Lesson Report:
TITLE
Technology Futures: Benefits, Risks, and Course Expectations
In this session, students explored how emerging technologies can shape the near future—balancing promise (efficiency, access, health) with risk (addiction, displacement, security, manipulation). The class also clarified course requirements (attendance, essay, portfolio) and prepared artifacts from small-group discussions for shared review.
ATTENDANCE
– Students present: 12 (four breakout groups of three)
– Absent mentioned: 0
– Late arrival: 1 (Umrah, due to connectivity)
TOPICS COVERED (chronological)
1) Administrative: Essay deadline and instructor review plan
– Deadline set: Tuesday, 10:30 AM Kabul time (to allow same-day review in Bishkek).
– Submission expectation: On time; instructor will provide comments same day if possible.
2) Course completion requirements and grading clarifications (Q&A)
– Attendance policy (AUAF): Missing three class days (≈9 sessions) results in automatic course failure. Primary barrier to passing is non-attendance.
– Essay assessment: Pass/Fail (no numeric/letter grade). Fail conditions:
– Off-topic or instructions not followed
– Incoherent structure (unclear argument, disorganized paragraphs)
– Plagiarism (including uncredited AI-generated work)
– Citations: No formal APA required for this essay (students will use formal citation later in AUAF coursework).
– Portfolio: To be explained later this week. Students will compile selected best work already submitted to shared Google Drive into one organized digital document.
3) Breakout Activity 1: Compare/contrast technology’s future (small groups)
– Setup:
– 12 students split into 4 groups of 3 (breakout rooms).
– Two-question sequence; Question 1 posted immediately in Google Spaces; Question 2 to follow.
– Timing: ~2 minutes discussion per question, then groups formulate one consolidated response.
– Deliverable: One representative per group uploads notes to the shared Google Drive folder for Session 2 (folder initially misnamed; corrected by instructor).
– Question 1 (verbatim gist): What are a few ways technology can improve our future? What dangers does it pose?
– Upload instructions: At least one person per group posts their list to the Session 2 folder; label clearly.
4) Whole-class shareback and synthesis: Benefits vs. Risks of technology
– Group-reported benefits (examples emphasized during discussion)
– Healthcare and longevity: Device-assisted surgeries; diagnostic and treatment technologies extending lifespan and enabling procedures beyond human capability.
– Communication and access: Breaking geographic barriers; remote education and collaboration; current class as live example of tech-enabled continuity.
– Efficiency and productivity: AI and tools that accelerate routine tasks; time savings and cost reductions across sectors.
– Transportation: Rapid intercontinental travel; emerging self-driving systems (current pilot robotaxis in cities like San Francisco) likely to scale.
– Practical personal assistance: Responsible use of AI to clarify confusing instructions (e.g., coursework prompts, complex visa applications), acting like an on-call assistant when human help is delayed.
– Group-reported risks (with concrete illustrations)
– Addiction by design: Platforms optimize for attention retention; persuasive algorithms cultivate habitual use. Instructor described how content increasingly targets extreme emotions to boost comments and time-on-platform.
– Job displacement and labor market shifts: Automation/AI replacing human roles (baristas, translators, some teaching contexts); cost-efficiency pressures incentivize substitution. Concern that even higher education could be partially automated; debate on the enduring value of in-person learning communities.
– Academic integrity: Misuse of AI tools by students (copying or having AI write assignments) constitutes plagiarism.
– Erosion of cognition and sociality: Potential decrease in critical thinking, increased passivity and “laziness,â€� reduced face-to-face interaction.
– Cybersecurity and dependency risks: Hacking/identity theft; speculative but plausible threats to network-connected medical devices (e.g., pacemaker extortion scenarios) as dependency grows.
– Environmental and geopolitical hazards: Nuclear technologies and radioactive waste; industrial pollution from production-scale “firms.â€�
– Privacy and commodification of attention: Search queries and behavioral data informing targeted content/ads on social platforms; SEO and recommendation systems engineered to maximize dwell time and revenue; recipe-site “scroll bloatâ€� and uniform content patterns as artifacts of these incentives.
– Perspective debates and instructor commentary
– Tool neutrality vs. human agency: Technology as value-neutral instruments; outcomes depend on use and governance.
– Education futures: Some institutions may automate further; instructor anticipates many in-person universities will endure for the social/communal and developmental aspects of learning—while acknowledging present constraints (e.g., Afghan women’s access) and possible institutional closures.
– AI development uncertainty: Current AI systems are powerful but costly and imperfect; future improvements could stall (compute/power bottlenecks) or accelerate (new breakthroughs), with corresponding societal impact.
5) Logistics and file management
– Google Drive folder: Session 2 is the correct destination for group notes; link reshared upon request.
– One upload per group is sufficient; ensure key points are captured.
6) Transition to next segment (post-break lesson plan preview)
– After a brief break (19:12–19:22, Kabul time), plan includes:
– Quick review of the second (more analytical) question
– Two short popcorn readings
– Simulated dialogue activity (returning to this format)
– Peer review time
ACTIONABLE ITEMS
High priority (before the essay deadline)
– Students
– Submit essay by Tuesday, 10:30 AM Kabul time; ensure it is on-topic, coherent, and original (no plagiarism or uncredited AI authorship).
– One representative per group uploads breakout notes to the Session 2 Google Drive folder; use clear filenames.
– Instructor
– Confirm the second question prompt in Google Spaces and timebox the discussion.
– Distribute/confirm the two readings for popcorn reading (links/files accessible).
– Prepare simulated dialogue instructions and roles; clarify objectives and expected outputs.
– Set peer-review logistics (pairs/groups, rubric/checklist, submission mechanism).
– Reshare the correct Drive link and folder name to reduce mis-uploads.
This week
– Instructor
– Provide detailed portfolio guidelines (required artifacts, organization template, and due date).
– Offer brief written guidance on acceptable AI support (e.g., brainstorming, clarifying instructions) vs. prohibited uses (drafting or completing assignments) and how to acknowledge any permitted assistance.
– Invite the student concerned about passing to meet after class (or office hours) to review individual progress and needs.
– Students
– Track attendance; proactively communicate connectivity issues to avoid violating the 3-day/9-session policy.
Future/low priority
– Instructor
– Consider a mini-lesson on attention economics and recommender systems (SEO mechanics, engagement-driven design, privacy trade-offs) in a future technology unit.
– Compile class-generated “Benefits and Risks of Technologyâ€� lists into a single shared document for study/reference.
– Continue to present deadlines in Kabul time and remind students of time zone differences as needed.
Homework Instructions:
ASSIGNMENT #1: Essay Submission (Due Tuesday, 10:30 AM Kabul time)
You will finalize and submit the essay you have been working on so the instructor can review it and provide comments. This submission is evaluated Pass/Fail: to pass, your essay must be on-topic (matches the assigned prompt), clearly structured and understandable, and fully original (no plagiarism). Formal citation style (APA) is not required for this assignment.
Instructions:
1) Re-read the assigned essay prompt and your thesis.
– Confirm that your thesis directly answers the prompt you were given.
– Check each body paragraph’s topic sentence to make sure it clearly supports your thesis and stays on-topic.
2) Check against the Pass/Fail criteria mentioned in class.
– On-topic: Your essay addresses the assigned question; do not drift to unrelated issues.
– Coherent structure: Use an introduction with a clear thesis, logically ordered body paragraphs with transitions, and a conclusion that synthesizes your points.
– No plagiarism: All wording and organization must be your own.
3) Use sources and ideas appropriately.
– You do not need APA in-text citations or footnotes for this assignment.
– If you quote or closely paraphrase a course text, attribute it in the sentence (for example, “As [author/text] argues…â€�), and keep most of the writing in your own words.
4) Be mindful about AI and academic integrity.
– Do not let AI write any part of your essay. Using AI to draft or paraphrase and then submitting that text as your own constitutes plagiarism and will result in a fail.
– If you used AI only to clarify instructions, ensure all final wording, ideas, and structure are genuinely your own.
5) Revise for clarity and polish.
– Read your essay aloud to catch unclear sentences and repetition.
– Check paragraph flow and transitions.
– Run a spell-check and correct grammar and formatting issues.
6) Prepare your file for submission.
– Put your name at the top of the first page.
– Use a clear file name: LastName_Essay (for example, Ahmadi_Essay).
– Save as .docx or .pdf (use the format you’ve been using for this essay).
7) Submit by the stated deadline.
– Deadline: Tuesday at 10:30 AM (Kabul time).
– Submit via the usual method designated for this essay (e.g., the class’s designated folder). If you are unsure, follow the same submission channel you have been using for your essay drafts.
– If you are outside Kabul, convert the deadline to your local time and submit early to avoid connectivity issues.
8) After you submit.
– Be ready to participate in peer review and to use the instructor’s comments to strengthen your work in subsequent revisions or portfolio selections.