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School of Law Cyberlaw Seminar Course Page |
School of Law
Cyberlaw Seminar
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Course Requirements
Overview
The general Course Requirements are as follows:Access: Learn to access the Internet through Web browsing and E-mail. All course materials are being provided through the internet. Discussion: Participate in a web-based course discussion board. Listserv: Sign up for and monitor two e-mail listservs. Presentation: Make a classroom presentation and help to direct discussion. Paper: Produce a quality research document. Access
If you do not already have internet and e-mail access, both are available for free from the University. You need a UAnet ID. To get a UAnet ID, simply go to the Computer Center next door, go to any PC in one of the labs, and click on the Netscape Communicator icon. You will need a computer disk. Follow the instructions, and you will eventually get to a University of Akron “Internet Services” screen. Select the option “Request a UAnet ID.” You will need your Social Security Number, and when you go to pick up your ID at the information desk, you will need a picture ID. The Computer Center labs are open from 7 AM to midnight Monday through Thursday, and until 9 PM on Friday.In the alternative, if you have a friend who already has a UAnet ID, you can go with that person to any of the law school library PCs, get onto the internet through your friend’s ID, and apply for your UAnet ID that way. From the University home page (www.uakron.edu) click on “Computing”, then “Internet Services”, then “Request a UAnet ID.” Again, follow the instructions. If you have alternative access to the Internet, simply go to the University home page as described above.
Once you have a UAnet ID, your ID will also be the first part of your e-mail address, followed by “@uakron.edu”. For example, my UAnet ID is btlee, and my e-mail address is btlee@uakron.edu.
Discussion
Clicking on the Discussion icon will connect you to the Asymetrix Librarian 6.0 discussion site. Librarian requires the installation of Java files. The computers in the Law School library that run Windows 95 should have these files installed already. Once there, you must log in. Your user name is your last name in lower case, and your password is your social security number. You should change your password as soon as you log in by clicking on "Profile." Before you exit Profile, you should also add your e-mail address on the "Connections" tab. This will allow other class members to e-mail you directly from the Librarian site.From the main discussion site, double-click or select and launch "Cyberlaw Discussion List." You will see a threaded discussion page, on which replies to previously posted comments are grouped together. You may want to experiment with posting messages. If you are replying to a previous message, be sure to click the "Reply" button rather than starting a new "thread." This will allow subsequent readers to trace the subject matter of the messages they are reading.
You are required to check the discussion site on a regular basis. I encourage you to actively participate in the discussion there. I expect each class member to post at least 5 messages in the course of the semester.
Listserv
A listserv is an e-mail list that any "subscriber" of the list can send messages to. Thus, a message sent to the list is received by each and every list subscriber. There are listservs covering numerous topics. You can browse various listservs on the Internet by going to Tile.net or Liszt. The are two sites which maintain lists of listservs by topic, and information on whether the list is open to members of the general public. Both sites also give instructions on subscribing to various lists. Two good candidates are Net-Lawyers Forum Cyberia-L Forum.In addition, Cyberspace Law Discussion Forums and FindLaw LegalMinds: Legal Subjects: CyberSpace are two sites that focus more specifically on mailing lists and discussion forums that are more closely related to our topics.
You are required to monitor two lists. One list should be related to the internet, computers, or intellectual property. One list must be related to a legal subject. If you choose as one of your lists a list concerning computer law, then your second list may be related to a subject of your own choosing. You must monitor each list for at least one month. You may monitor both lists simultaneously or one after the other. For each list you monitor, you are required to turn in a summary of no more than one page briefly summarizing the amount of activity on the list, the subjects discussed, and your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this form of communication. If you subscribe to a list and there are no messages posted for several days, you should choose a different list.
Both summaries are due by October 31.
In addition, there may be a course listserv if the Asymetrix e-mail function doesn't turn out to be useful.
Presentation
Beginning with our third class meeting, two students will be presenting each scheduled topic. This will involve:Meeting with me during the week prior to the scheduled class session. This means that for Wednesday September 9, that meeting would ideally take place as early as next Monday. You will then do research, in addition to the assigned readings, to more thoroughly acquaint yourself with the subject matter.
A written outline of your presentation is due by 12 o'clock noon on the Monday prior to the class meeting. This outline can be a detailed prose review of the topic or merely an outline. It should refer the reader to interesting sources that you discovered, in print or on the web. You should expect to both introduce the topic and discuss the relevant issues. The format can be a word processing document or an HTML document, that is, a web page. Your outline will then be posted to the web and accessible via a link from the Course Readings page.
Although this course is not primarily about learning to design web pages, I encourage you to experiment with building a web page. You can use the Netscape Composer program that comes with the latest Netscape package. I will post more information on Web authoring resources later.
As a student, you are also entitled to have a personal web page on the University server. All you need to do is get a UAnet id.
Paper
Schedule:
| Topic | September 9 |
| Outline | September 30 |
| First Draft | October 28 |
| Final Draft | December 2 |
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