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Peer Dialogue Groups

Guidelines for peer dialogue and group projects:

Grappling with big ethical questions in the world of tech should not be done alone. That's why students in this course will be sorted into dialogue groups in which you'll share perspectives on the issues raised by the readings and uncover any blind spots in your thinking.

The expectation is that the peer dialogue groups will meet each week for 45 minutes to discuss the course materials and get deeper into the texts in a small group setting. These discussions will form the basis for your group projects due at the end of each half of the semester. 

Peer dialogue drive: here

Group members will have the following roles:

Community Builder will lead icebreakers and create trust and bonding.

Dialogue Facilitator(s) will bring strong questions and facilitate the conversation.

Scribe will record notes and observations from each meeting.

Organizer will schedule meetings and address time conflicts

Note, general advice for all group members can be found here. (Everyone should read this!)

The Pod:

On March 7th, podcasts will be due from each group to be submitted here. 

Pitch:

“What are you most concerned about as either a user or developer of technology?” Your goal is to produce an episode for a new podcast series at Notre Dame on topics in tech ethics. 

Within these projects I am looking for you to make an argument backed by reason and evidence, I am also looking for you to take a creative approach to the topics raised in this class, a chance to get deeper into a topic and build off of the conversations from class. Excellent podcasts will include anecdotes about origins of how you think about these topics and should follow a conversational format.

Pods should be a 40-60 minutes in length.

The best podcasts for this class are created from a conversation, where there is a shared topic. Each group member brings in their unique expertise or experience to this common theme. 

Pod 2:

Your goal is to produce a second episode for the podcast, what else are you concerned about in the realm of tech ethics? 

On April 23rd (tentative), podcasts will be due from each group to be submitted here. 

 

The podcasts will be graded in terms of the following:

  • Creativity in addressing the prompt, did you use a variety of sources?
  • Did you take a topic and introduce it at a level that a general audience could understand?
  • Style and creativity with production (formatting and polish). While significant editing is not necessary for a good podcast, were you prepared for the conversation/interview?
  • Did you teach me something new or have me consider an interesting perspective?
  • Did all the group members participate? (cite the contributions of each at the end or in the episode notes)

If you are not a podcast listener, here are some example podcasts. I’d say a podcast is similar to a radio show, but potentially with more of a conversational style. No need to have your podcast formatted like the following, but these are some examples if you need a place to start thinking.