NCLC 249 Internet Literacy

INSTRUCTOR: Andrew J. Ryan Office hours Thur 5 - 7 PM or by appointment; 703.993.1436;

Course Description and goals:
This is a 4 credit New Century College course. The subject of study is various aspects of the Internet - Web publishing, evaluating Web sources, investigating virtual communities, becoming knowledgeable about copyright and the Internet, and other major Internet issues. A significant amount of class discussion will be on the Web.  You will learn some basic html , use some Web publishing software, and learn Web design principles.  This is not a graphics design class or advanced Web publishing class. The major thrust of this course is academic - we will study and critique the Internet culture, discuss basic hypertext theory, and do a significant amount of reading, writing and critiquing.  A significant amount of your work will be published on your course Web site. You will have the opportunity to revise some of your work if you follow these guidelines.

This course has a required experiential learning component,  for which you and your group members 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. You will meet with the organization members and submit a proposal. You are expected to contribute 45 hours of time outside of class to fulfill the one (1) credit experiential learning component. 

The work load is commensurate with the number of hours. The sharing of  talent, knowledge, ideas, and questions is an important element of a community of learners, so active participation is required in the class and with your group members. You will be expected to assume the role of mentor to your class members as you share your talents. You will assume the role of teachers when you investigate and report on Internet topics and publish your findings in a digital form.. 

• 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 
• createWeb 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 the New Century College Competencies. 

Required Texts: 

• The Emerging Cyberculture : Literacy, Paradigm and Paradox;Stephanie Gibson (Editor) Ollie O. Oriedo (Editor) Ollie Oviedo (Editor)
• Composing cyberspace : identity, community, and knowledge in the electronic age, Richard Holeton
• The College Guide to the Web, Lester Faigley, Addison-Wesley Pub Co., 1999;
• Service Learning Handbook (Pick up in course materials copy center).
• Since this is an Internet Literacy class, appropriately, many of our readings will be on the Internet, including Cyberculture Resources (http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/cyber-resources.htm).

Participation:
You will be assigned to groups and are expected to work with group members on group projects and help each other as you are learning new technology skills. If a student does not actively participate in the group projects, that student's individual project grade may be downgraded accordingly. You will evaluate each other's group performance at the end of the semester, using this form. Participation in in-class and electronic class discussion is included in your participation grade. You are expected to come to class having read the material for the class and have ready any course work due for that class. (Always bring your coursework on a disk when you come to class.) You are expected to  have your work posted by the due dates.  

Class discussion: We will engage in in-class and online discussion. Come prepared for discussions by keeping up with the readings and the assignments. Much of our class discussion, synchronous and asynchronous will take place online on Townhall (http://townhall.gmu.edu)  See instructions for registering for and using Townhall. Small student groups will lead class discussions, based on reading responses in Townhall.