Spring 2015 – IS2080: Lecture Assignment
What’s in IT for me? Essay (100 pts) In class, we will discuss at length the role of technology
in business and explore how it impacts the various aspects of an organization. I also want to
ensure that you understand just how it can impact you, personally. Thus, with this assignment,
you will explore the relevance of information technology for your chosen field of study (or a field
that you might be considering).
At the end of each chapter of your textbook is a short section called “What’s in I.T. for me?”
These sections demonstrate the relevance of key chapter topics for difference functional areas:
accounting, finance, marketing, etc. In this assignment, you will be creating your own “What’s in
IT for me?” and provide a bit more detail than these short sections in your book. I want you to
explore how information technology influences what you will do when you finish college. You
might research new hardware, software, or how IT enables business processes. You could look
at the impact various IT has on decision making, collaboration, or customer relationship
management within your field. Regardless of which angle you pursue, you’ll produce a 3-4 page
essay detailing what’s in I.T. for you. Your essay should include the following information:
• Describe your chosen field of study and the work you expect or would like to do within
that field.
• Introduce the technology angle that is of interest to you. It could be hardware, software,
systems, the impact of some new cutting edge technology, implications from the web
and social networking…pretty much anything that interests you, as long as you can tie it
to IT.
• Provide a detailed description of the IT. This may require a bit of research on your part.
Watch some videos, look for recent articles, maybe even look at some academic
research.
• Describe how this IT impacts your chosen field. How does it benefit? Are there any
disadvantages? What are people currently using? Would/does this IT change the way
business is done? Does it create new opportunities? Is there some huge problem this
addresses? You don’t have to answer all of these questions – they’re just to get you
thinking about the impact of a technology.
• Why is this interesting and/or important? Think about presenting this information to a
high school senior who is considering majoring in your field. You want to get them
excited about the opportunities IT affords.
• Sources! Don’t forget to cite your sources. References to articles, figures, numbers, or
specific software systems should be cited in the text this this: (Smith, 2012), with full
citations on a separate page of your document. Like this:
Smith, J. (2012, January 28). Technology is Awesome. Time Magazine, 171(4), 54-60.
It doesn’t matter which citation format you use, but a standard is the APA or MLA style.
Google this if you’re not familiar with citation formatting. Formatting should be consistent
across your citations.
Try to be creative and have fun with this assignment. I know that can be hard when you’re
writing, but it helps to find a topic that interests you. Do some research before you settle on a
topic. I encourage you to look through the end-of-chapter “What’s in IT for me?” sections for
Spring 2015 – IS2080: Lecture Assignment
ideas that you might pursue, but you aren’t limited to these topics. If you question whether a
topic you’ve chosen is appropriate, just ask. I also encourage you to start on this early. Though
it is not due until the end of the semester, you’re going to have a lot of work from other classes
at that time, so try to get this done before going into finals.
One last thing: Writing matters! While you won’t have points deducted for every single
grammatical error, your overall grade will reflect the care you have taken to ensure a
professional-sounding, accurate and well-written essay.
Format
• Double-spaced throughout. No blank lines between paragraphs.
• Font: Arial
• Font size: 11
• Margins: one inch margin all around
• Length: Minimum of 3 full pages, maximum of 4 pages. Points will be deducted for 2 ¾
pages or 5 ¼ pages.
• 1 page of citations/references (this is not included in the previous 3-4 page count).
Minimum of five references.
• Failure to follow these guidelines will result in a significantly lower grade.
• Don’t waste space in the paper with details about your name, the class, the semester,
etc. All this information should be put in the filename. As with:
o <LastName>_<FirstName>_IS2080S2015_ITEssay.docx
Submission Direction
Login to Blackboard and navigate to ASSIGNMENTS menu via the individual section link (not
meta). Choose the link for “Lecture Essay.” Attach your document, and be sure to click SUBMIT
(not “save”).
Due Date: March 10 @ noon. No late submissions will be accepted.