Instructor: Randolph Langley
Email: langley@cs.fsu.edu
Office: 103 MCH Building
Telephone: 645-1225
CIS3250 is face-to-face this semester. Section 1 meets from 1:20 to 2:35 on Tuesday and Thursday in HWC2100. Section 6 meets from 3:05 to 4:20 in Fisher Lecture Hall 275.
However, you are not required to attend the face-to-face meetings. All tests, quizzes, and assignments will be available via Canvas. It is completely sufficient to only participate online on Canvas, and you are welcome to do so. Class participation is measured only on Canvas, not in the face-to-face meetings that we have twice per week.
Class home page:My in-person office hours on Wednesdays from 10:00 to 11:00 and from 2:00 to 3:00.
If these are not convenient, or if you would like to meet using alternative means, then please contact me so that we can schedule a meeting in a different venue or format.
Please send email to me at langley@cs.fsu.edu to schedule a meeting.
http://www.cs.fsu.edu/~langley/CIS3250/2021-Fall/index.html
"This course presents basic ethical theories and analysis methods as they apply to ethical, social, and legal issues in computing and information technology. Case studies and hypothetical scenarios are discussed for their social, ethical, and legal implications, as well as analyzed through various ethical-analysis methodologies. The course fosters the development of skills in logical and critical analysis of issues and viewpoints." (FSU 2018 Undergraduate Bulletin, page 239.)
Class structure
Canvas: The Canvas class modules are organized by week; new modules are published on Monday, and most activities for most modules occur in that week.
In person: The in-person activities are an adjunct to our Canvas participation. Generally, I will lecture and we will discuss the lecture materials. However, even if we introduce other materials during discussion or lecture, all materials that relate to assessments will be available on Canvas.
This course intends to introduce basic concepts in ethics and ethical issues in the field of Computer Science
The course will cover classic ethical theories and analysis frameworks.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Describe the fundamental theories of ethical analysis.
- Recognize and describe relevant ethical, social, and legal issues in computer science and technology.
- Apply ethical analysis methodologies to relevant issues, including representative and hypothetical situations.
- Learn to assess and act based on application of ethical methodologies and analysis.
- Describe fundamental principles of argument logic and quality, and the relationship between ethics and logic.
- Discuss professional codes of ethics and how they often balance normative formulations.
- Apply formal codes of ethics to issues.
A basic knowledge of computer science and programming concepts, such as would be acquired through an introductory course in computer programming, will be assumed.
A Gift of Fire fifth edition by Baase and Henry. It is best to use the 5th edition since it has a new coauthor (Timothy Henry) and considerably more material than earlier editions.
ITEM
POINTS
Midterm, 2 hours to complete. The window for taking this test will open on Monday, October 11, at 8:00am, and will close on Tuesday, October 12, at 7:59am.
25
Final exam, 4 hours to complete. The window for taking this test will open on Monday, December 6, at 8:00am, and will close on Friday, December 10 at 11:59am.
25
Class participation (weekly discussions and weekly quizzes)
20
Essay 1, assigned on September 27, due by October 18.
15
Essay 2, assigned on October 25, due by November 15.
15
A 90% - 100% B+ 87% - 89.999999% B 80% - 86.999999% C+ 77% - 79.999999% C 70% - 76.999999% D 60% - 69.999999% F 0% - 59.999999%
Written presentations
Please turn in your written presentations on time. No late submissions will be accepted. Extensions will be given on the basis outlined in the section on excused absences.
Your written presentations must be submitted in the manner indicated in the assignment on the appropriate day. If the submission is via Canvas, the link will disappear immediately after the due time.
All tests must be taken in the indicated 24 hour window.
Plagiarism has become widespread problem, one so endemic that the most recent "MLA Handbook" now devotes a whole chapter (Chapter 2, "Plagiarism and Academic Integrity") to the subject. I strongly recommend that you read this.
There is no group work in this class. All assignments must be done solely by you. Do not solicit help from your fellow students or from any other source.
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Do not turn in other people's work as your own; this includes, but is not limited to, unattributed copying from web pages, other students' work, books, journals, or broadcast media. Do not post on Internet websites soliciting help on your assignments or projects; if such solicitations are found, these will be be regarded as attempts at academic dishonesty. In all of your work, citations and clear delineation of cited material from your own original work are mandatory. Student work will be checked for originality using various programs and databases.
There is no group work in this class. All assignments must be done solely by you. Do not solicit help from your fellow students or from any other source. Unauthorized group work is a violation of the FSU Academic Honor Policy, which specifically forbids it. This, along with plagiarism, is the among the most commonly reported violations of FSU's Academic Honor Policy.
The Florida State University academic honor policy is at http://fda.fsu.edu/Academic-Resources/Academic-Honor-Policy
From the above academic honor policy:
ACADEMIC HONOR POLICY: The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University's expectations for the integrity of students' academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to "... be honest and truthful and ... [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University."
We are meeting face-to-face this semester; however, your attendance in the face-to-face meetings or for tests is not mandatory. As said, above, all tests and assignments will be given via Canvas.
If you become ill or are quarantined, you should not come to our class meetings until you are better or free from quarantine.
Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the immediate family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. Accommodations for these excused absences will be made and will do so in a way that does not penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness.
You should check your email frequently for information about this course, as well as the class home page. You are also encouraged to use email to ask questions and report problems. Please use email (not Canvas 'communications') to contact me.
Please advise me at your earliest convenience (within one week) if you have a disability that will require a reasonable accommodation for the successful completion of this course. Also, as indicated above, you should register with the Student Disability Resource Center, and provide me a letter indicating your need for accommodation.
If you are experiencing difficulty, either with the class or for reasons outside of the class, or are concerned about your progress, please speak with me immediately.
Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course
and is subject to change with advance notice. In particular, the
above schedule and procedures in this class are subject to change
in the event of university schedule changes, calendar errors on my part, exigent circumstances, or if other
reasons develop during the semester.