| a | weaving
a virtual web:
practical approaches to new information technologies edited by
Elizabeth Sommer's Sample Course Materials Electronic Research and Writing
COURSE PREREQUISITE: English 214 INTRODUCTION: Participants will learn to use a wide variety of computer tools–SFSU library databases; World Wide Web search engines; E-mail; SFSU’s Conference on the Web (COW); H.E.L.P. (Humanities Educational Leadership Program); Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment (DIWE). We will simultaneously explore DeLillo’s White Noise and Roszak’s The Cult of Information, works that examine and critique the convergence of technology and the humanities, while studying both computer-mediated research methods (e.g. Campbells) and theories about musical, artistic and linguistic abstractions in relation to computers (e.g. Holtzman). Students will focus on their own research projects in the sciences and/or humanities, guided by the course questions (below) and sharing information, knowledge and discoveries with the group. PRINT SOURCES NEEDED: Required Texts (All at SFSU Bookstore): Campbell, D. & M. The Student’s Guide to Doing
Research on the Internet
Other Materials: Floppy disks for your work. Course Requirements: 1. Class participation (10%). More than three absences will affect your final grade by 5% per absence. In addition, you must submit all three Working Project drafts on time to work in on-line peer response groups. If you fail to do so you will be penalized as absent and will need to submit proof of peer response (a tape, an Interchange session, notes) with the final Working Project. 2. Conference on the Web (COW) (10%). Three kinds of out-of-class COW participation are: (1) You’ll take a turn as a discussion leader of readings (to be explained); (2) You’ll give a COW Presentation and lead a discussion of one of your Working Projects; (3) You’ll actively discuss readings, Working Projects and Course Questions each week. 3. Three Working Projects (about 5 "pages" each in print terminology) (50%). Original interpretations of technology and the sciences, humanities, literature, cultural phenomena, first submitted electronically in draft form for peer review. These works can take many forms: hypertext form, essays, web sites. All three can be linked into one larger project or each can be separate. One of these Working Projects can be done collaboratively if you wish. If possible, please submit all final Working Projects both on disk and in paper form. Both early drafts and final papers must be submitted by the deadlines written on the syllabus or will be considered late. Late papers will be penalized half a letter grade per week day. Everyone, however, will receive a voucher allowing him or her to turn in one late piece of work (either a draft or a final working paper)with no penalty, no questions asked and no explanations required. 4. Weekly readings with assignments with your written responses (10%). Four unannounced reading quizzes will be given. 5. Weekly computer workshops (20%): obtaining an e-mail account; using the e-mail program PINE; conducting a Boolean search; research using SFSU library resources; research on the World Wide Web. Use of H.E.L.P. (Humanities Educational Leadership Project); CLIP Tutorial; DAEDALUS local area network discussions; hypertext programs (Hypercard, Storyspace) to develop computer research expertise. Proof of completion of Library Requirement is due by 3/18/96. GRADING: To receive credit for NEXA 365, you must complete/fulfill all of the course requirements. The percentages after each of the above course requirements is the amount of credit you will receive for that portion of the work. Guiding Course Questions:
As you read the course material, please keep a journal
(on-line or on paper) of questions, thoughts, reactions, disagreements,
opinions, points of interest. I’ll seldom if ever collect this record but
we’ll usually use these texts to begin discussing the readings. You may
well find the seeds of your three Works in Progress here as well.
|
