Teaching Impacts of Technology: Global Society from Coursera

In this course you’ll focus on how technology-enabled communication is changing geopolitics and, more broadly, how technology is connecting our world and changing lives. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.

This course is part of a larger Specialization through which you’ll learn impacts of computing concepts you need to know, organized into 5 distinct digital “worlds”, as well as learn pedagogical techniques and evaluate lesson plans and resources to utilize in your classroom. By the end, you’ll be prepared to teach pre-college learners to be both savvy and effective participants in their digital world.

In this particular digital world (global society), you’ll explore the following Impacts & Technology pairs --

Impacts (Freedom of Speech): Internet in third world countries, censorship, and social media

Technology and Computing Concepts: VPN, how Internet censorship works, metadata, tor

Impacts (Life Made Easy): Internet changing the way we live, travel, autonomous vehicles

Technology and Computing Concepts: Internet of things, how self-driving cars work

Impacts (Keeping Your Information Secure): two-factor authentication, PINs, Patterns, fingerprints, apple ID

Technology and Computing Concepts: DDoS attacks and Botnets, man-in-the-middle attacks, dangers of public Wifi, phishing, ransomware, bitcoin

In the pedagogy section for this course, in which best practices for teaching computing concepts are explored, you’ll learn about the principles of the computer science advanced placement exam, how it assesses students, and how to prepare your students for this critical exam.

In terms of CSTA K-12 computer science standards, we’ll primarily cover learning objectives within the “impacts of computing” concept, while also including some within the “networks and the Internet” concepts and the “data and analysis” concept. Practices we cover include “fostering and inclusive computing culture”, “recognizing and defining computational problems”, and “communicating about computing”.

What's inside

Syllabus

Course Orientation

Welcome! Are you interested in teaching about the impacts of the technology you use everyday? To learn more about the computation and computing concepts that underlie those technologies? We'll be using a problem-based approach to explore interesting ways to teach concepts of networks and the internet, data and analysis, and even algorithms and data representation. Finally, we'll evaluate, critique and improve a TedED activity around the ethical choices facing designers of self-driving cars.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Explores the impact of computing on global society, making it highly relevant to learners interested in a social sciences or humanities degree

Taught by instructors Beth Simon, who has a strong track record on teaching computing concepts in the K12 context

Focuses on teaching skills and knowledge related to impacts of computing and computer science aligned with the CSTA K-12 computer science standards, making it relevant in an academic context

Incorporates multi-modal learning materials, such as videos and readings, making it suitable for various learning styles

Explicitly states its relevance to the Computer Science Advanced Placement exam, making it useful for learners preparing for this critical exam

Reviews summary

Technology impacts for global society teaching

According to learners, this course serves as a great resource for K12 teachers seeking to integrate the societal impacts of technology into their curriculum. Students found the content highly relevant to current global issues like censorship and security, appreciating how tech concepts are explained accessibly, making it suitable for pre-college learners and educators. The impacts/tech pairing structure is a key feature. However, a common point raised is the surface-level technical depth provided, especially security. There is also a lack of practical, hands-on activities mentioned. Some noted potentially outdated examples and occasionally disjointed transitions between topics. Overall sentiment leans positive, valuing relevance and accessibility despite criticisms on depth and flow.

Covers important, timely topics.

"I found the course content highly relevant to current global issues."

"Exploring topics like internet censorship and the security challenges of public WiFi felt very timely."

"Overall, a good introductory course. The topics are important and explained clearly."

Great resource for K12 teachers.

"This course is a fantastic resource for K12 teachers looking to incorporate technology impacts into their curriculum."

"As a high school computer science teacher, this course was invaluable. The level of technical detail... is spot-on for pre-college learners."

"The pedagogy section... offered some useful strategies."

Flow between topics can be abrupt.

"...I sometimes found the connections tenuous or the transitions abrupt."

"For example, the 'Freedom of Speech' module bounces between VPNs, global connectivity, and cell battery life which felt a bit disjointed."

"Some transitions between topics could be smoother."

Course is theoretical, lacks practice.

"The course is very theoretical and lacks any hands-on components or practical examples..."

"...lacks any hands-on components or practical examples of *how* these technologies are implemented..."

"I wish there were exercises or case studies."

Explanations can be surface-level.

"I felt the technical explanations were quite surface-level."

"For instance, the security section mentions Bitcoin and phishing, but doesn't really explain how they work beyond a basic level."

"Better for beginners or a general audience than those seeking technical detail."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Teaching Impacts of Technology: Global Society with these activities:

Mentor a younger student who is interested in technology

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Share your knowledge and experience with a younger student who is interested in technology, and help them develop their skills and interests.

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Find a younger student who is interested in technology.
Offer to mentor them.
Meet with them regularly to share your knowledge and experience.
Help them develop their skills and interests in technology.

Watch the 'Crash Course' series on computer science

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Provide a comprehensive overview of the field of computer science, covering topics such as algorithms, data structures, and programming languages.

Browse courses on Computer Science

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Go to the 'Crash Course' website.
Find the 'Computer Science' series.
Watch the videos in the series.
Take notes on the key concepts.

Join a study group for the course

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Regularly meet with a group of classmates to review the course material, discuss the readings, and work on assignments together.

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Find a study group for the course.
Attend the study group meetings.
Participate in the discussions.

Five other activities

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Show all eight activities

Read the book 'The Fourth Revolution' by Luciano Floridi

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Provide insights into the impact of information and communication technologies on our lives, and how we can use them to create a more just and sustainable world.

View The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence on Amazon

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Read the book 'The Fourth Revolution' by Luciano Floridi.
Take notes on the key concepts in the book.
Write a summary of the book.

Attend the 'Introduction to AI' workshop

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Learn the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning, and how they are used to solve real-world problems.

Browse courses on Artificial Intelligence

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Find an 'Introduction to AI' workshop.
Register for the workshop.
Attend the workshop.
Take notes on the key concepts.

Solve coding problems on LeetCode

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Practice your coding skills by solving problems on LeetCode, an online platform that offers a variety of coding challenges.

Browse courses on Algorithms

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Sign up for a LeetCode account.
Choose a problem to solve.
Implement the solution in your preferred programming language.
Submit your solution.

Write a blog post about the ethical challenges of self-driving cars

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Discuss about the ethical challenges presented by self-driving cars, such as who is responsible in the event of an accident, how to program the car to make life-or-death decisions, and how to ensure that the car is used for good and not for evil.

Browse courses on Self-Driving Cars

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Research the ethical challenges of self-driving cars.
Brainstorm a list of possible ethical dilemmas that could arise.
Write a blog post that explores these dilemmas and offers your own insights.

Build a website about the history of the internet

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Learn about the origins and evolution of the internet, and how it has shaped our world. You will also learn and apply some basic web design principles.

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Research the history of the internet.
Choose a web hosting provider.
Design and develop your website.
Publish your website.

Career center

Learners who complete Teaching Impacts of Technology: Global Society will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Security Analyst

Security Analysts identify vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks, and develop and implement security measures to protect against attacks. A course on information security would be useful preparation for this role.

See salaries and explore the career path for Security Analyst

Network Security Engineer

Network Security Engineers are tasked with protecting an organization’s computer networks and systems from unauthorized access or attacks. A course that explores technologies that keep information secure would be useful preparation for this role.

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Data Scientist

Data Scientists are tasked with extracting insights from vast amounts of data by applying machine learning techniques, statistics, and other computational methods. A course on data analysis would be useful preparation for this role.

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Information Security Analyst

An Information Security Analyst must understand and implement security measures to protect an organization's computer networks and systems, including how to protect information transmitted across the internet.

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Ethical Hacker

Ethical Hackers are white-hat hackers who are hired to test and breach corporate security systems to identify vulnerabilities so that those vulnerabilities can be fixed before a malicious hacker breaches the system.

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Database Administrator

Database Administrators are tasked with installing, configuring, and maintaining databases. Courses on data analysis, data management, and database design may be useful preparation for this role.

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Computer Systems Analyst

Computer Systems Analysts study an organization's current computer systems and procedures, and design and implement improvements to those systems. Courses that introduce computer science concepts, such as data structures, algorithms, and software design, can be useful preparation.

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Information Technology Consultant

Information Technology Consultants help organizations improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their IT systems. Courses that introduce computer science concepts, such as data structures, algorithms, and software design, may be useful preparation.

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Computer Network Architect

Computer Network Architects design, implement, and maintain computer networks. A course that introduces networking concepts can be useful preparation for this role.

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Web Developer

Web Developers design and develop websites and web applications. Courses that introduce computer science concepts, such as data structures, algorithms, and software design can be useful preparation for this role.

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Cryptography Engineer

Cryptography Engineers design and develop cryptographic algorithms and protocols to protect information from unauthorized access. A course on cryptography may be useful preparation for this role.

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Privacy Engineer

Privacy Engineers design and implement systems and processes to protect user privacy. A course on data privacy may be useful preparation for this role.

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Cloud Architect

Cloud Architects design, build, and maintain cloud computing systems. This role requires knowledge of computer networking, operating systems, and virtualization technologies.

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Software Developer

Software Developers design, develop, test, deploy, maintain, and modify software applications. Courses that include the study of computer science concepts, such as data structures, algorithms, and software design, are useful preparation for this role.

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Intelligence Analyst

An Intelligence Analyst is primarily responsible for collecting, analyzing, and evaluating information relating to security in support of military operations or law enforcement activities. Courses that explore the implications of global communication technologies, and how to maintain information security, are useful preparation for this role.

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