Purpose

Computers are affecting almost every facet of our society even though they are quite new; the first high-speed computers were built about fifty years ago and personal desktop computers have been around for less than twenty years. The main goal of this course is to discuss three general issues: what computers can and should do, what computers can but should not do, and what computers cannot do. In this way, we will strive to become educated participants in this important technological revolution - aware of both the benefits and dangers of the technology.

The course is intended to approach the technology in two distinct ways. First, through this course you will gain (or demonstrate prior) familiarity with the use of computers and computer application software for desktop publishing, a useful skill in today's working world. The segment of the course dealing with this skill is specifically designed to allow for the fact that various individuals may possess differing abilities in the use of computers upon arrival in this course. If you are already very proficient in the usage of computers you may work very independently to demonstrate those abilities. If you have never used a computer before fear not because you will receive lots of help in class and through assigned work to become proficient in the use of the computer.

While the ability to develop computer skills is a very practical outcome of this course, it is not the main focus of the course. We will devote most of our class time to the discussion of some historical, theoretical and practical issues from the domain of computer science. This aspect of the course is not intended to be an addendum to the skill development; rather, this is the main goal of the course.

Upon completion of this course, you should be aware of the many ways in which computers may be used to simplify and improve the quality of life. In addition, you will be more keenly aware of the dangers that the computer, if misused, represents to society. In this way you will have developed a degree of computer literacy which will enable you to make responsible, informed decisions in the future.

Text Computers in Society 02/03, 9th edition     Kathryn Schellenberg (Editor)     McGraw-Hill Companies, August 2001 Additional materials Zip disk - Macintosh format

Electronic texts

This course will make frequent use of various online resources. Among those resources are:

• ACLU v. Reno: The Legal Challenge to Internet Censorship, Electronic Privacy Information Center.
• As We May Think, Vannevar Bush, Atlantic Monthly, July 1945.
• The Hacker Crackdown, Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier, Bruce Sterling, 1994.
• History of the World Wide Web, Shahrooz Feizabadi.
• Kismet, Cynthia Breazeal, Humanoid Robotics Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Mindless Creatures Acting 'Mindfully', George Johnson, New York Times, March 23, 1999.
• The Right to Privacy, Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis, Harvard Law Review, December 15, 1890.
• Short History of the Internet, Bruce Sterling, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, February 1993.
• e-Handouts, e-mailed documents from current news media relating to issues in our course.

Course expectations and evaluation

1. Computer Proficiency - Desktop Publishing Software (DTP) - 35% total
   1. Basic Proficiency - 20%

      Each student will be required to exhibit proficiency in the use of PageMaker on the Macintosh computer. Several assignments of a tutorial nature will be assigned. Grades for Pagemaker tutorials will be derived from these homework assignments. Each of the assignments will be weighted equally in determining the final PageMaker tutorial grade. These projects will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis and will not be accepted after the due date.

   2. Publishing Project - 15%
      

      Each student will be required to propose a desktop publishing project of reasonable complexity as their final evidence of PageMaker proficiency. It is hoped that the student will propose a project which will be of special use for an outside course, volunteer organization or employer. All projects must be approved by the instructor in advance as announced in class.

2. Computer Literacy - 65% total
   
   
   1. Assigned reading and lecture - 30%

      Reading will be assigned as shown below in the course schedule. These readings will primarily focus on topics of historical or factual significance, computer science theory, or societal issues involving computer technology.

      The class meetings for this course will not normally be lecture-oriented. The course is specifically intended to be discussion-oriented. Voluntary class participation will be a factor in the determination of the course grade. Since class meetings will focus on specific aspects of the assigned reading or use the assigned reading as a springboard for further discussion, to be an active member of the class the assigned reading must be completed on time. To encourage continual effort in this regard, the reading will be evaluated through numerous quizzes and other assignments. The lowest quiz/assignment score will be dropped when computing the final average.

      Note carefully: quizzes and assignments represent a large portion of the final course grade. It is important that attendance be regular and that assignments be completed promptly or the final grade will be affected. Due to the small number of class sessions in this course and due to the fact that this class is intentionally designed to provoke discussion, regular attendance is required. It is recognized that unavoidable absence sometimes occurs. Consequently, all students may receive one absence without penalty. Grades for students who miss more than one class will be lowered by one-half letter grade for each missed class (including the first absence), regardless of the reasons.

   2. e-Journal Preparation - 10%

      Since this course meets weekly, it is helpful to interact reflectively during the week to prepare for the discussion in the next session of class. Consequently, each student will be required to maintain a journal. It is expected that students will make entries into the journal no less then three days per week. The average entry should be no less than one half page of printed text. Journal entries should include reflective responses to e-handouts provided by the professor, to assigned reading, and to any other revelant topic. Weekly journal entries will be emailed to the professor as text (not as attachments) no later than midnight each Saturday.

   3. Final Examination - 25%

      A final examination will be administered during the final exam period established by the Registrar's Office. The material covered on this exam will only involve computer literacy (as opposed to the actual use of the computer). This examination will be a closed-book, closed-note examination.

3. Miscellaneous

   PageMaker is available on the Macintosh computers in MacDonald Hall, Room 110.

   Make-up examinations given only if the absence is previously cleared with the instructor or in the event of an emergency. In the case of illness, an excuse from the health center is required. In the case of a personal emergency, a note from the Center for Student Development is required.

   Make-up quizzes are not administered under any circumstance.

   Amount of time required to complete the tutorials is a very individual matter. On occasion, an assignment that takes one student 30 minutes has required a tenfold greater amount of time for another student. It should be noted that computer time is plentiful; however, if one leaves the tutorial assignment until the night before an exam or deadline it is possible that one will find no available terminals, teaching assistants, etc. Since all assignments are given well in advance, this will not be considered a valid excuse for postponing the examination or due dates.

   NOTE: Students with documented disabilities must identify themselves in writing no later than the second Friday of classes in order for an accommodation to be made available.

In the outline, Articles are found in the course text, Computers in Society
Note: each assignment list must be completed prior to the class meeting.

 Meeting       Topic                                        Reading Assignment


  10/23        Introduction - Course Goals/Methods          Syllabus
               "Giant Brains"                               Articles 1 - 3, 43
               Knowledge Representation: Binary Encoding    As We May Think 





  10/30        Telecommunication                            Articles 34, 40
               PageMaker, Part 1                            History of the World Wide Web
                                                            Short History of the Internet                                 





  11/6         Virtual Property & Content Control           Articles 22 - 25
               "The Internet and the First Amendment"       ACLU v. Reno
               PageMaker, Part 2                           





  11/20        Hacking, Crime and the End of Reliability    Articles 29 - 31
               "Unauthorized Access"                        The Hacker Crackdown
                                                            handout: Chapter 5, Computer Ethics               





  11/27        Invasion of Privacy                          Articles 32, 33, 35, 36, 38
               PageMaker, Part 3                            The Right to Privacy  
               PageMaker Proposal Due         





  12/4         AI: Science Fact vs. Science Fiction         Articles 41, 42    
               "Bicentennial Man"                           Kismet
                                                            Mindless Creatures Acting 'Mindfully' 





  12/11        Work and the Workplace                       Articles 9, 10, 11 - 15









  12/17        Final Examination                            Articles: Directed reading
               Monday, 12/17/2001, 9am (note date & time!)