[Futurism News 02.17.14]

• CuteCircuit electrifies at New York Fashion Week (Ecoterre)
• Yes, even the common door can evolve (Inhabitat)
• Nike promises Marty McFly's power laces are on their way to you (Gizmodo)
• Scientists make major fusion power breakthrough (NPR)
• Music visualized through technology (Mother Jones)
• Google plans robotics lab for restored Hanger One (San Jose Mercury News)

[Week 05: Tu 18/Th 20]

Week 05: Tu 18/Th 20*
Readings: eR—‘The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm
Class: Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Watch—“Isaac Asimov” from Prophets of Science Fiction (2011)
Due: REFLECTION 2

*No class Tuesday 2.18

Upcoming:

Week 06: Tu 25/Th 27
Readings: eR—“You Suck at Infographics’ (Wired), “80 Best Infographics on the Web” (Creative Bloq), “What Makes a Great Infographic?” (DashBurst), “Infographics: Separating the Great from the Mediocre" (The Next Web), “A (Very) Brief History of Artificial Intelligence” (AITopics), “The 8 Evil Forms of AI that Gave Robots a Bad Name” (Popular Mechanics)
Class: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES; Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Watch—Excerpts from Her (2013), Lecture—“Twelve Essential Grammar Rules to Know”

[Reflection 02: Be Sure to Tune In—The Future of Television]

For most of the history of TV, if you wanted to catch an episode of your favorite show, you had no choice but to be home on the night and time it aired. Miss watching or recording the show and you had to wait until it reran or eventually found its way to VHS (or eventually DVD). Back then, the networks had a far greater say in when and how you, the viewer, watched your favorite shows. But the Internet revolution and technological advancements have changed all that. The power to watch what you want—however and whenever—is now in your hands. In fact, your Millennial generation has radically shifted the television paradigm. Not only do you refuse to watch television in the ways in which previous generations did, you also watch less of it. When you do watch TV, you're as likely to watch it on a device other than a television. What does all of this mean for the future of TV? Are exciting developments in television technology enough to lure you back into traditional viewing patterns?

Include at least two of the following in your discussion:

• "The Five Most Futuristic Television Screens" (GeekSuper)
• "Millennials Redefine Television" (Vocus)
• "What is the Future of Television?" (Inc.)
• "How Will We Watch TV in Five Years?" (USA Today)
• "Third of Millennials Watch Mostly Online Video or No Broadcast TV" (Poytner)
• "Six Trends Directing the Future of Television" (Wired)

Required:

• MLA Style
• Works cited 
• Two full pages in length

Due: Th 02.20

[Futurism News 02.10.14]

• Artist transforms cacti into stunning alien landscape (io9)
• Renault concept car can launch a drone from its roof (Wired)
• Bionic hand achieves sense of natural touch (New Scientist)
• In anticipation of the the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, floating hotels designed (MyModernMet)
• Drone deliveries coming to Dubai (Guardian)
• Robots take on opera (NewsHour)

[Week 04: Tu 11/Th 13]

Week 04: Tu 11/Th 13

Readings: eR—“Ancient Engines” by Michael Swanwick, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” by Mike Resnick, “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn, “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal

Class: Reading discussion; Presentation sign ups

Upcoming:

Week 05: Tu 18/Th 20

Readings: eR—‘The Cartographer Wasps and the Anarchist Bees” by E. Lily Yu, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” By Brian Aldiss, “The Best Christmas Ever” by James Patrick Kelly, “Forever Yours, Anna” by Kate Wilhelm

Class: SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES; Reading discussion; Multimedia presentations; Watch—“Isaac Asimov” from Prophets of Science Fiction (2011)

Due: REFLECTION 2

[Multimedia Presentations, Sec. 25]

As you know, this semester you and two classmates will be responsible for a 10-minute multimedia presentation and a class hand-out. Below is a list of randomly assigned groups. By midnight on Thursday, February 13th, one member from your group must email me (@ dhdelao@gmail.com) with your first and second topic preferences. All topics are first come, first serve.

Requirements:

• The work distribution is up to each group, though it should be somewhat equitable
• The presentation must be approximately 10 minutes in length—everyone must present at least part of the time
• There should be approximately 10 slides, including at least one video clip (no more than 2-3 minutes in length)
• You must provide a handout related to or outlining your presentation (23 copies) 
• On the day of your presentation, email both your presentation (or a link) and handout to me at dhdelao@gmail.com.

You may utilize any presentation program you like. 

The best presentations will:

• Have an introductory slide which contextualizes the topic—very important 
• Use words economically 
• Include visually interesting illustrations
• Avoid a heavy use of animation and effects 
• Have a style that complements the subject matter and strikes the appropriate tone
• Engage the class through a conversational style, utilizing questions and/or activities
• Embed a relevant video or audio clip (e.g. YouTube, SoundCloud)—ad blockers are also helpful in saving time*
• Conclude with a slide that summarizes the topic—also very important

Remember, this is an opportunity to be very creative, so feel free to have fun with the visual layout of your presentation.

*If you use PowerPoint 2007, here is a quick video explaining how to embed a YouTube clip into your presentation. Remember, embedding clips can save time during a presentation.

Lower scoring presentations might:

• Begin without an introductory slide and/or fail to offer any context upfront
• Be thinly researched
• Allow visuals to overrun their content, or lack a cohesive style
• Fail to engage the class in any meaningful way
• Lack multimedia
• End without a concluding slide

Remember, you are responsible for providing your own laptop.

Groups:

1. Week 06 - Andrew, Lacey, Ryan: Cybersex: The Fusion of Technology and Sex
2. Week 07 - Angel, Daniel, Kevin: In the Era of Designer Babies
3. Week 08 - Odaliz, Ivy, Chrystopher: Megacities of the Future
4. Week 09 - Kevin, Constantina, Nicholas: In the Other Direction: Living Off the Grid
5. Week 13 - Maris, Samantha, Yevgeny: Home Base: Living in the House of the Future
6. Week 11 - Lantz, Kenneth, Sandy: Obsolete: Five Professions that Will Soon Disappear
7. Week 14 - Theresa, Marisa, Ravinder: Welcome to Earth: When We Make Alien First Contact
8. Week 16 - Cathy, Paul, Alejandro: Drones in Everyday Life

Email me your group's first and second choices from the list below:

1. What is a robot?
2. UI: What it is and Why It’s Important
3. The Future of the Moviemaking and Moviegoing
4. Beyond China: Other Emerging World Powers
5. Cybersex: The Fusion of Technology and Sex
6. Obsolete: Five Professions that Will Soon Disappear
7. Welcome to Earth: When We Make Alien First Contact
8. Drones in Everyday Life
9. Inside the Holographic Revolution
10. Megacities of the Future
11. In the Era of Designer Babies
12. How 3D Printing Will Change Everything
13. The Cars of the Future
14. Teaching American Kids to Code
15. Feeding the Future: Forthcoming Food Revolutions
16. Improving on God: Transhumanism and the Quest to Build a Better Human Being
17. In the Other Direction: Living Off the Grid
18. Inside the Virtual Reality Revolution
19. Home Base: Living in the House of the Future
20. Rewired: Technology and the Human Brain

[Multimedia Presentations, Sec. 13]

As you know, this semester you and two classmates will be responsible for a 10-minute multimedia presentation and a class hand-out. Below is a list of randomly assigned groups. By midnight on Thursday, February 13th, one member from your group must email me (@ dhdelao@gmail.com) with your first and second topic preferences. All topics are first come, first serve.

Requirements:

• The work distribution is up to each group, though it should be somewhat equitable
• The presentation must be approximately 10 minutes in length—everyone must present at least part of the time
• There should be approximately 10 slides, including at least one video clip (no more than 2-3 minutes in length)
• You must provide a handout related to or outlining your presentation (23 copies) 
• On the day of your presentation, email both your presentation (or a link) and handout to me at dhdelao@gmail.com.

You may utilize any presentation program you like. 

The best presentations will:

• Have an introductory slide which contextualizes the topic—very important 
• Use words economically 
• Include visually interesting illustrations
• Avoid a heavy use of animation and effects 
• Have a style that complements the subject matter and strikes the appropriate tone
• Engage the class through a conversational style, utilizing questions and/or activities
• Embed a relevant video or audio clip (e.g. YouTube, SoundCloud)—ad blockers are also helpful in saving time*
• Conclude with a slide that summarizes the topic—also very important

Remember, this is an opportunity to be very creative, so feel free to have fun with the visual layout of your presentation.

*If you use PowerPoint 2007, here is a quick video explaining how to embed a YouTube clip into your presentation. Remember, embedding clips can save time during a presentation.

Lower scoring presentations might:

• Begin without an introductory slide and/or fail to offer any context upfront
• Be thinly researched
• Allow visuals to overrun their content, or lack a cohesive style
• Fail to engage the class in any meaningful way
• Lack multimedia
• End without a concluding slide

Remember, you are responsible for providing your own laptop.

Groups:

1. Week 06 - Melody, Yi, Marcus - Welcome to Earth: When We Make Alien 1st Contact
2. Week 07 - Dylan, Alejandro, Hark - Home Base: Living in the House of the Future
3. Week 08 - Shri, Noel, Kaley - The Future of the Moviemaking and Moviegoing
4. Week 09 - Jordan, Katey, Vanessa D. - The Cars of the Future
5. Week 11 - Rehuel, Jared, Rogelio - How 3D Printing Will Change Everything
6. Week 13 - Aleksandar, Hamir, Dalia - Feeding the Future: Forthcoming Food Revolutions
7. Week 14 - Robert, Fernando, Justine - Rewired: Technology and the Human Brain
8. Week 15 - Nessa, Jia - Obsolete: Five Professions that Will Soon Disappear
9. Week 16 - Roxana, Gabriel, Ryan - In the Era of Designer Babies

Email me your group's first and second choices from the list below:

1. What is a robot?
2. UI: What it is and Why It’s Important
3. The Future of the Moviemaking and Moviegoing
4. Beyond China: Other Emerging World Powers
5. Cybersex: The Fusion of Technology and Sex
6. Obsolete: Five Professions that Will Soon Disappear
7. Welcome to Earth: When We Make Alien First Contact
8. Drones in Everyday Life
9. Inside the Holographic Revolution
10. Megacities of the Future
11. In the Era of Designer Babies
12. How 3D Printing Will Change Everything
13. The Cars of the Future
14. Teaching American Kids to Code
15. Feeding the Future: Forthcoming Food Revolutions
16. Improving on God: Transhumanism and the Quest to Build a Better Human Being
17. In the Other Direction: Living Off the Grid
18. Inside the Virtual Reality Revolution
19. Home Base: Living in the House of the Future
20. Rewired: Technology and the Human Brain