Image Text: When we admit a new technology to the culture, we must do wo with our eyes wide open

Using Computers and Technology in the Information Age
Spring 2002 Arizona State University
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Instructor: Laura L. Bush, Ph.D.
Phone: (480) 965-5620
E-mail: L.Bush@asu.edu
Office: Computing Commons 3N57
Office Hours: TTh 2-3 p.m. and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION

"For the first time in history, children are more comfortable, knowledgeable, and literate than their parents about an innovation central to society." —Donald Hanna, Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition, 2000, p. 35

    Increase Your Literacy
    This hands-on course is about increasing your written, verbal, visual and technology literacy. It's also about helping you hone your critical thinking skills as you participate in what often feels like the Brave New World that Aldous Huxley predicted in 1932, or the mysterious and beautiful outer space that Stanley Kubrick portrayed in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1972. Since the early 1990s—only a little more than a decade ago—the Internet and personal computers have connected computers and people around the globe, providing access to information, resources, and people like never before.

    This course will acquaint you with multiple strategies for using technology to participate in our "Brave New World" and accomplish tasks in your academic, civic, work, and personal life.  During the course, you will use computers and the internet to access information, take surveys or quizzes, keep track of your grade, and participate in online discussions.  You will also learn the software necessary to construct documents, web pages, and presentations that demonstrate principles of effective communication and design.

    Reflect Critically on Technology
    Besides inscreasing your computer literacy, this course intends to increase your ability to think, speak, write, and make meaningful decisions about the use of technology.  Throughout the semester, we will examine Neil Postman's claim that technology is both "friend" and "enemy," that "because of its lengthy, intimate, and inevitable relationship with culture, technology does not invite a close examination of its own consequences" (xii).  Since language and visual images are one of the primary means by which we share ideas with one another, we will flesh out and critically examine those ideas through

    • asynchronous online discussions (written communication)
    • in-class discussions (oral communication)
    • exchanges of draft documents and web pages for critique and feedback

    The publicly available web sites that you construct will grow out of our critical thinking, research, and discussions that focus on the following questions:

    • Who has access to computers and technology and how might that access be changing—or not?
    • How has technology changed ("progressed") from the 19th to the 20th to the 21st Century?
    • What stereotypes, prejudices, or fears may aid or hinder certain groups in the quest for access to the power, privilege, or improved quality of life that technology seems to offer?
    • How do texts, visual images, cultural traditions, art, or film reflect, maintain, re-enforce, or subvert the way our society views computers and technology?
    • How can we direct the use of computers and technology in the 21st Century for good rather than ill?
    • Why would some individuals or groups resist the use of computers and technology?
    • What are the benefits and drawbacks of using computers, technology, and the Internet as it is presently used in educational settings?
    • What might you predict about computers, technology, and the Internet for the near and distant future?

    Learn Technology by Watching, Doing, and Interacting
    In general, I believe students learn a technology best if they can watch me briefly demonstrate some of its features and then try it out for themselves.  From past experience, I also know that students learn just as much by watching other students use the technology as by watching me.  This means that I encourage you all to feel comfortable offering and receiving technology tips or assistance from your peers, especially when I'm occupied with another student or classroom task. 

    If you need my help or have a question, please use the "Question" cards I will provide to display beside your computer monitor. If you have questions outside of class, I will also be available by e-mail L.Bush@asu.edu. Although I check my e-mail daily, please allow me at least 24-48 hours to respond to a question. If you need an immediate answer, feel free to leave a message on my answering machine at 480.965.5620.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

    At the end of this course, you should be able to

    1. Reflect critically on the use, development, and impact of "old" and "new" technologies;

    2. Demonstrate written, visual, and computer literacies by constructing a well-designed course web folio.  You will design this modest-sized web site using an HTML editor of your choice.  Netscape Composer is available free on all computers with Netscape browsers.  Dreamweaver is also available free on IT computers across campus.  You may also be interested in Adobe GoLive (which I use most often), BBEdit, or HotDog Pro.  See p. 266 of Williams' and Tollett'sWeb Book for more information about your choices.

    3. Search and identify useful, credible, and reliable sources of information available on the Internet;

    4. Work effectively with other class members to solve problems and complete team assignments.

IN-CLASS SCHEDULE

    Each class will run something like this:

    Time
    		 Activity or Assignment
    1st hour
    		 Take a reading quiz; participate in whole class instruction using a particular software; engage in a mini lecture / oral discussion / Q. & A. on a course concept.
    2nd hour
    		 Take a 7-10 minute break; share your work goal for the hour; complete a task toward accomplishing an assignment; provide or receive peer feedback; request one-to-one instruction with Dr. Laura.
    3rd hour
    		 View film, TV clips and commercials, or streaming media as a springboard for asyncronous online discussions outside class; fill out a viewing guide as your ticket out of class.

WRITTEN TEXTS (to purchase)

    Huxley, Aldous.  Brave New World & Brave New World Revisited.  New York: HarperPerennial, 1965.  Originally 1932.

    Postman, Neil.  Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.  New York: Vintage, 1992.

    Williams, Robin and John Tollett. The Non-Designer's Web Book.  2nd ed.  Berkley, Peachpit P, 2000.

VISUAL/AUDIO/MULTIMEDIA TEXTS (made available in class or to rent)

    Kubrick, Stanley.  2001: A Space Odyssey

    Recent PBS programs: Air Force One, The Natural History of the Chicken, Holocaust On Trial

    Clips from PBS programing, television commercials, and streaming media online

    Suggested contemporary films for Movie Review Project: Cats & Dogs, Space Cowboys, Galaxy Quest, The Matrix,Star Trekseries.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS (subject to modification with notice)

I.  Web Folio - Online portfolio demonstrating your learning (200 Total Points)

A.  Main Page

Establish a common look and feel for all course pages
Determine how users will navigate your site

B.  Definition Page(s)

Define 6-8 key terms used throughout the semester - e.g. "technology," "new economy," "information age," "access," etc.

C.  Project Pages

1. Movie Review "Siskel and Ebert" style - individual review coordinated with a partner who will analyze and review the same movie

2. Brave New World Research on a technology-related issue - team project with individualized components

II.  Other Assignments (350 Total Points)

A.  Reading Quizzes -12, worth 10 pts. each = 120 pts. total

B.  Online Discussions - 12, worth 10 pts. each = 120 pts. total

C.  In-class Presentations - 1, worth 20 pts. + 1, worth 40 pts. = 60 pts. total

D.  Self-Assessments - 5, worth 10 pts. each = 50 pts. total

EVALUATION

Self-Assessment
Students learn best when they "take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them" (How People Learn, National Academy Press, 2000, p. 18).  In addition, research shows that experts reflect critically on their own thinking and learning process. Their "internal dialogue" helps experts consider what they presently understand, what they need to know, what mistakes they have made or avoided, and how they are applying their new understanding to new problems.  To aid you in your own learning process, I will ask you to assess how well you are meeting the learning objectives for the course and becoming more "expert" in computers and the use of technology.

I will ask you to submit self-assessments as you complete drafts of each of the three main projects.  I will also ask you to assess your progress at midterm and to assess your overall work for the course when you complete your Web Folio.  With each self-assessment, I will expect you to describe what you understood before you began and then track your learning progress.  A key component of the self-assessments will be the evidence (specific examples) you provide to illustrate the nature and quality of your learning competencies.

Instructor Assessment
In addition to your self-assessments, I will assess your work according to the learning objectives described in the syllabus and according to the critieria we will lay out together in class.  My assessment of your work will especially apply to the "Other Assignments" (quizzes, online discussions, presentations, self-assessments) that I will ask you to complete in addition to the Web Folio, which should be the ultimate demonstration of your learning in the course.

TIME MANAGEMENT AND CLASSROOM POLICIES

Short, Concentrated Efforts
All time is valuable, but the time we spend together in class is relatively short, and therefore, especially valuable. I work hard to make each class period worth your time, so I challenge you to make the most of that class time. For a 3 credit hour course, you should also plan to spend at least 6-9 hours studying outside of class each week. Hint: people can actually accomplish a lot in 20 to 30 minute time frames. Consider how you might maximize your time reading or completing assignments through short concentrated efforts, either inside or outside of class. In other words, shun procrastination. Don't wait for that two hours that may never come. Instead, take advantage of 30 or 45 minute time frames to study a few pages of text, learn one new computer trick, or brainstorm about one aspect of an assignment.

Attendance and Computer Use
Please plan to arrive on time and engage in class activities. I will be taking attendance using brief reading quizzes at the beginning of class and "tickets out" at the end of class. I consider it discourteous to me and other students if you arrive 10 - 15 minutes late or leave 10 - 15 minutes early, especially on a consistent basis. I also expect that you will use the computers in class for course work, although you're welcome to arrive early or leave late and use them for personal tasks.

Absences
Because this class meets only once a week, you will be allowed only ONE excused absence. If you are absent more than once, I will lower your grade 1/2 to 1 letter grade, depending on whether your absence is excused (a real, documented emergency) or not excused. If you are absent more than twice, you will receive an "E" for the course.

Plagiarism
Some of the work you produce for this course will be collaborative. I also invite you to consult with other individuals outside of class and to take advantage of any resources for learning available to you on campus such as the Writing Lab or the Customer Assistance Center, which offers self-paced training in computer software. Getting assistance with your work is legitimate; however, presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own is plagiarism. Give proper credit when needed. You can find information about academic integrity, appeals and procedures at the following web site: http://www.asu.edu/vpsa/studentlife/

Disability Resources for Students
ASU complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for equal access to education at ASU, please contact Disability Resources for Students at 965-1234.