Nota bene:  This is the oooooold syllabus.  I will be updating this as soon as I can come up for air.  This is just so you can get a general idea of what the class is all about.--Keith

Fort Valley State University
Department of English and Foreign Languages
College of Arts and Sciences

ENGL 2073  On-Line Communication (3 cr.)

	Instructor:  B. Keith Murphy, Ph.D. Professor of English	email:  Sophist@Bigfoot.Com Yahoo! Instant Messenger ID:  docsophist
	Office:  Bond 013	Virtual Library
	Phone:  825-6680 (direct) 6392 (messages)	fax:  (912)825.6110

Required Text:

•    Any good basic guide to HTML.

Course Description:

• Through On-Line Communication, the studetn will develop an understanding and practical knowledge of the history of on-line communication, its practical use, and the construction, writing, and posting of electronic text.  Students will apply theoretical knowledge to the practice of electronic communication ranging from e-mail to the World Wide Web.

Course Objectives:

    As a result of successful completion of this course, the student will:

•             gain an understanding of the history of, philosophy behind, and methods of electronic communication,
•             be able to critically evaluate electronic media and messages, and
•             know the means behind electronic communication and will be fluent in the application of this technology.

This course will allow the student to gain the following skills as delineated in Fort Valley State University's "General Education Outcomes" in the following manner (the letters and numbers in brackets refer to specific "General Education Outcomes" as outlined by FVSU):

• [1,c]  The student will understand the technology and theory behind computer mediated communication in both theory and practice.
• [1,d, 2,a]  The student will critically evaluate computer mediated messages and campaigns.

As this is an online course, much of the pace of the course will be set by you.  I will be adding new material on a weekly basis, so be sure to keep as up to date as possible.  What follows is a suggested schedule:

week one:  history and jargon of the internet

week two:  Computer mediated communication

week three:  The technical side for non-technical brains.

week four:  Electronic messaging

week five:  Electronic mail as a communication tool

week six:  Spam and other legal issues

week seven:  chats, irc, icq, muds, and moos

week eight:  MID TERM EXAM

week nine:  The World Wide Web

week ten:  HTML, SGML, VRML, Java, and gif89

week eleven:  coding HTML

week twelve:  hyperlinks, page layout, and cool toys

week thirteen:  legal, ethical, and practical concerns and considerations.

week fourteen to end of semester:  individual work on projects and term paper.

Final Exam time and date TBA

Course Policies:


1. Attendance.  This is an online course.  When and where you work is up to you.  However, be aware that WebCT records which pages you visit and how much time you spend on each page...so I will have a record of your cyber attendance.

2. Assignment Format:

Unless instructed otherwise, all work must be typed . All assignments become the property of
Fort Valley State University; they will be kept on file for one quarter after the present on and then destroyed.

3.  Grading Policy.

Grades for essays and examinations are based on the following criteria:

A grade of C means that the work in question was of "average" quality.  All basic criteria were met.  C work  demonstrates no original thought, little creativity, and little investment in time, effort, or resources.

A grade of B means that the work in question is good (above average, yet not quite excellent).  B work demonstrates some original thought, creativity, and investment of time, effort, pride, and resources.  B works have minimal errors or logical flaws.

A grade of A means that the work in question is excellent (unsure? look it up), standing above the work of your peers.  A work demonstrates original thought, creativity, individual pride, and investment in effort and resources.  A work has no errors, no logical flaws and is well presented.

A grade of D means the the work in question was rushed, poorly executed, and demonstrates a lack of understanding of the ideas isolated by the assignment.  D work demonstrates little thought, effort, pride, or responsibility.  A D may be assigned for an assignment that fails to fill the requirements of the assignment.

An F is given to work that fails to fulfill the assignment requirements.

No Late Work Will Be Accepted

Final (letter) grades will be determined using a simple decimal scale where A=90 to 100%; B=80 to 89%; C=70 to 79%; D=60 to 69%; and F =59% and below.

There are 500 points possible in this course, divided as follows:
Mid Term Examination:  100 pts.
Final Examination:          100 pts
Term Paper                   100 pts
WWW pages                100 pts
quizzes and assignments 100 pts

Technological Expectations:
As this is a tech-based course, you are expected to have more than a passing familiarity with the internet.  You are also expected to have: 

• An email address (outside of the WebCT class mail).  If you do not have an address, you can sign up for free, web-based email at:  http://bunniwerks.zzn.com.  You will be expected to check this email at least daily.
• You will need to sign up for the mailing list of my classes at:  http://www.onelist.com/community/MurphyClasses.  You will be required to set up an account with onelist (it's free) to participate.
• Access to the Internet.
• Word Processing software, email software, and a good HTML compiler.