CATALOG DESCRIPTION: This is a lower-division General Education course in the “Block E” option: Lifelong Understanding and Self-Development. The University’s philosophy for this course is that it should “equip students for lifelong understanding and development of themselves in the context of global and multicultural environments and in the context of social and cultural institutions.”
Thus the goal of this course from my perspective is twofold: (1) given the phenomenal rate of technological change in our world, my first goal is to engage you in reflection about the lifelong process of acquiring new technology skills; (2) my additional goal is to encourage you to think analytically—both supportively and critically—about the role technology plays in our personal and professional lives.
These dual objectives will be pursued through two avenues:
Workgroups will also be a part of the class for both discussion and activity.
Keep in mind the University's goals for you in your General Education courses. These are also my goals as listed below and tailored specifically for this course.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
TEXTBOOK:
Technology and Society: Issues for the 21st Century and Beyond, 3rd
Edition
Authors: Hjorth, Eichler, Kahn and Morello
Publisher: Prentice-Hall
ASSIGNMENTS:
Except for your final project report, all other graded work will be performed in class in the form of quizzes on the assigned readings and individual or group presentations. In the quizzes I am looking for grasp of material and concepts presented in class, as well as thoughtful responses to the issues raised in the articles and the class discussions. Since there is a need identified by the University to improve student writing skills, some of the quizzes will be essays.
For your term project, I am requiring you to spend at least 20 hours acquiring a new technology skill, or 16 if you choose to teach one through the CSULA service-learning program. If you choose to learn a new technology, the technology you select must enhance your personal or professional life in some way and be something that you are not already doing in another class. It should also be complex enough that you might benefit from seeking several methods of learning—e.g. private lessons, instructional manuals or videos, classes, magazines, etc. The term project will consist of developing a technology acquisition proposal and plan, keeping a journal of your activities and progress, submitting a final report, and giving a presentation.
EVALUATION:
In addition to completing the assignments, you are expected to attend and participate in all class exercises and activities. You may miss one class without penalty. Subsequent absences will be penalized by a 1 grade point for each missed class, and if you miss more than 5 classes, you will receive an F for the course and will have to repeat it. If you miss a quiz, you must make arrangements with me to take the exam during my office hours on the day of the next class following the exam.
| ACTIVITY | POINTS |
|
Quizzes (5) - 10 pts. each |
50 |
|
Research presentations (2) - 10 pts. each |
20 |
|
Final presentation |
15 |
|
Final report |
15 |
| TOTAL | 100 |
FINAL GRADE:
Technology 250 will be graded on the following scale:
A = 93-100
A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 70-76
D = 60-69
F = 0-59
POSITIVELY NO FOOD, DRINKS, SMOKING OR CHEWING GUM OR TOBACCO ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING AT ANYTIME!
STATEMENT ON PLAGIARISM and CHEATING from the Cal State LA Faculty Handbook Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities Section 2, Paragraph d. See: http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/senate/handbook/ OR http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/handbook/p44.htm
Writing and Plagiarism. Plagiarism is a direct violation of intellectual and academic honesty. While it exists in many forms, all plagiarisms refer to the same act: representing somebody else's words or ideas as one's own. The most extreme forms of plagiarism are a paper written by another person, a paper obtained from a commercial source, or a paper made up of passages copied word for word without acknowledgment. But paraphrasing authors' ideas or quoting even limited portions of their texts without proper citation is also an act of plagiarism. Even putting someone else's ideas into one's own words without acknowledgment may be plagiarism. In any of its forms, plagiarism cannot be tolerated in an academic community. It may constitute grounds for a failing grade, probation, suspension, or expulsion.
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included. Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include any plagiarized material.
Furthermore, faculty are required to report all cases of plagiarism to the Office of Student Affairs.
OTHER NOTES:
Please turn all cell phones and pagers to vibrate or silent mode. Go outside of the classroom to answer.
You are expected to be in class and to be on time each day.
Plagiarism or cheating will result in a failing "F" grade in the course.
Students will be informed about the due date for each activity when it is assigned.
All work from this quarter must be turned in by the end of the final class period. No homework, makeup assignments, etc. accepted after this date!
If you can no longer attend for any reason it is up to YOU to drop the course. If you are still on the roll sheet but not attending, I have no choice but to issue an “F” grade.
This syllabus is tentative and is subject to change.