SPEAIT

NOTE: THE PAGE IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT!

..., "Social, Professional, and Ethical Aspects of Information Technology" or "The Course With The Longest Title" has been in the IT College curricula since the second year of the College (2001, the Estonian version; the current English one was added in 2015 for the then-new Cyber Security Engineering curriculum), and it has gone on to the university era. Being a first year, introductory course, it is a mixture of various topics like IT culture and professionalism, tech history, legal issues and more - the point is to raise awareness of different not-so-technical dimensions surrounding IT. A secondary goal is to provide students with skills in academic writing, reviewing, presentation and public speaking, being the first training towards the future thesis.

Earlier, the whole course was taught by Kaido Kikkas - during the 2022/2023 academic year, Kristjan Karmo came along. Since Autumn 2023, lectures are held by Kaido and seminars are chaired by Kristjan (who will also grade the course).

In Short

• Course code: ICS0006 (also as ICY0004 in Estonian versions and formerly ICM0001 in the IS Analysis M.Sc. programme)
• Volume: 6.0 ECTS
• Classes: weekly lecture (given by Kaido on Tuesdays at 10.15 to 11.45 in ICO-221, starting on Sept 5) and weekly seminars (led by Kristjan, during the 2nd half-term starting on October 30 - on Wednesdays for IVSB12 (Group 2) and on Thursdays for IVSB11 (Group 1). Seminars will take place at 08.15 to 09.45 in ICO-410)
• Homework: 1 or 2 three-part (paper, slides, presentation) homework sets, reviews, optional blogging
• Grading: exam (but the bulk of the work is done during the term)
• Staff: Kaido Kikkas (lectures) and Kristjan Karmo (seminars)

Data Tables

Note: these will be published when the seminars start - to provide quick overview of the standings and schedules.

• Group 1 seminar schedule (Thursdays)
• Group 2 seminar schedule (Wednesdays)
• Course points
• Attendance of seminars (no attendance check at lectures, prescribed by the university rules)

Course Organization

Every student is expected to do at least one (another one is optional) set of homework consisting of a 5-10 page essay, a set of ~10 slides and an oral presentation. Thus, the lab sessions will mostly be seminars with people presenting their work with subsequent discussion.

Points to consider:

• In earlier years, there was a constant problem with attending the seminars towards the end of the term. Now we use the attendance check at seminars (but not lectures) - everyone is supposed to pass by Kristjan sometime during the seminar (typically, in the beginning right after arrival, but it is also possible to do it at the end, before leaving), show some kind of ID (the student card is fine) and get him/herself marked as present. Attending at least 5 seminars out of 8 is required to pass the course.
• Everyone should pick a suitable time for the first presentation and register it with Kristjan (in person or via e-mail) by the beginning of Week 7 - October 16 (second presentation can be set later - but it is 'first come, first served'). It is recommended to do the first presentation as soon as possible (other courses will start adding workload at the end of the semester!).
• Due to some negative experience with people missing their presentation without notice (e.g. five people were registered, two actually presented - half the seminar time got wasted), there is a rule: if you do not present in time without a valid reason (e.g. illness, being abroad etc), there will be no second chance during the term. People with valid reasons will get a new chance, but please try to inform Kristjan ASAP!
• The paper should be sent in BEFORE the presentation (submitting on the same day after presenting will be accepted if necessary - but earlier is better). In case of the submission being late, the following penalty system applies: up to one week late - minus 10%, 1-2 weeks - minus 30%, 2-3 weeks - minus 50%, more than 3 weeks - no points.
• In order to present the second homework, the first one must be done in full (all three components) - although you may register the second time before doing the first, be sure to actually present the first one!
• Papers may be written either as standalone documents (PDF is the most universal option) or to the IT College wiki. Wiki-based works share the same requirements, the only exception being no need for a dedicated title page (and be sure to meet the necessary volume - it is harder to track on wiki!).

MORE INFORMATION WILL BE ADDED SOON