About…
"Introduction to Information Studies"
(a.k.a., "Intro to Info," or "i2i")
Course Objectives
The vaunted Information Revolution is more than Web surfing, Net games, and dotcoms. Indeed, it is arguably the foundation for an economic and social transformation on a scale comparable to the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century. As a culture we have learned from earlier such transformations and it is important to recognize those lessons and chart a path toward intellectual and practical mastery of the emerging world of information. At the School of Information, we take pride in our tradition, inherited from librarianship, of "user-centeredness" and public access. For this reason, not only will you, the "user" of this course, be given unusual attention, but intellectually, we will approach information technology from the perspective of end-users and their concerns.
This course will provide the foundational knowledge necessary to begin to address the key issues associated with the Information Revolution. Issues will range from the theoretical (what is information and how do humans construct it?), to the cultural (is life on the screen a qualitatively different phenomenon from experiences with earlier distance-shrinking and knowledge-building technologies such as telephones?), to the practical (what are the basic architectures of computing and networks?). Successful completion of this "gateway" course will give you, the student, the conceptual tools necessary to understand the politics, economics, and culture of the Information Age, providing a foundation for later study in Information or any number of more traditional disciplines.
Over the course of this course, we will often elicit your feedback and analysis. These evaluation procedures are not, however, merely to make "guinea pigs" of you; rather, a key part of our assessments will use leading-edge electronic and information tools, and your ability to use those tools well will also be a key part of the agenda. In addition, of course, we very much want to know what works and what does not work for you, as this course belongs to you.
"Introduction to Information Studies"
(a.k.a., "Intro to Info," or "i2i")
Course Objectives
The vaunted Information Revolution is more than Web surfing, Net games, and dotcoms. Indeed, it is arguably the foundation for an economic and social transformation on a scale comparable to the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century. As a culture we have learned from earlier such transformations and it is important to recognize those lessons and chart a path toward intellectual and practical mastery of the emerging world of information. At the School of Information, we take pride in our tradition, inherited from librarianship, of "user-centeredness" and public access. For this reason, not only will you, the "user" of this course, be given unusual attention, but intellectually, we will approach information technology from the perspective of end-users and their concerns.
This course will provide the foundational knowledge necessary to begin to address the key issues associated with the Information Revolution. Issues will range from the theoretical (what is information and how do humans construct it?), to the cultural (is life on the screen a qualitatively different phenomenon from experiences with earlier distance-shrinking and knowledge-building technologies such as telephones?), to the practical (what are the basic architectures of computing and networks?). Successful completion of this "gateway" course will give you, the student, the conceptual tools necessary to understand the politics, economics, and culture of the Information Age, providing a foundation for later study in Information or any number of more traditional disciplines.
Over the course of this course, we will often elicit your feedback and analysis. These evaluation procedures are not, however, merely to make "guinea pigs" of you; rather, a key part of our assessments will use leading-edge electronic and information tools, and your ability to use those tools well will also be a key part of the agenda. In addition, of course, we very much want to know what works and what does not work for you, as this course belongs to you.
Materials for the Course
There are no books to be puchased for this course, as all readings are on-line, linked to each week's relevant Web page. (However, if you need help writing—and chances are, you do (Prof. Frost sure does!)—we strongly recommend Diedre McCloskey's Economical Writing). We also make the lecture slides available in Acrobat™ .pdf format and as PowerPoint™ slides as well (Prof. Frost actually uses Apple's Keynote™). We also try to post video podcasts of the lectures on-line (also linked on the weekly pages; they are .m4b files accessible via iTunes™) so that you can have Prof. Frost screaming in your ear. Those podcasts are comprised of slide images synched with audio tracks from the lectures.
There are no books to be puchased for this course, as all readings are on-line, linked to each week's relevant Web page. (However, if you need help writing—and chances are, you do (Prof. Frost sure does!)—we strongly recommend Diedre McCloskey's Economical Writing). We also make the lecture slides available in Acrobat™ .pdf format and as PowerPoint™ slides as well (Prof. Frost actually uses Apple's Keynote™). We also try to post video podcasts of the lectures on-line (also linked on the weekly pages; they are .m4b files accessible via iTunes™) so that you can have Prof. Frost screaming in your ear. Those podcasts are comprised of slide images synched with audio tracks from the lectures.
A VERY Important Note on Academic
Honesty
You should draw on the ideas and writings of others in your work, but you must not plagiarize. American Heritage Dictionary defines plagiarize as "to steal and use [the ideas or writings of another] as one's own." Many students seem to be under the impression that plagiarism is difficult to detect, but it isn't. Indeed, thanks to the Internet, it's simple to plug a suspect phrase into a search engine and find plagiarized material. Come on! We teach this material, and we've had to prosecute students in the past for lifting content off the Web.
Plagiarism is a serious academic crime for which you can be expelled from the university. (In 2001, this actually happened to over fifty University of Virginia students. And yes, do note that a mess of student computers at the US Naval Academy were seized for downloading MP3s.) The following practices will help you avoid plagiarism:
The University of Michigan takes plaigiarism very seriously; here's a link to the honor codes on campus, and here's the plagiarism document posted by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
Here's a humorous take on plagiarism, "Plagiarize," by Tom Lehrer—it's an .mp3 ("fair use, fair use!") and in a way underlines how intellectual dishonesty was one of the causes of the end of the Soviet system.
You should draw on the ideas and writings of others in your work, but you must not plagiarize. American Heritage Dictionary defines plagiarize as "to steal and use [the ideas or writings of another] as one's own." Many students seem to be under the impression that plagiarism is difficult to detect, but it isn't. Indeed, thanks to the Internet, it's simple to plug a suspect phrase into a search engine and find plagiarized material. Come on! We teach this material, and we've had to prosecute students in the past for lifting content off the Web.
Plagiarism is a serious academic crime for which you can be expelled from the university. (In 2001, this actually happened to over fifty University of Virginia students. And yes, do note that a mess of student computers at the US Naval Academy were seized for downloading MP3s.) The following practices will help you avoid plagiarism:
- Whenever you use information or ideas of someone else, credit the source. You may use any standard reference system—we really don't care, as long as the original material cab be located based on your citation.
- Direct quotations of phrases and sentences, if used, must appear in quotation marks, and the source must be cited. (Minimize the use of direct quotations except when necessary to convey the unique flavor of an original source.)
- Copyright law protects not ideas per se, but the expression of them; for that reason, you generally don't need to cite obvious facts, yet you should cite something if you're using it as evidence in an argument.
The University of Michigan takes plaigiarism very seriously; here's a link to the honor codes on campus, and here's the plagiarism document posted by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies.
Here's a humorous take on plagiarism, "Plagiarize," by Tom Lehrer—it's an .mp3 ("fair use, fair use!") and in a way underlines how intellectual dishonesty was one of the causes of the end of the Soviet system.