Course Syllabus
Contact Information
Course Details
Course Title
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PSIS 3053 - Digital Literacy & Data Analytics
Course Description
This course is designed to increase student knowledge and application of digital and quantitative data literacy, including strategies and tools for finding credible resources, evaluating digital and data sources, and using data and digital sources ethically. Using applied activities, students will learn how to use these skills in their academic studies and the workplace.
Course Format
- This is an eight-week online course. Learning takes place primarily in an online asynchronous format, with some online synchronous options for learners (not required).
Course Materials
- All content is provided in the course modules in the form of online resources, PDFs, videos, etc.
Course Learning Outcomes (CLO)
- Apply principles of digital and data literacy to gather information, communicate, and create digital content.
- Determine the extent of misinformation and information bias in content.
- Use the Internet and OU Libraries resources to find scholarly material for research.
- Evaluate the quality of sources and data using principles of digital literacy and data literacy.
- Interpret data visualizations and use data sets to create graphs and charts.
- Apply ethical principles to data collection and presentation of information following professional ethical standards.
Grades
Breakdown
| Activity | Description | Points/Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Assignments | Assignments to help you develop your digital and data literacy. | 10% |
| Discussions | Discussions to aid in developing your perspectives on selected course topics. | 20% |
| LinkedIn Learning Micro-credentials | Short video courses (1-2 hours) by experts to help you develop digital and data literacy skills. | 25% |
| Course Spanning Task | A project that will utilize the skills you learn in the course to complete and present research & concepts related to a digital/data literacy topic. | 45% |
| Total | 100% |
Scale
| Percentage | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| 90–100% | A |
| 80–89% | B |
| 70–79% | C |
| 60–69% | D |
| Below 60% | F |
Grading Procedures
This course is letter-graded. Students will submit all assignments in Canvas. Privacy will be maintained, and student grades will not be publicly posted. Discussions will be graded within 4 days after the due date, and all other assignments will be graded within 7 days after the due date.
Course Components
Activities:
- Readings/Media — Students will explore selected readings, including textbooks, journal articles, and current publications, to build a foundational understanding of analytical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving.
- Videos — The videos will provide real-world examples and practical applications of the concepts, helping students see how analytical thinking and creativity work in action.
Assessments:
- Discussions — Students will engage in discussions designed to prompt meaningful dialogue related to course topics. Late peer replies will not be accepted. See the rubric for more details on grading.
- Assignments — complete assignments to develop your data literacy and data visualization.
- LinkedIn Learning Micro Credentials: A LinkedIn Learning account is provided to all OU students at no cost. You will have assignments requiring you to complete excellent courses to aid with your learning about digital literacy concepts and data literacy skills.
- Here is OU's page with instructions for accessing and logging in to LinkedIn Learning! To earn credit for these assignments, you will upload your certificate of completion into the LinkedIn Assignment areas.
- Course-Spanning Task — Throughout the course, you will conduct research and create a presentation about a digital or data literacy topic. The task is broken into stages to make it more manageable and provide opportunities for feedback throughout the course. See Course Spanning Task (CST) Introduction for more information.
Course Schedule
| Week | Topic | Activities/Assignments Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Digital Literacy | Discussion Topic DISCUSSION |
| Discussion Topic LIVE SESSION | ||
| 2 | Scholarly Sources Evaluation | Discussion Topic DISCUSSION |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| Assignment TOPIC SELECTION CST | ||
| 3 | Evaluating Media Sources | Discussion Topic DISCUSSION |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| 4 | Introduction to Data Literacy - Descriptive Statistics Concepts | ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| Assignment PRELIMINARY RESEARCH LIST CST | ||
| 5 | Data Literacy - Inferential Statistics Concepts | Assignment ANNOTATED REFERENCES CST |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| 6 | Data Literacy - Visualizing & Communicating Data | Assignment DATA VISUALIZATION EXERCISE |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| 7 | Data Literacy - Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Research | Discussion Topic CST PRESENTATION PEER REVIEW |
| Assignment LINKEDIN LEARNING MICRO-CREDENTIAL | ||
| 8 | Using Data Ethically/Digital Citizenship/CST | Assignment CST PRESENTATION |
| Discussion Topic DISCUSSION |
Course Policies
Late Policy
Generally - late work is not accepted without penalty. There will be a 10% deduction in your grade for every day you are late submitting quizzes and assignments.
For discussion postings, only partial credit (minus 10% each day) will be given for your initial posting, but no credit will be given for follow-up postings as your classmates will not be reviewing these postings after the end of the week/unit.
- If you know you will be traveling - that is not an excuse to miss assignments or discussion postings - but I can definitely open up parts of the course so that you can work ahead.
- Excused Absences - if there is an illness, accident, storm outage, death in the immediate family, etc., that happens during the course, reach out to me as soon as you can. The 10% deduction will not apply if you communicate with me prior to missing an assignment or if you can document an extenuating reason for the absence.
- You can access every week's worth of work on the weekend prior as well to allow you to pace your studies.
It is your responsibility to maintain personal communication with your instructors regarding late work. If you are going to be delayed in submitting assignments due to work, religious observances, or scheduled medical procedures, you should make all efforts to contact your faculty members in advance to let them know about your situation and make arrangements to work ahead whenever possible. Keep in mind that in most cases it is at the discretion of the instructor whether to grant an extension or apply late penalties to an assignment received after the posted deadline. Late work will be graded as soon as possible, but preference will be given to grading on-time submissions in the current week of the course.
Faculty members are not obligated to initiate contact with you before giving assignments or final grades. If you have several outstanding/late assignments, your grade may be seriously impacted. Students are expected to abide by the guidelines in the OU Student Handbook. Failure to abide by these guidelines can lead to sanctions as outlined in the OU Student Rights and Responsibilities Code.
Additional Support for Learning
The College of Professional and Continuing Studies provides links to writing resources. If you have questions about assignment requirements or would like to request feedback on a rough draft, you are encouraged to communicate with your course instructors while giving them enough lead time to respond before assignments are due.
The OU Writing Center is a wonderful resource available to all students and is funded in part by your student course fees. The Writing Center is equipped to help students both online and in-person.
OU Libraries resources are available to all PACS students, including the ability to live chat, e-mail, and/or call a reference librarian with questions you may have about finding and evaluating sources for research papers. Students also have access to PACS Library Guides.
Technical Support
Offered through Canvas Student Support and OU IT.
College of Professional and Continuing Studies Teaching Philosophy
We in the College of Professional and Continuing Studies (PACS) believe that higher education is a crucial ingredient in becoming a successful, personally fulfilled human being and an actively engaged citizen of the state, nation, and world. Further, we operate with the foundational assumption that a University of Oklahoma education should be available to all qualified students regardless of their age, geographic location, or life circumstances.
Acting on these assumptions, PACS strives to create significant and meaningful learning experiences through online and accelerated course delivery methods. All PACS courses incorporate interdisciplinary perspectives and provide students with a well-rounded, life-enriching liberal education combined with specialized study in selected program areas, thus preparing them for ever higher levels of learning. PACS faculty members provide instruction, encouragement, timely response, and constructive feedback to broaden and deepen the student's understanding of course materials.
We understand that adult learners prefer and have the best achievement within a collaborative and interactive learning environment while functioning on their own personal schedules. We also believe that all students are capable of learning, and we aspire to enable students' self-agency in attaining their personal learning goals.
College of Professional and Continuing Studies Expectations and Policies
You can expect instructors to:
- Challenge you to think about and understand the material in this course.
- Encourage you to learn the material in the course and become a lifelong learner.
- Be available to return e-mails in a timely fashion, within 48 hours.
- Engage you in discussions.
- Provide feedback.
As the student, you are expected to:
- Accept responsibility for your learning.
- Have all textbooks and course materials before the class starts.
- Be engaged in the course by logging in to the course early each week, checking online discussions for replies and questions related to your postings, reading course announcements, knowing when assignments are due, and turning in all assignments on time.
Many PACS courses are offered in compressed formats, so the time devoted to each class per week should be adjusted accordingly. Set aside enough time to read and understand assigned course materials early in the week, actively participate in class discussions, and successfully complete assessments such as quizzes, projects, written assignments, and research papers.
Read and apply feedback from your instructor. Reach out to ask your instructor any questions you have about the feedback.
Use only your OU email address for all OU correspondence and assignments.
Ask your advisor if you have questions about your degree program or other questions not related to a specific course.
Have a reliable computer and a reliable Internet connection. Do some pre-planning and have a backup plan ready in the event you should have computer or Internet problems.
Submit all assignments and communications related to your coursework in the Canvas online class; do not email assignments to the professor.
Practice your writing skills. Use tools to edit and proofread your papers prior to submission for grading.
Instructor Academic Integrity Policy (Optional)
Insert your academic integrity policy here. Delete this section if it is not applicable.
Instructor Teaching Philosophy (Optional)
Insert your teaching philosophy here. Delete this section if it is not applicable.
Assignment Completion Policies
The College of Professional and Continuing Studies expects students to complete all assignments to earn a final grade in a given course.
Syllabus Updates
This syllabus is subject to change. The instructor will post any substantive changes to the syllabus in an announcement in Canvas.
University Academic Policies and Student Support
Access the University Academic Policies Document.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|