NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy, FALL 2001

NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy - Fall 2001

Welcome to the Web site for the Fall 2001 semester NCLC 249 Internet Literacy course. This is a 4 credit New Century College course. This course is the prerequisite course for NCLC 350 Cyberculture and Virtual Community. There are 4 sections of this course. Please follow the specific syllabus and schedule for your section. There will be some individual differences in the treatment of the material by each professor, depending upon the needs of the particular students and the individual professor's teaching emphasis. All sections will share some common readings and major assignments.

The subject of study: major aspects of the Internet - Web publishing, evaluating Web sources, investigating virtual communities, becoming knowledgeable about copyright and the Internet, and other major Internet issues. We will discuss some basic hypertext theory, and do a significant amount of reading, writing and critiquing.

The major thrust of this course is academic. This is not a graphics design class or advanced Web publishing class. You will learn basic Web design in the context of the course learning activities. A significant amount of your work will be published on your course Web site.

Course Goals:

become knowlegeable about the social, political, legal, ethical, commercial and psychological aspects of the Internet
become familiar with basic hypertext theory
learn how to research, analyze, and critique Web resources
understand and observe copyright laws
create Web pages using HTML code, work with Web publishing programs, and work with ".gif" and ".jpg" graphics files)
engage in and critique communication on a variety of computer-mediated communication mediums
gain real world work experience through the experiential /service learning component of the course - using your technology skills to provide some technology service (create or redesign Web site, do Internet research, teach Internet skills, etc.) for a non-profit organization.
further develop your collaborative work skills and teach each other
compose well written compositions for a variety of audiences and purposes
articulate how your learning experiences in this course relate to NCC Competencies.

Required experiential learning component:
You are expected to contribute 45 hours of time to fulfill the one (1) credit experiential learning component. The work load is commensurate with the number of hours. You will perform a technology outreach (ie., design or redesign a Web site, teach Internet skills, perform Internet research) community service for a non-profit organization. Some of these projects may be done as a group; however, each member of the group must still contribute 45 hours of time. You will meet with the organization members and submit a proposal before embarking on your project. You must pass the experiential learning requirement in order to pass the course, if, of course, your grades for the other assignments also warrant a passing grade.

TEXTS:
Required Texts: Composing Cyberspace: identity, community, and knowledge in the electronic age, Richard Holeton, Boston: McGraw-Hill (Also see Companion Web site for Composing Cyberspace); Service Learning Handbook (Online); Technology Handbook for NCLC 249 - Internet Literacy (Pick up in bookstore, which now dispenses copy center material.)

Optional Text: The Longman Guide to the Web, Lester Faigley, Addison-Wesley Pub Co., 1999. (Also see the Companion Web site for The Longman Guide. (Supplementary readings may vary from section to section.)

Participation: The sharing of talent, knowledge, ideas, and questions is an important element of a community of learners; therefore, active participation is required. This includes attendance and engagement in discussion, both in class and electronically. You are expected to come to class having read the material and having completed all course work due when that class meets. (Always bring your coursework on a disk when you come to class.) Your individual instructor will have her/his specific participation requirements related to in-class and online discussions and other course activities.

* No work for another class may be recycled for this course.

Quality of work, not just completing it, determines the grade you earn on assignments.

Grading standard for final grades:

90 - 100 = A

80 - 89 = B

70 - 79 = C

60 - 69 = D

59 - - - = F

Plusses and minusses will be figured in, if indicated.