This course description outlines an independent-study computer awareness course for community college faculty that uses videotapes, computer-assisted instruction, and individual study modules. The outline includes the rationale for the course and the media to be used; time required to complete the course; the goals of the course; the topics covered by the five course modules; the teaching methods to be used (closed circuit television, study guide, and hands-on use of a microcomputer); evaluation (each module contains a self-test segment); and the required course materials (a diskette for the modules on computer usage and/or computer programming). The modules cover: (1) computer awareness (history of computers, their impact on society, and applications in various areas); (2) computer concepts (terminology, elements of computer systems, types of primary storage, internal data representation, hardware, software, and methods of processing data); (3) computer usage (commercial software selection and acquisition, hands-on computer usage); (4) programming in BASIC and other languages (problem analysis, starting up BASIC, BASIC commands and statements, advanced concepts, programming examples, changing existing programs, and other programming languages); and (5) integrating the computer into the curriculum. The syllabus for the first module, which is included in this document, provides a statement of behavioral objectives, lists the module sequence, estimates the time required for completion, lists key terms and phrases, and presents information on the three topics covered. (DJR)
