113 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
113 lines
7.7 KiB
Markdown
# CSIS 1 — Discussion Prompts (Summer 2026)
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All discussions follow the same structure and grading. See the **Discussion Rubric** at the end of this document.
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**Standard Instructions (included with every discussion):**
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> Post your response (150–250 words) by **Wednesday at 11:59 PM**. Then read at least 2 classmates' posts and leave a meaningful comment by **Friday at 11:59 PM** — ask a question, share a related experience, or respectfully disagree. "I agree!" by itself doesn't count.
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**Grading:** Complete/Incomplete based on effort and substance (see rubric below).
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**Instructor participation:** Peter will reply to 3–5 posts per discussion.
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---
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## Week 1: What Do You Already Know?
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**Theme:** Hardware/Software — Self-Assessment + Digital Literacy *(Metacognitive)*
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**Prompt:**
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Before we get into the material this week, let's figure out where you're starting from. Think about everything you do with technology on a normal day — texting, streaming, schoolwork, gaming, work, whatever. Now honestly ask yourself: how much do you actually understand about *how* it works? There's no wrong answer here. Some people can build a PC from parts; some people couldn't tell you the difference between RAM and a hard drive. Both are fine — the point is knowing where you stand so you can track your own progress.
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**In your post, answer these three things:**
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1. What's one thing about computers or technology you already feel confident about?
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2. What's one thing from this week's reading or lecture that was genuinely new to you?
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3. When you don't understand something technical, what do you usually do — Google it, ask someone, skip it, mess around until it works? Be honest.
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---
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## Week 2: How Did You Figure It Out?
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**Theme:** Documents/Spreadsheets — Process Reflection *(Metacognitive)*
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**Prompt:**
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This week you built a professional document and a budget spreadsheet. Some of that probably felt straightforward, and some of it probably made you want to throw your laptop. That's normal — formatting and formulas have a learning curve. What I'm interested in isn't whether you nailed it on the first try, but how you worked through the parts that tripped you up.
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**In your post, answer these three things:**
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1. What was the single hardest part of this week's assignment — the document, the spreadsheet, or something specific within one of them?
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2. Walk me through what you actually did when you got stuck. Did you re-read instructions? Watch a YouTube video? Try random things? Ask someone? There's no judgment here — I want to know your real process.
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3. Did your strategy work? Would you do something different next time?
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---
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## Week 3: Checking In With Yourself
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**Theme:** Presentations/Networks — Self-Monitoring *(Metacognitive)*
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**Prompt:**
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We're halfway through the course. Take a minute and look at your grades so far — your quiz scores, your assignment feedback, your discussion participation. Not to stress about them, but to actually *notice* patterns. Are there topics where you breezed through? Areas where you lost points and aren't sure why? This kind of self-check is something most students skip, but the ones who do it consistently tend to finish stronger.
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**In your post, answer these three things:**
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1. What topic or skill from the first three weeks do you feel most solid on? Why do you think that is — was it familiar, did you study more, did it just click?
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2. What's one area where your quiz scores or assignment feedback surprised you (either better or worse than expected)?
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3. What's one specific thing you'll do differently in the second half of the course? Be concrete — "study harder" doesn't count. Something like "I'll actually read the chapter before the quiz instead of skimming after" counts.
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---
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## Week 4: How Do You Know What's Real Online?
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**Theme:** Internet/Web — Applied Critical Thinking
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**Prompt:**
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You evaluate websites and online information every single day, whether you realize it or not. Every time you Google a health question, read a news article someone shared, or look up a product review, you're making a judgment call: *Can I trust this?* Most of us have some gut instinct about it, but we rarely stop to think about what that instinct is actually based on.
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**In your post, walk us through your real process:**
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1. Pick a specific example — a website, article, social media post, or search result you saw recently. What was it about?
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2. How did you decide whether to trust it? Be specific. Did you check who wrote it? Look at the URL? See if other sources said the same thing? Just go with your gut?
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3. After this week's material on web credibility, would you evaluate that same source differently now? What would you add to your process?
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---
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## Week 5: "Grandma, Don't Buy Those Gift Cards"
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**Theme:** Security/Scams — Scenario-Based
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**Prompt:**
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Here's the situation: Your grandmother calls you, upset. She says someone from "Microsoft Support" called her and told her that her computer has been hacked. They said she needs to buy $500 in gift cards from Target and read them the numbers over the phone to "secure her account." She hasn't done it yet, but she's about to drive to the store. She trusts these people because they "knew her name and her computer type."
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**In your post:**
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1. What do you actually say to her? Don't just say "it's a scam" — walk through how you'd explain it in a way that a non-technical person would understand and believe. Remember, she thinks these people are legit.
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2. What specific red flags in this scenario would you point out?
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3. What would you help her do *after* the call to protect herself going forward? Think about concrete steps, not just "be more careful."
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---
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## Week 6: Did the AI Get It Right?
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**Theme:** AI/Emerging Tech — Critical Evaluation *(Metacognitive)*
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**Prompt:**
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You just used an AI tool to research a topic and fact-checked what it told you. That experience is the prompt for this discussion. AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot are confident — they'll give you a polished answer whether they're right or completely making things up. The skill isn't using AI; it's knowing when to trust it and when to push back.
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**In your post:**
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1. What topic did you ask the AI about, and what did it get right vs. wrong? (Even one small error counts.)
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2. How did you figure out what was accurate and what wasn't? What sources did you check it against?
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3. Thinking about how you approached this: what would you do differently next time you use an AI tool? Did this assignment change how much you trust AI output?
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---
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## Discussion Rubric (All Weeks)
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This single rubric applies to every weekly discussion.
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| Level | Criteria |
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| **Complete** (full credit) | Substantive post of 150+ words that directly and thoughtfully addresses the prompt. Shows genuine thinking — not just restating the question or giving a surface-level answer. Plus 2 replies to classmates that engage with their ideas (ask a follow-up question, share a related experience, offer a different perspective, or respectfully push back). |
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| **Incomplete** (half credit) | Post is under 150 words, only loosely related to the prompt, or lacks substance (e.g., vague generalizations without specific examples). OR replies are superficial — "Great post!", "I agree!", or one-sentence responses that don't move the conversation forward. |
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| **Missing** (0) | No post submitted, or post is a single sentence / clearly off-topic. No meaningful participation. |
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**Notes for students:**
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- You don't need to be a great writer. Effort, honesty, and specifics matter more than polish.
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- Replies should feel like a real conversation. If you wouldn't say it to someone's face in a study group, rethink it.
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- Late posts (after Friday) may receive Incomplete at the instructor's discretion.
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