| Class | Topics and Reading for the Week |
|---|---|
| Week One: January 20, 22 | From Vellum to Bytes Course Introduction What constitutes "writing"? A Brief History: What is a computer, and what is the Internet? Asynchronous Discussion: Using E-Mail and Online Discussion Groups Read Quercia, 3-18, 148-176 Read the History of the Internet Look at the basic terminology on the links page Check the information on Listserv,and join EN249S-L by January 23. Also look at L-Soft.com Home Page |
| Week Two: January 25, 27, 29 Class Will Not Meet January 29 | WWW and Other Banal Acronyms The World Wide Web and Hypertext Hypertext Theory Synchronous Discussion: MOOs and MUDs Browse Quercia, Chapter 2 Read Whittle, 3-20, 33-45 Read Landow, Chapter 1 (on reserve in the library) Read A Little Historyof the World Wide Web Read about MOOs and MUDs |
| Week Three: February 1, 3, 5 Meet in Gentry 19 Video Teleconference Room on February 5 | Audience and File Handling . . . and "Distance Medicine" Who reads your writing? Is writing on the computer different from writing on paper? How do I download files? Read Lanham, Chapter 2 (on reserve in the library) Read Quercia, 263-275 Video Teleconference with Dr. Daniel Carlin on Friday, February 5 Check out Dr. Carlin's organization at World Clinic Online **Essay One Due Friday, February 5** |
| Week Four: February 8, 10, 12 All Meetings in Alumni Dorm Computer Lab | You Want Me To Find It Where? Research on the Internet, focusing on literary research Basic Searching Read Quercia 93-124 Read Birkerts, 151-64 Look at "Web Search Services in 1998: Trends and Challenges", by Susan Feldman **--Short Paper One Due February 12** |
| Week Five: February 15, 17, 19 Meet in Dodd Center Lobby on February 19 for Dodd Tour | Don't Move Those Books to the "Antiques" Section Just Yet What is a "book"? Online Editions vs. Traditional Hardcopy Books: Is there a text in this class? Electronic texts and copyright issues Read Birkerts, 134-50 Read Whittle, 131-135, 247-254 |
| Week Six: February 22, 24, 26 | Web Spiders and Other Interesting Online Insects Research on the Internet, Part 2 Understanding how search engines work Advanced Search Techniques Using online library catalogues Citing electronic material Read Quercia, 134-142 Read through How to Search the Web:A Guide To Search Tools, Terry A. Gray Look at Understanding and Comparing Search Engines Consult one of the search engines, such as Altavista, Yahoo, or Infoseek, and learn how it works |
| Week Seven: March 1, 3, 5 | "What else is out there?" Electronic Databases other than those on the Internet Look at The UConn Directory of Databases Also, a discussion of post-modernism **Mid-term Examination, Friday, March 5** |
| Week Eight: March 8, 10, 12 |
"Who is this speaking please?" Advanced issues related to "voice" in writing Read Whittle, chapter 2. **Essay Two Due, Monday, March 8** |
| Spring Break: March 15, 17, 19 | No Classes |
| Week Nine: March 22, 24, 26 | "Yeah, just go to my home page" What is a home page? An Introduction to HTML: Writing a Web Page Web Graphics Read Creating Your Own Web Page on A Mainframe Account Read Creating Web Pages Using HTML Read Quercia, 327-384 (much of this is reference material) Consult HTML Guides and Resources on the Links Page **Short Paper Two Due, Friday, March 26** |
| Week Ten: March 29, 31, April 2 Class Meets in Alumni Dorm Computer Lab All Week |
404: Error Found Troubleshooting HTML What is appropriate on a web page? **Longer Paper Topics Due via E-mail** |
| Week Eleven: April 5, 7, 9 |
Concerns and Dangers in Technology, Computers, and Hypertext Electronic Texts and Copyright Issues Computer Ethics: Socrates Meets Bill Gates? Read Whittle, chapter 7. |
| Week Twelve: April 12, 14, 16 |
The Death of a Culture? Current Trends and Forecasts Read Whittle, chapter 5. |
| Week Thirteen: April 19, 21, 23 Class Meets in Alumni Dorm Computer Lab All Week |
Hands-on Tutorials Online Work **Short Paper Three Due Wednesday, April 21** |
| Week Fourteen: April 26, 28, 30 |
Where Have We Been, and Where Are We Going? The Future of the Written Word Read Birkerts, chapters 13 and 14. Read Whittle, chapter 8. **Essay Three Due Monday, April 26** |
| Conclusion: May 3 |
Into the Future All Long Papers Due All Web Pages Due Last Day to Hand In Rewrites |