Course Description: Core 103 - First Year Seminar

• Digital Natives: Reflection on the Now of Technology
  Those born after the early nineteen nineties have been characterized as digital natives and those from the early seventies as gamers. Starting in 2012, the graduating undergraduate classes have only known education with access to the net. This course is an inverse ethnography where the class members are both the investigators and the subjects of the investigation. What does it mean to have an education where Wikipedia is always available; where expertise is diffuse; where the hours of game time equal or surpass the hours of formal education? Through novels, films, and critical academic writing, we will examine the rise of computing, the limitations on the representation and transformation of data, and the experience of growing up in a world mediated by digital technologies.
  
  
• Prerequisites:  None

Course Objectives

• Students will understand the history of computing and its social context
  
• Students will be able to identify differing roles of computers
  
• Students will appreciate the models of research, humanist and scientific
  
• Students will prepare materials to demonstrate role of technology in society.
  
• Students will internalize uses of technology for specific purposes. 
• Students will question the roles of technology in society.
  

Text and Other Materials

	Player Piano Kurt Vonnegut (Ebook edition available) (Audio book available)
	Desk Set (DVD) (available via Netflix, iTunes, or Amazon)
	2001 Space Odyssey (DVD) (available via Netflix, iTunes, or Amazon)
	Program or Be Programmed Douglas Rushkoff (Audio CD available)
Readings and Case Studies	Links at: http://bridges.rwu.edu

Course Communications

Course Requirements

Readings and Materials
Read the chapters, cases and view the movies. Make notes as you will be required to respond. You may need to see the movie more than once just as you may need to read the assignments more than once. See guides here: http://www.wbrett.com/guides/index.html

Responses
Written responses are expected to be in standard written English and not mere bullet points. APA citation standard will be used for longer essays.

Quiz
Quiz management will be via LMS, likely http://bridges.rwu.edu. They will be timed. You will be able to use any resources except the help of a live person. 

Attendance Policy
You are expected to attend class. If you cannot attend class. contact me via e-mail (wmckenzie@rwu.edu)  or phone (401-254-3534).  Unauthorized wireless communications (cell phones, pagers, PDA's, laptops, gameboys and such devices) during class is equivalent to an absence.
If you miss more than four classes, deductions will be made from your final grade.
Note: There are additional events outside class for which attendance may be taken. Be aware that these events are equivalent to an assignment or class attendance.

Academic Integrity
Assignments you submit and projects you present are your own work alone. You are expected to credit intellectual property sources for all media used in your projects. Intellectual theft results in a zero for the assignment.
Review the student handbook regarding policies about plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty and cheating. There will be negative consequences for those who do not properly document their sources or who copy from another individual. Working together is encouraged, however, the work you submit should be your own unless specifically noted as a group or team project.

Course Calendar
The calendar  is your guide to the course. It is my best estimate of the course at the date of publication. I reserve the right to make changes depending upon the pace of the class and external events. The calendar will be updated on-line. You are responsible for schedule changes.

Accessibility for Students
Students who wish to receive academic accommodations for this course must first register with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) in order to begin the accommodation process. The SAS office will provide registered students with the specific information they will need to share with each instructor. SAS is located on the second floor of the Main University Library and is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. Please note Student Accessibility Services was previously known as Disability Support Services and is referenced on page 17 of the 2010-2011 RWU Catalog.

Course Grading

Final average incorporates class attendance, participation, quizzes, essays, and bibliography.

Component	Weight
Classroom Participation	300
Quizzes	100
Mini essay I	50
Mini essay II	100
Annotated Bibliography I	50
Annotated Bibliography Ii	100
Final Project	300
Total	1000

Course Materials
Course materials are covered by the appropriate copyright. Locally prepared course materials are the property of the faculty, which includes hand-outs, website content, and other presentation materials or assignments. Use beyond the classroom requires permission.

Course Recordings
Audio and video recordings of the course are permitted with the instructor's consent. These materials are to assist you  in completing your coursework and are not authorized for redistribution.

Student Course Materials
Completed assignments, especially projects,  may be used to build instructional portfolios and serve as instructional examples for future classes. All reasonable attempts to remove personal identification while maintaining the integrity of the project will be made.