Course Wayne State University College of Lifelong Learning Interdisciplinary Studies Program Wed.Edu: How Internet Courses Work, GIS 1600, 1 cr     Section 981. Ten face-to-face meetings Thursdays 6:00 -7:00     PM in 113 Rackham	Instructor
	David R. Bowen 2311 A/AB Wayne State University Detroit, MI 48202 Schedule (link not working yet)	Daytime tel: (313) 577-1498 Evening tel: (248) 549-8518 At Ford: 313-390-2155 FAX: (313) 577-8585 Home Page:     http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen Email: d.r.bowen@wayne.edu

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Last updated: 1/31/02

Syllabus for Web.Edu
Winter 2002

The major topics are:

1. (Week 1) Overview, Computer conference, Syllabus
2. (Weeks 2 though 4) Using the Internet
3. (Weeks 5 through 7) Alternate Systems
4. (Week 8) How the Internet Works, and Getting Help
5. (Week 9) Online Citizenship
6. (Weeks 10 - 13) Freedom and Responsibility
7. (Week 14) Review
8. (Week 15) Final Exam

Instructor: David R. Bowen

Office Hours:
* Thursdays 2:30 to 4:30 PM in my office, 2311 A/AB (ISP building), except for Spring Break
   Office phone: (313) 577-1498
* Thursdays 5 - 6 PM in 113 Rackham, on days for which this class meets
But call or email anytime!

Office Location: 2311 A/AB Building
(ISP offices, 5700 Cass at the northeast corner of Palmer and Cass)
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202

Work Phone (ISP office): 313-577-1498
ISP FAX: 313-577-8585
Home Phone: 248-549-8518
At Ford: 313-390-2155
E-mail: d.r.bowen@wayne.edu

Textbook (now available at campus Barnes and Noble bookstore, or can be bought or ordered through other sources of your choice):

Distance Learning Online for Dummies, by Nancy Stevenson, pub 2000 by IDG books.

Course Web Site

The course web site is at http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen/WebEduw01. This is on the public Internet, accessible with any web browser, such as Netscape Communicator, Internet Explorer or AOL. If you try to access it from work, and your employer has an Internet firewall, you will need to get a firewall account through your employer. The course web site will be updated continuously throughout the semester. All major course materials, aside from the textbook, will be available through the course web site.

For the online section, the course web site will be the central starting point for most course work. Even for face-to-face students, the course web site is the place to go if you loose a handout.

Grading

In this course, I am here giving you advance permission to turn in or to redo course work after it is due, in some cases up to one calendar year after the end of the course.

NOTE: For the work labeled "Must be made up with additional assignment," it is your responsibility to devise the additional assignment, and to get my approval.

Assignments:

Online Signins:

 There is a signin form on the course web site. For every class session, you should complete this form. These signins are equivalent to a class attendance sheet. This will count in your course grade.

Online Citizenship:

 Without the facial expressions and body language that provide cues during face-to-face conversation, online communication can be subject to misinterpretation and thereby lead to anger. This has led to "flame wars" in which language escalates out of control, any real interchange stops, and all sides are convinced that they are the victims. At the same time, in-depth dialogue can occur, since it is possible to go back and reread messages, and to correct what you said earlier if it is not quite what you meant, and also to explore differences in more detail and therefore perhaps to come to an understanding with someone else that you might have "written off" in person. Finally, replies to messages often dribble in over a week or two after the message was posted. This includes my replies as well. The results are (a) that others may have forgotten what the original message was when you reply, and (b) others may reply to questions about assignments or content before I do.

Online citizenship means to minimize the risks and to maximize the potential for online dialogue and understanding. Here are some guidelines:

• Since others may have forgotten then original message that you are replying to, always provide a brief context for your replies. This is done most easily by using the "Reply/Quote" menu item on the computer conference, and editing the original message so that it only shows the part that you are replying to.
• If you can reply to someone else's question about assignments or content before I do, great! If I do not have a problem with what you said, I will often just reply with "good," or even not respond at all. In many cases you will also have specialized knowledge due to your work or other experiences. The only place where I feel that I must respond as the instructor is if there are conflicting responses.
• It is hard if not impossible to be certain that you are not misinterpreting someone else's words. Equally, it is hard to ensure that your words are so clear that no one else can misread them. A very good habit to get into, to avoid flame wars, in dealing with differences of opinion, is to speak only about yourself and not about the other person. For example, "I feel that John is wrong here," instead of, "John is wrong here," or, "That is not what I got out of that section of the textbook," instead of, "That is not what the author is saying."
• If you feel that you are being attacked in someone else's message, be slow to take offense. Check to make sure that you understood what was intended.
• In order to explore agreements and disagreements, a specific example, even a made-up one, can make the case very specific and therefore easier to discuss. But it may take more than one specific example.
• The style for online discussion is to to keep each message short, to the point, and having one or perhaps two main ideas. There is a first assigned message to introduce yourself to the class, but after that, keep messages that are not course-related in an appropriate main topic, so that people in a hurry do not have to read them.
• If you reply to a message, the conferencing system proposes a topic that is the topic of the original message. You can and should change this, because your message has something different in it (else why are you posting it).

Registrations and Tests

The Conference Registration, Course Registration, File Test and Email Test are all done by going to the course web site, following the link with that name, and following the directions. Here are brief descriptions:

1. Conference Registration. Here you establish an account on the course computer conference system. If you have used the CLL Computer Conferencing System before (WebBoard), probably in a course with me (David Bowen), Marsha Richmond, Julie Klien or Lisa Maruca, do not register again but use your existing account. For the user (you), a computer account consists of a User Name and a Password. The User Name is public, and is the name your are known by on that system. The Password is private, and is how you show that it is really you when you log in. On most of the systems for online courses, you choose your own User Name and Password, instead of having them assigned to you. Things are this way on the computer conferencing system; you make up your own User Name and Password. These can be the same as ones that you use on other systems, or different; the choice is entirely up to you. After your initial login, you will be asked to repeat the information, and supply an email address. On the non-required information, at the bottom of the online registration form, be sure to give yourself a signature. The can, for example, consist of your name and a favorite phrase or saying. These two steps are all that is involved in this assignment; after you set up your account, I will add you to the course computer conference.
2. Course Registration. This is like a course information sheet. One difference is that you you will give yourself a Password (this can be the same as, or different than, your Password for the computer conferencing system). This Password will be for access to:
   1. Updating your course registration information (for example if you change email addresses, or if you finally figure out what your WSU Student ID is)
   2. Access to your course grades online.
3. File Test. This will check that we can exchange word processing files using the Internet and email. The test consists of:
   1. Clicking on the "File Test" link on the course web site, downloading and saving the file on your hard drive (c:)
   2. Opening the file and changing it according to the directions in the file, and saving it under a new name, which will be the original name with your three initials in front (e.g. for me, David R Bowen, I would change the original name, TestFile.doc, to drbTestFile.doc) - use "_" in place of a middle initial if you do not have one
   3. Emailing your changed file to me. I will also add something to the file.
   4. If you can open the file that I email you and tell me what I have added, then you have passed this test.

   NOTE: The most common problem is not Internet or email differences, but different word processing file formats. This is usually easily fixed by one of us saving in an earlier file format, using the File > Save As menu item, and changing "Files of Type" to an earlier format.

4. Email Test. This consists of your sending variety of email messages with difference addressing, as follows:
   1. Email directly to me (d.r.bowen@wayne.edu)
   2. Email to someone else with a CC to me
   3. Reply to an email message that someone else sends you, with a CC to me
   4. Copying and pasting specified text from the course web site into an email message to me.
   5. Attaching a file to an email message and sending it to me.

Online Postings:

The course computer conference is an alternate form of the classroom discussion, and participation in the course computer conference plays a role in the course grade. Online postings will use the course computer conference. There is a link to this conference from the course web site. There is  an online guide for this system available through a link off of the Instructor's web site. The URLs (web addresses) of both the course and Instructor web sites are at the top of this page, and at the top of all pages for this course. Here are the requirements for conference postings:

• Average of two per week, all due before the end of the semester (total of 26)
• Must be in the "W02 WebEdu (Bowen)" computer conference, not the computer conference for some other course, and not The General Conference.
• Between a minimum of five lines and a maximum twenty-five lines as seen on the computer screen after posting.
• Can be an original posting or a response to another posting. If it is a response, must include the relevant part of the original posting, and only the relevant part (edit out any other parts).
• Can be in many forms, including, but not limited to:
  • Comment on a point of interest or significance
  • Apply course information to your own situation, or of someone else that you know
  • Compare or contrast with other information on personal health
  • Point out how something suggested can be done, or why it is difficult to do
  • Bring in current events or news stories

The total number of postings due is 26. These postings will count in your course grade.

Weekly Progress Reports:

There is be a form on the course web site (see URL at the top of this and all course materials) for weekly course reports. I have found these to be useful to me in identifying situations before they become serious, and in keeping students involved in the course, reducing the number that drop out unofficially. You will not be graded on the content of the reports, but just on the fact of having made them. If you have to stop working on the course for awhile, that can happen to anybody, but there is no excuse for not taking the five minutes required for filing a weekly course report.

For the purposes of counting reports, weeks will be taken as ending on Fridays. You do not need to file a weekly course report during Spring Break. Total of 13 due.

Essay Assignment

The Essay should be four to six pages long, double-spaced, in ten- or twelve-point type, with margins of one inch top and bottom and one-and-one-half inches on the sides, or values close to these. The assigned topic is "Online Courses Are Different Because..." and summarize the major points of the course content. However, do not use this title, but make up one of your own. Here are the grading criteria for the essay:

1. Content. 40%. At the top of your essay, BEFORE the title, you should put your name, indicate which essay this is, and which one of the topics (just the topic number is OK) you are addressing. Does your essay answer the questions in the topic? Does your essay show evidence of having read the assignments and applied them to the topic? Have you formulated a consistent point of view towards the topic? It is fine to present several different points of view, but if you change your point of view while you are writing your essay, and you do not realize that this is happening, then your essay will not have a consistent point of view.
   
   Your essay should include detail as well as general points. That makes your point of view convincing. Detail can include:
   * Quotations. (However, an essay that is mainly quotations suggests that you have not thought enough about the topic to have your own point of view.)
   * Specific examples of the potential effects of your general points.
   * Your own opinions and experience, or the experience of other people, for example from current events.
   
   Detail will also make the connection between the general points in the topic and the reader. What are the consequences of your point of view? Why should anyone care? Examples and other detail will convince the reader of the importance of your topic, and will convince me that you understand your topic. If you have not shown me why your essay matters, I will often write, "So What?" at the bottom.
   
2. Form. 40%. Title, Intro., Body, Conclusion
   1. Does your Title describe the contents of the essay? "Catchy" titles earn brownie points.
   2. Do you have an identifiable Introduction that describes to a general reader what to expect, serving as a "road map" to the essay as a whole? By "general reader" I mean someone else besides the instructor. For example, writing that "This essay will answer Question 1" is NOT addressed to a general reader. A general reader might be interested in your topic, but would not be interested that you are completing a specific assignment. A good idea is to pretend that you are writing a magazine or newspaper article.
   3. Does your essay have a Body that is well organized and proceeds from topic to topic without wandering aimlessly around? In complicated cases, it should even keep track for the reader, where in the overall structure we happen to be. Is the body consistent with the Introduction? Do you support general statements with specific examples and/or information? Your main ideas should be broken into separate paragraphs, and any large or sudden transitions should be identified and smoothed over for the reader.
   4. Do you have an identifiable Conclusion that accurately summarizes your essay, as a whole? Does your Conclusion show that you have dealt with the question or topic posed in the Introduction, and does your Conclusion give an impression of drawing the essay to a close? Generally, new information or ideas should be in the Body, not the Conclusion, and putting them in the Conclusion indicates that you have not yet finished thinking out your answer. An exception to this general rule is that you can place the topic in a larger context or demonstrate its larger importance, if this can be done with a single short question or statement.
      
      Many beginning students will write an essay by emptying out whatever thoughts on the topic are in their heads, and stopping when they have run out of things to write about. This method will not work well for these essays; they need to be thought out ahead of time, and the writing planned. There is a way to cheat; write the Body first, and then the Introduction and Conclusion.
      
      Some instructors have described this form as, "First you tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, then you tell 'em, and then you tell 'em what you just told 'em." Another attempt is, "The Introduction says what your point is, the Body proves it, and the Conclusion answers the question 'So what?'".
      
      Even if you are answering a question with several parts, your essay should be a unified whole while still managing to answer the individual parts. That is, in answering a question with several parts, reformulate the question into one question that includes the individual parts of the original question.
3. Mechanics. 20%. This refers to punctuation, spelling, and grammar. The remarks below are not a complete guide to good mechanics, but do point out some of the most common problems.
   1. Punctuation. A complete sentence has at a minimum a subject and a verb, (or an action and actor), expresses a complete thought, and has no missing references. For example, "John ran" and "John ran to the store" are both complete sentences, but "John ran to" is not (missing reference - where is John running?).
      
      The punctuation marks ",;:." indicate progressively higher levels of separation between sentence elements, and are used as follows:
      
      ",". Separates parts of a sentence that would be incomplete by themselves, in order to make the logical structure of the sentence clear. The comma is used, for example, to set off an explanatory phrase, or to separate items in a list.
      
      ";". Indicates a higher level of separation than the comma. For example, if the items in a list have internal commas, then ";" is used to separate the items. Further, a semicolon is used to separate items in a parallel construction: "A's are good; E's, bad." It can also be used to connect two complete sentences, if the second is subordinate to the first: "The grades in this course were high; I got an A."
      
      ":". This is only used to join complete sentences or to signify the beginning of a list.
      
      ".". Ends a sentence. Whatever follows must be a complete sentence since it is not joined to the preceding sentence.
      
      The apostrophe (') indicates possession; it is only rarely used to make a word plural. Normally, a word is made plural by the simple addition of an "s".
   2. Spelling. Some common mistakes: (a) not using the right one of the "three two's" (to, too, two), and (b) there is no "e" at the end of "develop" (this one seems to be common in Michigan, for some reason!). If an abbreviation is specific to your job, or is not common, it should be explained the first time it is used (similarly, a technical term or jargon word should be explained at the first use). In general, use a dictionary or SpellCheck to check your spelling.
   3. Grammar. The most common problem is a verb (the action) that does not agree with the subject (the actor). For example, "it means", not "it mean" ("it" refers to one thing, "mean" to two or more, while "means" is the singular form). Other common problems are changing tense (past, present, future) or person (I, you, them) within a sentence or connected sequence of sentences; and breaking off a phrase into a separate sentence that does not have both a subject and verb. This last practice CAN be acceptable if the intention is to emphasize the second phrase or to emphasize that there are several examples of a major point. A common example goes, "This author (or instructor?) goes on. And on. And on." Generally, you should not break the rules in such a creative manner, unless the rest of your essay shows that you know how to obey them. Help for problems with grammar can be gotten by buying Keys to American English by Richard Raspa et al, published by Harcourt-Brace. The University Bookstore carries this; any bookstore should be willing to order it for you.

   (I will not require a specific format for references or footnotes. References can be put "in line" in the normal body, and do not need to be collected at the bottom of the page. A suitable reference is "As Toffler writes in The Third Wave ...". To be more specific, include the page or chapter number in a similar manner.)

I am aware that this is a high standard for writing, requiring thoughtful and careful reading, your own analysis, and good organization and command of your own written "voice."

Final Exam

The Final Exam will be one hour long, closed book, on the date shown. Possible questions will be published in advance on the course web site. there will be more possible questions than will actually appear on the Exam, and the Exam will consist of a random choice of the published questions.

PLAGIARISM

Putting this topic at the end does not imply that I do not think it is important, but instead that I think it applies to everything in this course. In academic work, plagiarism is treated as a serious breaking of the rules. Plagiarism basically means passing off someone else's work as your own. It does not matter whether this is done on purpose or by accident, by commission or omission, from one source or from many sources; it is still plagiarism, and it is still serious. The most obvious form of plagiarism is "copying" - using another author's words, without a hint that they are not yours. Changing one or two words in a sentence still results in plagiarism. On the other hand, using quotation marks and a reference to the source is OK, since you are not passing off the work as yours. Such references can even add to an impression that you have read the assignments!  References to opinions can also be used to strengthen your arguments, since a reference makes clear that someone else feels the same way that you do.

In this course, work that contains any plagiarism will be ignored, as if it were never turned in. In order to receive credit for the assignment, another topic must be chosen, and the work completely rewritten. The assignment will also be counted as late. Note that at the end of the course, there may not be enough time to redo the work, or even to notify you, before grades are due. Therefore, plagiarism near the end of the semester can have a particularly serious effect on your grade.

If you have any doubt about what plagiarism is, make sure to ask the instructor. To be safe, make sure that you give credit to any authors you borrow from.

NOTE: During quizzes and exams, the phrase "in your own words" is an explicit reminder that plagiarism is not acceptable.