Syllabus – IT 4342
Fall 2010
-1IT 4342
Legal & Ethical Issues for the IT Professional.
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE PHONE:
OFFICE HOURS:
OFFICE:
E-MAIL:
PREREQUISITE: Senior Standing.
REQUIRED TEXT:
Ethical, legal & Professional Issues in Computing. Cengage Learning Inc. Penny Duquenoy,
Simon Jones and Barry G. Blundell.
CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course is designed to give students an ability to distinguish and analyze information systems
legal, social and ethical issues. Through class lecture, case study analysis, class discussion, final
project preparation, and outside reading, students will become versed in the logical/critical
thinking skills required to make ethical decisions as an information technology professional.
Lecture 2 hours. Prerequisite: Senior Standing.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
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Students must know the importance of ethic in the development of their profession.
(AAS – BS SL01)
Students must analyze the impact of technology on individuals, organizations, and
society, including ethical, legal, and policy issues. (BS - SLO 04)
Students must communicate effectively and efficiently with clients, users, and peers
both verbally and in writing, using appropriate terminology and must collaborate in
teams to accomplish a common goal by integrating personal initiative and group
cooperation. (BS - SLO 06)
COURSE FORMAT:
The strategy for this course calls on the student to be an active participant in
the learning process. Students must prepare in advance each topic to be covered
in class and as part of their preparation they must make home works which come
directly from the class’ book. Usually students have to discuss topics with class
mates.
The instructor expands upon key concepts with comments and examples provided by the
book and class slides. The course includes interactive instructor lecture, team
discussions in class and students presentations.
ACTIVE vs. PASSIVE LEARNING 1:
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Kimberly Merrit. Sillabus MIS Spring 2007. Cameron University. Computing & Technology Department.
1
Syllabus – IT 4342
Fall 2010
-2Studies indicate that students retain: 10% of what they read; 20% of what they hear;
30% of what they see; 50% of what they see and hear; 70 % of what they say; and 90%
of what they say as they do. Adult learners learn better if they are ACTIVELY involved
in the learning process!
The following has been adapted from the West Virginia Department of Psychology
Undergraduate Handbook
(http://www.as.wvu.edu/psyc/Undergraduate/Handbook/StudentSuccess/actpass.htm
)
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Active: Come to lectures prepared, pay attention, take notes, participate in
discussions, and asks questions.
Active: Take your own notes.
Active: Skim assignments first, make up a list of questions they want answered,
and then read the assignment to answer the questions.
Active: Study returned tests so they don’t make the same mistake again.
Active: Volunteer to help others in class who are having trouble.
Active: Participates in the learning environment, making choices, looking for
answers outside of the class environment.
Active learners want deep learning. Deep learning is insightful learning. Deep
learners look for the meaning behind the learning.
BLACKBOARD:
Blackboard (http://blackboard.cameron.edu/ ) will be used throughout the course to
provide a forum for disseminating information, group work, discussions, and for exams.
The correct blackboard course in which to enroll is: Legal and Ethical Issues for the
IT Professional– Fall 2010 IT4342. The Password for self-enrolling is IT4342
Appendix A….
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM OUTCOMES
AAS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Upon completion of the program, the student must meet the following criteria (Cat
Department, 2006). The student:
SLO-01. must understand and demonstrate application of a high ethical standard
SLO-02. must understand the impact that information technology has on society as a
whole and must know the importance of continual learning
SLO-03. must possess the ability to communicate in a variety of settings using oral,
written, multimedia techniques to a variety of audiences and must interact
with and understand diverse groups using a strong IT vocabulary
SLO-04. must be able to choose from a variety of different problem solving
methodologies to analytically formulate a solution using a high level
programming language
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Syllabus – IT 4342
Fall 2010
-3SLO-05. must understand the planning, performing, and evaluation process as it relates
to information technology operations and must understand system phases,
and the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
SLO-06. must understand basic computer networks infrastructure and demonstrate
proficiency in assembling, configuring and administering networks
BS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Upon completion of the program, the student must meet the following criteria (Carroll, BS in
IT Proposal, 2006). The student:
SLO-01. must analyze, identify, and define the requirements that must be satisfied to
address problems or opportunities faced by organizations or individuals
applying current technical concepts and practices in the core information
technologies;
SLO-02. must design effective and usable IT-based solutions and integrate them into
the user environment;
SLO-03. must demonstrate an understanding of best practices and standards and their
application in order to identify and evaluate current and emerging
technologies and assess their applicability to address the users’ needs;
SLO-04. must analyze the impact of technology on individuals, organizations, and
society, including ethical, legal, and policy issues;
SLO-05. must demonstrate independent critical thinking and problem solving skills;
SLO-06. must communicate effectively and efficiently with clients, users, and peers
both verbally and in writing, using appropriate terminology and must
collaborate in teams to accomplish a common goal by integrating personal
initiative and group cooperation
3