LIR 10, INTRO TO INFO LITERACY
_{Section XXXX - Course Syllabus}

Word document version of this Syllabus: Accessible-Syllabus-Template-May 2017.docx

Course Description

A course designed to be taken as a stand-alone course or concurrently with 1A level discipline courses or other courses with information components. This introductory course will teach the skills needed to find, evaluate, use and communicate information in print, electronic and Internet formats. Course projects for concurrent sections will coordinate with concurrent course assignments.

Student Learning Outcomes

Outcomes and Objectives:

Topics and Scope:

1. Students will learn to determine the type and scope of the information needed for a specific information need. The topics students use will be from across the curriculum.
2. Recognize the need for information in academic, work and personal pursuits.
3. Determine type of information needed e.g., overview, statistical, current, historical, popular and scholarly.
4. State the scope of the information need ranging from brief definition to topic overview to extensive research paper.
5. Students will examine and clearly state their information need. Students will place the information need within a conceptual framework of broad subject or discipline areas. Focusing skills for  beginning research projects will be emphasized.
6. State topic in a question or statement.
7. Identify major concepts and keywords for the topic.
8. Determine the subject/discipline perspective for the topic.
9. Broaden or narrow the topic to fit the scope of your research.
10. Students will explore a variety of information resources to determine the most appropriate resource for their topic/assignment. Content of  selected resources will be evaluated.
11. Find and compare information in different types of resources including dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, books, electronic information databases and Web sites.
12. Determine the information resource most appropriate for a variety of specific topics.
13. Students will learn search methods and construct search strategies appropriate to a variety of specific tools. They will retrieve materials in a variety of formats. They will become aware of how to access materials not available locally.
14. Write search statements appropriate to specific tools.
15. Use a variety of search features including truncation/wildcards, Boolean operators, controlled vocabulary, keywords and search  limits.
16. Evaluate search success and modify search (broaden, narrow, etc.)
17. Retrieve books, articles and other materials in the library in a  variety of formats.
18. List options for getting materials not available in the campus library.
19. Students will develop the ability to evaluate information based on  criteria of relevance, topic coverage, authority, currency, etc.
20. Evaluate articles, Web pages and other information using the  criteria of relevance, topic coverage, authority, currency, view,   or bias, etc.
21. Recognize appropriate quality information.
22. Students will recognize the ever-increasing availability of  information in its various formats. They will organize and sequence information from a variety of formats as well as summarize  information.
23. Outline information from a variety of sources and formats.
24. Summarize information.
25. Students will identify permissible and non-permissible uses of  intellectual property. They will understand plagiarism and basic principles of fair use. The use of standard techniques of documentation will be practiced.
26. Differentiate between "fair use" and plagiarism.
27. Identify copyrighted information.
28. List materials from a variety of formats using standard documentation.

 

 

Assignments:

 

Instructor Contact

Julie Musson

Email:  jmusson@santarosa.edu 

Phone: (707) xxx-xxxx

Office Hours: [TBD]

I respond to emails with 48 hours.

Course Web Site

Students will use the Canvas course web site for assignment instructions, submitting assignments, viewing classmate's work, sharing resources, and viewing grades.

Representative Textbooks and Materials:

You can locate and order textbooks online via the SRJC Bookstore. Note that if you want to pick your books up in Petaluma, you need to order them from the Petaluma Bookstore website.

Required Software

You will need the following software for this course. [If linking to PDF or Word documents, QuickTime or Flash videos, put in a link to the helper applications in your Syllabus or Getting Started section of your course materials.]

• Adobe Reader
• Open Office

Important Dates

Day Class Begins: [Find these dates in your Faculty Portal when you View Roster > Display Roster.]

Day Class Ends: [You can also find a table of the dates in the online schedule by clicking on the Date Begin/End link when viewing a course.]

Last Day to Add without instructor's approval: xx

Last Day to Add with instructor's approval: xx

Last Day to Drop without a 'W' symbol: xx

Last Day to Opt for Pass/No Pass: xx

Last Day to Drop with a 'W' symbol: xx

Dropping the Class

If you decide to discontinue this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop it to avoid getting no refund (after 10% of course length), a W symbol (after 20%), or a grade (after 60%). Also, for several consecutive, unexplained absences, the instructor may drop a student.

Pass‐NoPass (P/NP)

You may take this class P/NP. You must decide before the deadline, and add the option online with TLC or file the P/NP form with Admissions and Records. With a grade of C or better, you will get P.

You must file for the P/NP option by [date]. Once you decide to go for P/NP, you cannot change back to a letter grade. If you are taking this course as part of a certificate program, you can probably still take the class P/NP. Check with a counselor to be sure.

Instructor Announcements and Q&A Forum

The instructor will post announcements on the “Instructor Announcements” page in Canvas throughout the semester. Canvas notifies students according to their preferred Notification Preferences as soon as the instructor creates an Announcement. A “Q&A Forum” is also on Canvas to ask for assistance of your classmates or of instructor.

Attendance

Students who fail to attend the first class (face-to-face courses) or do not log-in to an online class after the second day of the semester will be dropped from the class. It is strongly advised that if you need to miss more than one class/homework deadline in a row that you contact me to avoid being dropped from the class.

Late Policy

All assignments are due [at midnight PST?] on the due date. A late submission will receive a 20% penalty. Submissions more than one week late are not accepted without prior arrangement. Late work will not be graded unless student sends instructor an email with URL for late work.

Exams

There will be [online midterm and final] exams. The material comes from the textbook, class lectures and supplemental materials. If any exam is missed, a zero will be recorded as the score. It is your responsibility to take the online exams by the due date.

Grading Policy

Visit the “Grades” in Canvas to keep track of your grades. I grade [once a week] and post grades and comments on the online Canvas gradebook.

 

Methods of Evaluation

Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.		Writing 20 - 80%
Written homework, Reading reports, Essay exams, Term papers, Short answer
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.		Problem Solving 20 - 60%
Homework problems, Exams, Print handouts, electronic assignments and exams
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.		Skill Demonstrations 5 - 60%
Class performances, Performance exams
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.		Exams 5 - 60%
Multiple choice, True/false, Matching items, Essay
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.		Other Category 0 - 20%
Class discussion of skills/assignments, attendance

 

If taking Pass/No Pass you need at least 70% of the total class points and complete the midterm exam and the final exam to pass the class.

Standards of Conduct

Students who register in SRJC classes are required to abide by the SRJC Student Conduct Standards. Violation of the Standards is basis for referral to the Vice President of Student Services or dismissal from class or from the College. See the Student Code of Conduct page.

Collaborating on or copying of tests or homework in whole or in part will be considered an act of academic dishonesty and result in a grade of 0 for that test or assignment. I encourage students to share information and ideas, but not their work. See these links on Plagiarism:
SRJC Writing Center Lessons on avoiding plagiarism
SRJC's policy on Academic Integrity

Other Important Policies and Practices

Avoid Plagiarism Like the, er, Plague

Although most students have likely heard about plagiarism during their years of schooling, it still is prevalent-even in higher education.

The video below reviews what plagiarism is and how not to do it.

Plagiarism: How to avoid it

This activity tests your knowledge of plagiarism (not graded): Self-check: Plagiarism

Netiquette, or Why Is It Harder to Be Polite Online?

Netiquette refers to using common courtesy in online communication. All members of the class are expected to follow netiquette in all course communications. Use these guidelines:

• Use capital letters sparingly. THEY LOOK LIKE SHOUTING.
• Forward emails only with a writer's permission.
• Be considerate of others' feelings and use language carefully.
• Cite all quotations, references, and sources (otherwise, it is plagiarism).
• Use humor carefully. It is hard to "read" tone; sometimes humor can be misread as criticism or personal attack. Feel free to use emoticons like :) for a smiley face to let others know you are being humorous.
• Use complete sentences and standard English grammar to compose posts. Write in proper paragraphs. Review work before submitting it.
• Text speak, such as "ur" for "your" or "ru" for "are you" etc., is only acceptable when texting.

Special Needs

Students with disabilities who believe they need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact Disability Resources (527-4278), as soon as possible to better ensure such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.