COMS 202W: Computers in Society
Fall 2006
Syllabus

Course description:  This course seeks to confront participants with complex social and ethical issues associated with computers.  Through thoughtful questions, informative readings and the analysis of dichotomous viewpoints, course participants will gain insight into the complexity of technology-related issues discussed as well as the lack of simplistic solutions to the problems.

Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites for this course HOWEVER it is strongly suggested that you have completed English composition since this is a writing intensive course.  You must be able to plan, develop, and write college-level essays.

Course Website
http://bates.cs.mnsu.edu/coms202w
Check the website regularly for announcements and updates. 

Course Hours and Location

Lecture: T 6-8:30pm	WH 288
Lab: T 8:30-9:30	WH 119

Office Hours

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
2-3	4:30-5:00	3-5*	2-3	10-12**

*4-5 will be held in the ACC
**will be held in the ACC or WH243

Course Materials
Required: The Best Software Writing I, ed. Joel Spolsky, Apress, 2005.
Choose a writing style guide book to have near you as you write for this course.  The bookstore has several.  A list of suggested guides is on the paper guidelines.
Additionally, there will be suggested books, articles and information linked to from the website and available at the library.  You will also be expected to find your own source information for papers and presentations.

Course Work & Grade Distribution
Your course grade will be based on four major writing assignments, four presentations, a final examination, and on your class participation/preparation. The presentations will be 10-minutes long and will be used to initiate class discussion. These presentations can be done as a 20-minute presentation with a partner, if you would prefer.  You may be scheduled to do five papers or five presentations and you will have the opportunity to do additional ones throughout the semester.  The top four presentation and top four paper grades will be included in your final grade. 
Writing Assignments: 60%
Presentations and Participation: 30%
Final exam: 10%

Final Exam Date:  December 12, 2006, 6:00-8:00

Course Objectives

1. Gain insight into the complexity of technology-related issues discussed in class as well as the lack of simplistic solutions to the problems.
2. Write coherent essays with supportive details based on research in current events related to computers, technology and society.
3. Be able to orally present information about a current topic to peers in an engaging way that engenders class discussion about the topic.
4. Use writing to explore and gain a basic familiarity with the questions, values and analytical or critical thinking methods used in the discipline
5. Locate, analyze, evaluate and use source material or data in writing in a manner appropriate to intended audiences.

Submission & Grading Policies
Writing Assignments: Writing assignments will precisely follow the format presented and discussed in class. Failure to follow this format will automatically result in a reduction of at least one full grade.  At least one of your writing assignments should be based on a pre-approved work of fiction (either a play, movie or book) that is relevant to this course.  A list of pre-approved suggestions will be provided but you are welcome to submit your own for approval.
Revising:  All students will be required to revise at least one writing assignments.  Revisions are due one week after your paper has been returned.  If you expect to do this on your last paper, there may not be enough time left for you to submit it.  You are welcome to re-submit all four of your papers.  When you do a revision, pay attention to ALL aspects of the rubric and not just marks I may make on your graded paper.
Attendance: Attendance will be taken in class.  If you do not attend, you cannot participate. After the first two absences, each additional absence will result in a reduction of one full grade.
Incompletes:  By departmental policy, incompletes are granted only in extraordinary  and unavoidable circumstances that will necessitate you missing many class meetings.  You must have a grade of "C" or better at the time that the incomplete is requested, and at least half of the course must have already been completed.
Late Policy: All assignments will be considered due at the date and time specified. In some exceptional cases, late papers may receive partial credit, if they are submitted within 24 hours of the deadline, but this is extremely unlikely.
Paper Submission:  ALL papers are to be submitted to turnitin.com. Do not give me printed copies. Do not email documents to me. To register, go to turnitin.com. In the upper right corner, click on create a user profile. The class name is COMS202F06. The unique class ID and the enrollment password are:
            Class ID: 1587139
            Password: rutabega

Course Tools

• Desire2Learn: This web-based software package will be used for turning in programming assignments, programming exams and feedback surveys.
• Password protected webpages: The Computer Science Lab computers host these pages.  The assignments and solutions will be available on the web but will be password protected.  You will set up your account name and password during the first lab class.
• Department distribution list: The Computer Science mailing list keeps students informed of current announcements made throughout Minnesota State University, Mankato.  By registering at the following URL, you will begin to receive emails notifying you of important events and opportunities:  http://www.cset.mnsu.edu/cis/currentstudents/csmailinglist.htm

Expectations of Students

• Students will take responsibility for their own learning. Students are responsible for all material, announcements, or changes made during class or on the course web page.
• Regular attendance is required.  Since this class meets once a week, missing one class is the same as missing an entire week of material in any other class.  Absence will affect your grade.
• Students will wait 24 hours, but no more than 1 week, after receiving a graded assignment or exam before bringing up grading questions. Grades will be re-evaluated but are not negotiable.
• Students will bring up issues about final grades within two days of grades being released. Again, I will take requests for grade re-evaluations but final grades are not negotiable.
• Students will check their campus email at least once each day.
• Students will only ask for an incomplete grade in the case of exceptional circumstances and will furnish documentation that conforms to CIS Department regulations (illness requiring documented medical attention, documented death in the immediate family).
• Students will do and present their own work in compliance with the academic honesty policy.

Disabilities
Every effort will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities.   If you are a student with a documented disability who will need academic accommodations, please see me during the first week of class to discuss what is appropriate.  You should also contact the Disability Services Office at 389-2825 or 800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY). 

Academic Honesty
By staying enrolled in this class, you agree to abide by the University's Policy for Academic Honesty which appears in the Student Handbook under the section heading "Academic Honesty". If you have questions about the policy please contact me, your advisor, or another faculty member PRIOR to engaging in a "dishonest" act. Failure to abide and respect the Academic Honesty Policy will result in severe penalties as allowed by the University.  I want to point out to you the following expectation, which comes directly from the University's Statement of Student Responsibilities:

In order for an academic community to teach and support appropriate educational values, an environment of trust, cooperation and personal responsibility must be maintained. As members of this University community, students assume the responsibility to fulfill their academic obligations in a fair and honest manner. This responsibility includes avoiding such inappropriate activities as plagiarism, cheating or collusion. Students found responsible for one or more of these activities may face both academic sanctions (such as lowering a grade, failing of a course, etc.) and disciplinary sanctions (such as probation, suspension, expulsion).

It is the intent of Minnesota State University, Mankato to encourage a sense of integrity on the part of students in fulfilling their academic requirements. To give students a better understanding of behaviors that may constitute academic dishonesty, the following definitions are provided:

Plagiarism – Submission of an academic assignment as one's own work, which includes critical ideas or written narrative that are taken from another author without the proper citation. This does not apply only to direct quotes, but also to critical ideas that are paraphrased by the student.

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to:

• submitting the work of others as your own
• submitting others work as your own with only minor changes
• submitting others work as your own without adequate footnotes, quotations, and other reference forms
• multiple submission of the same work, written or oral, for more than one course without both instructor's permission, or making minor revisions on work which has received credit and submitting it again as new work.

Cheating — Use of unauthorized material or assistance to help fulfill academic assignments. This material could include unauthorized copies of test materials, calculators, crib sheets, help from another student, etc.

Collusion — Assistance to another student or among students in committing the act of cheating or plagiarism.