Week 1 - due 21 January	Week 2 - due 28 January
Week 3 - due 4 February	Week 4 - due 11 February
Week 5 - due 18 February	Week 6 - due 25 February
Week 7 - due 3 March	Week 8 - due 17 March
Week 9 - due 24 March	Week 10 - due 31 March
Week 11 - due 7 April	Week 12 - due 14 April
Week 13 - due 21 April	Week 14 - due 28 April
Week 15 - due 5 May	Final Paper - due 2 May

With far-ranging influences on commerce, education, news, entertainment, information dissemination and much more, the Internet has had an enormous impact on American society over the past decade.  This course examines that impact with an emphasis on public policy.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
 
• analyze laws and public policies that relate to the use of the Internet in the U.S.A.
• assess the impact of the digital divide in both qualitative and quantitative terms as it relates to the economy and education
• compare and contrast the positive and the negative aspects of the use of the Internet in the U.S.A.
• conduct Internet searches and evaluate the quality of online sources
• demonstrate proper citation of online reference material
• describe the basic demographics of Internet use in the U.S.A., with particular attention to the digital divide
• discuss social, ethical and political issues surrounding the use of the Internet in the U.S.A.
• evaluate the potential of the Internet to affect American society in the future
• explain the basic technology of the Internet and how its various components work
• formulate critical questions related to the impact of the Internet on American life
• integrate values of ethical uses of the Internet into their own behavior
• justify opinions in collegial discussions
• moderate threaded discussions and participate in meaningful ways in online discussions with peers
• provide specific examples of how their lives are impacted by the Internet on a daily basis
• summarize intellectual property issues related to the Internet
• use current Internet technologies, including wikis, blogs, RSS, and podcasts

Prof. Burks Oakley II
e-mail:  oakley@uis.edu
phone:  217-359-4657
web:  http://www.burksoakley.com/
Electronic office hours anytime:
• using AOL Instant Messenger - screen name "BurksO2"
• using Skype - screen name "burksoakley"
Please contact the instructor via e-mail or the discussion board if you have questions at any time.  Online chat sessions or telephone consultations also can be arranged.

Students will use the Internet to access required readings, class discussion sessions, and to submit written assignments.  There will NOT be any face-to-face meetings of this class.  There is no text for this course - all required readings are available online.  There are no written exams.

A separate page has additional information about the course, including Course Organization, Instructional Materials, Course Navigation, Netiquette, Technical Requirements, Techical Support, and Academic Support

• Discussion Forum -- Weekly discussions in the course Discussion Forum. MULTIPLE WEEKLY POSTINGS REQUIRED
• Important details about discussion postings here
• Important details about the student-led discussions here
• Paper One -- For your first paper, you will select a topic that deals with how the Internet has impacted your life in the past five years.  The paper, then, is to be a description how personally your life is affected by the Internet in this area.  (more details here) DUE NOT LATER THAN NOON CENTRAL TIME ON MARCH 21, 2008.
• Paper Two -- For your second paper, you will discuss a public policy issue among those covered during the semester, such as (but not limited to) the digital divide, Internet in education, online privacy, Internet taxes, online commerce, security in online communication and transactions, digital democracy, Internet and terrorism, online health resources, and music downloading.  The paper is to include a discussion of the laws and public policies that are related to this issue.  (more details here) DUE NOT LATER THAN MAY 2, 2008.

Final grades will be determined in the following manner:

Details of the course grading policy are detailed on a separate web page.

Reasonable accommodations are available for students have a documented disability. Please notify your instructor during he first week of class of any accommodations needed for the course. Late notification may cause the requested accommodations to be unavailable. All accommodations must be approved through the Office of Disability Services (ODS) in the Human Resource Building, Room 80.  The ODS phone number is:  217-206-6666.

From time to time, faculty who are new to online teaching will be observing the discussions that occur in the "Discussion Board" in PAC 442 Section B.  This will only be done in the context of learning how to promote online discussion.  The faculty will only observe and will not participate in any of the interactions.

Weekly readings will come from the series of comprehensive surveys of the Internet in American Life project, conducted by the Pew Charitable Trust. Recommended sources for the research papers are also available online.  Additional details are available on a separate web page.

Due January 21 by noon central time - Introduction to the Internet and Introduction to our Course

• Send the Student Information Form to Burks.   See the note about adding @uis.edu to your UIS Net ID.
• Participate in the "Icebreaker Activity" in the "Icebreaker Activity" forum in the Discussion Board.
• Submit a short biographical sketch to the "Introductions" forum in the Discussion Board and moderate the ensuing discussion.
• Visit the following hyperlinks (spend as much or as little time with this material as you see fit):
• Burks Oakley's Home Page
• The Animated Internet
• How the Internet Works – from How Stuff Works
• Become familiar with the Pew Internet and American Life Project

• Read the following papers:
• How the Internet has woven itself into American life
• Internet Penetration and Impact
• Participate in the Week Two Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Spyware
• Spam and Phishing
• Spam 2007
• Participate in the Week Three Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Music and Video Downloading Moves Beyond P2P
• Artists, Musicians, and the Internet
• Participate in the Week Four Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Why We Don't Know Enough About Broadband in the U.S.
• Why It Will Be Hard to Close the Broadband Divide
• Home Broadband Adoption 2007
• Bandwidth - Connection Speed Checker
• How to Cite the Internet -- Please note - THIS IS IMPORTANT MATERIAL
• Participate in the Week Five Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Parent and Teen Internet Use
• Generations Online
• Are "Wired Seniors" Sitting Ducks?
• Home Broadband Adoption in Rural America
• Participate in the Week Six Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Online Banking 2006
• The Use of Online Reputation and Rating Systems
• Online Shopping
• Participate in the Week Seven Discussion Forum.

March 10-14 - Spring Break - No assignments due

• Read the following papers:
• Election 2006 Online
• How Americans Get in Touch with Government
• Election Newshounds Speak Up
• More Americans turn to the Internet for news about politics
• Participate in the Week Eight Discussion Forum.

Post your paper in the Paper One Discussion Forum.  Submit your paper to Turn-It-In.

• Read the following papers:
• Health Information Online
• Online Health Search 2006
• E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease
• Finding Answers Online in Sickness and in Health
• Participate in the Week Nine Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Social Networking Websites and Teens
• Protecting Teens Online
• Teens and Online Stranger Contact
• Faith Online
• Participate in the Week Ten Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Public Awareness of Internet Terms
• VoIP Awareness
• Online Video
• Podcast Downloading
• Participate in the Week Eleven Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Internet as a Unique News Source
• Online News
• Political News
• Bloggers
• Participate in the Week Twelve Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• The Internet Goes to College
• College Students and the Web
• The Internet at School
• Participate in the Week Thirteen Discussion Forum.

• Read the following papers:
• Internet Users In Search of a Home
• Wireless Internet Access
• Search Engines
• Participate in the Week Fourteen Discussion Forum.

Due May 2 by noon central time - Paper Two

Post your paper in the Paper Two Discussion Forum

Submit Course Evaluations - links to evaluation forms will be provided in late April

• Read the following papers:
• The Future of the Internet
• The Future of the Internet II
• A Look Ahead - The Global Technology Revolution
• Participate in the Week Fifteen Discussion Forum.