CISC 355: Computers, Ethics, and Society

Fall 2011
Instructor: Richard Gordon

Course Info, Grades, and Texts   |   Syllabus   |   Log in to Canvas   |   Log in to Sakai

General Information

Instructor:
Richard Gordon
Office: 227LL, UDCC (192 S. Chapel Street)
Office Hours: Perkins Scrounge, Wednesdays, Noon - 1 pm & By Appointment
Phone: (302) 831-1717
T.A./Grader:
Brad Fletcher
Office: 103 Smith Hall (TA Room)
Office Hours: 103 Smith Hall, Tu & Th 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.:w

Meeting Information:
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:00 - 6:15 p.m.
325 Purnell Hall

Required Texts:
  • Quinn, M. (2012) Ethics for the Information Age. 5th Edition (Quinn)
  • Singh, S. (1999) The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography. (Singh)
  • An assortment of readings on the World-Wide Web.

Course Requirements:

In part because the content for this class changes from year to year--and sometimes from week to week, I'm always tinkering with this course. This year, we'll use
  • Sakai or Canvas (new LMS on campus to compare with Sakai)
  • UD Capture (recorded classroom sessions)
  • Google Groups
  • and Google Drive (formerly Google Docs).

The best way to teach an applied ethics class is to give students the opportunity to discuss situations, either deciding how one could sort a situation out, or making sure one understands where other people's decisions come from. Therefore, I try to keep lecture to a minimum to leave plenty of time for our discussion. And you'll have plenty of opportunity to continue class discussion on line.

Here's how your work will be evaluated: 36% of your grade will come from "daily work" (online quizzes, in class exercises); 36% of your grade will come from online discussion (including current news stories); 28% of your grade will come from test and exam scores.

Expect quizzes or in-class exercises daily to make sure you stay up with the reading. I believe one reviewer at an off-campus review site referred to my quizzes as "painfully easy." Keep up, and 33% of your grade will be A+.

Class Attendance, Participation, Late Assignments, Academic Honesty:

  1. Students are expected to participate actively in all class discussions. Hence the daily quizzes and exercises. Being an active listener is fine. However, being physically present and reading the newspaper, studying for an exam in another class, facebooking or texting or "chatting on line with babes all day" does not make you an active participant.

  2. You are adults and can make your own decisions about class attendance. Rule of thumb for this and all classes: try not to cut class more often than the instructor does. Seriously, my advice is that you treat class like you would treat a business obligation: Use common sense and courtesy and let your instructors know when you have to miss class meetings.

  3. CISC355 is a participatory class. If you miss class, you are depriving your colleagues of your input. Whether you are present or absent, you are responsible for every class meeting. All class meetings are recorded by the UD Capture service. There will be a link to the recordings on the class Canvas or Sakai page.

  4. On days you miss class:
    • To preserve credit for a completed quiz or exercise due at class time:
      • Take the quiz or complete the exercise before class.
      • Then watch the UDCapture session of the class meeting.
      • Then post a meaningful response about the class meeting or readings in Google Groups. Use "Class Absence" in the heading, in addition to a reference to the substance of your post.
      • Complete the post before the next class meeting.
    • To receive half-credit for an in-class exercise or a quiz you did not complete, follow the steps above, making your post to Google Groups before the next class meeting.

  5. Students are expected to do their own work. I fully expect you to discuss things outside of class with your colleagues; however, when it comes time to take a quiz, do an individual project, write an exam, etc., all students need to write independently--unless the assignment specifically asks for you to collaborate with classmates.

  6. Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated (unless otherwise noted on the syllabus). Any change in a due date must be negotiated with the instructor ahead of time. Do not assume that a date change has been granted just because you asked for one. Wait for the instructor's written approval or denial of your request. However, ask for an extension rather than copy someone else's assignment. Several years ago, two students received zeros on their final exams because one copied the other's exam with that student's permission.

Grade Scale:

                   A = 94.0 and up; A- = 90.1 - 93.9
B+ = 87.5 - 90.0;  B = 83.5 - 87.4; B- = 80.1 - 83.4
C+ = 77.5 - 80.0;  C = 74.0 - 77.4; C- = 71.1 - 73.9
D+ = 68.0 - 71.0;  D = 65.0 - 67.9; D- = 63.0 - 64.9
F  = under 63.0

If you keep up with the work, grades are not usually too much of an issue. In aggregate, over 80% of the students in my sections did work that earned a grade of B- or higher. Given how easy the quizzes usually are, it is rare for a student's work to earn a grade under 75 in my sections. But it does happen; three students' work (or lack thereof) did earn "F" marks in the past couple of years. But keep up and the grades will work themselves out.

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Fall 2012 Syllabus

The syllabus and this course information page were last updated on October 13, 2012. They will be updated from time to time during the semester.