To accompany feature “The Internet of Things wants to link all facets of our world”

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1.  Have you heard of the “Internet of Things”? What do you think it means?        

2.  Why might it be useful for objects in your home to gather information and communicate with each other or with the internet? Why might it be risky?           

During Reading:

1.  How is the 94Fifty different from a regular basketball?

2.  What does it mean to call an object “smart”? 

3.  Define the Internet of Things?

4.  What was the first everyday object to go online?

5.  Why would farmers want a “smart” cow?

6.  Jason Hong breaks computing history into three “waves.” Describe what happened (or is happening) in each of these waves.

7.  Name at least five types of electronic tools that might be inside a smart object to gather data.

8.  Name two different technologies that smart objects can use to share the information they gather.

9.   Why are some parents worried about a smart doll called Hello Barbie?

10.  How might a smart exam room help doctors treat patients?

After Reading:

1.  Why do you think people are worried about the security of smart objects? What risks might there be from household objects that gather information about their users and connect to the internet?

2.  What’s a possible way that the Internet of Things could help people? Imagine and then describe an example that wasn’t in the article.