, security, and equitable access are challenging for many schools. Many schools with laptops, however, remain positive and enthusiastic about the changes observed and benefits their students derive from access to portable computers. Although many laptop programs are young and studies are still in progress, research has shown educational benefits from the use of laptops, particularly with respect to increasing student motivation and creating more student-centered classrooms. Continuing improvements in student portable computing technology as well as models of successful programs may make laptops an increasingly attractive option for K-12 educators and technology planners.
Assessment Criteria
Criterion Level Examiner Comments
A Presentation of the Issue
4 (Maximum 4)
The issue in the news item is clearly identified and, with the aid of further research, the positive and negative social consequences are explained.
B The IT Background of the Issue
3 (Maximum 5)
The trends are well explained with cited evidence and the developments are clear. The concepts are, at best, described.
C The Impact of the Issue
5 (Maximum 5)
The impacts have been well researched. Both positive and negative impacts are explained and counter-arguments are presented. Arguments are substantiated by cited research.
There is evidence of analysis and evaluation.
D Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue
5 (Maximum 5)
Two feasible solutions are very thoroughly explained. In both cases their limitations are considered.
E Selection and Use of Sources
2 (Maximum 2)
The news item is attached. The piece has been extensively researched and arguments are well supported by cited sources throughout the text. There is a formal bibliography.
F Expression of Ideas Relevant to the Social Issue
4 (Maximum 4)
The student clearly expresses ideas with supporting arguments and extended relevant examples.
Total 23/25
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( 0 / 0 )Portfolio Example
© International Baccalaureate Organization 2004
A: Presentation of the Issue
In March 2003 an estimated 77,000,000 unique users used an instant messaging client, half of the total internet population (Hu; Festa, 2003). Another survey conducted in June 2002 showed that 66.8% and 54.5% of Internet users used instant messaging in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively (NetValue, 2002). The huge popularity of this communications medium has also influenced business. In May 2002 12,600,000 office workers, or 31% of online workers, used some from of instant messaging (Nielsen NetRatings, 2002).
Instant messaging offers many advantages to business: real-time communication, direct file sharing (Tyson, Date Unknown), streaming content (Tyson, Date Unknown), videoconferencing and networking of Internet devices (Hu, 2003). Collaboration of projects and exchange of data between companies will therefore be easier and more efficient (Hu, 2003), resulting in higher profitability. However, companies are also concerned over security and manageability issues. Many free IM clients today do not offer logging, and consequently companies are not able to monitor the actions of employees, allowing them to casually chat and causing loss of productivity or even leak company documents (Foo, 2003). The file-sharing feature of IM could also potentially create a tunnel through security measures, as viruses may enter through transferred files (Frase, 2001) to corrupt data or steal valuable information. Thus from this seemingly harmless tool, businesses may lose more money than they gain from the benefits of IM, which at the very worst could lead to a company collapse.
B: The IT Background of the Issue
The affordability of computers and the widespread use of the Internet have caused people to demand better networking and quicker communications. E-mail for many is too slow, as the other person may not be present to receive it instantly (Hu, 2003) and videoconferencing requires expensive equipment and a broadband connection. IM takes a compromise between the two and consequently has become extremely successful with users.
Corporate usage of IM is expected to grow to 687 million enterprises by 2004 (Guzzo, 2002) whilst a survey of a number of enterprises reported that they will all take up IM by 2007
Diagram 1 (Hu, 2003): A survey of IM users by Osterman Research
Most of the IM clients available today work in similar ways. A contact list [Diagram 2 i]] is always present, displaying the other users of the client you wish to communicate with (Tyson, Date Unknown). When one of those contacts is online and using the IM client notification appears, and double-clicking on their icon will open up a window [Diagram 2 ii]] in which instant messages may be viewed and sent (Tyson, Date Unknown). A bar will allow you to type a message [Diagram 2 iii]], and after sending your message will appear in the same window along with other messages typed by your contact(s).
In addition, a button on the client may allow you to share files with other users [Diagram 2 iv]]. This will open up a TCP port and upload the file to the other person’s hard-disk directly. If you have a microphone and/or a web-cam, some IM clients may also allow voice conversations and teleconferencing functions [Diagram 2 v]]. “Tabs” may also be included to display streaming content, such as stock quotes [Diagram 2 vi]].
Diagram 2: An example of an IM client - MSN Messenger 6
C: The Impact of the Issue
Instant messaging affords business many advantages. Because IM is free, companies can cheaply communicate in real-time with clients and/or business. File sharing without IM would be a lengthy process, usually done by uploading and then downloading e-mail attachments, which is obsolete compared with IM’s direct transfer features. Voice conversations and videoconferencing are not only supported in many IM clients, but can be performed without previous notice. In situations such as the worldwide SARS virus outbreak, face-to-face meetings are not possible, and thus companies hope that IM will be able to serve as a substitute (Konrad, 2003). Streaming content such as real-time stock quotes (Tyson, Date Unknown) can also be integrated into clients. All this would improve productivity and cause higher profitability for companies.
However, it may be argued that IM may cause employees to chat casually with contacts (Glasner, 2002b), wasting Internet bandwidth, and thus productivity both for themselves and for other employees will be lowered.
Security concerns also arise with file sharing, as it opens tunnels through firewalls. A file received by employees may carry undetected viruses (Frase, 2001), which then may destroy files or steal company information and transmit them to a hacker. If this happened, company secrets with financial value may be stolen and company servers would be down, severely reducing productivity.
Lack of logging functions on current IM clients affect manageability, and companies fear they are breaking the law in not recording conversations with customers (Glasner, 2002b). This inability to track the actions of employees may also provide an avenue for them to share out confidential company documents to other people (Foo, 2003), thus losing money for companies, and to send messages which include harassment and discrimination (Guzzo, 2002), thus creating a hostile workplace for employees.
Overall the concerns over security and manageability, as well as the lack of effective solutions to combat them, have been the biggest issue for businesses. IM is further hampered by the lack of interoperability of different clients (Olsen, 2002) and lack of support of languages other than English (Creed, 2001). IM manufacturers are looking into the ways to overcome these inherent problems but still more development is needed for IM to become a viable business option.
D: Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue
Whilst decreased productivity is of great concern, more companies believe that security breaches, such as viruses in received files, are a bigger problem (Glasner, 2002a). Hence one solution is to use anti-virus software (Frase, 2001). Anti-virus software uses virus templates to detect computer infections and runs in the background to scan files whenever they are accessed or created, so viruses should be detected and removed as soon as they are received. The best ones also scan within IM clients, furthering reducing the occurrence of viruses.
The advantages of anti-virus programs are that they detect and remove the majority of viruses; however, they may cause the inconvenience of updating templates regularly on all computers. Also, their effectiveness is reduced, as they cannot detect very new and polymorphic viruses because there is no corresponding template.
Another solution is to implement extra policies. The policies may require employees to undertake compulsory IM training, so that they can be taught scenarios that might compromise security. Other policies may also require that file sharing occur only between employees and trusted contacts, so the risks of receiving viruses are reduced.
Policies are free and easily changeable, however, even trusted contacts may obliviously send virus-laden files and policies affords no way in which viruses can be detected and/or removed, so it is ineffective in many cases.
Word Count: 1000
E: Selection and Use of Sources
Bibliography
Creed, Adam, P. 13/8/2001, “Instant Messaging On The Rise In Asia”,
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0NEW/ ... rint.jhtml (31/5/2003)
Frase, Dan, P. 3/12/2001, “The Instant Messaging Menace: Security Problems in the
Enterprise and Some Solutions”, http://www.sans.org/rr/paper.php?id=479, PDF format
(21/5/2003)
Foo, Fran, P. 6/5/2003, "Should IM be banned from the office?", http://zdnet.com.com/2102-
1107_2-999952.html?tag=printthis, ZDNet article (05/21/2003)
Glasner, Joanna (a), P. 17/9/2002, “Wired News: IM Bans Hush Workplace Chatter”
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,55090,00.html (05/26/2003)
Glasner, Joanna (b), P. 11/11/2002, “IM Users: Your Boss Is Watching”
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,56290,00.html, Wired News article (05/26/2003)
Guzzo, Maria, P. 21/6/2002, “Despite popularity, instant messaging poses problems”,
http://www.redsiren.com/pdf/articles/pg ... june21.pdf, Pittsburgh Business Times article, PDF format (21/5/2003)
Hu, Jim, P. 13/3/2003, “IM: From fad to big business and beyond”,
http://zdnet.com.com/2102-1104-992391.h ... =printthis, CNET News.com article
(05/21/2003)
Hu, Jim & Festa, Paul, P. 15/4/2003, “AOL aims to stop the IM erosion”
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-996837.html (05/21/2003)
Konrad, Rachel, 2003, “Videoconferencing steps up as SARS slashes travel”, The Australian, 6 May, p.C10
NetValue, P. 20/6/2002, “Nearly 19 million Koreans online during April”,
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f= ... p;rel=true, NUA article
(05/26/2003)
Nielsen NetRatings, P. 18/6/2002, “Nua Internet Surveys: IM applications still popular with Internet users”, http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f= ... p;rel=true,
NUA article (05/26/2003)
Olsen, Stefanie, P. 13/9/2002, “Business takes lead for IM harmony”,
http://zdnet.com.com/2102-1105-957787.html, CNET News.com article (05/21/03)
Tyson, Geff (Date Unknown), “How Instant Messaging Works”,
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/insta ... /printable, HowStuffWorks article (05/21/2003)
NEWS ITEM - EXTRACT
"A number of execs and upper management were using AOL Instant Messenger. They viewed it as a tool to communicate with peers, board members and to communicate with one another because email was too slow," said Doug Utley, who was on the information services team at the time and is now product manager for Sprint's Web services conferencing unit. "When that started happening, it became more acceptable."
To Sprint and many other companies, instant messaging has evolved from a teenage fad to a valuable communications tool that is central to everyday business. Companies are using IM not only to send real-time messages, but also to collaborate on projects, exchange data and create networks linking all types of Internet devices.
Assessment Criteria
Criterion Level Examiner Comments
A: Presentation of the Issue
4 (Maximum 4)
The issue is clearly presented and directly relates to the news item.
There is evidence of thorough research as shown by well-cited factual evidence. Both positive and negative impacts are clearly explained. A potential long-term problem is flagged.
B: The IT Background of the Issue
5 (Maximum 5)
The student addresses concepts, developments and trends. The developments are highlighted at the start and there is some analysis where the student analyses the reasons for widespread use of IM. Trends are supported by factual evidence and the addition of a graph. Concepts are well explained with the aid of a well-annotated screenshot showing features of the IM screen.
C: The Impact of the Issue
5 (Maximum 5)
Stakeholders, ie the company, the employee using IM and other employees are considered. There is a very comprehensive consideration of positives and negatives. Positive and negative impacts are explained, analysed and evaluated. The analysis is backed up with research. Security is highlighted as the main problem.
D: Solutions to Problems Arising from the Issue
5 (Maximum 5)
Two viable solutions are explained and evaluated. Limitations are considered.
E: Selection and Use of Sources
2 (Maximum 2)
The news item is attached. The piece has been thoroughly researched. Sources are consistently cited within the text and a formal bibliography is included.
F: Expression of Ideas Relevant to the Social Issue
4 (Maximum 4)
The ideas are expressed coherently. There are supporting arguments and extended relevant examples.
Total 25/25
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( 0 / 0 )Here is some good links on Robotic
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots/index.html
Introduction to robots and android humanoids
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... ction.html
News and development of robots and android humanoids
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... _news.html
Ethical issues concerning robots and android humanoids
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... hical.html
Robots and android humanoid gallery
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... llery.html
Robot hardware and kits
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... dware.html
Robot software
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... tware.html
Androids and humanoid robots
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... obots.html
Robots in space
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... space.html
Robot newsgroups and discussion
http://www.links999.net/robotics/robots ... roups.html
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( 0 / 0 )Robot usage has replaced some of human's work in this era. This will raise some ethical issues as follows:
1. As we are using robot to help and assist our work, or even replacing most of our work, some of people said that it has become something they called : "MACHINE SLAVERY". It is unethical to use them for daylong just to become human's slave, which do all the assignment and work that human told them.
2. The impact of the usage of robots for human society. Some company has use robots to replace their workers with some consideration. It is likely unethical to do this even because of the reason: Robots are more clever, sophisticated and obedient. And some low skilled labor will experience the side effects of having their jobs replaced by machines. They will get frustated for losing their job and they will think that they are no value worker as they has replaced by machine. This can give a really serious impact on societies when companies started to replace low skilled labor with machines. Imagine the big factory like SAMPOERNA, that normally employed thousand people to do the works, suddenly they replace all the workers with the machine. Many people will lose their job and raise another social problem.
3. How is a robot to be treated on a day to day basis? Is it ethical to turn your robot off? Or maybe it is more unethical to leave your robot turned on for too long. Some robots has an AI Program inside them, so they can think, act and give response as human being. Some of them even as if they have a "soul" and "feeling". Considering with this issue it has become a dilemma on how we can treat on robot. Should we turn off the robot, which probably unethical for them? Or we just keep the robot always on?
4. Is it ethical to treat robots as machine? As Machines do not cry, show signs of distress, injury, nor do they act to avoid them. Is it wrong to smash a robot with a hammer? The machines of today and the very near future stand at the blurry boundary of simple machinery and the neurological functionality equivalent to insects, reptiles, birds and even some simple mammals. They are intended to operate and interact with us in the real world much as these natural creatures, yet with a set purpose in mind. The question is how long can we push off dealing with moral and ethical issues that relate to creating life like organisms.
5. Robotic Pets for Entertainment. These already exist, the most advanced for sale on the market currently being Sony's AIBO ERS-7 robotic dog. This new AIBO version has facial recognition abilities. It takes 6 weeks to 'train' the machine to recognize the owner, and their likes and dislikes. It is possible to reward the robot through actions such as petting, and presumably punish it in similar ways.
But there is also a reset command. After spending weeks to train the robot, when we press this reset, it will back to its first state. Imagine this were a real animal. Is it ethical to reset its brain if such a thing were possible?
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( 0 / 0 )
Bagi anda pengguna facebook tentu tidak asing dengan game yang satu ini: Mafia Wars. Sejak bergabung beberapa bulan yang lalu, beberapa kali ada Loot Event yang dapat kita peroleh apabila kita melakukan job ataupun fight. Kalau tidak salah beberapa Loot Event itu adalah:
1. Loot Independence Day
2. Loot Rusian's Item
3. Loot Labor's Day
4. Loot Tiger Themes
Untuk 4-5 item yang pertama, apabila kita melakukan job ataupun fight, item akan sangat mudah didapatkan. Namun untuk item 6-8 sisanya kelihatan sangat sulit. Kemudian saya sempat bertanya-tanya, apakah loot ini benar2 diberikan secara acak/random? Logikanya, apabila acak, tentunya kita tidak akan merasa kesulitan dalam mencari keseluruhan item. Beberapa rekan menyarankan kita untuk fokus pada satu job yang dilakukan secara terus menerus. Memang ada yang berhasil, namun tidak menjamin semuanya berhasil. Saya menghabiskan 3000+ energi untuk melakukan job mugging pada level street thug dan saya tetap tidak berhasil mendapatkan item terakhir di Rusian's Item.
Jadi sebenarnya bagaimana Loot Event ini dirancang?
Akhirnya saya sampai pada suatu kesimpulan, ada semacam counter yang menghitung perolahan loot. Jadi counter tersebut akan menunjuk angka tertentu untuk perolehan item 6, 7 dan 8. Misalnya saja kita harus melakukan job atau fight sebanyak 2000 kali. Selama counter ini belum mencapai angka tersebut, item yang berikutnya tidak akan mungkin kita dapatkan. Namun kelihatannya ada semacam proteksi yang diberikan, apabila kita hanya fokus pada satu job saja, kemungkinan besar counter ini tidak berjalan dan saya sudah membuktikan sendiri hal ini.
Jadi kesimpulannya, bagaimana kita bisa mendapatkan semua loot event secara lengkap?
* Habiskan energi untuk job dan stamina untuk fight dalam setiap kesempatan.
* Berpindah2lah antar daerah untuk melakukan job ataupun fight
* Kerjakan energi yang paling sedikit agar menambah kesempatan anda untuk mendapatkan loot item
Jika kita konsisten melakukannya, maka seluruh Loot Event akan dapat kita peroleh
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( 0 / 0 )
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