Digital Media and Information in Society/Syllabus/Overview/



= What are we doing here? =

Creating knowledge ∞ for ourselves and others.

= Knowledge about what? =

Framed in a historical context exploring technology:

How do People engage with Technology  to Process  the Information  they need and desire?

How do the Characteristics of technologies Shape  the Engagement  ?

How does the engagement shape the Emergence of technologies?

= What people? What technologies? =

All people, past, present and future.

All technologies, Past: From the emergence of language to the discovery of electronics

Present: Fom the discovery of electronics to emergence of natural language models

Future: Web 4.0 and a post-cybernetic age

= How do we ask questions? =

Use theoretical frameworks ∞ to frame our explorations and interpretations as we seek to answer these questions:

How do People engage with Technology to Process the Information they need and desire?

How do the Characteristics of technologies Shape the Engagement ?

How does the engagement shape the Emergence ?

= How will we create knowledge? =

We will cultive a learning community ∞ by implementing specific practices:


 * Emphasize tools for thinking
 * Foster text-based (as opposed to imagery) expression to stimulate thought processes
 * Apply a constructivist approach to knowledge and teaching ∞

= What tools for thinking will we use? =


 * Language model: ChatGPT
 * Collaboration: Mediawiki
 * Research: Digital Library Tools

= The COM 216 Learning Community =

We can describe the learning community in terms of:


 * The knowledge we will create
 * The knowledge we will leave behind
 * How much time we will spend in it
 * What learning activities will be available?

= What kinds of knowledge will we create? =


 * Wikipedia articles
 * Wikiversity journal posts about using ChatGPT

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 * Open Source
 * Collaboratively reviewed and discussed

= What will we leave behind? =


 * The knowledge we've created, for others to use
 * Traces of how people engage with technology to process the information they need and desire,
 * and perhaps allow us (and others after us) to understand a bit about how the characteristics of Wikipedia and AI shape our engagement with it,
 * and perhaps allow us to see how our engagement shapes the emergence of Wikipedia and AI.

= How much time will we spend in the learning community? =

A time budget for students:


 * 4 classes=16 credits, 40 hours / week doing coursework
 * 10 hours per 4 credit class per week on average
 * 2.5 hours of attending in-class learning activities (1.25 hours of class discussion, 1.25 hours of class workshop)
 * 7.5 hours of engaging and completing outside-of-class learning activities

= How does the course work? =


 * Most Mondays, we will have an In-class Discussion, focused on a specific topic.
 * Most Wednesdays, we will have an in-class Workshop, focused on developing specific skills in using the tools for thinking, and our platforms for collaboration.
 * Students earn credit (points) for everything they do:
 * Attend class discussions and workshops
 * Complete and submit assignments
 * Earn a C with minimum requirements. Do more, increase your grade.

= How does the course work, Part 2? =

See the syllabus, starting with the philosophy