Technological and Quantitative Literacy
   

Introduction

Welcome to Mike Bryson's homepage for BGS 290-24, Technological and Quantitative Literacy.  Increasingly, technology and quantitative data dominate our lives, yet most of us struggle to harness and critically evaluate these tools and sources.  While computers are everywhere, for example, using them is an art that requires critical thinking and practice as well as a basic level of technical knowledge.  Similarly, we are inundated by data, much of it numerical/statistical, through the media as well as in academia and the business world; yet understanding statistical evidence and sifting the real story from the "spin" is often a challenge.  Hence this course, which provides tools, resources, and habits of mind vital to understanding the role of technology in society, applying technology to academic work, analyzing quantitative data in various contexts, and writing clearly and effectively about such information. 

General Course Description 

Development of technological literacy and quantitative reasoning skills in a critical thinking context.  Students will become critical consumers of quantitative information and technological innovations, and develop needed technology and quantitative skill sets through individualized assessment and learning pathways.  Topics/activities include:  Definition and significance of technological and quantitative literacy.  Analysis of the technologies, especially rapidly changing information technology, that increasingly define the way we interact, retrieve knowledge, and construct arguments.  Exploration of technology's impact upon society, as well as the social forces which in turn shape technology.  Critical review of concepts and skills used to build, communicate, and assess quantitative arguments.  Analysis of quantitative information found in various sources, including popular media and scholarly discourse.  May be taken concurrently with BGS 201 or 302.  Prereq:  Math 090, if required by RUA.

Specific Goals of the Seminar

By the end of this course, you should be able to

• Critically analyze how technological innovations shape how we live, work, even think

• Understand what is meant by technological literacy in today's society, and develop a strategy for improving your own technological literacy

• Evaluate developing technologies, particularly from the standpoint of how they affect debates on contemporary social issues

• Understand how technology has transformed the production of knowledge and the dissemination of information

• Use technical tools (e.g., online research databases) to retrieve and analyze information, particularly quantitative data

• Evaluate quantitative information found in news reports, advertisements, semi-scholarly sources, and research reports

• Critically analyze the graphic display of quantitative information

• Write clear and in-depth analyses of quantitative data

• Understand some of the key ways in which technological and quantitative literacies are connected

Class Activities and Basic Requirements

Typical class activities will be weekly reading assignments, online class discussions (see below), and four formal writing projects.  Required reading will include assorted websites and web-based resources related to each week's topic, the books What the Numbers Say (by Derrick Neiderman and David Boyum) and Everyday Math for Everyday Life (by Mark Ryan), and selected documents available on our Blackboard (Bb) site.  Besides active weekly participation, two short papers (2-3 pages), and two longer analytic essays (5-6 pages) are required.  For more info, see the Assignments page.

Please feel free to talk to me during office hours or to make an appointment, should you have questions or feel like you need some individualized help.  Staying in touch is vitally important in this class, for our schedule is both tight and complex.  Please do not disappear!  I check my voicemail (847-619-8735) and email regularly, and I do my best to return messages within a day during the work week.  Remember that there's no substitute for regular online participation and timely submission of your assignments.

A Note on Cell Phone Usage

Please use common courtesy with regard to cell phone usage during class sessions by setting your phone to silent mode.  If you absolutely must receive an emergency call, please excuse yourself quietly from the room.  Otherwise, limit calls to before and after class.

Accommodation of Persons with Disabilities (from RU Student Handbook, p. 75)

"When a student . . . with a documented disability is able to perform the essential functions of the academic and program requirements, the University will provide reasonable accommodations to the needs of that individual, unless such accommodations would provide undue hardship to the University.

"Reasonable accommodations . . . will be determined on a case-by-case basis.  Students with medically recognized and documented disabilities and who are in need of accommodation should notify the University of their needs.  Students should contact the Office of Disability Services [ph. 312.341.3810] and provide documentation of their disability to this office."
 

Page Design and Content by Michael A. Bryson / 2008
M. Bryson's Faculty Home Page
Last Updated:  05 September 2008