D&T Midterm Requirements

Resubmission Update: You are welcome to resubmit your midterm for re-grading. Re-grading will take place as part of final evaluations during the week of May 13. Each new point awarded will add 0.4 points to the midterm project grade.

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Due as a blog post on March 11 (I’ll check your blogs on this date)
Presentations on March 11 and 13
Revisions will be accepted until March 16
Grades will be disseminated during spring break, March 18-22.
The sample grade sheet is here.

Blog Post

  • Your Midterm blog post should be labeled “Midterm Project: [Name of your project]” and include
    • Prototype Considerations.  
      1. Photo(s) and/or video(s) of at least 3 iterations: your initial sketch, first iteration, and 2nd (submitted) iteration. Label each iteration as a looks-like, feels-like, and/or works-like prototype.
      2. Brief summaries of class discussion questions:
        • Is it a physical object (e.g. hardware) or screen-based object (e.g. software?)
        • What kind of tech is it? (E.g. educational technology, work technology, home technology, etc.)
        • Who is the audience? What is their salient social identity or identities? (Please review the Salient Social Identity PDF to make sure that you’re choosing a social identity, not a personal identity.)
        • Does some version of your prototype already exist in the world? If so, how does your prototype aim to be different?
    • Context Considerations: Please write an 1100-word essay that addresses the following points. If it makes things easier for you, feel free to use these points as subject headings in your essay.
      1. What is the problem that your technology aims to address? (E.g. Sousaphones are expensive and heavy.)
      2. What is the larger social issue that underlies this problem? (E.g. Federal school funding for Sousaphones has been cut by 50% in the past ten years.)
      3. How are diversity, inclusion, and identity related to this issue? (E.g. the number of low-income and disabled students playing sousaphones has declined in the past ten years.)
      4. What made you choose this issue for your project? What in your life experience made it a compelling project?
      5. In class, you will test your idea with other students. How do their different perspectives influence your perception of these issues?
      6. How did you address these different perspectives in successive iterations of your prototype?
      7. If you were to continue working on your prototype, what would be the next steps in your work plan? What are the unsolved problems?
      8. Please also include an MLA-formatted bibliography (Works Cited List) that cites as least 3 sources, including 1 book from the class book list. Please be sure to evaluate your sources for accuracy, objectivity, and potential bias; this NYU Guide may be helpful. You are also welcome to cite other articles previously used in class, and sources from the “Supplemental and Possibly Recommended Books” in the class syllabus.
      9. Please also proofread your essay for grammar and spelling. If you need help on this, please visit the NYU Tandon Writing Center and/or ask a friend to help you. Grammarly and MentorMyWriting may also be very good resources.

Presentation

  • Be prepared to
    • Present your prototype on March 11. Present your context research on March 13.
    • Each person should be prepared to present for 4-5 minutes on March 11 and March 13. Slides are not required, but they can help.

Groups

  • Groups of 1-4 people are acceptable for the midterm.
  • Midterm prototypes can be built as a group.
  • Context papers must be researched and written individually.
  • Blog posts must be posted individually.
  • With this class’s focus on diversity, please consider the diversity of your group. (Friends getting together with similar friends, even at the school level, is one basis of homogeneity in tech companies.) Be prepared to discuss
    • The salient social identities of each group member
    • Why you consider your group to be diverse.
    • How your group’s diversity supports the goals of the project.
      • I won’t grade you on the diversity of your group, but I will ask the rest of the class for their feedback to this end.