SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 458-4 (undergraduate)/856-5(graduate)

UNDERSTANDING VIRTUAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES:
CRITICAL THEORY, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Prerequisites:

(for undergrads) 75 credits, including one of CMNS 253, 353, 453; CMPT275; KIN201 or 205; or ENSC 100. Entry is via the CMNS advisor (for CMNS 458), Lucie Menkveld, RCB6137, 291-3520, menkveld@sfu.ca

Overview:

The invention of the World Wide Web in 1993 has generated an explosive and exponential growth of the popular use of the Internet, especially in education and communication. There is an urgent need for communication students and scholars to participate in the study and design of the Net as it increasingly becomes part of lifelong learning and work in the 21st Century. This course will engage students in the critical study and design of online communities, especially learning communities and communities of knowledge and practice. The focus will be the Global Educators Network (GEN) seminar series/virtual community.

Course Schedule and Delivery:

13 weeks, May 7th through August 3rd, 2001. Based on seminars (face-to-face and online) and group project work. All face-to-face meetings will be held at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Campus. The first meeting will take place on Thursday, May 10, Room HC1530 at 3pm. Subsequent face-to-face meetings will be based upon participants' schedules.

Technical Requirements:

All students must have regular access to a desktop computer, email and the Internet. Students are expected to have competence in basic operations of the Internet: using email, Netscape [or other web-browsers], and ideally in using online group communications such as computer conferencing systems and/or newsgroups or lists. All students will use the web-based online environment, Virtual-U and will be provided with URL, ID and password for access. Basic training in the use of the Virtual-U will be provided.

Grading:

1. Assignment #1 10%
2. Assignment #2 25%
3. Assignment #3 25%
4. Assignment #4 40%

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to "Intellectual Honesty," and "Academic Discipline" (see the current Calendar, General Regulations Section).

A significant part of the course grade relates to the quality and quantity of your participation in course discussions and in the GEN seminars. Active student participation is encouraged. A number of class activities and interactions will be conducted online, via the Virtual-U software to enhance and augment learning opportunities and to study virtual communities while engaging in them.

Course Topics (Draft):

Introduction to the Course:

- Course Goals and Objectives
- Overview of the Field: History, Key Concepts, etc.
- Definition of Key Terms
- Hands on Introduction to GEN

Practical:

- Scoping Out the E-Learning World
- Engaging in Virtual Seminars
- Designing ad Moderating Virtual Seminars
- Studying Virtual Seminars & Communities

Theoretical & Methodological:

- Critical Theory: Part 1
- Critical Theory: Part 2
- Towards a Framework for Analysis and UnderstandingSuggested Readings: (not ordered by the SFU Bookstore)
Bruffee, K.A., Collaborative Learning: Higher Education, Interdependence, and the Authority of Knowledge, 2nd edition (pp. 154-231). Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1999.
Brown, J. S., & Duguid, P., The Social Life of Information. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
Feenberg, A., Questioning Technology. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Feenberg, A., “Building a Global Network: The WBSI Executive Education Experience”, pp. 185-197 in
L. Harasim (ed.), Global Networks: Computers and International Communication. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993.
Harasim, L., Hiltz, R., Teles, L. and Turoff, M., Learning Networks: A Field Guide to Teaching and Learning Online. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995.
Harasim, L. (ed.), Global Networks: Computers and International Communication. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1993.