Teacher Facilitation Guide

Program Overview
The Information Age is a research-based curriculum that focuses on the impact of technology. Students view video interview segments featuring four leading business leaders involved in new technologies. These interviews serve as a springboard for students' own research. A list of online resources is provided to support student research.

Viewing/Facilitation Strategies

Introduce the Information Age topic and video segments. Ask students to share examples of their current knowledge about technology has changed businesses, products, and consumers' lives.
View the video segments as a class, in small groups, or individually.
Facilitate student selection of one of the research projects listed below which fits their interests and grade level.

Research Project Overview

Grades 7-9

Student Academic Standards

Students understand ways in which technology and society influence one another.
Students understand there are ways in which social and economic forces influence which technologies will be developed and used.
Students understand that alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits must be considered when deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones.
Students can site examples of advanced and emerging technologies.
Students understand that the rate of technological development and diffusion is increasing rapidly.
Students gather and use information for research purposes.

Projects and Investigations:

Cell Phone Debate
Craig O. McCaw and Jeong H. Kim have both made significant contributions to the world of telecommunications. McCaw says that the reason he wanted to be in the cellular communication business was because he "saw an enormous gap between what was and what should be." He didn't like the idea of people being stuck in their offices all day long waiting for a phone call. Jeong H. Kim talks about the "technological migration path" that is driving the telecommunications revolution towards the possibilities of fiber optics. Read both interviews. What are some of the ways that cellular phones have revolutionized the way we live? Investigate the positive and negative impacts of this relatively new device. Use the research links to find out about cities that have passed laws banning the use of cell phones while driving, as well as groups who claim that radiation from cell phones is a health hazard. Write an editorial to your local newspaper that either celebrates or criticizes cell phone use.

The Game of the Future
America Online founder James V. Kimsey says that in the future "you'll walk into a room and there will be a flat screen on the wall and you will say 'Turn on,' and it will recognize your voice and turn on." The Information Age has already revolutionized many things in our everyday lives, including games. Research the background of computer games. What was the first one and how have they evolved since? Create a timeline for the history of the computer game. Then, develop your own computer game product line. Imagine that the type of screen Kimsey describes actually exists when designing your new game. How would a voice-activated screen change the way we play computer games? Use spreadsheets and storyboards to create a multimedia presentation that includes the basic outline of your game with characters and rules.

Grades 9-12

Student Academic Standards

Students understand ways in which technology and society influence one another.
Students understand there are ways in which social and economic forces influence which technologies will be developed and used.
Students understand that alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits must be considered when deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones.
Students can site examples of advanced and emerging technologies.
Students understand that the rate of technological development and diffusion is increasing rapidly.
Students gather and use information for research purposes.

Projects and Investigations:

Online Communities
According to telecommunications pioneer Craig O. McCaw, "the Internet represents an almost "governmentless society" that "violates many of the philosophical principles by which people governed themselves in the first place." In what ways is the Internet like a new society? Can a society be borderless, classless and timeless? What defines society? What are other ways people define themselves other than their nationality and culture? Look at some of the dangers posed by the easy access of the Internet. Read McCaw's interview and pay close attention to his thoughts on the Internet's role in society. Then come up with a hypothesis on how the Internet may continue to change. Imagine what society will be like twenty years from now. Create an "Internet Society Map" that depicts a future world where people are identified according to their relationship to the larger "on-line" community. Include a graph depicting interest groups that could establish on-line communities.

Supplying The Demand
In his interview, James V. Kimsey, the founder of America Online, says that when he first started out, he didn't care what kind of business he was in because "the basic philosophy underlying every business was the same. It was about getting people to understand the wisdom of your vision," he says, "and about providing some kind of service or product to the clientele that they would appreciate and want to pay you for. I just had to figure out what those services and goods would be." Read Kimsey's interview in the Gallery of Business. What made America Online the kind of unique service that so many people wanted? Come up with a business plan for an information technology related service or good that you think your classmates would appreciate enough to pay you for. Create a multimedia presentation that outlines why your business would be a success, as well as a brochure for your new company.

The Turing Machine
The achievements of Craig O.McCaw, Jeong H. Kim and James V. Kimsey would have been impossible without the pioneering work of Alan Turing. Turing's "Colossus," the first electronic computer, took up the space of several rooms and ran on vacuum tubes. It also was the basis for much of today's computer science. Make a list of some of the advances in business that could not have occurred without the computer. Then, research the life of Alan Turing and write a historical profile. Be sure to include a description of the famous Turing Test and Turing's definition of artificial intelligence. Then, create a list of questions you would like to ask Turing if you could interview him for your school newspaper.

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