CIS2: 7. Computer Crime

• understand issues associated with computer crime
• find web resources apprpriate to the topic
• facilitate student discussion
• learn to work collaboratively online

• What are some new forms of criminal behavior that did not exist before the internet? What crimes are easier with the aid of computers and technology?
• Worms and virus - have you been attacked or infected? What "cost" to you in time, effort or money? Should the creators be punished for spreading these? What is suitable punishment?
• Is any hacking harmless?
• Should the age of the hacker be taken into consideration when judging these crimes? Why or why not?
• Who is ultimately responsible for the security of computer assets? To what extent can the owner expect that others will abide the laws and not harm the information?
• Does hacking improve security?
• Have you received email or visited sites that you thought were engaged in fraud or some criminal activity?
• Is spam really a kind of theft? How big a problem is spam? What steps do you take to avoid spam?
• Do you understand identity theft? What steps do you take to prevent your identity being stolen? Are you personally concerned about having your identity stolen?

1. Read 7. Computer Crime notes for an overview for the topics that will be covered this week.

2. Read text book - Chapter 7: Computer Crime

3. Take the quiz Computer Crime. Answer based on your reading from the textbook. Be sure to save each answer. When you have completed all the questions, submit your quiz for grading.

4. Facilitate a discussion in the Forum topic Student Discussion Questions . Write a question based on your reading from the textbook and post it to the discussion. Participate in at least 2 other dicussions. In the discussions, consider these questions. What is the impact on society? Why is this important?
   Write a discussion question for this chapter of the textbook. Read the questions already posted, and do not repeat a question asked by another student. Your question should relate directly to an issue discussed in the text, and should require a thoughtful response. Don't ask a question which can be answered by looking the answer up. Attitude, opinion, and application questions usually get thoughtful responses. Participation in a student led discussion consists of the following 4 steps:
   • Post your original question in Student Discussion Questions. This must be done within the first two days the module is active. This will be your topic - you will be the discussion leader. Your job is to facilitate this discussion and get as much information from the other participants as you can that relates to the question you have asked.
   • Read the questions posted by the other students, and respond to at least two of them. Choose the topics you think will be the most interesting and beneficial to you. You will be a participant in these discussions. Provide another viewpoint or add additional information. Your responses should be 2-3 sentences.
   • Respond to every student who responds to you. Do this in your own topic as well as the other topics you are participating in.
   • Continue participating in the threads until the module is over.
     Note: If other students are not selecting your thread to participate in, perhaps it is because your question is too complex, confusing, or uninteresting. In this case, submit another question.

5. Search the web for sites that talk about computers and crime. Find 2 that you think are particularly interesting. Write 2-3 sentences about the social issues discussed. Submit the web address of the pages you selected and your description as assignment Search - Computers and Crime.

6. Post your Search web sites and descriptions to the Search - Computers and Crime discussion. This week, to encourage more discussion, include a question in your posting. Is there another side to the story? Is there information that you need to understand the site you found? Be sure to ask a question that will get the discussion going about the topic.
   Follow 2-5 links provided by other students and read through the page or articles. Reply to 2-5 other postings. Respond to the question of the message. End your reply with your own questions. You are not limited to the number of posts - the objective is to get some discussion going here.

7. Search the web for 2 political web sites - political party, candidate, ballot initiative, etc. Rate the effectiveness of each site on a scale of 1-5. Then provide pros and cons (total of 5) to explain your rating. For example, if you rate one of the sites as a 4, then provide 4 reasons why the site works that well and 1 reason why it didn't get 5 out of 5. Do this for both sites you select. Try to find one effective political site and one that isn't very good. Provide your rating and reasons for both sites along with the web addresses, and post your evaluations to the Politics and the web discussion forum.
   Look at the sites selected by two other students and comment. If you agree or disagree with their rating, provide an explanation. It isn't about the politics - we are interested in the effectiveness of the internet as part of the political process.

8. Listen to one of these podcasts about learning environments. What do you think? Was the presentation interesting? Were the suggestions and descriptions for changes to education interesting? What would you like implemented? Did the presenter miss something really important in considering student needs? Post the name of the podcast you listened to and your comments to discussion Podcast Review. Read 2-3 other reviews and comment on their evaluations.
   • Learning space design interview with Bill Dittoe - founding member of Educational Facilities Consultants, a firm that helps colleges and universities develop learner-centered designs. http://connect.educause.edu/blog/dianao/learning_space_design_interview_with_bill_dittoe/1288

   • Information commons interview with Joan Lippincott - role of libraries and information commons as informal learning spaces, students and how they learn. http://connect.educause.edu/blog/dianao/information_commons_interview_with_joan_lippincott/1289

   • Interview with Ken Graetz - discusses the impact the learning environment has on the way people think and feel, virtual spaces as places and the implications that has for teaching and learning. http://connect.educause.edu/blog/dianao/interview_with_ken_graetz/1291

9. Throughout the quarter, watch for news items about computers and society. For extra credit, post a link and a 1-2 sentence note about why you think that this news item is applicable to this class to the News Items discussion.

10. It is time to start thinking about the Final Project. Groups of 3-5 students work together to prepare a report on one of the topics covered in this course. The final paper should be 5-8 pages long. Include references to 6-8 online articles that are appropriate to your discussion. See Final Project Guidelines for more details.
    Read through the Final Project Guideline.
    Select one of these topics - Crime, Privacy, Education or Medicine. Or suggest your own topic. Then, on your own, plan out a project that you would like to work on with 2-4 other people. This is just planning. You and your group will actually work together in coming weeks. Include a 2-3 sentence description of the objective, point of view and list of subtopics that might be addressed. Post your ideas for a final project topic to Final Project Topic Ideas in module 11.

11. Review the ideas and comment on 2-3, adding your thoughts about the proposal and provide feedback to improve or enhance the report content.

12. Start working to form groups by topic. Use the Final Project Group Choice in Module 11 to join a group. Make contact and work out a plan for the project. Combine your ideas and work together as outlined in the Group project guidelines.
    When you have your groups formed create a group discussion thread. In the Final Projects forum in Module 11, set up a separate discussion area for your group by posting new message. Then all your group discussions can be posted as replies to the original group message - this is a good way to keep the group communications organized and available to all.
    You must be part of a group by next week (Week 8).

13. Your particpation in class discussions is important. Throughout the quarter, discussion partication will be reviewed and graded. The discussion participation grade will contribute to your final grade for the course.

14. Reflection - How long did you work on the assignments for this week? Is this about the same as it usually takes to complete the work each week? Is the pace of work for this class about right? What would you like changed in the course? What would help you learn more about Computers and Society? Please comment. This should be one or two paragraphs submitted as I think... assignment.