CS5 Panel Preparation Homework

A 1-page group essay due before the panel on Friday

Today in class, you will form into groups of 3 to 5. The purpose of these groups is to make it easy for you to meet outside of class as a group for about one hour before this Friday, 9/16/2005, at noon. In that hour, your group will do a bit of directed brainstorming in preparation for Friday's required recitation: The What is Computer Science Really? Panel.

Before you meet as a group, you should read:

The three-and-a-half page NY Times A Techie, Absolutely, and More article.
The two-page What is Computer Science Really? panel description.

During your meeting, your group should settle upon one or two questions from the panel description to discuss. As jumping points, your group's discussion might include:

Why did your group pick the questions they did, e.g. What makes them interesting / worthy of discussion?
What answers to the questions did your group consider?
Does your group have any expectations about how the panelists might answer the questions?
In what ways are the questions your group chose addressed (or not addressed) in the NY Times article?
How did your group feel about the way the NY Times article addressed these questions?

Your group should write a 1-page single-spaced essay describing what was discussed at this meeting. Be sure to identify the members in your group on this essay. Bring it with you to the panel on Friday; there, I will collect them.

Thanks---and have fun with this!