Course Schedule, Fall 2011

I have been asked to provide a rough schedule of my course, including the readings and free-write assignments. I will update this post throughout the semester with that information.

Each numbered bullet corresponds to 1 week. Free write assignments are given in sub-bullets. This is a standard 3-credit course on the semester plan, so I have 15 weeks of class with 3 hours of course meetings per week. The course meets two times per week, hence two free-writes per week.

Note that I had a week of parental leave this semester, and that examinations and holidays eat up another week, so there are only 13 weeks of course content listed in this schedule.

1. Ethics in a Computing Culture, Chapter 1.
   • Section 1.1.1 all questions
   • Question 15 from the chapter exercises.
2. Ethics in a Computing Culture, Chapter 2.
   • Section 2.3.5 question #2
   • Question 17 from the chapter exercises.
3. Ethics in a Computing Culture, first half of Chapter 3 (up through 3.4). "Analysis of student privacy rights in plagiarism detection." (This is a paper that I presented at APPE, and which is currently in submission to JSEE.).
   • Topic brainstorm free-write for 1st paper assignment (in class, students workshop their theses for the first paper)
   • "Should we use TurnItIn.com to deter plagiarism in this class? If the class is not unanimous on this point, how should we resolve the conflict?" Also, full topic proposal for first paper.
4. Ethics in a Computing Culture, rest of Chapter 3. "The Murderer" by Ray Bradbury.
   • Paper 1 is due. Do in-class peer review exercise. With remaining time, discussion of Ch 3.
   • "What role does 'privacy' play in Bradbury's story, 'The Murderer'? What motivates the murderer to do what he did? Were his actions rational?"
5. EiaCC, Chapter 4, up through end of copyright section (4.3.1 in the manuscript, may be different in the printed book)
   • Questions 2, 3 and 4 in the "Fair Use" section
   • Accusations of plagiarism in popular art are incredibly common (see, for example, accusations against Todd Goldman, and Shepard Fairey, among others). Even if all of the accusations are factually accurate, were the artist's actions actually ethically wrong? Explain your reasoning.
6. Finish Chapter 4
   • Free-write assignment for Paper 2
   • One of the following: Section 4.7.1 all three questions, OR Section 4.7.2 both questions
7. Read all of Chapter 5, and "Computing and Accountability" by Nissenbaum
   • Section 5.3.3, Question 5
   • For each of Nissenbaum’s three recommendations, tell me whether or not you think it is practical, and briefly explain your reasoning.
8. Read first half of Chapter 6, p. 4-21 of McLuhan's Understanding Media, p. 98-101, 107-108, 129-133, 190-191 in McLuhan's Laws of Media. (Note: In the printed edition of the book these McLuhan readings are summarized in Chapter 6, but they do not appear in the pre-print version I am using this semester)
   • Understanding Media: What one sentence from this reading is the most important, or sums up the rest the best? Write it down, and then explain your reasoning.
   • Laws of Media: Select a recently invented technology (like Twitter, “the cloud,” Skype, etc) and create your own Tetrad summarizing its effects on society.
9. Second half of Chapter 6, plus "The Gadget Lover" rom McLuhan's Understanding Media.
   • For free-writing, select one of the "long" questions from the end of the chapter exercises.
10. "The Erotic Ontology of Cyberspace" by Heim, and Chapter 7 of EiaCC
    • Heim free-write: Tell me which paragraph you found most interesting or provocative. Briefly explain why you selected this paragraph.
      Tell me which paragraph is most at odds with or contradicts your sense of “cyberspace.” Briefly explain why you selected this paragraph. (Thanks to Mark Hoffman and Timothy Dansdill of Quinnipiac University for this reading and exercise.)
    • Ch 7 free-write: Either Q8 or Q9 from the end of chapter exercises.
11. Chapter 8 of EiaCC
    • Ch 8 reflection question: In your view, is there a duty to give people from vulnerable groups special (better) treatment than others? Explain your reasoning using one of the moral theories from Chapter 1.
12. Chapter 9 of EiaCC
    • Answer the reflection questions from the "flash crash" section.
13. Week reserved for student persuasive presentations (Pecha-Kucha format)