Unit 01

1. Read closely (and thoroughly) the Course Syllabus.
2. Copy and paste the text of the Course Contract into the body of an email message, using your wisc.edu email account.
3. Fill in the blanks of your email message with the information you learned from the Course Syllabus.
4. Email your completed Course Contract, the text of which should be copied and pasted into the BODY of your email message, NOT attached as an attachment, to Professor Gernsbacher with the subject of your email message, PSY 532: Course Contract
5. Professor Gernsbacher will reply to your PSY 532: Course Contract email message. In her reply message, Professor Gernsbacher will tell you how to complete the second part of Unit 1: Assignment #1, which you MUST complete.

Unit 1: Assignment #2 (due before 11:59 pm Central on TUE JAN 21):

1. From the Course Syllabus, learn how to take advantage of the Flexibility Accommodation that is built into this course
   1. Learn that the one-week reasonable extension is part of the Flexibility Accommodation.
   2. Learn that it’s important that you NOT treat the end of the one-week reasonable extension as a due date. It’s not a due date.
   3. Rather, each assignment has its own due date and that due date is always written on the Course Website.
   4. Learn that the one-week reasonable extension applies to all assignments including the Term Project.
   5. Learn that, for pedagogical and practical reasons, the one-week reasonable extension is the ONLY possible extension.
2. From the Course How To:
   1. Learn “How to Control the Size of the Display on Your Screen.”
      • Practice adjusting the size of the display on your screen with the Course Website Homepage.
      • You’ll probably want to adjust the size of the display on your screen until the Course Website’s Homepage looks like this image.
   2. Learn “How to Access the Course Website” (and learn that you should bookmark the Course Website’s URL and that you should NOT try to access the Discussion Boards, Assignments, or Gradebook directly through Canvas; always access the Discussion Boards, Assignments, or Gradebook through the links provided for you on the Course Website).
   3. If you plan to work on the course using a mobile device, learn “How To Work on the Course Using a Mobile Device” (and learn that you should NOT use the Canvas Mobile app on your mobile device).
   4. Learn “How to Upload a Photo to your Discussion Board Profile” and upload a picture of yourself to your Discussion Board profile.
      • Be sure to learn that you MUST crop your profile photo to show as much of your face as possible and ONLY your face, rather than other parts of your body.
      • Learn that your profile photo must show only you rather than you and your pets or friends, because they’re not taking this course, you are!
      • Learn that you should not include any background scenery, which makes images of faces harder to perceive.
   5. Learn “How to Turn On or Off Discussion Board Notifications” and set both your Submission Comments (which are comments from your TAs and Instructor) and your Discussion Board notifications to your desired frequency.
3. If you don’t already know how to refresh a webpage, learn how to refresh a webpage. Throughout the course, be sure to frequently refresh each webpage that you have kept open for more than a short period.
4. From Wiki How’s “How to Make a Unique Screen Name,” learn how to make up a unique screen name for yourself. (In this course, we will refer to each other using each other’s preferred actual names. But making up a unique screen name is both a relevant Internet skill to learn and a good ice breaker.)
5. From the Course How To:
   1. First, from the Course How To, learn “How to Make a New Discussion Board Post.”
      • Learn that if you compose your post elsewhere and copy/paste it into the text box, you might see extra blank lines between your paragraphs (meaning more than one blank line between your paragraphs).
        • Learn that it is your responsibility to delete those extra blank lines (extra means more than one blank line) before you click “Post.”
      • Learn why it’s important to break each of your Discussion Board posts into multiple paragraphs, by skipping a blank line in between paragraphs (but only one blank line).
        • Learn that a good rule of thumb is no more than three or four sentences per paragraph.
      • Learn that if two Assignments are combined (e.g., Unit 1: Assignment #2 and #4), the due date on the Canvas Discussion Board will reflect the second of the two assignments.
        • Learn that it is YOUR responsibility to attend and adhere to the due date for the first of the two assignments; that due date — and all due dates — are clearly listed on the Course Website (NOT the Canvas Discussion Board).
      • Learn that you should always check to make sure that your Discussion Board post appears on the correct Discussion Board.
        • Learn that it is YOUR responsibility to ensure that ALL of your posts appear on the correct Discussion Board.
   2. Second, from the Course How To, learn “How to Edit Your Discussion Board Post.”
      • Learn that in this course you cannot directly edit or delete a previous Discussion Board post.
        • Therefore, learn that BEFORE you click “Post” to submit any assignment you MUST check and double-check your assignment against the requirements.
      • Learn how to check the URLs you embed in your Discussion Board posts before you click “Post” (by right-clicking on the link and selecting “Open in New Tab” or “Open in a New Window”).
      • Learn that if you submit only one part of a multi-part assignment, the part you submit initially is the part that will be considered your initially submitted assignment, even if you submitted the initial part before the due date or you submitted a second part before your assignment was scored.
      • Learn that if you re-post an assignment, add to, or otherwise correct an assignment (by making a repeated, corrected, or additional post for any assignment), your re-posted, added to, or otherwise corrected assignment will be considered a correction (eligible to earn 2 points, but not eligible to earn 3 points) even if you re-posted, added to, or otherwise corrected the assignment before the due date or before your assignment was scored.
   3. Third, from the Course How To, learn “How To Embed a URL into a Discussion Board Post.”
   4. Fourth, from the Course How To, learn “How To Embed a YouTube Video into a Discussion Board Post.”
   5. Fifth, learn how to access the transcript of any YouTube video and how to adjust the speed of any YouTube video or any Vimeo video.
   6. Sixth, decide on an Internet-backup plan. As you remember from the Course Syllabus and your signed Course Contract, PSY 532 is a completely online course. Not having access to the Internet will NOT be a valid excuse for not completing your work. Therefore, you need to decide, right now, on a backup plan for the, we hope, rare occasion of your Internet going out. Your backup plan might be one or more of the following (other options are possible):
      • I will create a personal hotspot on my mobile device, and I already know how to do this (e.g., I’ve followed these directions or these directions).
      • I will go to campus and use the university’s Internet, which I know I can use from outside any building (therefore, I can use the university’s Internet even if the buildings are locked).
      • I will go to a public library and use the public library’s Internet.
6. Go to the Unit 1: Assignment #2 and #4 Discussion Board and make a new Discussion Board post of at least 200 words. In your post, do the following:
   1. First, tell us your preferred first name.
   2. Second, tell us the unique screen name you made up for yourself.
   3. Third, tell us why you chose that unique screen name.
   4. Fourth, tell us which specific two hours on which specific six days a week you are planning to work on our course during the coming term (e.g., 10 am – 12 pm on Mondays, 11 am – 1 pm on Tuesdays, and so forth for six specific days).
   5. Fifth, tell us why you chose those specific hours on those specific days to work on the course during the coming term.
   6. Sixth, tell us your Internet backup plan.
   7. Seventh, embed in your post one of your favorite YouTube videos (using the technique for embedding a YouTube video that you learned in the Course How To).
   8. Eighth, tell us why the YouTube video you embedded is one of your favorites;
   9. Ninth, embed in your post a link (a URL) to one of your favorite websites (using the technique for embedding a URL that you learned in the Course How To so that your link will show up as actual text, rather than just a URL).
   10. Tenth, tell us why the website you linked to is one of your favorites.
7. From the Course How To, learn how to find out which section you are in and find out which section you are in.

Unit 1: Assignment #3 (due before 11:59 pm Central on WED JAN 22):

1. Watch Professor Gernsbacher’s “On the Internet? Seriously?” lecture video [a captioned version of the video is here, and a transcript of the video is here].
2. Read Clive Thompson’s (2014) “Why Chess Will Destroy Your Mind” article.
3. Read Pete Etchells’ (2023) “Let’s Ditch the Tired Tropes about Video Games – and Research Their Impact Properly” article to appreciate some reasons why video games are still currently feared.
4. Read Barbara Ortutay’s (2018) “Before Parental ‘Screen Timeʼ Concerns: Radio, Even Novels” article.
5. Read Clive Thompson’s (2014) “The Digital Age Is Making Us Smarter and the Kids Are Still All Right” article.
6. Watch CollegeHumor’s Adam Conover’s (2016) “Why The Internet Is Good for Society” video [a transcript of the video is here.]
7. Read Jason Feifer’s (2018) “Why Do We Keep Panicking over Tech?” article.
8. While you are watching these videos and reading these articles, identify and write down in your notes at least 10 DIFFERENT technologies or past-times that fit ALL the following criteria:
   • mentioned in Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video, Adam Conover’s video, Clive Thompson’s articles, or Jason Feifer’s article; AND
   • mentioned in the course materials as having preceded (i.e., being invented before) the Internet; AND
   • mentioned in the course materials as NOT currently being feared, but mentioned in the course materials as having previously been feared; AND
   • mentioned in the course materials as having previously been feared in a way similar to the way that many Internet-based technologies and past-times are currently feared.
   • When you are writing down in your notes these 10 technologies or past-times that fit ALL of the above criteria, make sure that you are listing 10 DIFFERENT technologies or past-times.
     • For example, “reading novels” and “books” are too close to being the same thing; similarly, “writing” and the “written word” are too close to being the same thing.
     • As another example, “recorded music in movie theaters” and “phonographs” are too close to being the same thing because phonographs were the technology that was used to play the recorded music in movie theaters.
9. Go to the Unit 1: Assignment #3 Discussion Board and make a new Discussion Board post of at least 200 words in which you do the following:
   1. Identify and discuss ONE and ONLY ONE of the earlier technologies or past-times that fits ALL the following criteria:
      • mentioned in Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video, Adam Conover’s video, Clive Thompson’s articles, or Jason Feifer’s article; AND
      • mentioned in the course materials as having preceded (i.e., being invented before) the Internet; AND
      • mentioned in the course materials as NOT currently being feared, but mentioned in the course materials as having previously been feared; AND
      • mentioned in the course materials as having previously been feared in a way similar to the way that many Internet-based technologies and past-times are currently feared.
   2. The technology or past-time that you choose to discuss MUST be a technology/past-time that no one else in your section has yet discussed.
   3. In your Discussion Board post, you MUST speculate about why people feared that earlier technology or past-time AND how those fears might parallel the fears people currently have about Internet use.
   4. Remember to break your post into multiple paragraphs, by skipping a blank line in between paragraphs (but only one blank line; see this mini How To).
      • Remember that a good rule of thumb is no more than three or four sentences per paragraph
   5. Remember also you can also compose your post elsewhere (e.g., in Word) and then
      copy and paste it into the text box. However, if you compose your post elsewhere and copy/paste it into the text box, you might see extra blank lines between your paragraphs. By extra blank lines, we mean more than one blank line between paragraphs. You must delete all the extra blank lines (beyond only one blank line).

Unit 1: Assignment #4 (due before 11:59 pm Central on FRI JAN 24):

1. From the Course How To, learn how to make a reply to a Discussion Board post.
2. From the Course Syllabus, review “What’s the best way to respond to another student’s Discussion Board post?”
   • Remember that your responses to other students must always include at least two of the four recommended components.
3. Go to the Unit 1: Assignment #2 and #4 Discussion Board and do the following:
   1. First, read your instructor and TAs’ posts.
   2. Second, read all the other students’ posts.
   3. Third, make a response (a reply) to three other students.
   4. Fourth, make each of your three responses at least 200 words long.
      • If three other students in your section have not yet posted to the Unit 1: Assignment #2 Discussion Board, you will need to wait until they do OR until the due date for Unit 1: Assignment #2 has passed.
      • You will not be held responsible for responding to three other students’ posts if the Unit 1: Assignment #2 due date has passed, and three other students have not yet posted on Unit 1: Assignment #2 Discussion Board.
      • While you wait, you can (and should) work ahead on further assignments!

Unit 1: Assignment #5 (due before 11:59 pm Central on SUN JAN 26):

1. To find out which skills employers want you to acquire during college, do the following:
   1. First, read Ward’s (2017) article, “Google Exec, Mark Cuban Agree that these College [Skills] Are the Most Robot-Resistant.”
   2. Second, read the excerpt from Coplin’s (2012) book, 10 Things Employers Want You To Learn in College.
   3. Third, read Brooklyn College’s handout (summary) of Coplin’s (2012) book.
   4. Then, identify three skills mentioned in Ward’s (2017) article or Coplin’s (2012) book excerpt (or the summary of Coplin’s book) that you want to develop further.
2. To find out which skills are considered 21st Century Skills, do the following:
   1. First, read through Karbach’s (no date) infographic, “Learning and Thinking Skills of the 21st Century Students.”
   2. Second, read through the Center for Teaching Quality’s (no date) infographic, “Paths to 21st Century Success.”
   3. Third, assess yourself on the excerpt from the “21st Century Skills Self-Assessment.”
   4. Then, identify three skills mentioned in Karbach’s (no date) infographic, Center for Teaching Quality’s (no date) infographic, or the 21st Century Skills Self-Assessment that you want to develop further in this course.
3. To understand why certain aspects of our course are constructed the way they are, do the following:
   1. First, to understand why it is your advantage that this course emphasizes using Internet-based technology correctly (e.g., by learning how to embed URLs, videos, and images), read through the graph provided by the Pew Research Center (2016) on “The State of American Jobs.”
   2. Second, to understand why it is your advantage that this course emphasizes “following instructions” and “meeting deadlines,” read an excerpt from the Collegiate Employment Research Institute’s (2007) report, “Moving Up or Moving Out of the Company? Factors that Influence the Firing of New College Hires.”
   3. Third, to understand why it is to your advantage that this course comprises numerous short-range deadlines rather than only a few long-range deadlines (and how that feature of the course supports students with “mental health concerns, including attention deficit disorder, anxiety or depression” as well as students with “significant work or family responsibilities” — and how that feature of the course prepares all students for the workforce, which relies on numerous “structured, short-term deadlines”), read D’Agostino’s (2023) article, “‘Procrastination-Friendly’ Academe Needs More Deadlines.”
   4. Fourth, to understand why it is to your advantage in this course that after two weeks of lead time and one week of a no-penalty extension, the opportunity to complete an assignment will no longer be available, read Berman’s (2016) article, “The Deadline Made Me Do It.”
   5. Fifth, to understand why it is your advantage in this course that we, the instructor and TAs, will require you to identify how your initial assignments didn’t fulfill all the requirements, rather than simply tell you, read a segment of Teach Thought’s (no date) infographic, “9 Ways to Help Students.”
   6. Then, from the Pew Research Center’s (2016) graph, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute’s (2007) report, D’Agostino’s (2023) article, Berman’s (2016) article, and Teach Thought’s (no date) infographic, identify three reasons why certain aspects of our course are structured the way they are — and how you will take advantage of that structure.
4. To better understand how to succeed in this course, do the following:
   1. First, review from the Course Syllabus the section on “How Can I Do Well in this Course.”
   2. Second, read the handout on “Why and How to Pay Attention in this Course.”
   3. Then, identify three strategies mentioned in either the Course Syllabus or the “Why and How Pay Attention” handout that you will follow so that you will succeed in this course.
5. Tell one other person (a roommate, friend, significant other, parent, spouse, neighbor, or classmate) the three skills from a. above, the three skills from b. above, the three reasons (and how you’ll take advantage of them) from c. above, and the three strategies from d. above that you have chosen.
6. Go to the Unit 1: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a new Discussion Board post of at least 200 words in which you do the following:
   1. First, tell us, from a., the three skills you chose and briefly explain why you have chosen those three skills;
   2. Second, tell us, from b., the three skills you chose and briefly explain why you have chosen those three skills;
   3. Third, tell us from c., the three reasons [why certain aspects of our course are structured the way they are] and briefly explain how you will take advantage of that structure.
   4. Fourth, tell us, from d., the three strategies you chose and briefly explain why you have chosen those three strategies.
   5. Fifth, tell us who else you told about the skills and strategies you have chosen, by using the person’s initials (e.g., MG) and briefly explain why you told that person about the skills and strategies you chose.

Unit 1: Assignment #6 (due before 11:59 pm Central on SUN JAN 26):

1. Learn about ChatGPT by doing all of the following:
   1. First, read an excerpt from Shankland’s (2022) article, “ChatGPT: Why Everyone Is Obsessed With This Mind-Blowing AI Chat.”
   2. Second, read an excerpt from Lavery’s (2022) article, “ChatGPT: Everything to Know About the Viral, ‘Groundbreaking’ AI Bot.”
   3. Third, read a short collection of “ChatGPT in the News.” Be sure to read the cautions at the end (from Flavor Flav and from someone trying to get ChatGPT to help with math homework).
   4. Fourth, get more familiar with ChatGPT by using it! Follow the directions for How To Use ChatGPT. If you do not want to set up a (free!) ChatGPT account, contact Professor Gernsbacher, and she will give you an alternate task for this part of the assignment.
   5. Fifth, learn the importance of *always* using critical thinking when using ChatGPT.
      • To refresh your memory of what a moral panic is, which has been the topic of this Unit, read Ferguson and Faye’s (2018) article, “A History of Panic Over Entertainment Technology.”
      • Read Haridy’s (2020) article, “Concerns over Kids’ Screen-Time a Modern-Day ‘Moral Panic’, Says Study.”
      • Then, to learn how not to panic about ChatGPT, read Greene’s (2022) Mastodon post and Eyler’s (2022) Tweet, both of which recommend avoiding moral panic about ChatGPT by teaching students to use critical thinking when using ChatGPT.
      • To practice using critical thinking when using ChatGPT, go to ChatGPT and ask it to answer each of these SIX questions. Write down what ChatGPT gets right and what it gets wrong when answering each question.
        • Who is Bucky Badger and what type of clothes does he wear? [NOTE: If you can’t remember what Bucky Badger wears, see this photo.]
          
        • What does Bucky Badger do, at football games, after his team scores? [NOTE: If you don’t know what Bucky does after his team scores, see this video.]
          
        • Who is Bucky Badger and what type of hat does he wear? [NOTE: Bucky doesn’t wear a hat, but this question illustrates the principle of GIGO, garbage in, garbage out — meaning ChatGPT might not correct your wrong assumptions.]
          
        • How long has Bucky Badger been the mascot at the University of Minnesota? [NOTE: This question also illustrates the principle of GIGO.]
        • What tradition that has to do with Abe Lincoln do UW-Madison students do when they graduate? [NOTE: If you’re not familiar with this tradition, see this photo.]
        • What do the chairs look like on Memorial Union Terrace? [NOTE: If you can’t remember what the Terrace chairs look like, see this photo.]
   6. Sixth, learn how to use a ChatGPT detector, which is used to detect whether text was written by a human or by ChatGPT.
      • Go to this GPT-2 Output Detector (you do not need to create an account to use this).
      • Copy the response you posted on the Discussion Board for Unit 1: Assignment #3 and paste it into the ChatGPT Detector box.
        • Note that you are pasting into the ChatGPT Detector, not into ChatGPT or its Playground.
        • Take a partial screenshot of the ChatGPT Detector’s output based on your Unit 1: Assignment #3.
        • By partial screenshot, we mean a screenshot of just the output, including the results bar, not your entire screen.
        • Your screenshot should look like this; if you do not know how to take a partial screenshot, this website will help you.
      • Copy this response that ChatGPT-created for Unit 1: Assignment #3 and paste it into the ChatGPT Detector box.
        • Note that you are pasting into the ChatGPT Detector, not into ChatGPT or its Playground.
        • Take another partial screenshot of the ChatGPT Detector’s output based on the Chat-GPT created content for Unit 1: Assignment #3.
   7. Seventh, to answer the question of whether you can use ChatGPT in this course: Yes, you can use it, but you must ALSO do the following:
      • Apply critical thinking to anything ChatGPT tells you.
      • Make a Gradebook Comment (not a Discussion Board post, but a Gradebook Comment) telling the instructor and TAs whenever you have used ChatGPT and how you used it.
   8. Eighth, in a Word doc, Google doc, Pages doc, or any other type of document:
      • For each of the SIX UW-Madison questions, describe how accurately ChatGPT answered each of those SIX UW-Madison questions.
      • Paste in the two screenshots you made from the ChatGPT Detector activity (one screenshot is of the ChatGPT Detector activity you did with your Unit 1: Assignment #3 and the other screenshot is of the ChatGPT Detector activity you did with the ChatGPT-created content for Unit 1: Assignment #3).
      • Write the statement “I know that in this course I can use ChatGPT, but I must always apply critical thinking to anything ChatGPT tells me AND I must always make a Gradebook Comment (not a Discussion Board post, but a Gradebook Comment) telling the instructor and TAs whenever I have used ChatGPT and how I have used it.”
      • Convert your Word doc, Google doc, Pages doc, or any other type of document to a PDF, named YourLastName_PSY-532_Unit01_ChatGPT.pdf.
2. Complete the Unit 1 Course Review Sheet (which is a fillable PDF). To do so, follow these steps precisely (even if you think you already know how to fill in a fillable PDF).
   1. First, download the unfilled PDF from the Course Website and save the unfilled PDF onto your own laptop or tablet.
      • Make sure you are downloading AND saving the unfilled PDF onto your own laptop or tablet rather than simply downloading (opening) it in a browser (e.g., Chrome).
   2. Second, rename the unfilled PDF (that you have saved on your laptop/tablet) to be YourLastName_PSY-532_Unit01_CourseReview.pdf.
      • If you have only downloaded the unfilled PDF in a browser, you won’t be able to rename the file.
      • So this step is a good check to make sure that you have downloaded the unfilled PDF on your own device, rather than still being in a browser.
   3. Third, on your laptop/tablet, open a PDF reader/writer app, such as Preview (which is built into Macs), Adobe Acrobat (which is free for students in this course), or the like.
      • Be sure to open your PDF reader/writer app first, before you open the unfilled PDF file.
   4. Fourth, from within your PDF reader/writer app, open the unfilled PDF file.
   5. Fifth, using your PDF writer app, fill in the PDF by clicking (or double-clicking) in the first response box and then typing into the response box.
      • You must type into the response boxes, rather than handwriting into the response boxes OR creating and attaching comment boxes to the response boxes.
   6. Sixth, save your filled-in PDF on your laptop/tablet.
   7. Seventh, to appreciate why, in this course, you will learn how to use fillable PDFs, read this excerpt from Platoform’s (2018) article, “The Rise of the Fillable PDF Form.”
3. Go to Unit 1: Assignment #6 and submit your Unit 1 Course Review Sheet and your ChatGPT activity PDF. The Unit 1: Assignment #6 link is an Assignment link, rather than a Discussion Board link, so it will look a bit different than the other submission links you’ve seen in this course so far.
   1. First, use the “File Upload” tool to attach/upload your completed Unit 1 Course Review Sheet (click “Choose File” to attach/upload your filled-in PDF);
   2. Second, click on the “+ Add Another File” to attach/upload your ChatGPT activity PDF; and
   3. Third, immediately after submitting your assignment, check to make sure that your Unit 1 Course Review Sheet PDF is really filled in (isn’t empty) and that your ChatGPT activity PDF is also attached and complete.

Congratulations, you have finished Unit 1! Onward to Unit 2!