To WCP 142 Page
 
 

Lecture All Monday 1:00 - 1:50 121 Peabody

Section B Wolfe Monday 3:00-3:50; Wednesday 3:00-4:50 Room 21 & Tappan Center for Computer Assisted Learning, 22 Peabody

Section C Wolfe Monday 2:00-2:50; Friday 2:00-3:50 Room 21 & Tappan Center for Computer Assisted Learning, 22 Peabody

Section D Sherman Tuesday 3:30-4:20; Thursday 3:30-5:20 Room 21 & Tappan Center for Computer Assisted Learning, 22 Peabody

Instructors:

Instructors:
Richard Sherman                        Christopher Wolfe
Office Hours:                              Office Hours:
Tues 4:30 - 5:30                          Monday: 4:00-5:00
Wed  10-12                               Tuesday 1:00-3:00
Thurs 11-12                           Wednesday: 2:00-3:00
110D Benton Hall, 529-2407            127 Peabody, 529-5670
Shermarc@MUOhio.edu                WolfeCR@MUOhio.edu

WCP 142 - Interdisciplinary Technology

The specific topic of this course may change from semester to semester. However, the general theme of WCP 142, Interdisciplinary Technology, is manifest in the following description approved by Miami's Liberal Education Committee as a foundation course in technology.

This course develops conceptual tools for solving problems with technology and explores roles of technology in social contexts. Proficiency with evaluation of empirical data and application of scientific principles is emphasized by examining technologies that vary from household appliances and automobiles to computers and scientific apparatus, solar panels, electric motors and combustion engines. Technology is also considered as a cultural phenomenon and an agent of social change, and a product of human invention and creativity. Reasoning skills such as those required to diagnose mechanical failures on the basis of evidence, write and debug computer programs, or analyze empirical data with appropriate statistical techniques are practiced. These may include the logic of evidence and assertions and understanding how conclusions may be reasonably drawn from a body of evidence. Guidelines for making inferences are developed from conditional and syllogistic reasoning, probability theory and inferential diagnostic techniques.

The course includes exercises in quantitative intuition -- the subjective sense of ease in dealing with quantitative concepts. Pedagogy includes analyzing arguments about uses of technology, creating visual representations of technological concepts such as blueprints, flowcharts, and wiring diagrams, developing rudimentary inventions such as computer programs, and making public presentations and demonstrations based on collective technology projects, journals and term papers. Students interview engineers and technicians at electric and phone utilities, local radio stations, a sewage treatment plant, a power plant, and a computer center. Investigation of technological phenomena familiar in daily life is encouraged, and students are also asked to reflect on appropriate technologies for addressing global problems such as appropriate alternatives to dependency on fossil fuels. The course encourages ways of thinking that facilitate informed choices and appropriate actions.

COURSE SUMMARY:

This course is about the social, psychological, and cultural consequences of "cyberspace" -- the ways that the internet influences the way we learn, think, work, and interact with others. We will take an interdisciplinary approach, blending critical thinking and imagination, theory and practice, reading and hands-on experience. Our specific approach will require an interdisciplinary synthesis of Communications, Education, Psychology, English, and Computer Science. The three core areas of the Western College Program, Social Systems, Natural Systems, and Creativity and Culture, are all represented in this course. Previous knowledge of computers is not assumed. Students will read and discuss papers, explore and evaluate web sites, create on-line identities, and design and create science-oriented hypermedia. The course will also consider some of the social implications of information technologies -- for example, how the Internet influences our social relationships and ways of communicating with others. Students will develop critical tools for evaluating the impact of information technologies on society by reflecting on their own experiences in using the technologies.

Although students develop computer skills, such as creating World Wide Web (WWW) sites, the primary focus of the course is not skill training. The main objective of this course is to help students find appropriate roles for information technologies in their own lives, and to encourage students to think critically about what may be the most important technological transformation of our historical era. This course is divided into three modules:

1) Identity and the Internet

2) Interaction on the Internet

3) Active Learning on the Internet

In the first module we will consider the "hopes and horrors" the internet seems to evoke. Here we will consider the construction of social identities on the web, and build our own personal web pages. In the second module we will use the internet to connect with people around the world, and consider the internetâs impact on interactions among human beings. In the third module we will explore the world of on-line education. Here we will acquaint ourselves with courseware, and consider the educational potential of the web. A key characteristic of this course is critically evaluating allegedly educational web sites, and creating web-based experiences for children. At the end of the course we will integrate much of what we have learned to create science-oriented educational software for kids in grades 4-6 grade that they can access through the WWW. Our goal will be to create interactive hypermedia experience based on solid design and learning principles, and incorporating images, sound, and text.

Course Goals

By the end of this course you should:

ð Be comfortable working in the Macintosh computing environment

ð Be able to efficiently search for information on the Internet

ð Be able to create your own World Wide Web page

ð Be able to participate in discourse communities on-line

ð Have a better understanding of the cognitive, social, and emotional impact of the Internet

ð Have a better understanding of Computer-Assisted Learning

ð Have a better understanding of non-linear discourse and hypermedia

ð Have developed your own ideas about life on the net.
 
 

Divisional Commitments

One of the writing assignments in this course will be to create hypermedia; non-linear, reader-directed "texts." This will require students to explicitly think about rhetorical strategies associated with emerging technologies. It will also provide opportunities for students to revise, edit, and share their writing. Concerning quantitative reasoning, this course will address quantitative expression and quantitative intuition, particularly in the Active Learning on the Internet module. Evidence and assertions will play a major role in the critical evaluation of web sites. Students will critically examine the effectiveness of courseware and devise ways of collecting and analyzing relevant data.

WCP 142 and the Miami Plan for Liberal Education

WCP 142 shares the goals and objectives of the Miami plan for liberal education, and satisfies Miami's technology requirement. The course promotes critical thinking by providing opportunities to critically apply theory in the process of evaluation, and to critique theory from the perspective of personal experience. The critical evaluation of educational software promotes reasoning and evaluation, and a sophisticated use of language.

We will work at understanding contexts by explicitly examining the contextual web surrounding information technologies, and consider alternatives. The creation and evaluation of educational software would be inadequate without an explicit consideration of the social, cognitive, pedagogical, and affective contexts in which computer-based educational experiences are employed.

Engaging with other learners is central to the success of this course. The course has a seminar format indicating the expectation that we will learn from each other. Sometimes we will work in groups and explicitly examine group process. With the aid of electronic networks, we will literally engage other learners around the world!

Throughout the course we will be reflecting on our experiences as students, both with computers and in traditional classrooms. We will incorporate what we have learned in this course to develop the Dragonfly projects. Thus the final project for this course demands both reflecting and acting.

This course introduces the methodology of technical professionals in the fields of courseware and web design. These methods include applying theory in developing web sites, field testing it on real people, analyzing the data, and revising the product. The evaluation of empirical data, problem representation and solving, and the application of scientific principles are important components of this process. The relationship between technology and society is a key component of this course and the central focus of several readings.

Miscellaneous Expenses

In addition to The Cyberspace Companion you are expected to have several 3.5 inch computer disks to backup your work (this is important!). Software for computer-mediated group projects and about half of the assigned readings are found on the Internet for free!

Academic Misconduct

Please read Part V, Sections 501 - 507 of the Student Handbook. University policies on academic conduct apply to all aspects of this course.

Assignments

Grading for the course will be based on a 1,000 point scale, with letter grades being assigned in the traditional fashion (e.g., 90%-92% = A -, 93%-96%=A, 97%-99%=A+ etc.). The number of points for each assignment is outlined below.

On-Line Search and Evaluation 150

Home Page Identity Project 200

Interaction Exercise 150

On-line Courseware Evaluation 200

The Dragonfly Web Pages and Final Exam 300

On-Line Search and Evaluation: Search the WWW, the world's libraries and d ata bases from the comfort of the Tappan Center, and critically assess what you find.

Home Page Identity Project: Create a personal web page that tells the world who you are. Reflect on the process of creating a social identity.

Interaction Exercise: Participate in and evaluate an on-line discussion. Develop and apply criteria for evaluating the quality of interactions and their broader implications for personal and social action.

On-Line Courseware Evaluation: How do you know if an educational Web site is any good? Your task here is to develop and apply criteria for evaluating educational media. The goal is to develop sophistication in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of educational programs. Evaluate one of these web sites.

The Dragonfly Web Pages and Final Exam: Each section will create a science-oriented, Internet-accessible multimedia project in the form of a WWW page, in accordance with the goals of Project Dragonfly. On the final exam, you are expected to establish constructive participation in the Dragonfly project, and demonstrate what you've learned throughout the course.

Absence Policy

Because this is primarily a seminar and laboratory experience, active participation in all aspects of this course is essential. Unexcused absences may result in a lower final grade. Attendance is mandatory for course evaluations (completed during the last meeting of the semester) for all Western classes.

COURSE SCHEDULE

(Note: All readings -- including web sites -- and assignments should be completed prior to the first class meeting of the week. WWW indicates a web page , Bold indicates assignment due, CAPS indicate special events, ð indicates assignment given. Additional readings and exercises may be assigned.)

Week of 8/23

Reading: course syllabus and 1) Kling

WWW -- How to Search the Web: http://daphne.palomar.edu/TGSEARCH/

Week of 8/30

Reading: 2) Tapscott (The N-Gen Mind)

WWW -- How to Evaluate Information Found on the Internet: http://milton.mse.jhu.edu:8001/research/education/net.html

ð On-Line Search Exercise Given

Week of 9/6

MONDAY 9/6: LABOR DAY (NO CLASS)

TUESDAY 9/7: Mon.-Tues. Switch Day (Mon. classes meet; no Tues. classes)

On-Line Search Due

Reading: 3) Roszak (The computer and the counterculture)

WWW -- Crash course on writing documents for the Web: http://www8.zdnet.com/pcweek/eamonn/crash_course.html

WWW -- Jaime Miracleâs Guide to Creating Web Pages on the Mac: http://www.muohio.edu/~crwolfe/it_tutorial.html

WWW - Shana's Rosenberg-Turnerâs Guide to Making Web Pages on the PC: http://www.muohio.edu/psybersite/instructions/

ð Home Page Exercise Given

Week of 9/13

Reading: 4) Turkle

WWW -- Self Presentation in WWW homepages:

http://www.ntu.ac.uk/soc/psych/miller/goffman.htm

Week of 9/20

Reading: 5) Coyle & 6) Kramarae

WWW -- The Psychology of Avatars:

http://p24601.rider.edu/sites/suler/psycyber/psyav.html

Week of 9/27

Reading: 7) Sproull & Faraj

WWW ? Miami University Guides to the Internet, HTML, & Web Design: http://www.lib.muohio.edu/inet/inetguides.html

Week of 10/4

FRIDAY 10/9 Mid-term break (no class).

Home Page Exercise Due

Reading: 8) Baym

WWW -- The Newsroom: http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/news.html

ð Interaction Exercise Given

Week of 10/11

Interaction Exercise Due

Reading: Reading: 9) Papert & 10) Roszak (The program within the program)

WWW -- The Exploratorium: http://www.exploratorium.edu

WWW -- The Field Museum: http://www.fieldmuseum.com/

ð Courseware Evaluation Exercise given

Week of 10/18

Reading: 11) Resnick

WWW -- GLOBE: http://www.globe.gov/
Web Site Evaluation Exercise

Week of 10/25

Reading: 12) Tapscott (N-Gen Learning)

WWW -- Kinetic City Cyber Club: www.kineticcity.com

Week of 11/1 VOTE!
 

Reading: 13) Cummins, Haynes, Myers, and Wolfe

WWW -- Dragonfly Web Pages: http://www.muohio.edu/dragonfly/
 
 

Week of 11/8

Courseware Evaluation Due

Reading: 14) Wolfe, Cummins, & Myers

WWW -- Web Wonk: http://www.dsiegel.com/tips/index.html

ð Dragonfly Exercise Given

Week of 11/15

Reading: 15) Landow

WWW -- The Children's Gallery: http://redfrog.norconnect.no/~cag/

Week of 11/22

WEDNESDAY 11/24-SUNDAY 11/28 Thanksgiving Holiday (no classes)

Reading: 16) Kadie

WWW -- Internet Copyright Guidelines: http://publications.urel.wsu.edu:80/Copyright/CopyrightFacts/copyrightfacts.html

WWW -- WebMonkey Site Optimization Tutorial:

http://www.hotwired.com/webmonkey/98/26/index0a.html?tw=design

WWW -- The Bandwidth Conservation Society:

http://www.infohiway.com/way/faster/index.html

Week of 12/6

Dragonfly Web Pages Due

WWW -- WCP 142 Web Pages for Dragonfly: http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~wcp142b/

http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~wcp142c/

http://miavx1.muohio.edu/~wcp142d/

ð Take-Home Final Exam Given

Week of 12/13 -- FINALS WEEK

Take-Home Final Exam Due (in designated period to be announced).
 
 

Required Readings

Wolfe, C. R. and Sherman, R. (Eds.) (1999). The cyberspace companion. Oxford, Ohio: Oxford Copy Shop. (Also selected e-mail and readings from the Internet.)

1) Kling, R. (1996). Hopes and horrors: Technological Utopianism and anti-utopianism in narratives of computerization. In Rob Kling (Ed.), Computerization and Controversy (2nd edition, pp. 40-58). San Diego: Academic Press.

2) Tapscott , D. (1998). The N-Gen Mind: Part I. In D. Tapscott Growing up digital. NY: McGraw Hill.

3) Roszak, T. (1994). The computer and the counterculture. In T. Roszak The cult of information. NY: Pantheon Books.

4) Turkle, S. (1995). Identity crisis. In S. Turkle, Life On The Screen: Identity In The Age Of The Internet (pp. 255-269). New York: Simon & Schuster.

5) Coyle, K (1996). How Hard can it be? In L. Cherney & R. Weise (Eds.) Wired women: Gender and new realities in cyberspace. Seattle, WA: Seal Press.

6) Kramarae, C. (1995). A backstage critique of virtual reality. In S.G.

Jones (Ed.), CyberSociety:Computer-Mediated Communication and Community

(pp. 36-56). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

7) Sproull, L., & Faraj, S. (1997). Atheism, sex, and databases: The net as a social technology. In S. Kiesler (Ed.), Culture of the Internet. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum.

8) Baym, N. K. (1995). The emergence of community in computer-mediated communication. In S. G. Jones (Ed.), Cybersociety. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

9) Papert, S. (1984). Computer as mudpie. In Dale Peterson (Ed.), Intelligent Schoolhouse (pp. 17-26). Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing.

10) Roszak, T. (1994). The program within the program. In T. Roscak The cult of information. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

11) Resnick, L. B. (1989). Introduction. In Lauren B. Resnick (Ed.), Knowing, Learning, And Instruction: Essays In Honor Of Robert Glaser (pp. 1-14, 23-24). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum.

12) Tapscott, D. (1998). N-Gen Learning. In D. Tapscott Growing up digital. NY: McGraw Hill.

13) Cummins, R. H., Haynes, C., Myers, C. A., and Wolfe, C. R. (1997). Dragonfly.

14) Wolfe, C. R., Cummins, R. H., & Myers, C. A. (1998). Dabbling, discovery, and dragonflies: Scientific inquiry and exploratory representational play. In D. P. Fromberg & D. Bergen (Eds.) Play from birth to twelve: Contexts, perspectives, and meanings (pp. 68-76). N.Y., N.Y.: Garland.

15) Landow, G. P. (1991). The rhetoric of hypermedia: Some rules for authors. In Paul Delany and George P. Landow (Eds.) Hypermedia and Literary Studies (pp. 81-103). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

16) Kadie, C.M. (1996). Applying library intellectual freedom principles to public and academic computers. In Rob Kling (Ed.), Computerization and Controversy (2nd edition, pp. 569-579). San Diego: Academic Press.