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UNIV 101-049D First Year Experience Syllabus

The Path to Worldwide Computing: Where are we now and how can we proceed?

General Course Information

Instructor:Lori Pollock, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, 436 Smith Hall, 302-831-1953, lastname at cis.udel.edu.

Peer Mentor: Meghan Snyder, me(put last name here without parentheses)@udel.edu.

Meeting Times and Place

Mondays, 11:15AM - 12:05PM, 115 Gore Hall

Course Description

We will explore the challenges to providing worldwide computing, with a focus on the benefits and challenges of equal access across borders, cultures, languages, economies, and human physical abilities. We will also examine strategies and programs towards meeting these challenges.

We will also examine and discuss issues that are vital to your future success at the University of Delaware, including providing students with the materials necessary for developing skills for navigating the University of Delaware.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, the students should be able to:

  • Be aware of the state of the world in terms of access to computing
  • Understand the challenges in global computing beyond providing access
  • Be able to identify the organizations and their strategies toward increasing access
  • Understand the differences between facts and opinions
  • Analyze the impact of our actions and inactions on ourselves and others
  • Understand how to look at the ethics of a problem or situation, recognizing that our viewpoint is influenced by our own values
  • Begin to recognize the global implications of actions taken locally

Schedule

Sept 1: Pizza dinner with peer mentor and faculty; getting to know each other, class goals, passports;

Sept 3: Greg Mortenson talks at 3:30 or 7pm, Mitchell Hall

Sept 7: Labor Day, no class meeting

Sept 14: Three Cups of Tea discussion

  • pre-class homework: Complete reading the book; Find at least one online article (dated within the past 2 years) about a country or group of people that are denied access to computing like you are accustomed to, and add the link to the course wiki labeled by the group (eg., countryname), kind of denial, and your name

Sept 21: Decisions and personal safety: Alcohol awareness

  • pre-class homework: watch video Delaware: On the Rocks (media services VHS#4399 – 26 min); and find out who UD freshman Brett Griffin was and what happened to him and his companions

(led by peer mentor)

Sept 28: State of global access to computing in the world discussion

  • pre-class homework: Read at least one of the articles posted by your classmates and be prepared to summarize/discuss

Oct 5: Decisions and personal safety: Safer sexuality

  • pre-class homework: watch video Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies and Alcohol (media services DVD 3848 – 44 min)

(led by peer mentor)

Oct 12: Campus explorations: sharing discoveries

  • pre-class homework: complete 2 campus explorations

DUE: 1st individual meeting with Professor Pollock

Oct 19:

Oct 26:

Nov 2:

Nov 9:

Nov 16:

Nov 23:

Nov 30:

Dec 7

Student Page for Sharing Links/Resources

Requirements

Required Textbook

Mortenson, Greg – Three Cups of Tea, The book, by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin, features a compelling personal account of how one man has worked to make a difference by building schools in the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Students are encouraged to read this book prior to the start of classes in the fall.

Course Requirements

As a student in this course, you are expected to complete the following required activities AND record your attendance/participation in your FYE passport:

  • all Monday morning class meeting sessions (actively participating in class discussions)
  • Greg Mortenson talk, either 3:30pm or 7:30pm on Thursday, September 3rd, Mitchell Hall
  • pre-Mortenson class meeting, Tuesday, September 1, 6pm
  • class “internet” exploration activities on worldwide computing access
  • 2 outside class meetings with your peer mentor, Meghan
  • 2 outside individual meetings with me, Professor Pollock
  • 14 fieldwork experiences (on average 1/week), including
    • 4 campus explorations ((e.g., best campus study spots, library resources, health center, museums, fitness centers, computing centers, best food, dept office for major, best dorm, writing center, etc)
    • 2 community explorations (e.g, Main St. restaurants, post office, banks, and bike shops; Salvation Army and Goodwill, city hall, bike trail, Creek Rd and White Clay Creek State Park, reservoir, etc)
    • 2 academic enrichment workshops (e.g., time management, academic management, note taking, reading strategies, test taking, preparing for finals)
    • 2 people explorations (e.g., academic adviser, professors during office hours)
    • 4 campus cultural events (e.g., film series, speakers, concerts, etc)

Students may also plan an optional group fieldtrip to a nearby destination of their choice.

University Requirements

UD email: If you want to receive your UD e-mail at a non-UD mailbox (e.g., AOL, Hotmail, etc.), you must forward your UD e-mail to that mailbox and ensure that it is working so that you can receive and read official UD e-mail, including course-related materials, in a timely fashion. Instructions for forwarding are posted on the UD Network Page [www.udel.edu/network]

Assessment

You will be graded pass/fail for this course. To pass, you must complete all of the required assignments.