Syllabus for THC-625

TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMAN COMMUNITY: CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Technology and the Human Community: Challenges and Responses looks at technics and technology historically and philosophically. The course will cover critical issues specific to contemporary (and emerging) corporate and professional institutions, and the role of the professional practitioner dealing with political, economic, and social pressures. A key purpose of this course is to have students engage in and discuss serious issues concretely and with a view toward their resolution.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course, you should be able to:  

1. Define technology and distinguish between technics, science, and technology.
2. Articulate the relationships among the above.
3. Discuss the historical development of both techniques and technology.
4. Develop and test theories concerning how technology progresses.
5. Analyze and articulate the effects of technics and technology on society, politics, economics, and the military in historical situations.
6. Critique the effects of physical, social, political, and philosophical cultural contexts on the creation and dissemination of technological innovation.
7. Synthesize material and understandings from the other MALS courses as well as personal and professional experience with the materials, questions, and problems from this course.
8. Create a brief statement of philosophy of technology.
9. Use critical thinking and problem solving to analyze specific technology-related problems.
10. Apply course concepts and methods to work situations.

COURSE MATERIALS

You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbook is available from the University's textbook supplier, MBS Direct.

Required Textbooks

Supplementary Texts

Research Bibliography

COURSE STRUCTURE

Technology and the Human Community: Challenges and Responses is a three-credit online course, consisting of four modules. Modules include a study materials and activities. Module titles are listed below.

• Module 1: Technology and History

• Module 2: Technological Anthropology

• Module 3: New Paradigms

• Module 4: Technology and Ethics

ASSESSMENT METHODS

For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, written assignments and formal papers.  See below for more details.

Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.

Discussion Forums

You are required to participate in nine graded discussion forums, as well as an introduction forum in Module 1.  Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the courses modules.

Located within the Evaluation Rubrics section of the course Web site is the discussion forum rubric used to aid in the grading of online discussion assignments.

Written Assignments

You are required to complete three written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. These assignments will vary in length and depth.  

Each written assignment should not be reports of basic information.  A good written assignment is structured around a basic argument. The arguments/issues are laid out in the assignments. Be sure to present the variety of perspectives addressed in the readings/the course on any given topic.  These informal essay written assignments should be between 250-750 words.

See modules for more details.

Formal Papers

You are required to complete four formal papers.   Each formal paper should be no less than 750 words and no more than 1250 words.

See the Formal Papers area of the course Web site for more details.  

The following links provide online writing aids to help you with your paper assignments.

• OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue University
• Writer's Handbook, the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Thomas Edison State University’s Writing Style Guides

GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

• Online discussions (9)—30 percent
• Written assignments (3)—20 percent
• Formal papers (4)—50 percent

All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, discussion postings, projects, etc.). Graduate students must maintain a B average overall to remain in good academic standing.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

First Steps to Success

To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:

• Read carefully the entire Syllabus, making sure that all aspects of the course are clear to you and that you have all the materials required for the course.

• Take the time to read the entire Online Student Handbook. The Handbook answers many questions about how to proceed through the course, how to schedule exams, and how to get the most from your educational experience at Thomas Edison State University.

• Arrange to take your examination(s) by following the instructions in this Syllabus and the Online Student Handbook.

• Familiarize yourself with the learning management systems environment—how to navigate it and what the various course areas contain. If you know what to expect as you navigate the course, you can better pace yourself and complete the work on time.

• If you are not familiar with Web-based learning be sure to review the processes for posting responses online and submitting assignments before class begins.

Study Tips

Consider the following study tips for success:

• To stay on track throughout the course, begin each week by consulting the Course Calendar. The Calendar provides an overview of the course and indicates due dates for submitting assignments, posting discussions, and scheduling and taking examinations.

• Check Announcements regularly for new course information.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.

Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.

Academic Dishonesty

Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:

• Cheating
• Gaining or providing unauthorized access to examinations or using unauthorized materials during exam administration
• Submitting credentials that are false or altered in any way
• Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
• Forgery, fabricating information or citations, or falsifying documents
• Submitting the work of another person in whole or in part as your own (including work obtained through document sharing sites, tutoring schools, term paper companies, or other sources)
• Submitting your own previously used assignments without prior permission from the mentor
• Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others (including making tests, papers, and other course assignments available to other students, either directly or through document sharing sites, tutoring schools, term paper companies, or other sources)
• Tampering with the academic work of other students

Plagiarism

Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.

If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > “Citing Sources.”)

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

Writing Assistance at Smarthinking

Originality Report Checking at Turnitin

Disciplinary Process for Plagiarism

Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.

If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.

If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.

Possible sanctions include:

• Lower or failing grade for an assignment
• Lower or failing grade for the course
• Rescinding credits
• Rescinding certificates or degrees
• Recording academic sanctions on the transcript
• Suspension from the University
• Dismissal from the University