The Futures Presentations are due by 5 p.m. on November 29. 

The futures presentations should be prepared and posted using the Presentation feature in Google Documents.  This is similar to Microsoft Powerpoint, but it does not have features such as animation and narration.  If you prefer to work in Powerpoint, you can prepare your file in Powerpoint and upload it to Google Docs, but do not use any features that won't show up in a  pdf or Google Docs presentation such as animation or narration.

The topic should be "The Future of XXXXX in Cyberspace."    The XXXX can be the topic you wrote on for your last paper;  but you may change topics if you prefer.  Topics could include:  family life, medical diagnosis &/or treatment;  political life; terrorism; dating; journalism; preschool, primary, secondary or college education; entertainment, gaming;  crime;  social networking; marketing;  investing;  banking;  warfare.  Within these general topics, you could focus, e.g, the future of criminal justice education, stock markets, house keeping, educational games...

This is a creative thinking assignment, not a research assignment.  You are not expected to document your ideas with links to published work.  However, if you do draw on the ideas of others, you should provide a link to them.  If you use any quotations, they should be in quote marks.  But it is probably best to use your own words and ideas.

I will use the following criteria in grading:

1. Does the analysis clearly distinguish between possible, preventable, probable and preferable futures?
2. Are the alternative futures in each category distinct, rather than restatements of the same idea?
3. Do any of the alternatives take into account any of the ideas or materials covered in this course?
4. Are there some creative and interesting ideas?

These should draw on the research you did for the last paper, you don't have to go out and find new information on the web.  Your thinking will be fresher and more creative if you don't limit it to what others have said.

You may, however, find it useful to read some future speculations by others.  Here are some suggestions.  I may put some of these up as required readings for Week Twelve.  For now they are just suggestions.

Next 25 Years in Tech  PC Magazine, January 1, 2008 (Volume 27, No 1)  These are speculations by industry leaders and others, including John McCain.  A good way to read this is to click on "print" so they all appear in one file (21 pages long).  There are a lot of ideas here that could be incorporated into futures presentations.

There has been some interesting very recent discussion of the future of politics under an Obama administration.  Obama used the internet very extensively in his campaign, now he may use in governing. 
You are now Friends with Barack Obama.
Emergent Governance 
Obama blackberry  
Governing Via the Web:  A tad "pie-eyed'  

The Christian Science Monitor is going to Web-first publishing.  Is this a model for the future of newspapers, or does it just fit this unique publication?  what other options are there?
Monitor Switches to WEB first strategy. 

This is already happening, but there are many ways it could be extended in the future:
Use of social networks to trace advertising and word-of-mouth marketing. 

This is also already happening, but it suggests future possibilities for higher education:
Monitoring Cheating on Online Exams.  
Will Electronic Professors Dream of Virtual Tenure? 


The presentation should have seven slides, including the title slide.  Each slide, other than the title, should have three to five bullet points.  You can have additional slides with pictures or illustrations, but no more text.  Keep the bullet points short and clear. There should be no more than 50 words on each slide. Use the following outline.  

Title and Name

Introduction  [explain your topic]  -

• define the topic
  
• where it is now
  
• where it seems to be heading
  

Possible Futures  [the likely range of alternatives]  -  each of the possibilities should be plausible and different from the others 

• first possibility 
  
• a different possibility
  
• a possibility different from the first two
  

Preventable Futures  [what you hope doesn't happen]

• first unfortunate outcome
  
• a different unfortunate outcome
  
• a third unfortunate outcome
  

Preferable Futures  [what you would like to have happen]

• a first desirable outcome
  
• a different desirable outcome
  
• still one more desirable outcome
  

Probable Futures  [what you think is most likely to happen]

• the most likely outcome
  
• the second most likely outcome
  
• the third most likely outcome

What Can We Do Now?

• the most urgent or effective step to prevent the undesirable or bring about the desirable
• the second most urgent or effective step
• the third most urgent or effective step

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When your presentation is completed you should:

1.     Publish it to the WEB with Google Docs
2.     Share it with tedgoertzel@gmail.com using Google Docs
3.     Save it in pdf format (use file/download presentation as/pdf)
4.     Submit the pdf to the assignment dropbox on SAKAI for grading.
   

Notes on using Google Presentations:
    Begin by  clicking on New/Presentations
     It will give you a format for a title page
    When you click on slide/insert new slide  it will give you a choice of formats.  Choose the one called "text" in most cases.
    

For instructions for the class projects already completed, click here.