NEWS FLASH!! You've finally learned what the big surprise is: your school has recently received a windfall donation of $1 million which was given to it by a wealthy, anonymous donor. The money is being spent on a computer center which will be available to both students and parents alike. The center will be completed shortly and plans are being made for its operation. The school administrators plan to introduce the new center to the general public at a series of Open House events, to which everyone is invited. Many of those who will attend do not have computers of their own and have little knowledge about them. The Open House is designed to address this situation and YOU are needed!

 

HELP!! Your principal has given your team of experts the responsibility of preparing a segment of the presentation which will be given to attendees at the Open House events. Knowing your familiarity with using the computers to gather information, as well as making multimedia presentations with that data, the principal is relying on your team. Your presentation will be part of the introductory events to be held for the center and will be about 20 minutes in length, followed by a brief question/answer period. Your primary concern is to educate. Your aim is to inform the attendees of the importance of computers in the lives of all of us and what we might expect from them in the future.

 

1. Each member of your team will assume one of the roles described below. Press the button next to the role to investigate the duties of this role.

Cyber-Chronicler

Cyber-Graphic Artist

Cyber-Presentation/Specialist

Cyber-Futurist

Cyber-Spokesman

2. With your other team members, you will examine the resources below in order to gain the necessary knowledge and information to make your presentation.

3. Examine any other resources you find which are not listed below. Do not be limited only to those listed.

4. All team members will work cooperatively in order to make the presentation.

5. All team members are expected to contribute to all aspects of developing the presentation.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Your group presentation must consist of a variety of parts, using computer as well as other resources. A major portion of your presentation must be done using either ClarisWorks Slide Show or HyperStudio. Another major portion will be your created model of a computer of the future. Other portions of your presentation could consist of bulletin board displays, models, exhibits, posters, etc.

2. Select which role you are going to investigate. Make sure you fully understand the role and assignment you are going to assume.

3. Analyze how your specific role relates to the other members of your team.

4. As a group, make a list of the information/resources (include library,videos, etc.) you think will be useful to your group.

5. Investigate the 'Resources' given below for the role you have assumed. Be sure to note the names of the Internet/library resources next to those related items on your group list.

6. Add any additional Internet (or other) resources which you think may be of importance to you in your search for information.

ROLES:

• Cyber-Chronicler -- Your role is to gather information about the development of computers up to the present day AND information about the use of computers in our society today. Your information should answer/address the following:

  a) What previous events/inventions led to the development of the computers we have today? Who were the people involved?

  b) What technological advancement did each step exhibit over the previous step? (i.e. in what ways was the new technology better than the previous stage. Why?)

  c) At each step, you must contrast the 'old' with the 'new', relating WHY you think the progress was important.

  d) WHY are computers important today? In what fields are they being used and relied upon today? The focus should be on WHAT computers can do for us; how our lives are enriched/expanded; what we might expect from them in the future.

• Cyber-Graphic Artist -- Your role is to gather and prepare the graphic information which will be used in your presentation. Your expertise will be useful as you do the following:

  a) Graphics must relate to and be appropriate for what is being illustrated in the presentation.

  b) Copyright restrictions must be closely followed when using pre-created graphics.

  c) All graphical information must be clear and reflect a variety of colors and types.

  d) You must work very closely with the Historian and Presentation specialists to ensure a good correlation between information and illustration.

• Cyber-Presentation/Specialist -- Your role is to prepare the text which will be used in all aspects of your presentation (both multi-media and non-computer). Your expertise will address the following:

  a) You must work closely with the Historian/Graphic Artist personnel so that what they have prepared is incorporated into the slide presentation and will sequence smoothly.

  b) You are responsible for using text which is appealing in size, font and color.

  c) You will work especially closely with the Cyber-Futurist to incorporate those projections into your presentation.

• Cyber-Futurist -- Your role is to incorporate the ideas of ALL team members into a final design of what a computer of the future will do/look like. You may use any resources such as Legos, Tinker Toys, 3D items, photographs, etc. to model your idea. The group's consensus must address the following:

  a) What components/capabilities will the future computer possess?

  b) What new features will the future computer incorporate?

  c) Why are these features important to society?

  d) What is the most important feature a future computer should have? Why?

• Cyber-Spokesman -- Your role is to orally narrate the appropriate parts of the presentation as it is given. You must be able to integrate all elements of the overall presentation and to present the information clearly. You will be working closely with those in ALL other roles so that you can develop an accurate overview. Specifically:

  a) Together with our other team members, you will record what your group feels are the most important points you wish to emphasize in the presentation.

  b) With information input from other team members, you will write a 'script' which you will use in the Open House presentation. This script does not have to be memorized but cannot be read.

  c) You will make a list of questions you think your audience may have at Open House. You will poll other team members for what questions they think should be addressed.

  d) You will collect from other team members information needed to answer the above questions. This will enable you to answer various questions at Open House.

  e) You will collect any information you feel may still be needed for the oral presentation.

INTERNET SOURCES:

A Brief History of Computers	Voice Recognition
Names in Computer History	Technology & Medicine
History & Development of Computers	BioMedicine
Computer History Web Sites	Distance Learning
Genealogy on the Internet	Educating with the Net
Robots	Electronic Mall Shopping
Virtual Images of Land	Online Bookstore
Miletus in 3D	Yahoo (Web Browser)
Academic Research	Dogpile MetaBrowser
Homework Central	Clip Art Directory
Artificial Intelligence	Free Clip Art
Expert Systems

VIDEO SAND to SAND, Odyssey of the Information Age, American Computer Museum, 234 E. Babcock, Bozeman, MT 59715. www.compustory.com VIDEO THE JOURNEY INSIDE the COMPUTER; Intel Corporation 2200 Mission College Blvd. P.O. Box 58119, Santa Clara, CA 95052 Phone: 800-346-3029 ext 143.

BOOKS/OTHER:

1. MICRO-COMPUTERS, Concepts, Skills & Applications; Meredith Flynn & Steven L. Mandell, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN

2. EMG Corp. -- Many videos/scripts which can be ordered through your school librarian. (or you may contact them for a list of resources -- www.emg.com

3. COMPUTER RENAISSANCE -- (For those in the Las Vegas, NV, area or who have a franchise near you) -- A commercial business which deals in rebuilt/refurbished computers. Employs many local high school students interested in computers. They are glad to welcome interested students and answer their questions. Also a good source of free, outdated computer hardware which can be used for exhibit.

4. SCHOOL LIBRARY -- Be sure to check those resources in your school's library which your teacher has put on reserve for you. Also, check other holdings in the library which may be of value to your team role.

 

Your grade will be determined from the following:

• Answering all of the questions assigned to your team role.
• Addressing all the concerns assigned to your team role.
• Finding new resources not in the list of given Resources.
• Using a variety of methods (non-computer as well as computer-based methods)
• An oral and multi-media presentation to be presented in another classroom. The slide show portion will be evaluated by the criteria below:

  1. Slide show must have at least 10 slides.
  2. Slide show must have at least 1 scanned picture.
  3. Slide show must contain graphics on at least 5 slides.. There must be a title slide.
  4. Each slide must show creativity and imagination.
  5. There must be no spelling errors.
  6. Each slide must be readable and well-organized.

Teamwork within your group will be evaluated with the following rubric.

CRITERIA

INADEQUATE

ADEQUATE

ACCOMPLISHED

EXEMPLARY

SCORE

Research & Gather Information	Does not collect any information that relates to the topic.	Collects very little information --some relates to the topic.	Collects some basic information -- most of which relates to the topic.	Collects a great deal of information -- all of which relates to the topic.	(Weights assigned by teacher)
Share Information	Does not relay any information to teammates.	Relays very little information -- some relating to the topic.	Relays some basic information -- most relating to the topic.	Relays a great deal of information -- all relating to the topic.	"
Fulfill Team Role's Duties	Does not perform any duties of assigned team role.	Performs very little duties.	Performs nearly all duties.	Performs all duties of assigned team role.	"
Shares Tasks Equally	Always relies on others to do the work.	Rarely does the assigned work -- often needs reminding.	Usually does the assigned work -- rarely needs reminding.	Always does the assigned work without having to be reminded.	"

Upon completion of your task, you will be able to see how previous technological developments led to our present-day computer. More importantly, you will now be keenly aware of the many areas of our daily life in which computers play a vital role. What would your everyday life be like if there was no computer? Which capability would you be willing to give up as a result of NOT having computers. In the future, where do you think computers are going to have the most impact? These are questions you should be better equipped to answer at the end of your Quest.