Unit 7: Problem/Solution
Estimated Completion Time: 20 hours
Unit 7 Problem/Solution: Objectives
Well, it's time to take all of the skills you've learned so far this semester and apply them to some issues that affect you personally. Everyone can think of something that needs to be changed. It can be something small that occurs within a personal or family dynamic; something that occurs within a local community; at the county or state level; it could even be something that affects the entire nation or the planet.
Your last big task is to select one of these problems and become an expert on it. This should be something that you feel a personal connection to or that affects you personally. Because you'll be spending so much time looking into this issue, you'll want to make certain that it's something relatively important to you.
Once you become an expert on your topic, it will be time for you to offer some potential solutions to this problem and how you'd like to see them implemented. You will understand any potential conflicts or conflicting points of view that may prevent your solutions from being successful and address how you will overcome those issues as well.
Just to be clear, this is something that can be as small as a better way to perform a task (like the inventor of the Dyson vacuum cleaner) or graffiti in your community to something really big, like the need for clean affordable energy or the decline in investigative journalism.
One more word of caution: Take your time. You're going to be working a lot with this topic so make sure it's something you really want to address.
To get you inspired to fix this issue I suggest you watch some of the available Ted Talk videos from ted.com. This organization brings together some of the world's most creative thinkers and performers to give short talks about the work they do in their field.
If you want an example of someone who saw a problem in his community and did something about it, I suggest you watch this video about The Boy Who Built a Windmill.
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Now take a look at his Daily Show interview: (Sorry if there's an advertisement) |
After having watched that I don't think that you can say there is nothing you can do about your problem. With the skills you have and the access to technology and information you are already many steps ahead of William Kamkwamba.
What do you think he would think of someone in a rich nation that wastes the opportunity to be educated or to try and fix some of the problems that all of us face? |
It's time to get started then. And when you get frustrated think of William. There is help available from your instructor and your classmates. Use the people and the Research Resources available, that's why they're here.
Step 2: Unit 7: Assignment: Research Paper
Step 3: Unit 7: Assignment: Podcast
Step 4: Unit 7: Assignment: Letter to the Editor
Step 5: Unit 7: Assignment: Be Represented
Move on to the FINAL EXAM/Course Survey! (It's not so bad.)
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