Spring 2021 - CMPT 105W D200

Social Issues and Communication Strategies in Computing Science (3)

Class Number: 6197

Delivery Method: Remote

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 11 – Apr 16, 2021: Mon, Wed, Fri, 5:30–6:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

This course teaches the fundamentals of informative and persuasive communication for professional engineers and computer scientists. A principal goal of this course is to assist students in thinking critically about various contemporary technical, social, and ethical issues. It focuses on communicating technical information clearly and concisely, managing issues of persuasion when communicating with diverse audiences, presentation skills, and teamwork. Students with credit for ENSC 102, ENSC 105W, MSE 101W or SEE 101W may not take CMPT 105W for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Within the context of writing processes, CMPT 105W teaches the fundamentals of informative and persuasive communication for computing scientists and professional engineers in order to assist students in thinking critically about various contemporary technical, social, and ethical issues. The course focuses on communicating technical information clearly and concisely as well as managing issues of persuasion when communicating with diverse audiences. Students will complete several individual assignments related to writing, as well as work within groups in order to create a PowerPoint presentation. Note that CMPT 105W-3 meets the SFU requirement for a lower division writing intensive course.

Topics

1. Inventing, organizing, and planning for writing.
2. Drafting and research.
3. Revising and editing.
4. Design for persuasive and informative papers.
5. Layout of resumes and cover letters.
6. Design for PowerPoint presentations.
7. Conventions for referencing and organizing papers.


Turnitin

Written work for this course will be submitted via Turnitin, a third-party service licensed for use by SFU. Turnitin is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism. Students will be required to create an account with Turnitin, and to submit their work via that account, on the terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and Turnitin.

This agreement includes the retention of your submitted work as part of the Turnitin database. Any student with a concern about using the Turnitin service may opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with Turnitin.

Students who do not intend to use Turnitin in the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous identity with the student!

Grading

NOTES:

Midterm Exam, Written Assignments, Participation, Quizzes, and Presentations.

A more detailed marking scheme will be provided in the first week of classes.

REQUIREMENTS:

Technology Requirements To Complete CMPT-105W

Minimum Requirements: 

  • computer (tablet, phone, etc.)
  • internet access with 2 Mbps download speed to view lecture videos
  • microphone (could be optional if chat is used)

Suggested Requirements: 

  • computer (or tablet)
  • internet access with 50 Mbps download speed to view video lecture streams and 30 Mbps upload speed to stream video
  • webcam
  • microphone

Use Speedtest.net to evaluate your internet connection's download & upload speeds.

 

Asynchronous Instruction

Lecture Videos and Lecture Slides will be uploaded to Canvas for students to view at their leisure.

 

Synchronous Instruction

"Synchronous"refers to the synchronized delivery and reception of course content that requires the instructor and students to simultaneously be present at a specified location and specified time. 2+ people (e.g., instructor and students) communicating in real time (e.g., as in the traditional classroom lecture experience).

Online Sessionswill be conducted on Zoom  during the scheduled class time.These sessions will be recorded and made available to allstudents immediately after the session.

The Online Sessions are optionalto attend, but the recordings of the online sessions are required viewing. The online sessions will discuss the content viewed and read by students to evaluate understanding and provide further examples, usually edge cases and corner cases.
 

Respectful Discussion

Please participate in this online course with respectful communication and collaboration. Interactions in the remote teaching environment are to be guided by SFU’s core values of civility and mutual respect. Disruptive or concerning behaviour can have a harmful impact on our entire learning community.

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Materials

RECOMMENDED READING:

Writing With Power by Peter Elbow, 2nd ed., 1998. (full text available through SFU Library online)
ISBN: 9786610470457

Engineering Communication: From Principles to Practice, Irish, Robert. & Weiss, Robert Eliot. (2013). 2nd Ed., Ontario: Oxford University Press.
ISBN: 9780195446920

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN SPRING 2021

Teaching at SFU in spring 2021 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).