A depth of knowledge of computers sufficient to understand the implications and impact of applying a computer to everyday situations. Junior standing and successful completion of CS2604 and COMM 2004 are also required. PLEASE NOTE: These prerequisites are strictly enforced. Any attempt to get into this course without having the prerequisites will be considered an Honor System violation.
WARNING: This course does not fulfill the requirements for CS minors as a 3000-level course option, or a higher level course for potential internal transfer applicants.
Required textbook: A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues for Computers and the Internet. Sara Baase. 2nd Ed. Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, NJ. 2003
This course will also cover many current topics and issues that aren't necessarily in the book. Sources for this information are newspapers of record, magazines and other online periodicals. Please note that the U.S. isn't the only place where technology happens; perusing a mix of US and international media is always a good idea. Examples of good sources are the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Times (UK), BBC, Times of India, Wired ,Reuters and Slashdot. Google's news crawler also has a tech section which is updated as new stories around the world are posted.
Another source of information is a digital library compiled by a former professor of this class, J.A.N. Lee.
| Coursework | Percentage |
| Participation | 10% |
| Presentation | 10% |
| Written Assignments | 50% |
| Quizzes/Class Contribution | 10% |
| Final | 20% |
| Total | 100% |
| Assignment Name | Percentage (total grade) |
| Essay | 20% |
| White Paper | 10% |
| Technical Paper | 10% |
| Resume/Letter | 5% |
| Resume | 5% |
| TOTAL | 50% overall grade |
It is the professor's responsibility to establish grading standards and work with the TA in grading. Your TA has the responsibility to grade homework and project assignments. Therefore, when you have questions about grading of these, you should first see the TA who graded the work. All questions regarding grading must be resolved within one week of return of the graded work. Keep all graded work until the end of the semester. In case your grade is incorrectly recorded, you will need to bring in the graded original in order for the recorded grade to be changed.
If you are late with a written assignment, you will receive a 20% deduction up through the beginning of the first class after the due date. By "first class after the due date" here, we mean the first regularly schedule class time, regardless of whether we actually meet for that class period. There is a 40% deduction up through the beginning of the next class after that. Papers later than this will not be graded. Where you are unable to complete an assignment as a result of documented reason, such as illness, family duties, or some other event that incapacitates you, then you should let your instructor or your section TA know as soon as possible of your problem, giving an estimate of when you expect to complete the assignment. A reasonable grace period will be granted in cases of documented incapacity.
The Virginia Tech honor code is in effect for all work, whether performed individually or in teams. This means that individual assignments are to be done alone, without help from someone else. Similarly, team assignments are to be done by the team, without help from others.
Exceptions: Getting help in your writing from the Writing center is an important exception, and is always encouraged. Further, this application of the honor code is not intended to interfere with the free exchange of ideas and peer assistance that support learning.
NOTE about plagiarism: We will be especially zealous in prosecuting Honor Court cases involving plagiarism from the Web or Internet. Plagiarism of any work from a current or former student in this course is also considered to be an honor code violation. Through the use of peer evaluations and collaborative development, and the use of the WWW, there is a strong possibility that you will be exposed to concepts and ideas that you can use in your own work. Getting permission to use those ideas and concepts from the originator (except when it is already in the public domain) and/or giving appropriate acknowledgment in your own work circumvents a charge of plagiarism.
All assignments submitted shall be considered graded work unless otherwise noted. All aspects of your coursework are covered by the honor system. Any suspected violations of the honor code will be promptly reported to the honor system. Honesty in your academic work will develop into professional integrity. The faculty and students of Virginia Tech will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty.
We wish to make any accommodations needed by any student because of a disability. Please contact the instructor during the first week of class.