Last updated: 1/10/2000
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General Description:
Computers, the Internet, and Society

In this course, you will learn about:

• computer software, including major categories of applications
• the operation of the Internet
• personal, academic and business uses of the Internet
• the mutual interaction of computers, the Internet, and society.

The software and Internet applications include:

• Microsoft Office 95 (word processing, spreadsheets and databases)
• Ping (locating another computer on the Internet)
• Internet email, using your free Wayne State University email account (if you have other email consistent with the lab software, you can use that email system instead)
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• World Wide Web, including creating your own web page
• Computer chat and conferencing

Computers, the Internet and Society has a large on-line component. You will need an Internet connection to take this course. You can use the Internet connection in the computer lab, or the free Internet connection that Wayne State University offers all registered students, but any other Internet connection will also do, such as

• America On Line
• Compuserve
• Prodigy
• Mindspring
• Internet connection through other school or college
• Computer lab at Wayne State University or other school or college, connected to the Internet
• Computer at work. You should make sure that your employer approves of this usage. Note that if your employer has an intranet with a firewall, you may need a special account from your employer, to get access to the public Internet.

We will use the following Internet technologies in this course:

• Email for turning in assignments and getting them back
• World Wide Web for postings such as syllabus and assignments
• Web-based computer conferencing for class discussions

Taught over the Internet using email, World Wide Web and Computer Conferencing with nine class meetings including final exam

The graduate version of this course,  ISP 7990, involves extra reading and assignments.

A detailed syllabus and an assignment schedule will also be posted.

This course will meet on nine Thursdays at University Center at Macomb (computer lab), 6 - 9:40 PM. The class meeting dates are: 1/13, 1/20, 2/3, 2/17, 3/2, 3/23, 4/6, 4/20 and 4/27 (final exam). You will want to keep other Thursdays available for computer lab work.

You will be able to opt out of many of the class meetings by demonstrating basic Internet and Office 95 skills and by keeping up to date in the class.