[comp.edu] Distance Learning - Connected Education

patth@dasys1.UUCP (Patt Haring) (01/28/88)

               Connect Ed - New School Spring 88 on-line courses
               -------------------------------------------------

                               February 1 - March 31

Director: Paul Levinson
Associate Director: Tina Vozick

Each course carries three graduate or undergraduate credits. Graduate
credits applicable to New School MA in Media Studies Degree upon
matriculation; awarding of graduate credit assumes possession of
earned bachelor's degree and completion of New School registration.

Undergraduate credit is general New School Adult Division credit.
Tuition: $296 per credit ($888 per course) graduate, $278 per credit
($828 per course) undergrad and non-credit.  Registration fees: $60
graduate, $20 undergrad and non-credit.  These fees include all
necessary connect time for courses with exception of local call to
data packet network.


Technological Forecasting (Joseph Martino)
-------------------------
     This course examines the theory, practice, and consequences of
technological forecasting.  Examination of features of forecasting
includes: growth curves, curve fitting, trend extrapolation, limits
of trends, technological substitution, and indicator gathering.
Students prepare a forecast of technology of their choice, using the
methods taught.  Requirements include submission of forecast proposal,
reports on interim work, and submission of the final forecast to the
instructor and the group.

Artificial Intelligence and Real Life (Paul Levinson)
-------------------------------------
     What are the prospects and limitations of machines that purport
to think?  This course examines the claims, pro and con, made about
current artificial intelligence programs. Issues considered include:
is protein necessary for intelligence, what is the connection between
biological evolution and intelligence, can reason be designed, expert
vs. human systems, talking through vs talking to computers, and the
moral implications of AI.  Specific cases of AI are assessed in such
areas as medicine, law, and education, and a mock trial is conducted
on the "murder" of an android.

Applications in Telecommunications (Tom Hargadon)
----------------------------------
     A practical survey of new electronic communications media and
their social impact on the world today: computer networks, satellite
communications, teleconferencing, telecommuting, data bases,
electronic banking.  What are these new forms of communication and
why are they so important?  Will they change society in the future as
drastically as television and radio have changed society in the past?
If so, how?  What do you need to know about these new media to
understand and succeed in the strange new world of electronic
communications coming into being before our very eyes?


Telelaw: Legal Issues in Telecommunications (Brock N. Meeks)
-------------------------------------------
     This course examines the issue of legislation (at both state and
federal levels) as it affects telecommunications.  A double- edged
sword, legislation could take away the "free speech" aspect of
telecommunications, by imposing laws and regulations, or provide
online communication the same protections afforded the spoken and
printed word.  The course examines topics such as ownership of online
information; electronic pornography; right to electronic privacy.
Specific pieces of state and federal legislation are considered.


The Microchip Economy: Workplace, Workspace, Workpace (Richard Dalton)
-----------------------------------------------------
     The real impact of microcomputers often gets lost behind
technological jargon and figures (how much ROM do I need for my
office?).  Here we look at short-term and long-term actual effects of
personal computers on people and business, ranging from career and
industrial displacement to relocations of entire segments of the
national and international economy.  What are the plusses and minuses
of PCs for entrepreneurs, small and giant enterprises, to consider?
What career paths are opened and closed to individuals seeking to
make a mark in today's computer-reliant economy?  These and related
practical issues are considered against the backdrop of a society in
sharp technological change.

Electronic Publishing (Harvey Wheeler)
---------------------
     This course examines the practice and issues involved in the
editing, publishing, and dissemination of news items, reference
materials, and scholarly and professional journals via electronic
means.  Topics include historical survey of dissemination of texts,
economics of print as opposed to electronic publishing,
entrepreneurial electronic "presses" and "desktop" publishing, and
the impact of electronic publishing upon public information and
scientific knowledge. The course includes practical training in such
areas as inauguration of electronic journals, manuscript recruitment,
editing, and publicity.


Computer Networks and Professional Writing (Sharon Lerch)
------------------------------------------
     This course examines the ways that computer networks can assist
the process and placement of writing.  Issues such as the individual
author in a group process and the roles of criticism and direction in
writing are explored through discussion and writing of fiction and
nonfiction in an on-line environment. Participants are expected to
interact generously with one another, reading each other's work
carefully and giving thoughtful, constructive comments with the
guidance and participation of the instructor.  The role of computer
network "contacts" in placement and publication of works is explored,
with special attention to submission and editing of manuscripts
on-line.

Computers and the Democratic Process (Donald B. Straus)
------------------------------------
    This course begins by examining weaknesses in our current
decision-making processes, on the political, economic, and social
levels.  Innovations needed to improve decision-making are suggested
and explored, with special attention to the role of new interactive
media and personal computers in the flow of information and the
resolution of disputes.  The field of "computer assisted
negotiations" (CAN) is utilized as a central case study, and the
linkages between decision-making via computers and the democratic


     Many thanks for your interest in Connected Education.

     In the past two years we have offered 50 graduate and
undergraduate courses entirely via computer conferencing to more
than 250 students across 22 states in the US including Alaska,
California, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Alabama,
Wisconsin, South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York -- and from
many parts of the world including Japan, Singapore, the Middle
East, Norway, Denmark, England, Iceland, South and Central
America, and Canada.  Most of our participants are professionals
in the business, public sector, and educational communities, and
all took full credit courses without interrupting their daily
activities, in the privacy and convenience of their homes or
offices. Students who travelled extensively in their jobs were
able to take our courses simply by "logging on" from the nearest
telephone. Word of our exciting program has been carried in such
publications as Business Week, the Wall Street Journal, High
Technology, InfoWorld, PC Week, and BYTE, and by such writers as
Isaac Asimov.

     As explained in detail in the enclosed materials, we are
offering 8 courses this coming Spring (February 1 - March 31).
entirely via computer teleconferencing, for academic credit
granted by The New School for Social Research. These courses
range from examination of practical issues in telecommunications
and economics, to philosophic considerations of modern
technology, to skill development in such as areas as
professional writing and desktop publishing. Each course carries
three New School non-matriculated credits, either graduate or
undergraduate (graduate level requires greater on-line
participation and more in-depth assignments than undergraduate
credit, and assumes possession of a bachelor's degree). These
credits can be applied either towards degrees at your own local
institutions (assuming they agree to accept transfer credits) or
towards degree programs at The New School itself, including the
MA in Media Studies. In fact, qualified students can matriculate
and pursue the MA in Media Studies degree through Connect Ed
on-line courses. You also may take these courses  on a
non-credit basis.  Tuition is $296 per graduate credit and $278
per undergraduate credit.  (Tuition is inclusive of all
necessary connect costs except your local telephone call to hook
into our conferencing network.  New School registration fees of
$60 for graduate course work and $20 for undergraduate apply.
Not-for-credit fees are the same as undergraduate.)

     A great advantage of the Connect Ed program is that any
model computer and modem can participate with any type of
telecommunications and word processing software.  Our courses
are conducted entirely in an electronic "computer conferencing"
classroom environment, in which faculty and students enter
comments and messages electronically in a continuing exchange
throughout the course.  During the two months in which our
courses are conducted, students can read and retrieve material
entered by faculty and other students, as well as ask questions
of their own, any time of their choosing, night or day. Students
in addition can communicate with faculty through private message
systems, and there are facilities for "live", real-time
exchanges between faculty and students. The result is a very
stimulating intellectual environment, described by our students
as akin to "top-notch seminars" and superior to most of the
in-person courses they have previously taken.

     All students have access to our on-line Connect Ed library,
containing hundreds of papers pertinent to our courses and to
computer conferencing.  There is a student lounge, a place for
you to speak openly about student concerns.  And one of our most
successful features is the Connect Ed Cafe -- a sort of
electronic hang-out where you can mingle with other students,
faculty, staff, and friends of Connected Education, for fun and
serious conversation alike. Topics of discussion in the Cafe
have ranged from the quality of fast food in New Jersey to the
nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union. In general,
the Connect Ed student will find an electronic campus
environment that simulates and goes beyond the conventional
in-person classroom and campus in many ways.

     If you'd like to register for our classes, you may do so by
writing to us at the above address.  Or for more information,
please call Connected Education at 212-549-6509, or the New
School directly at (212) 741-8903.

     We look forward to serving you as part of our growing
national and international body of students.

Sincerely,



Paul Levinson, Ph.D                    Tina Vozick
Director                               Associate Director
Connected Education, Inc.

e-mail addresses: Source: aah298
                  Compuserve: 72517, 3107
                  MCI-Mail: Connected Education


-- 
Patt Haring                       UUCP:    ..cmcl2!phri!dasys1!patth
Big Electric Cat                  Compu$erve: 76566,2510
New York, NY, USA                 MCI Mail: Patt Haring; GEnie-PHaring
(212) 879-9031                    FidoNet Mail: 1:107/701 or 107/222