This foundation course covers the background and skills needed to understand and apply the basic principles of digital government program development. By the end of this course, students should:
David Tetta, M.P.A., is e-Government Coordinator for EPA's NW region, where he works on policy and technology issues related to on-line rulemaking, public access to environmental data, electronic reporting, and intergovernmental data coordination. He has also coordinated the development of nationally recognized e-government projects, such as EPA's ECHO website. He has a Master's in Public Administration from the UW, and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. Mr. Tetta is President of Alton Associates, a local firm specializing in training services.
Schedule - Below is a brief list of the session themes for this course. For more information, see the "Schedule" link on the Home Page of the class web site.
Assignments - Below is a brief summary of the assignments for this course. For more information, see the "Assignments" link on the Home Page of the class web site.
IN-CLASS PRESENTATION: Students will work in groups of 3-4 on one of the following projects. The project presentations will be given during the July 8 session.
The group presentations should be between 15 and 20 minutes and must include visual aids. Things to think about for visual aids: contrast, background color (dark colors require a dark room), limiting red and green (colorblindness), font size, readability, universal design access. Any photographs or graphs/charts should have a summary notes about what is being displayed.
PROJECT PAPER: Following their presentations, each student will prepare a 4 - 5 page paper that summarizes the results and findings of their project. Project papers are due by July 18 via e-mail to:dtetta@comcast.net. All papers should be typed, double spaced, 12 point font size. All written work should be of high quality, clear, grammatically correct and without spelling errors. If you require assistance with your writing, please notify the faculty and/or contact Sandy Yanone, Director of the Writing Center at TESC. (360) 867-6382.
Course Expectations and Evaluations
Participation & Attendance: Students are required to attend each class meeting. Learning objectives rely heavily on participation that includes speaking in class, listening to others, taking notes, completing class interactive exercises, and listening to and dialoging with the guest speakers who will be coming into our class.
Absences: In the event that an absence is caused by a death in the family or serious illness, faculty may approve a make-up assignment. Faculty must be notified prior to a class or session absence. After one absence make-up work may be assigned and is left to the discretion of the faculty on a case by case basis. Makeup work for absences, which may include written assignments, additional response papers and comments on video recordings or books, must be completed by the end of Summer quarter to ensure full receipt of course credit.
Exercises: Students are responsible for completing assignments both in and out of class. Each of the assignments is necessary to familiarize you with specific research techniques and tools and all assignments must be completed to receive credit. Additional information about the assignments and exercises will be distributed in class.
Late assignments: Turning in assignments late is unacceptable. However, if there is a need to turn in an assignment late, the student must contact their faculty no later than the original assignment due date to discuss options. Parameters are left to the discretion of the faculty on a situation by situation basis. Late assignments must be completed by the end of Summer quarter to ensure full receipt of course credit.
Evaluation: Students will be evaluated based upon their progress in meeting the learning objectives described above. The faculty makes decisions for no credit when necessary, based on absence or failure to meet academic course objectives. In turn, students can expect the faculty to be prepared, available, accessible, knowledgeable and responsive. All students will have the opportunity to evaluate the faculty: written self-evaluations and faculty evaluations are required for credit. Students will be required to turn in a self-evaluation and a faculty evaluation prior to receiving credit for the class. .
No particular texts are required for this course. Instead, a set of reference web sites is referenced as background material for most of the sessions. Students are required to read the home pages (or the complete pdf documents) of each of the sites listed for a particular session, and are encouraged to explore the links within those pages for more information. Web references will be provided on the class web site and on CD’s distributed to each student at the beginning of class on July 1. If possible, students should explore the websites for the July 1 session prior to class.