TWC451/551
Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Electronic Age
Technical Communication Program
Fall 2011 Syllabus

Barbara J. D'Angelo, Ph.D.
Technical Communication Program
Santa Catalina Hall, 251B
Phone: 480-382-0688
Email: bdangelo@asu.edu
IM: Use the link in the course site or go to: http://www.public.asu.edu/~bdangelo/

Course Description and Outcomes

Outcomes

Outcomes articulate the skills, abilities, and knowledge that students learn in the TC Program. If you are a TC major, you will present examples of your work from the courses you have taken in your capstone portfolio to demonstrate your learning. As you are taking courses, an understanding of the outcomes will help you in two ways: 1) it will help you understand how the various courses tie together and integrate so that your work work and experiences are part of a larger context and 2) it will help you to identify and select coursework for your portfolio that meets specific outcomes. In this course, the outcomes that are specifically addressed include:

Rhetorical Knowledge:

R1: Understand the role of a variety of technologies/media in accessing, retrieving, and communicating information

Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing

CRW1: Use information, writing, and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating

CRW2: Understand the relationships among language, knowledge, and power including social, cultural, historical, and economic issues related to information, writing, and technology

CRW3: Recognize, understand, and analyze the context within which language, information, and knowledge are produced, managed,
organized, and disseminated

CRW4: Integrate previously held beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge with new information and the ideas of others to accomplish a specific purpose within a context

KC1: Learn and apply appropriate standards, laws, policies, and accepted practices for the use of a variety of technologies

KC2: Apply appropriate means of documenting their work

KC3: Understand and apply legal and ethical uses of information and technology including copyright and intellectual property

To meet these outcomes, on completion of this course, students will be able to:

• define copyright and intellectual property rights
• identify and understand the various laws governing intellectual property in the United States and globally and analyze implications for the ownership and use of information
• understand and analyze the impact of technology on intellectual property laws
• understand and analyze the impact of intellectual property laws on the retrieval and use of information (print and electronic)
• understand and apply ethical standards for the use of information and technology within the realm of intellectual property and copyright
• understand the social, cultural, economic impact of intellectual property laws
• recognize, understand, and analyze the impact of intellectual property laws on the production, management, organization, and dissemination of information and knowledge

Required Readings

Readings will be posted in the Learning Studio course site.

Course Evaluation

+/- grades will not be used in this course

All assignments are to be completed on time; late assignments will not be accepted except for documented emergencies.

Graduate Students: Students registered for graduate credit (TWC551) will complete an additional assignment.

See Learning Studio for due dates.

Scale	Grade
95 - 105 pts	A
84 - 94 pts	B
74 - 83 pts	C
63 - 73 pts	D
0 - 62 pts	E

Graduate Students (TWC551):

Scale	Grade
149 - 165 pts	A
132 - 148 pts	B
116 - 131 pts	C
99 - 115 pts	D
0 - 114 pts	E

Course Requirements and Policies

Email

Students enrolled in TC courses are required to use an ASU email account for all course-related email communication.

See the ASU Email help page for information on how to set up your ASU account and policy information.

Academic Integrity

As a student in this course you are expected to complete your own work and to write your own assignments. The use of all sources should be properly cited and documented.

You are responsible for reading and understanding your rights, responsibilities and obligations under ASU's Student Academic Integrity Policy (http://provost.asu.edu/academicintegrity).

If you have any questions about how or when to cite sources in your assignments, please contact me or consult with a tutor in the ASU Student Success Center.

Students with Special Needs

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. One element of this legislation requires that all qualified students with documented disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation please contact the Disability Resource Center at ASU Polytechnic located in Student Affairs Quad # 4 or call 480-727-1039 / TTY: 480-727-1009.  Eligibility and documentation policies online: http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/ed/drc.

Last modified: 15 August 2011