Abstract
This article presents the design of an undergraduate course that focused on how the Internet1 may be used as a medium for discovering information about citizenship, in general, and for advocating and practicing citizenly conduct, in particular. The goal is to share with the reader a set of guidelines to specify course objectives and requirements, to select relevant materials, to engage students in self-directed learning, and to appreciate the process of working with the students over a semester. Applications of information and communication technology (ICT) were integrated into the course management and delivery, and they also formed the basis of the topic for the course content.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Citizenship: Although the typical definition of citizenship refers to the rights and privileges of those designated legally to be citizens, the concept was extended in this article to include motivation to participate in shared governance.
ICT: Information and communication technology was used as the medium studied for political engagement and for course delivery and management with Blackboard.
Internet Citizenship: This reflected the use of the Internet for political engagement and empowerment, from local, state, and national perspectives.
First Year Seminar: At UMBC, outstanding freshman are allowed to enroll in a course that has a seminar format similar to what graduate students might experience.
Internet: The term “Internet” includes the World Wide Web because that is a common way to refer to the media for electronic communications and exchanges of information.
Instructional Design: In the present context, this refers to the techniques that were adopted to encourage the students to seek and evaluate information and to provide written and oral reports to the instructor and to the class.