Assignment Instructions

In order to get you thinking about the technologies we will be studying in this course and how they have evolved, your assignment is to write a short research paper discussing the key milestones in the evolution of one of the technologies from the list below.

In particular, your report should identify the four most important developments or "milestones" in the evolution of the technology and explain why these developments were critical.

NOTE: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. You can avoid plagiarism simply by identifying the sources of information from your research at the point in the text where you use it. For example: The first geosynchronous satellite was launched in 1964 (Smith, 1991).

In other words, any information in your report that is not your own must be attributed (i.e., you must identify the source where you found it).

There are many different styles for presenting your references. Most common within the discipline of communication, media studies, and social science disciplines broadly are APA and the Chicago Manual. You may use either style for your report.

If you are not confident that you understand the rules of attribution (i.e., how to use references or citations), you should review a tutorial on the subject. Purdue University's Online Writing Lab is a good place to start.

Your report should run about 750-900 words. Text must be Times New Roman, double spaced, and 12pt font. One inch margins are required. Choose a technology from this list:

Cable TV

communication satellites TV (video) display

data storage

cell phones

computers

the internet

web browsers

video games recorded music home video

social media distributed computing