CMSY-129 The Internet and the Digital World

The Internet provides worldwide communication capability and access to a vast amount of information. It is also a source of misinformation and attacks on computers. In this course, students learn about popular Internet tools and applications. Students will develop information literacy skills for searching for and evaluating information on the Internet, and will learn to protect their computers and themselves from security threats, hoaxes, and scams. The course introduces business, legal, and intellectual property issues as they pertain to the Internet. Students will learn how to create web pages using HTML. Familiarity with a computer, file management skills, and touch typing are strongly recommended for success in this course. Credit will only be granted for one of the following: CMSY-126 or CMSY-129.

Credits

Hours Weekly

3 hours weekly

Course Objectives

1. Identify and use a variety of appropriate digital technologies to collaborate and communicate with diverse
audiences while investigating, creating, and completing tasks.
2. Describe underlying Internet technologies: how they work, what we do with them, where they came from,
and what they are likely to be in the future, considering the global economic, political, environmental,
aesthetic, or social perspectives.
3. Describe the Internet search process and differentiate between the various Internet search tools and online
research alternatives to search tools, and perform effective, efficient searches.
4. Use objective criteria to evaluate the quality of the information found on the Internet (information literacy).
5. Identify major security threats, from personal to global, when using the Internet and how to protect personal
information and privacy online, considering the culture and values of oneself and others.
6. Analyze the way the Internet has changed how business is conducted around the world, on a local and a
global scale, by exploring worldviews and considering the interconnectedness from an economic, political,
environmental, or social perspective.
7. Discuss and demonstrate an understanding of intellectual property in the context of various world views and
the digital interconnectedness that the digital age creates, including the concepts of copyright, censorship,
and plagiarism, and identify when it is acceptable to copy, borrow, or refer to information online.
8. Discuss digital ethics across multiple perspectives, within and across cultures, including the issues of legal
regulation, morality, social responsibility (e.g., accessibility, “green” computing, and the Digital Divide), and
responsibilities of professionals who use computers as part of their jobs.
9. Learn basic HTML standards and utilize basic HTML for creating and editing web pages.

Course Objectives

1. Identify and use a variety of appropriate digital technologies to collaborate and communicate with diverse
audiences while investigating, creating, and completing tasks.
2. Describe underlying Internet technologies: how they work, what we do with them, where they came from,
and what they are likely to be in the future, considering the global economic, political, environmental,
aesthetic, or social perspectives.
3. Describe the Internet search process and differentiate between the various Internet search tools and online
research alternatives to search tools, and perform effective, efficient searches.
4. Use objective criteria to evaluate the quality of the information found on the Internet (information literacy).
5. Identify major security threats, from personal to global, when using the Internet and how to protect personal
information and privacy online, considering the culture and values of oneself and others.
6. Analyze the way the Internet has changed how business is conducted around the world, on a local and a
global scale, by exploring worldviews and considering the interconnectedness from an economic, political,
environmental, or social perspective.
7. Discuss and demonstrate an understanding of intellectual property in the context of various world views and
the digital interconnectedness that the digital age creates, including the concepts of copyright, censorship,
and plagiarism, and identify when it is acceptable to copy, borrow, or refer to information online.
8. Discuss digital ethics across multiple perspectives, within and across cultures, including the issues of legal
regulation, morality, social responsibility (e.g., accessibility, “green” computing, and the Digital Divide), and
responsibilities of professionals who use computers as part of their jobs.
9. Learn basic HTML standards and utilize basic HTML for creating and editing web pages.