Comm 3220: DM4DM

Purpose

Knowing what is going on at the intersection between business and technology is important for your career. You will use information technologies at work, chat about them, and you may even be asked to offer an opinion as part of a decision making process.  You need to be able to feel comfortable in those conversations.  Being able to explain technology ideas clearly is also important. WINIT gives you an opportunity to keep up to date, as well as to practice your skill at presenting/explaining technical topics.

Task

Every time we meet, a volunteer selected during the previous class will guide a discussion about a recent newspaper article or short video.

Pick a recent video or article about information technology advances that you believe will be of interest to the class and therefore will spark a lively conversation.  The best content is about some recent and innovative use of data or data technologies, and is also interesting for the class.  For example:  fin-tech companies use of data, crypto currencies, use of data in AI, data monetization, business analytics/business intelligence, data quality, privacy, security, careers in data...Check with the Prof. if you are not sure. A quick Teams message will do.

To find a topic, consult the technology section of a major newspaper (e.g. WSJ, WP, FT) or publication (e.g. the Economist, the Verge) for inspiration. Do a little research on the topic. Prepare a 3-4 minute verbal presentation or show a 2-3 minute video.
You should be able to explain clearly to the class what you have read/shown, and why it is important.  The goal is to spark a 3-5 minute conversation in class.  Prepare one or two broad questions for your audience to start the conversation.

If you want to show a video, email the link to me before the beginning of the class, so that I can set it up.

Criteria

WINIT is OPTIONAL. It counts as two days of class participation. You will be evaluated based on

1) content: is it recent? interesting? does it deal with a data/IT issue? and

2) did it spark a good conversation in class? 

WINIT replacement

Although WINIT is optional, i realize that there are more students in class than class days. To provide a fair opportunity to everybody who wanted to present a WINIT but could not do so for logistical reasons,  you may optionally submit alternative work.

The alternative work is a .pdf document that contains the research that you would have presented as WINIT.   Feel free to include video links and pictures, as if you had been in class.   There is a minimum number of words (1,000-1,500), but  no fixed page length, so you can insert any material (tables, pics, etc) you like without worrying about space, font sizes etc.  Make it look polished and formal: Title, date, author, subsections headings, references... Add a conclusion that summarizes your opinion on the issue, as we do in WINIT in class.  Pledge it.

Deadline: the last day of class at midnight.