News articles are one of the foundations of ITGS: a great source of discussion material, a way of keeping up to date with the latest developments, and now a key part of the paper 2 exam. In theory, finding ITGS news articles should be easy – we now have access to so many different newspapers, websites, and social media feeds. However, finding articles that clearly present social and ethical issues, relate specifically to information technology, and are written in a clear and engaging way suitable for international students is not always easy. Here is a list of my favourite sites that meet these criteria.
Do you have a suggestion for another ITGS news site? Please do add a comment at the bottom of this post.
The Atlantic
www.theatlantic.com/technology
The Atlantic is one of my favourite sites for ITGS news articles. Its articles are longer than many other sites on this list, but also more detailed and often explain how IT systems work in a way that is perfect for strand 3 of the ITGS triangle. I have used a lot of articles from The Atlantic as the basis of paper 2 articles.
BBC
The BBC seems to be the go-to example in lists like this. Its articles are always well researched and clearly written, and short enough for reading in ITGS class. However, it is worth bearing in mind that a lot of its articles focus on new product releases or similar events which do not tend to generate the social and ethical issues necessary for ITGS analysis.
New Scientist
New Scientist contains a wide range of articles on the latest IT developments, from computer crime to humanoids. Their topic guides include 60 Seconds – a short round up of stories from the past week. Some articles require a subsription to view in full, but many are free.
Communications of the ACM
The ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) covers a wide range of topics that relate directly to ITGS. Although quite long, the articles are clearly written and give enough technical detail to help students understand how the IT systems involved work – great for understanding strand 3, criterion B on paper 2, and ITGS in general.
Science Daily
Through its (admittedly somewhat crowded) front page, Science Daily provides access to a wide range of information technology related topics, including hacking, encryption, the Internet, and computer modeling. The articles tends to be at a higher reading level than some of the other sites on this list, but should still be accessible to ITGS students.
MIT Technology Review
The Computing section of Technology Review contains the news articles most likely to be relevant to ITGS students and teachers, but it is also worth periodically checking others sections such as biomedicine too. Because the site focuses on upcoming technology and innovative research (often covering stories long before they appear on other sites), it is great for ethical discussions about the direction of technological development.
EdTech Magazine
EdTech features a great range of articles on the development and use of information technology in education. Their particular focus on social impacts makes them very useful for paper 2 practice news articles. In addition, the K-12 section of the site is great for classroom discussion material, and I have used quite a few as the source material for debates.
PBS Frontline
PBS covers many contemporary news stories, some of which link up with the ITGS syllabus. Recent examples include United States of Secrets, covering US Internet spying, and Generation Like, an investigation into teenagers and social media. The great thing about the PBS stories is their depth: each includes a series of videos and related articles that put the story into context – great for addressing the different strands of the ITGS triangle.
IEEE Spectrum
This is another site I love for articles about leading edge technology articles. IEEE Spectrum has a reputation as a top-quality peer-reviewed publication, yet its articles are generally written in a style that is accessible to most readers. The Robotics and Computing sections are frequently updated and contain a great range of material to stimulate ethical debates in ITGS class.
Wired
Wired covers a lot of product releases and similar stories (which are generally not useful for ITGS), but the articles in their security section have a much greater focus on social impacts, making them very useful.
Newsweek
Newsweek features the some useful articles in its technology and science section. Although the articles do not appear as frequently as other sites, the depth of the investigations means they often cover several strands of the ITGS triangle.
News.com Australia
News Corp’s Australia portal features breaking IT news and sometimes has stories not covered by other sites. The articles are long enough to provide sufficient detail, but short enough to be useful for ITGS paper 2 exams with minimal alteration.
The Australian
Another Australian site, which provides an interesting alternative perspective to the predominately US-focused sites. It can be very interesting to look at how major issues (such as government surveillance) are handled compared to the US. The Australian also features regular exclusive stories which investigate issues is more depth. Of course, there are many other sources for ITGS news articles too. Most major newspapers have technology sections, including the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the UK’s Guardian, and Telegraph newspapers, and often articles that raise social and ethical issues can be found there.
If you have a suggestion for another ITGS news site, please do add a comment below.
You can find roundups of ITGS news articles here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
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