INST366 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Joseph Kelly INST366 Expecting an A swamies 02/05/2025	Absolutely amazing professor. One of literally 2 professors I have ever had at UMD that actually challenge you and push you to unlock your fullest potential. I absolutely loved the case studies in this class as they were extremely relevant and abstract. There is no "right and wrong" and the biggest thing he wants students to takeaway is that ethics is HARD and it should be taken as seriously as anything else is in technology because it has massive implications. I always stayed after class to discuss recent developments in tech news with Professor Kelly too. I urge everyone to take this class as the topic is so important in todays world. I'm so glad this class was not necessarily an "easy A" like most other iSchool classes are. He sets a great example that I think more professors in the iSchool should follow.
Joseph Kelly INST366 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 01/28/2025	Kelly is a very engaged professor who is very passionate about what he teaches. He's also very concise about what is expected in the course. Best professor in the NFO college IMO.
Joseph Kelly INST366 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/20/2024	Really cool guy! Engaging lecturer and chose really interesting course material and case studies. My only gripe with him was that his rubrics could be sort of vague and he often took points off of assignments without providing feedback.
Susan Campbell INST366 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/17/2024	The content of the class is quite interesting, and I particularly enjoy the news articles and case studies covered throughout the course. Lecture time primarily focuses on covering the required readings, with some additional optional readings included. While Dr. Campbell does attempt to elicit conversation and participation, the class tends to be rather quiet, and she spends the majority of the time talking. The pacing of the course is fairly structured: assigned readings are due at the start of the week and are followed by a 300-word reflection. These reflections aren't just summaries; rather, they encourage you to relate the content to your own experiences and pose an open-ended question. They're pretty easy and low-stress. Every other week (though sometimes every week), there is a larger assignment, such as a "Case Study" or mini-project. The "Case Study" involves reading around five articles and answering prompts that require you to cite evidence from the text while also providing your own opinion. The mini-projects vary depending on the weekly unit, and include activities like analyzing your digital footprint and privacy settings, completing an ethics training, or reviewing a company’s privacy policy and terms and conditions. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I found the philosophical, critical thinking nature of the class engaging. One trick I found helpful was using ChatGPT to summarize the articles, which saved time on the reading. Then, I would add my own thoughts and insights. Lastly, the final exam is untimed, open-note, and online. It consists of four writing prompts (about 400 words each) that are fairly straightforward and easy to respond to.
Susan Campbell INST366 Expecting an A Anonymous 11/27/2024	Her class is super easy and she’s a nice professor… However, it’s very tedious and has a lot of writing. If you have good time management and learn to write well, then you shouldn’t have a hard time getting an A
Alla Levin INST366 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 12/15/2023	Dr. Levin is a teacher I was looking for. I learned a lot and had so much fun doing it. I wish all my teachers would be just like that!
Jessica Vitak INST366 Anonymous 12/14/2023	This was my first upper level INST course, so I thought all of the difficult writing assignments she gave were just the norm. However, after progressing through the major more, I found out that she just gives out too much work and grades your writing too harshly. I don't recommend her for this class unless you like endless writing.
Alla Levin INST366 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/14/2023	Best Professor I ever had. Class was so much fun, and very helpful
Alla Levin INST366 Anonymous 11/04/2023	Does not seem well-knowledged in the topic
Jessica Vitak INST366 Anonymous 05/19/2023	Dont Take this class Avoid at all costs. Alot of ignorant writing and Suprise classwork activities Avoid her
Jessica Vitak INST366 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/13/2021	Professor Vitak is one of the great professors at UMD. All materials are organized, and if you are struggling with one subject, she will try to help you out.
Wayne Lutters INST366 Expecting an A- Anonymous 05/13/2021	Overall, very solid and caring professor. He's very knowledgable in concepts pertaining to privacy and security and always tries to make sure that students understand concepts as best as they can. Very kind-hearted and caring as well! Class is fairly easy and interesting topics are discussed. Had to zonk off a star because of the assignments. Every single self-assignment in this class are essays. I ended up doing so many that I stopped caring and began writing low quality ones. If you enjoy or don't mind lots of writing, this class is for you!

Joseph Kelly
INST366

Expecting an A
swamies
02/05/2025

Absolutely amazing professor. One of literally 2 professors I have ever had at UMD that actually challenge you and push you to unlock your fullest potential. I absolutely loved the case studies in this class as they were extremely relevant and abstract. There is no "right and wrong" and the biggest thing he wants students to takeaway is that ethics is HARD and it should be taken as seriously as anything else is in technology because it has massive implications. I always stayed after class to discuss recent developments in tech news with Professor Kelly too. I urge everyone to take this class as the topic is so important in todays world. I'm so glad this class was not necessarily an "easy A" like most other iSchool classes are. He sets a great example that I think more professors in the iSchool should follow.

Joseph Kelly
INST366

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
01/28/2025

Kelly is a very engaged professor who is very passionate about what he teaches. He's also very concise about what is expected in the course. Best professor in the NFO college IMO.

Joseph Kelly
INST366

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/20/2024

Really cool guy! Engaging lecturer and chose really interesting course material and case studies. My only gripe with him was that his rubrics could be sort of vague and he often took points off of assignments without providing feedback.

Susan Campbell
INST366

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/17/2024

The content of the class is quite interesting, and I particularly enjoy the news articles and case studies covered throughout the course. Lecture time primarily focuses on covering the required readings, with some additional optional readings included. While Dr. Campbell does attempt to elicit conversation and participation, the class tends to be rather quiet, and she spends the majority of the time talking. The pacing of the course is fairly structured: assigned readings are due at the start of the week and are followed by a 300-word reflection. These reflections aren't just summaries; rather, they encourage you to relate the content to your own experiences and pose an open-ended question. They're pretty easy and low-stress. Every other week (though sometimes every week), there is a larger assignment, such as a "Case Study" or mini-project. The "Case Study" involves reading around five articles and answering prompts that require you to cite evidence from the text while also providing your own opinion. The mini-projects vary depending on the weekly unit, and include activities like analyzing your digital footprint and privacy settings, completing an ethics training, or reviewing a company’s privacy policy and terms and conditions. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I found the philosophical, critical thinking nature of the class engaging. One trick I found helpful was using ChatGPT to summarize the articles, which saved time on the reading. Then, I would add my own thoughts and insights. Lastly, the final exam is untimed, open-note, and online. It consists of four writing prompts (about 400 words each) that are fairly straightforward and easy to respond to.

Susan Campbell
INST366

Expecting an A
Anonymous
11/27/2024

Her class is super easy and she’s a nice professor… However, it’s very tedious and has a lot of writing. If you have good time management and learn to write well, then you shouldn’t have a hard time getting an A

Alla Levin
INST366

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
12/15/2023

Dr. Levin is a teacher I was looking for. I learned a lot and had so much fun doing it. I wish all my teachers would be just like that!

Jessica Vitak
INST366

Anonymous
12/14/2023

This was my first upper level INST course, so I thought all of the difficult writing assignments she gave were just the norm. However, after progressing through the major more, I found out that she just gives out too much work and grades your writing too harshly. I don't recommend her for this class unless you like endless writing.

Alla Levin
INST366

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/14/2023

Best Professor I ever had. Class was so much fun, and very helpful

Alla Levin
INST366

Anonymous
11/04/2023

Does not seem well-knowledged in the topic

Jessica Vitak
INST366

Anonymous
05/19/2023

Dont Take this class Avoid at all costs. Alot of ignorant writing and Suprise classwork activities Avoid her

Jessica Vitak
INST366

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/13/2021

Professor Vitak is one of the great professors at UMD. All materials are organized, and if you are struggling with one subject, she will try to help you out.

Wayne Lutters
INST366

Expecting an A-
Anonymous
05/13/2021

Overall, very solid and caring professor. He's very knowledgable in concepts pertaining to privacy and security and always tries to make sure that students understand concepts as best as they can. Very kind-hearted and caring as well! Class is fairly easy and interesting topics are discussed. Had to zonk off a star because of the assignments. Every single self-assignment in this class are essays. I ended up doing so many that I stopped caring and began writing low quality ones. If you enjoy or don't mind lots of writing, this class is for you!

Reviews for INST366