Project 3 Outline

In this blog post I will outline my argument for project 3. I will discuss elements of the introduction, body, and conclusion of my argument.

Screenshot via my computer, 11/7/15

Introducing Your Public Argument: "Frame the Consequences"

I believe the best way to introduce my argument is to "frame the consequences". It's a lot more difficult to ignore an argument, when you know the issue being discussed could negatively impact you and those you care about. In my introduction, I'm going to discuss the dangers of not educating the next generation of students in the field of computer science. I believe this will grab the attention of my audience very effectively.

Developing Strong Supporting Paragraphs

• Major Supporting Arguments
• Computer science(CS) job demand is three times the number of CS students
• Computers are a part of every major corporation in the United States
• Lack of CS teachers limits the ability for schools to teach computer science
• Money
• Job Security/satisfaction
• Major Criticisms
• Not everyone needs to learn CS(manual workers, minimum wage positions, etc)
• Not practical/possible to provide resources for compulsory computer science programs in schools
• Enough CS programs as is
• Key Support and Rebuttal points
• "Computer science(CS) job demand is three times the number of CS students"
• Going to be very relevant for my argument, core of argument
• "Lack of CS teachers limits the ability for schools to teach computer science"
• Main point I'm basing my proposal on
• "Not practical/possible to provide resources for compulsory computer science programs in schools"
• With the current way we budget our funds, it is not. We need to change the way we appropriate funds in education
• Topic Sentences
• "With the demand for computer scientists so high, it's more important than ever to address our education system's overarching deficiency in computer science education."
• "The idea that implementing widespread computer science education is impractical is simply incorrect"
• Gather Evidence
• Explaining the first topic sentence
• Explaining the second topic sentence
• Develop a Map of Your Argument
• *Wrote a storyboard on paper*

Concluding Strategies - "Call to Action"

• The main point of my proposal argument is to call my readers to action. A few ways I envision my audience reacting (if all goes according to plan) is by contacting local government and education officials to see if computer science education can be more appropriately funded. If that's not currently possible, then hopefully each citizen will vote for legislation to give more schools money for computer science education programs

REFLECTION:

After reading Issak's post on considering visual elements, I was reminded of a few key elements of visuals in our projects. It's always important to sparingly use items like bolded headings and graphs. If each slide or paragraph has a a graph and bold heading, there is no emphasis coming from these visual elements. Also, something that is often forgot is the necessity of a professional color scheme. For my project, I need to make sure the colors are visually pleasing, yet formal and professional.

After reading Alex's post on considering visual elements, I realized just how many ways this project can be done, which is pretty cool! Alex's choice of using Prezi should add some good variety to the genre's our projects are done in. Alex's choice also makes me more comfortable using a genre like PowToon. I don't want to be the only one doing some kind of slide based presentation!