Assignments

In the first weeks of class each student will choose three speakers to prepare questions and write reaction papers for. (If there is not an even disbursement of students to speakers, this will be done through a lottery system). These individuals will be expected to take on a more significant part of the discussion for the given speaker. Questions for the speaker should be prepared in advance of the class and reaction papers should be turned in the following class session.

• Initial Paper (3-5 pages): An initial paper, due the beginning of the second class, shall give you the opportunity to reflect upon your own experience in the field of IT and build your own mental map of IT issues. In turn, this will give us the chance to see how knowledge, skills, and interests are distributed in the class and maybe adapt the course accordingly.
• Prepared Questions: For each speaker that you choose you should prepare 3 thoughtful questions for the class meeting. These questions will be used to jump start the Q&A session of the presentation. Questions may come from the individuals work, written materials about the company, your own experience and the course overview, etc. Please email your question to the professor the day before the class.
• Reaction Papers (2-3 pages): These papers should be a synthesis of your thoughts and reactions to each of the three speakers that you chose to write about. You should incorporate relevant experiences from you past or other courses when appropriate. Good papers will discuss ideas that may be controversial or not fully developed. Papers SHOULD NOT simply recount or summarize the presentation, but should refer to points made in the presentation and discussion and go beyond those points. Each paper should be handed in (hard copy) at the beginning of class the week following the talk you are writing on. After grading a selection of the papers written for each week will be sent to the speaker and his/her feedback and comments invited.
• Final Paper (5-10 pages): A final paper, due one week after the last class, is your opportunity to synthesize the learnings of the seminar. In this context, you may choose to refer back to your initial paper and maybe advance your own mental map of IT. In addition, good papers will pick one or more of the major themes of the seminar and illustrate how two or more speakers illustrate and illuminate the theme, in terms of its importance to business success.
  
  Papers should be double-spaced and use 12 point font.