**
Grades
Here **
| Assignments | Due in the WEBCT
Assignment Dropbox |
| Assignment One | Monday, January 29, 5 p.m. |
| Assignment Two | Monday, February 19, 5 p.m. |
| Assignment Three | Monday, April 2, 5 p.m. |
| Hyperlink Essay | Friday, April 20, 12 noon. |
January 19: After discussing the organization and procedures for this WEB-enchanced course, we will view the Global Brain Video. A story about "web-enhanced" courses.We will break up into Support Groups for the first time to get acquainted. Reading.
January 26: We will discuss the growth of the personal computer, and see a bit of the movie Triumph of the Nerds. Materials to be discussed in class: the History of the Computer and Who Are These Nerds?Vannevar Bush's article about the Memex Machine available from the Atlantic Monthly. J.C.R. Licklider's classic articles "Man-Computer Symbiosis" and "The Computer as a Communication Device" are available from Digital. These are discussed in the required reading "From Two Small Nodes, a Mighty Web Has Grown." A Salon story about Professor Cyborg, who has planted an implant in himself to become more like a machine. Support Groups will help anyone who has not completed Assignment One which must be done by 5 p.m. Monday. Class photographs will be taken today in each group. Staff will be available in BSB 108/109 to assist anyone needing help. Sit down at a computer and get started and we will circulate to help anyone needing help, Reading.
No later than
Monday, January 29, 17:00: Assignment
One due in the WEBCT Assignment
Dropbox. If your assignment misses the deadline, deposit it in
the "late assignments" dropbox within one week for half credit.
February 2: Chaos and Complexity.
Examples of Strange
Attractors. Web
Sites on Chaos Theory. Talk by Allan
Combs at the Chaos Theory in Psychology and the Life Sciences conference.
An example of the mathematical modeling of chaos: the Logistic
Equation. An Excel Program Using the Logistic
Equation. Support Groups will meet. Reading.
February 9:
Brains and Computers: The Structure of Intelligence. Support
Groups will meet. We will work on home
pages today. Reading.
February 16: Three Artificial Intelligence Algorithms and the WEBMIND project. Support Groups will meet to finalize Home Pages and STS Pages. Chatterbots. Reading.
Monday, February 19, 2300: 17:00. Assignment Two Due in the WEBCT Assignment Dropbox. If your assignment misses the deadline, deposit it in the "late assignments" dropbox within one week for half credit.
February 23: 1:00 Review Lecture. 2:00 final Support Group meetings to consider review questions. ~2:30: Second Showing of Global Brain Video followed by discussion. Link to Group Members Home Pages. Some student comments on the Global Brain video.
March 2: Midterm Examination.
Bring
a pencil with an eraser. To be
held in room 401 Penn (above the library, enter on the side facing the
law school..
Sample
Test Questions from previous semesters are available. Grades
will be posted here as soon as available. If you miss the exam, the
make-up will be on Saturday, May 5.
Attendance Policy: we will not be having support groups after the midterm, and attendance will not be counted in the grade. However, we will circulate an attendance sheet so we have a record. This attendance record may be considered in the case of students who are in difficulty at the end of the semester and request special consideration.
Plagiarism: All assignments submitted to the course must be your own original written work. Any text copied from the work of others must be properly cited. We will make use of Internet-based anti-plagiarism technology as needed. For further information and guidelines, check the Sociology Dept Plagiarism Policy.
Trivia Question: Who is email named after? Answer Here.
March 9: Discussion of Technological Forecasting and Methods of Future Studies. Methods of Future Studies. Technology Review's 10 Emerging Technologies That Will Change the World. Interview with Arthur C. Clarke, co-screenwriter of : 2001 Space Odyssey. Previews of the movie. Reading: In the Beginning Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson, pp. 1-45. You may want to buy this little book, only $8 at Amazon.
March 16: Spring Break.
March 23: Hardware, Software and Artificial Intelligence. Reading: Webmind's Digital Environment. In The Beginning Was the Command Line, pp. 46-90. Class notes. CCAS Computer Survey, to be answered in class.
March 30: Building a Truly Intelligent
Computer. Taped video interview with Ben Goertzel, available
in streaming video. At approximately 2:00, if all goes well,
we will have a live online chat with Ben. To participate, join us
in the classroom or log onto the Chat Room on our WEBCT site from anywhere.
Reading: How
Webmind Works.
Class notes. Aibo
the $1590 Robotic Dog. and 
Tekno,
the $39.95 Robotic Puppy.
Monday, April 2, 17:00: Assignment Three due in the WEBCT Assignment Dropbox. If your assignment misses the deadline, deposit it in the "late assignments" dropbox within one week for half credit.
Monday, April 2, 17:00. Proposals for Extra-Credit Poster Presentations Due.
April 6: The Microsoft Lawsuit and Other Issues. Reading: In The Beginning Was the Command Line, pp 91-151. Notes from Sonia and Ross's lecture on Essay Writing.
April 13: Class will not meet today. Instead, work on your essay or on an extra-credit poster session presentation.
Wednesday, April 18, 17:00. Hyperlink Essay due in the WEBCT Assignment Dropbox. If your assignment misses the deadline, deposit it in the "late assignments" dropbox within one week for two-thirds credit.
April 20: Review of two books on the Microsoft Lawsuit. Class notes. Pythagoras. The Accidental Revolutionary. IBM's Linux Page. Selected Comments from Yahoo STS Club last year.
April 27: Poster Session at 12:00 sponsored by Sociology and Psychology. Extra credit available for particpation. Second Examination at 2:00 p.m. in 401 Penn. ** Grades Here **
Saturday, May 5: 9 a.m.
Make-up for Missed Examinations and for Students Scoring less than a C
in the class (based on grades to be posted soon after the April 27 final).
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Email Suarez Barbosa of Uruguay.
