IB Information Technology in a Global SocietyIntroduction to the courseITGS H3Mr Greenwood (JAG)

Introduction to the course

• IGCSE: many similarities and differences• Depth vs. breadth• Content• Assessment• Teaching

•University preparation• Criticality (links with

TOK)

The ITGS Triangle

STAKEHOLDERSThe people affected by the issues and the IT

systems

SOCIAL & ETHICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Positive & negative impacts, ethical questions raised

SOCIAL & ETHICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Positive & negative impacts, ethical questions raised

APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC SCENARIOS

The area of society affected (health,

government, education, etc)

IT SYSTEMSThe technology behind the social and ethical

issues, and how it works

Strand 1

SOCIAL & ETHICAL SIGNIFICANCE

“Issues of social and ethical significance can

arise whenever IT is used. These issues have social

impacts - positive or negative - on

stakeholders. Impacts affect stakeholders in a

variety of ways including economically, legally and

psychologically. [...] Often, a single IT system causes several social impacts and

raises several ethical questions.”

- Gray, p4

Strand 1

SOCIAL & ETHICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Examples of topics include:

Reliability and integrity

Securit

y

Privacy and anonymity

Intellectual

property

Auth

enticatio

n

The digital divide

Surveillance

Globalisation

Policies

Standards and

protocols

Human-computer

interaction

Digital citizenship

Strand 1

SOCIAL & ETHICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Case study: the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative

OLPC

Who are the stakeholders?• Individuals• Organisation

s• Society

What are the impacts?Positive

Negative

Wha

t can

you

add

?

Strand 2

APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC AREAS

“The most profound technologies are

those that disappear. They weave

themselves into the fabric of everyday life

until they are indistinguishable

from it.”- Mark Weiser

Strand 2

APPLICATION TO SPECIFIC AREAS

Areas

Business

Education

Environment

Health

Leisure

Politics

ITGS examines the impact of these technologies in six specific areas:

Strand 3

IT SYSTEMS

Although ITGS focuses on the social and ethical significance of IT, students need to study the underlying technology as well. This strand examines how these systems work in order to understand how they affect society.

All IT systems consist of:HardwareSoftwarePeopleData

… and most will communicate this data via networks

HOMEWORK

TASKS1. Review pp1-9 in the ITGS

textbook2. Complete exercise 1-1

on p10 & exercise 1-6 on p11

Due on Monday