ISSUES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS

Instructor: Mark Rice

Office: 375 T-2

Lrice@sat.net

Phone # 743-4083

Shelly, Cashman, Jordon. Netscape Navigator an Introduction. Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co. Danvers, MA., 1996. (Available in the campus bookstore)

Lemay. Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in 14 Days (Premier Edition). SAMS Publishing. Indianapolis, IN., 1995

Disks: Five 3.5 inch high-density formatted disks will be needed.

Computer Accounts: For the course you will need to obtain 3 accounts from computer services, located in the Social Work building (unless you already have the accounts. You will need a Bayou account for electronic mail, a Windows NT account in the Technology Domain, and a UH Dial-In (PPP) account (if you plan to work from your home computer). The Dial-In account for Access UH requires set up disks, which will be given to you in the Heyne building. Be sure to apply for these ASAP! You will need your accounts activated to begin your work for the

course.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and skill in utilizing the following Internet resources: Electronic Mail, News and Conferencing, File Transfer Protocol, and Gopher.
2. Locate resources available on the Internet and World Wide Web via various types of search engines.

3. Demonstrate knowledge and skill in both utilizing and creating Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) documents.
4. Identify and analyze the major issues regarding telecommunications use in business, industry, and education today.
5. Compare and contrast various methods for individuals and businesses to connect to the Internet, including hardware, software, and related costs of connectivity.

Course Requirements:

1. Research Article Summaries: Each student will prepare one, 4 to 5 paragraph, article summaries on the major issues of telecommunications use, either in business and industry, or education. Articles will be graded for content and grammar. Each summary must include a properly cited references and must be posted to the class Usenet Newsgroup. You must submit at least one article summary for each of the following topics: major uses, current and potential benefits, current and potential drawbacks, costs of Internet connectivity, hardware and software requirements for Internet connectivity. In addition, each student must post five follow-up responses to summaries posted by other students. Each follow-up posting must be a thoughtful, 3-4 paragraph response to the issues addressed in a fellow classmate's posting. The research article summaries/follow-up postings will count as 10% of your final grade. Each article summary is to be posted with a subject line that includes your name, topic addressed, and date.
2. Each Student will develop a homepage page. (10%)

3. HTML Web Presentation Project: Each person will develop HTML Web pages for a real or fictional company/school. This project can be done in groups. Projects will be evaluated based upon the criteria set forth in your text (Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML, chapter 11). The Web Presentation will count as 30% of your final grade. Each group must adhere to the following evaluation milestones:

??? Submit report of initial group meeting. Include an overview of company/school selected, and Web page ideas.

??? Submit a design of Web pages for the company/school.

Include diagrams, explanations, page layout.

??? Present final Web page to class/submit copy on disk to instructor.

7. Computer assignments: Each student will complete hands-on applications on the computer as assigned by the instructor. Late assignments will not be accepted for any reason. Computer Assignments will count as 10% of your final grade. Each assignment is to be submitted with an attached word processed cover sheet that includes your name, course and section number, assignment identification, and date. (NOTE: Most assignments will be turned in by E-Mail.)

Examinations: There are three examinations scheduled this semester. Makeup examinations are not normally given. The average of your three examinations counts as 40% of your final grade.

Class Attendance: Because of the nature of this course, the department feels your attendance to be of prime importance. For this reason, you will be given a warning after your second absence. After your third absence, your instructor will have the option to drop you from the course, if it is prior to mid-semester, or lower your final grade by one full grade letter if the third absence occurs after mid-semester.