IFS 2097, Emerging Technologies, was offered in Spring 2017 as an E-Series course in FSU’s Liberal Studies program, which looked to provide undergraduate students with opportunities to work together in small groups on hands-on, project-based activities. The purpose of IFS 2097 was to engage students with emerging technologies available in the School of Information’s Goldstein Library, and was advertised to prospective students with the following description:
Calling all students for this interactive, high energy, and hands-on Honors E-Series course highlighting emerging technologies! Our goal for the Spring 2017 semester will be to create a unique, student-driven project, centered on Landis Green, that showcases FSU’s talents in technological innovation! To accomplish this, we will spend the semester mastering a wide variety of technical skills blending digital and social media, creative arts and writing, mechanical engineering, and emerging information technologies! Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of technological innovation at FSU!!
This was the second time this course was offered (in 2016, students launched a 3D printed copy of the FSU torches into space on a weather balloon), and this year, we decided to have the students tackle a brand new challenge, never before done on campus — designing a flash mob to create the largest torch possible on FSU’s Landis Green. As with the previous year, the overarching goal of the class was to use the challenge to promote FSU as a center for technological innovation.
The structure of the semester (beginning with four weeks of exploration, followed by four weeks of design) was planned to ensure the students retained as much ownership as possible over the project — researching all the options available to them, and figuring out for themselves exactly what they wanted to design and how they would do it. This year’s theme — Torch the Green! — also provided an opportunity to connect the course to FSU’s ongoing capital campaign — Raise the Torch.