Option Multimedia Syllabus 1er semester 2006

OPTION MULTIMEDIA 1st Semester 2006 (ENGLISH)
English Syllabus: 10 hours

Mme Bays: Bureau 568 (Monday, Tuesday), email: Bays_Cergy@hotmail.com
Class Blog: http://cergy-lea-MM1-2006.blogspot.com/

Objectives :
1. Content: Research techniques using the Internet, email, IM and blogs to have greater resources for your LEA studies and to contact other Netizens.

2. Linguistic: Most of the information covered in class will be in English. You will learn specialized and common vocabulary about the internet and general topics and you will practice your writing in English.

3. Exchange with a group of Irish students from the University of Ulster via Yahoo! Groups and our class blog.

There is always an ENORMOUS amount of material to cover in this class. You will have to start working immediately and diligently to take advantage of the time we have with the computers (which sometimes break down). If you don't finish in class you must finish the material at home as homework.

Other Places to use computers at the UCP:
1. Salle 381, sale informatique en libre accès.

2. Centre de Ressources Linguistiques à la bibliothèque universitaire des Cerclades, 3e étage. Apportez une lettre justificative que vous êtes inscrits dans le cours multimédia et votre carte étudiante. Le n° de téléphone qui permettra aux étudiants de réserver un créneau horaire est le 01 34 25 72 77. Sinon, appellez le secrétariat du CRL au 01 34 25 72 72 le mardi, mercredi ou jeudi matin.

WEEKLY PROGRAM

2/3 Oct
Introduction: class and homework assignments, class rules, grading.
Brief language quiz
Creating email accounts and Yahoo! Group account, accessing class Blog for assignments and discussion.
Beginning: Searching the web Help about the concepts can be found at www.hyperdictionary.com

Homework:
Read Chapter 1: What’s the Internet (This handout is a reference guide for you for the semester)
Read: “How Google Works”, abridged, answer questions.

OPTIONAL ARTICLE: Small sites boosted by search engines too
by Kurt Kleiner, NewScientist.com New Service, 7 August 2006
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9/10 Oct
Comparison of Search Engines: Directories, meta search engines… Testing Search Engines
What is Plagiarism

Vocabulary to know from “Be a searcher not a surfer” site : http://www-chi.nearnorth.edu.on.ca/bttcourse/Course%20Instruction/Unit%204/Internet/Internet1.htm

Homework:
Read Chapters 5 “Browsing the World” & 6 “Searching for information”, Ivens, Faster Smarter Internet, Microsoft Publishing, 2003.

Write to Irish: Write two paragraphs, one in French and one in English (100 words Max for each), in which you treat the subject
A) How are you representative of youth in France. (la culture jeune en France) (Post Online)
OR
B) Why and How YOU use the Internet. (Post Online)
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16/17 Oct
Library searches: UCP Library, Library of Congress (USA), British National Library

Homework:
Investigate: What is a Podcast? Learn how to download podcasts
Read: Podcasts Go Mainstream, PC World, p 28.
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23/24 Oct
Internet Radio (and Podcasts): BBC Radio, Voice of America, NPR, Australian and Canadian Broadcasting… Learning Podcasts

Homework:
Think of 5 questions to put on a questionnaire for the Irish students about travelling to a foreign country, interesting cultural experiences abroad, favourite destinations and cultural differences… The questions should include two “yes-or-no” questions, two multiple choice questions, and one open ended question. Try to be creative. Write these questions on a piece of paper that you will give to the instructor.

Prepare a Flyer (to hand in to the instructor): Present Cergy-Pontoise or the Val d’Oise as a tourist destination (your audience is university students). Talk about different subjects like history, attractions, sport, university, cultural events, etc.
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6/7 Nov
Discussion of Travel & Culture questionnaire. Exchange Programs. UCP & Erasmus info about year abroad, Gap year

Homework:
Go to the Centre de Ressources Linguistiques at the Cerclades University Library and work on some of the Language software (e.g. Tense Busters, Preparing Scientific Presentations…). Get an Attestation from the Monitor to hand in to your instructor.
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13/14 Nov
Media studies & Learning English Online, TV and video online (BBC, CNN, ABC, You Tube (viral video)…), Alternative news or information sites
English learning sites
(if time) Respond to the Irish questionnaire. Write your answers in two paragraphs, one in French and one in English.

Homework:
Read Article “The Call of the East”, The Economist, Feb 17th, 2005. Fill in spaces and answer questions.
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20/21 Nov
Job Hunt and Career advice: Chambers of Commerce & Business sites. How to find an internship, write a CV, looking for summer jobs…

Homework:
Read Managing Email (in handout)
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27/28 Nov
Connecting to People (the real wealth of Internet): mailing lists, Newsgroups, Instant Messaging, P2P & Piracy

Discussion: Issues with email: What is email based on? How is it similar to or different from postal mail? What are the different ways you can retrieve email?
Security: spam, phishing and Identity theft (etc)

Homework:
Read « Blog toujours, tu m’intéresses » article from Le Monde Diplomatique , mardi 19 mars 2002.
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4/5 Dec
BLOGS, online diaries, journals, vlogging,
Social networking websites: Myspace, Friendster, Flikr
Games with a social purpose: Darfur is Dying
Connect to the Irish

Homework:
Review material (articles, vocabulary and practical information) for the quiz
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11/12 Dec
Final Quiz (on subjects and vocabulary covered in class as well as in the online summaries)

You will NOT use computers for this exam.
You must know the vocabulary covered in class. Some specific questions will be asked. You will also have to describe the processes of how to find information on the internet or what information can be found on some key sites you have seen in class.
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ASSIGNMENTS & GRADING:

CONTROL CONTINU
Summary essays (20%): (assigned weekly)
Summarize (in English) what you learned from the day’s lesson. (200 words – of which a minimum of 100 in English, and the rest in French if you have to). In this essay, after the summary, give your personal opinion of the website (did you like it? Not like it? Was the language easy/difficult? Would you go there again? Why/why not?) Then, include some brief information related to this topic that you found outside of class, with at least 2 references to websites and authors’ names of the new sites you visited.
Remember also that plagiarism is NOT PERMITTED by university law and will be severely sanctioned.
Be prepared to answer questions about your topic and subjects related to your topic. Check your grammar, spelling and vocabulary before putting it online as these will be graded too.

Participation (20%) active participation in discussions in English about the texts to read, handing in and doing simple writing assignments, etc.
Including:
Follow-up with the Irish students: answer the questionnaire(s) sent to the class by the Irish students. Your reply will be posted online. Creation of Questionnaire for the Irish.

Visit the Language Lab: Go to the Centre de Ressources Linguistiques at the Cerclades University Library and work on some of the Language software (e.g. Tense Busters, Preparing Scientific Presentations…). Get an Attestation from the Monitor to hand in to your instructor. This must be turned in by the 13th or 14th November (no later).

Quiz (partiel pour contrôle continu) (60%): practical questions and short answer questions about material and vocabulary covered in class, both technical and theoretical. (Cf: Sample questions below)

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EXAMEN TERMINAL (100%): les étudiants inscrits en examen terminal sont tenus à connaître les sujets traités en cours et à lire les articles indiqués dans le programme ainsi que les essaies publiés sur le Blog du cours ou sur le Yahoo Groupe du cours.

Sample questions:
1) Describe features of the BBC Website and how these can help you learn or improve your English.
2) How can the Internet and its means of communication be part of your search for a summer job abroad. Describe the precise steps you take to find this job.

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RULES (si vous ne comprenez pas ces règlements, venez me voir après le cours, ou envoyez moi un email)

- You MUST have an email account for this class, so if you don’t you must create one (for example at laposte.net, hotmail.com, yahoo.com, caramail.fr, etc). You must also connect to the yahoo group in order to get information about the class directly in your email account. My email address is bays_cergy@hotmail.com (underscore, under the 8)

- Only Two justified absences are admissible. After this you are “défaillant”. Contact me immediately by telephone or by email to find a time to make up the class (often with another group, but you must have my permission first).

- If you are absent, you are REQUIRED to know the subject treated in class and to do the homework or readings assigned. Ask your classmates for help if needed. Consult the class blog for the assignments.

- Missed assignments: must be sent by email or dated and stamped by the secretary of LEA within the week following the due date. No other homework assignments will be accepted after this.

- Missed Quiz (on the last day of class): An authorized justification is necessary in order for this to be legally admissible! Contact me by phone or by email immediately preceding or following the absence to talk about possible solutions (according to each situation). This missed day counts for an absence. If you already have two, you will be considered “défaillant”.

- No Chatting & msn messenger, personal email, telephone in class, etc. (Isn’t this obvious?) You are expected to participate actively in the class not only during discussions, but also during practical research. You should also be polite and respect others by listening when they speak (during discussion), and not talking while anyone else (including the teacher) is talking or explaining something.

- Asking questions for clarification about assignments or vocabulary is NEVER stupid, however, read the syllabus and any other handouts first to make sure that your question has not already been answered.

- If you disturb the class or the other students the teacher reserves the right to change you into “Examen Terminal”. The teacher will issue you a written warning and, if not heeded, you can be eliminated from the class (there is not enough room nor enough computers for people who are not serious).
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Useful sites:
Dictionaries and one-word translations http://dictionary.reference.com/, http://www.hyperdictionary.com/, http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page ,
Reference tools, newspapers, magazines & lots more http://www.refdesk.com/, http://www.wikipedia.org/

NB: Sources of information as well as the information itself also form our opinions. They can focus your attention on one subject, or omit information about another. Keep a critical mind. ALL MEDIA, EVEN REFERENCE MATERIAL, IS BIASED.

L'Internet donne accès à de nombreuses ressources mais certaines d'entre elles sont de qualité douteuse. Dans l'état actuel des choses, l'Internet n'a pas de système particulier de contrôle de qualité - on y trouve tous les aspects de la vie humaine - le bon, le mauvais et le laid : les revues universitaires côtoient les bandes dessinées ; les discours présidentiels, les plus insipides bavardages ; les nouvelles du jour, celles d'hier ...

Et c'est souvent à vous, l'utilisateur final, de trier le bon grain de l'ivraie !

(pour creuser plus cette question suivez le cours en ligne http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/ )