Course Description.

Basic Rule: Show respect. Respect other's opinions, writing styles, and property.

Stuff to read

All reading and reference  material is available online, but I also strongly recommend Rebecca Blood's The Weblog Handbook.

Funky (?) stuff we are going to do

This course will take as its content the future of technology and literacy—what will it mean to be literate in the next 5, 10, 25 years?  You will be asked to test the educational value of "weblogging" as an activity that combines computer and basic literacy abilities, and then you will be asked to look more broadly at new literacy demands students and citizens of the 21^st century are likely to face.  You will be given an opportunity to "stretch" yourselves: use skills and tools you have not yet mastered in order to create a short video, flash movie, web site, or other new-media form.  And finally, you will be asked to reflect on the impact technology and literacy has on individuals’ sense of identity and community.   You will read weblogs, personal home pages, online journalism, and academic essays relevant to the course topic.  No specific computer expertise is required in order to take this course.

During and after doing all this stuff, I hope that you find yourself improving and becoming more confident as a reader, writer, and researcher. 

Stuff the lawyers want me to say (and they are right to insist)

Special Needs: In keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act, I would encourage students with disabilities who need accommodations in this course to contact me as soon as possible so that the appropriate arrangements can be made to accommodate particular needs.  This syllabus can be made available in alternative formats upon request.

Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism: Work submitted for this course must adhere to the Code of Academic Responsibility and Conduct as cited in the Handbook of Student Policies:  “The academic community is operated on the basis of honesty, integrity, and fair play.  Occasionally, this trust is violated when cheating occurs, either inadvertently or deliberately.  This code will serve as the guideline for cases where cheating, plagiarism, or other academic improprieties have occurred. . . . Faculty members may fail the student for the particular assignment, test, or course involved, or they may recommend that the student drop the course in question, or these penalties may be varied with the gravity of the offense and the circumstances of the particular case” (65).

Academic Honesty Defined:  All written and oral presentations must “respect the intellectual rights of others.  Statements lifted verbatim from publications must be cited as quotations.  Ideas, summaries or paraphrased material, and other information taken from the literature must be properly referenced” (Guidelines for the Presentation of Disquisitions,  NDSU Graduate School, 4).

Attendance and Deadlines:  Attendance is expected; if you cannot make a class, please inform me in advance.  More than three absences will result in loss of ten points per absence.

Grades: All assignments must be submitted on time unless a prior arrangement is made with me.  In order to complete the course, late submissions must be turned in, but they will be penalized 10 points per late day. 

Grade Scale:  A = 1000-900; B = 800-899; C = 700-799; D = 600-699; F= below 600.