TEXTBOOK AND OTHER MATERIAL
Required: Using the INTERNET for Social Science Research and Practice, by Edward P. Kardas and Tommy M. Milford. 
Recommended Reference Material: Will be discussed in class. 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION
An introduction to basic computer concepts and operations, the basic tools of the Internet (ftp, gopher, telnet, www, searching, email, etc.), discussion lists and newsgroups, research possibilities, and basic web page construction.  Methods for efficiently locating specific information on the Internet will be emphasized.  Lecture 2 hours.  Laboratory 2 hours.  

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Because this is a skills-development course, attendance is crucial. Some moderately light reading is required. 

COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course will serve as an introduction to the Internet, the WWW, the Internet tools available today, and the research and communication potential of the Internet. Internet tools to be covered include: email and phonebooks, FTP and Archie, telnet, gopher and Veronica, the world wide web and web search engines, Usenet, and data bases. 

Students in the course will subscribe to and participate in appropriate discussion lists, get files and programs from ftp sites, use gopher and telnet to access information, use various search engines to locate new sources of information, and use email to communicate with others around the world. In addition, we will examine the resources available via the Internet for specific academic disciplines. We will also use one or more searchable databases to locate research studies for writing papers in the social sciences. 

Students will develop a research topic, and will learn how to publish their research findings on the Internet.  Web page construction techniques and procedures will constitute a significant segment of the semester. 

TEACHING METHODS
This class will be taught using a workshop approach. This means that guided exercises will be conducted in class, with assistance from the professor. 

Some class time will also be available for independent exploration by the student. Because of the size of the class and the nature of the guided exercises, however, it is important that the student avoid independent exploration during class unless instructed to do so. Independent exploration can be done in the classroom following class, or in the computer lab (MP200), or from the students’ home. 

Students should expect that, in addition to the classroom work, it will probably be necessary to spend several hours per week to refine techniques, explore the Internet, and to complete assignments.  Students who do not have home computers, or who do not have Internet access at home, can use the resources of the Computer Lab.  Students using the lab should realize that lab personnel may not have the expertise, or experience on the Internet, to offer more than very basic assistance. 

EVALUATION TECHNIQUES
Grades for this course will be determined by scores earned on tests and assignments. Attendance will also be a factor (see Attendance Police, below). 

A series of ten to twenty specific assignments, with point values of five to twenty points each, are planned.  The total point value of these assignments is expected to be 150 to 200 points. 

A “term paper”, published as a web page, is required.  Quality of research, writing quality, and web publishing technique will contribute to the grade.  The total point value of the web page project will be 200 points. 

Much of the learning in this course will be demonstrated by the student by doing the assigned tasks.  There will, however, be some exams or quizzes that will measure the student’s mastery of terminology, factual material, or procedural matters.  The total point value of the exams or quizzes will be 100 points. 

GRADING SCALE
Your final grade will be determined using the traditional 90/80/70/60% formula: 
90 - 100% = A 
80 -   89% = B 
70 -   79% = C 
60 -   69% = D 
  0 -   59% = F 

ATTENDANCE POLICY
School policy requires your attendance in class, and use of “common sense” should suggest that it is to your advantage to attend class. Because of the hands-on nature of this course, absences will result in a loss of credit. The first two absences will each incur a 10 point penalty. Any additional absences will incur a 20 point penalty. In addition, veterans who miss six hours of class will be reported as excessively absent, as required by law. 

Late arrival or early departure is preferred to absence, but only if you are as unobtrusive as is humanly possible when arriving late or departing early. 

You are responsible for any information you miss because of absence. If you have reason to believe that you have missed something (and you should), contact a reliable fellow student for that information. 

Since the exams or quizzes will begin at the beginning of the period it should be obvious that you must be on time for class on exam days. Students who arrive late on test days must complete the exam or quiz by the time the last person who arrived on time is finished. 

LATE ASSIGNMENTS AND MAKE-UP TEST POLICY
To discourage late assignments, a substantial penalty will be imposed on assignments that are not completed on time. Make-up tests must be completed before returning to class. Students requiring make-up tests must coordinate with the instructor. Make-up exams may involve a different format, and will incur a penalty. 

WITHDRAWAL
The last day to withdraw (or to convert to Audit status) is April 10. If you should decide to discontinue work in the course for any reason (i.e. low grades, lack of time to devote to studying, etc.), it is imperative that you officially withdraw (or convert to Audit status) through the Counseling Office (MC118) to avoid receiving a failing grade in the course. You must sign a withdrawal (or Audit) form. 

Any student who drops any class on or before April 10 will automatically receive a grade of “W,” regardless of the level of performance at the time the class is dropped. After that date, no student may drop any course. 

Students who quit coming to class and do not take all the exams and/or complete all the assignments, but do not officially drop this course, will receive a grade based upon the number of points they earned. This usually results in an “F.” 

PERSONAL ADVICE
Although students generally feel uncomfortable talking to their instructors about dropping a course, it is very much to your advantage to do so. I have found that students often drop a course thinking that they are doing very poorly when in fact, they are doing much better than they think. This is especially true of students who are trying to “protect” a good G.P.A. 

CLASSROOM ETHICS AND BEHAVIOR
Regardless of their actual age, I consider college students to be adults and try to treat them as such. In return, I expect my students to behave as reasonable, thinking, intelligent adults. 
1. The academic freedom of all in the classroom will be honored at all times by all persons. 
2. I consider cheating on exams or other activities grounds for removal from class. 
3. Late arrivals and early departures should be minimized because of the inconvenience and distraction they produce — both for me and the other students. 
4. Private “discussions” between students during class time are never appropriate. Any questions should be addressed to me. 
5. It is never appropriate to leave the classroom while a test is in progress. 
6. Students are required to abide by the Acceptable Use Policy, the Computing Resource Guidelines, any other regulations set by TCC, and the conventions for Internet use. 
7.  Plagiarism is one of the “unforgivable sins” in the academic world, and will not be tolerated.  The same is true of copyright violations. 

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?
There is presently no logical next course on the Internet. However, there are some plans to develop related courses dealing with web page development and management (FrontPage, for example), and other aspects of the Internet. Also, TCC offers a wide range of computer courses that might be of interest. Many disciplines also offer research/stastics courses. 

COMMUNICATION
Whenever you have questions, please do not hesitate to call or email me.  Introduction to Psychology is (as are most survey courses) time-consuming and, at times, downright difficult. Attempting to complete the course via the Internet may an even more difficult task requiring a great deal of motivation and constant self-discipline. The quicker you can seek clarification on something you do not understand, the better.  It is probably best not to save up questions as this may lead to overwhelming confusion.

I am not a fast typist.  If your question involves more than a two or three sentence response, you should probably call me.  If you think that there is a reasonable likelihood that other students might have the same question, it would be best to post your question to the class discussion list.  

I have voice mail in case you call when I am unable to answer the telephone myself.   If, for some reason, I have not returned your call within a reasonable amount of time, try again to reach me.

Whenever you call, be prepared to leave the following information:
1. Your name, Social Security number, and which course you are taking.
2. Phone number(s) at which you can be reached.
3. Time(s) when you can be reached.
4. Description of the general nature of your problem.

STATEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING
I expect you to be thoroughly familiar with the contents of this syllabus. This syllabus constitutes the procedures and rules of the course. By remaining in the course, you are tacitly agreeing to accept these procedures and rules. If any of these procedures and rules are not acceptable to you, it is your responsibility to withdraw from the course. 

PSYCHOLOGY-RELATED STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Contrary to popular expectation, what goes on in the classroom is not the bulk of your education. It is a minimum level of exposure that all students experience providing only a part of the real education. Most of the real education occurs outside the classroom. Student and professional organizations exist to provide experiences beyond those available in class, exposure to ideas and concepts that are often not covered in classes, and social opportunities that are particularly uncommon at “commuter” schools such as TCC. 

If you are a psychology major or minor, or if you are simply interested in the field, you should consider becoming a member of either or both of the two psychology-related student organizations available at TCC. In addition, if you are a psychology major, you should consider becoming a member of the student divisions of the state and national professional psychology organizations at the earliest possible date. 

TCC Behavioral Sciences Association (BSA)
The TCC Behavioral Sciences Association (BSA) is open to any interested student. There are no membership requirements beyond application and payment of dues. Dues can be paid by the semester ($3.00), year ($5.00), or a lifetime membership is available for $10.00. 

PSI BETA
PSI BETA is the national psychology honor society for students at two-year colleges. As an honor society, PSI BETA has established strict membership requirements. Applicants must have completed General Psychology and a minimum of 12 credit hours of college coursework, have at least a 3.0 (B) average in all psychology courses completed, and have at least a 3.0 (B) average in all college courses completed. There is a one-time $25.00 membership fee for the national PSI BETA organization, and dues for the TCC Metro Chapter are $5.00 per semester. 

Please note:  The Metro Campus chapters of both BSA and Psi Beta are inactive.  If you are interested, contact the Northeast Campus Student Activities Office for contact information.

State and National Professional Psychology Organizations
The Oklahoma Psychological Association (OPA) and Oklahoma Psychological Society (OPS) both encourage and welcome student members, as do the American Psychological Association (APA) and American Psychological Society (APS). All four of these professional organizations offer student memberships at greatly reduced rates, and student members receive professional publications and greatly reduced convention registration rates. 

Keep this syllabus throughout the semester. I wish you success.