Current affairs
As you realise, the aim of this course is to be relevant to software
engineering in the Real World (tm): to help you to make a smooth transition
into being a professional software engineer, for example, if that's what
you choose to do. Since software engineering is changing rapidly, a
professional software engineer has to keep up to date with new
developments, and this is why, for example, I ask you to research your
essays yourselves rather than just using course material. Similarly, this
slot is intended to give us an opportunity to discuss current
affairs in software engineering. I hope it will also support the essay,
e.g. by giving you some ideas for topics.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it is to talk for 5 or so
minutes (in a 10 minute slot, allowing a few minutes for questions) about
one of the following articles, or if you prefer, about something other
aspect of current affairs with some relevance to the course.
If you'd like to do that in next Wednesday's slot, please email me some
time in the preceding week and let me know what you plan to talk about.
The task is pretty flexible:
- "some relevance to the course" can be interpreted as broadly as you
like provided you can explain what relevance you had in mind. For example,
you could use items about software engineering projects (going right or
wrong), about design, about the profession of software engineering, about
software engineering tools or techniques...
- you can do it singly or in groups
- you can prepare slides and/or handouts or not, as you like
- you can talk in some depth about a single topic, or you can touch on
several
- you can come and talk to me about your ideas beforehand, or not, as
you like.
- you can involve audience participation or not.
The aim is to be interesting and informative. The presentation is not
assessed, and there is no (compulsory) written work. You can give a
carefully prepared presentation, or something more impromptu, provided
you're confident you can be interesting and informative with less
preparation. (If you're reasonably confident about prepared presentations
it's actually quite a good idea to practice giving more hastily prepared
ones: it's often required, and employers frequently ask for short
presentations prepared on the spot in job selection events.) I'll be happy
to provide feedback on the presentation if you want it.
