1. Explore PT Day 1
April 3, 2018

2. Explore PT What do I need to do for this PT?
Choose a “computing innovation” to write about.
Explain the purpose/function of your innovation.
Explain a potential beneficial and harmful effect of your innovation and the impact of one on society or economy.
Explain the data your innovation uses and a privacy concern.
Create a “computational artifact” to explain your innovation.
How long do I have to work on this PT?
The submission deadline is April 30.
You have six classes to work on it and may spend as much time out of class as you wish.

3. Computational artifact
What is the computational artifact?
Your computational artifact must “identif[y] the computing innovation” and “provide…an illustration, representation, or explanation of the computing innovation’s intended purpose, function, or effect.”
Generally, this takes the form of a collage.
Part 2A of your written response must explain the “artifact” and how it provides this illustration.
Do NOT build something (out of, say, cardboard or Legos) and take a picture of it!
Do NOT focus strictly on a feature of your innovation—think more broadly.

4. Row 2
State a fact about the computing innovation’s intended purpose or function.
Be purely objective!!
Don’t make this sound like an advertisement. This isn’t English class, where you’re trying to grab the reader’s attention. Be bland.
Remember that a “computing innovation” is “an innovation that includes a computer or program code as an integral part of its functionality.”
If your chosen innovation is not a computing innovation, you will receive 0 points for rows 2-7!

5. Rows 3 and 4
Identify a potential beneficial and harmful effect of the innovation.
Be sure to explicitly identify the effects—e.g., “a potential harmful effect is…”
Make sure you justify your choice of effect and classification as beneficial or harmful (i.e., answer the “why”)—you are evaluated based on your justification.
DO NOT MENTION COST OR HACKING AS A HARMFUL EFFECT!!
Think about it this way: harmful effect = bad things happening as a consequence of the innovation being used as intended.
E.g., people lose the ability to read maps because they become so reliant on GPS.

6. Row 5
Explain how one of your effects (beneficial or harmful) relates to society, economy, or culture.
Only two out of the five posted samples earned the point for this row—no row had a lower percentage of samples earn its point.
Answer this question: why should the reader care about the beneficial or harmful effect (either one) you mentioned earlier?
What’s so bad about people becoming reliant on GPS and unable to read maps? Say your phone battery dies or you drive out of range of cell service—now you’re hopelessly lost.

7. Row 6
Identify the data your innovation uses and explain how that data is produced, consumed, or transformed.
What does your innovation “know,” and what does it do with this information?
Rule of thumb: Consider whether someone could reasonably ask you to be more specific about the data you describe. If the answer is yes, dig deeper or you won’t get the point.
GPS systems use data collected by satellites orbiting above Earth.
GPS systems use data on the user’s location collected by satellites orbiting above Earth to provide turn-by-turn navigation instructions and determine the user’s speed and direction of travel.
Be sure you are not confusing the data with its collection device—cameras, infrared sensors, etc., are not data.

8. Row 7 Identify a data storage or privacy concern.
Now is the time to mention hacking (but don’t just say “it can be hacked.”
Think about it this way: data storage concern = bad things happening as a consequence of the innovation or its data being used for something other than its intended purpose.
As with row 5, make sure you answer the question of “why should I care?”
Why is it bad that someone’s location can be tracked using GPS? This can facilitate robberies, drug deals, etc.
Why is it bad that cars with wi-fi hotspots can be hacked and controlled remotely? The hacker can cut the brakes and engine and intentionally crash the car, injuring or killing the driver and causing a major backup on the road.

9. Row 8 Cite at least three different sources.
You MUST include both in-text citations and a list of references at the end (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
You will NOT get the point if you do not include in-text citations or have fewer than three sources!
At least two sources must be dated May 1, 2017, or later.
You MUST also cite any images used in your computational artifact.

10. Response 2B
Describe the development process of your computational artifact.
This isn’t mentioned anywhere in the rubric, so why bother??
You may end up saying something in your response to 2B that will earn you credit for one of the rows.
According to College Board, this is required to help guard against plagiarism. If College Board determines you have plagiarized your work, you will receive a score of 0 for that PT. Best not to chance it.

11. explore PT How should I budget my time?
See the "Survival Guide" on PBworks for suggestions—the final decision is ultimately yours.
Make use of the annotated samples I have posted—those will likely be enormously beneficial.
Can we work together?
I can clarify directions and help you with technical problems and your selection of a topic.
Unlike the “Create” PT, you MUST complete this project individually. You cannot collaborate with anyone else.

12. Choosing a topic
I suggest starting with prompt 2D—make sure you can find an article that specifically describes the data the innovation uses.
Similarly, make sure you can identify a group the innovation impacts, both positively and negatively.
Try searching sites such as TechCrunch, Ars Technica, or the technology sections of NY Times or WaPo—these may give you some great ideas.