INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: THE NEW MEDIA

Overview

Information technology ("IT") is all around us, in the computers we write on, the appliances we use, and the cars we drive. Information technology has been part of the transformations of many aspects of modern life, including business, education, health, politics, and even our social life. The transformation has been particularly strongly felt as information technology has become more than a computational device and been transformed into the vehicle for "social software," a new medium of communication for individuals and communities.

Rationale

This course helps the communication student understand the technology of new media: digital computers and digital networks. The course also situates these technologies in their historical context, and introduces several theories to help us understand and critique their development and application in society. In the second half of the course we review several current issues, trends, and implications of information technology in modern society, including e-commerce, health informatics, surveillance, online communities, and network politics. One of the overall objectives of the course is to have students feel sufficiently comfortable with new media that they see themselves as creators and critics and not just consumers of media. For this reason many of the assignments have a practical or technical element to them.

Connection to other CMNS courses

CMNS 110 or CMNS 130 are pre-requisites for this course. This course is part of the "communication technologies and society" stream in the school. It is a pre-requisite course for many of the other courses in that stream. It provides depth on how technologies of new media work and an initial exposure to two related theories of technology in society -- the critical constructivist position and the social construction of technology position. It also provides breadth in the form of a survey of current issues that involve new media and some of the other theoretical perspectives on technology in society (Marcuse, Baudrillard, Foucault, Habermas, environmental and feminist critiques).

Format

The course is delivered in two parts, with a break at week 7 for a midterm exam (short answer, definitions), and a take home final exam in the regular exam period (five essay questions). The last class, week 13, will be for presentations of the final projects. The class is given at Harbour Centre campus in an interactive lecture style with approximately 90 students on Tuesday afternoons). There are tutorial groups of about 15 students each that meet for 1 hr before the lectures, also at Harbour Centre. The course starts quickly, with an assignment due on the first day of class and another one starting the next week, so don't register if you think you might miss the beginning of the semester.

Readings

One textbook is required for this course. It is Wade Rowland's historical look at information technology, Spirit of the Web, (1999) Toronto: Key Porter Books; [ISBN: 1894433025]. We use a textbook with a historical perspective in order to provide you with a strong sense that the information technology "revolution" is NOT unprecedented but in fact is part of an ongoing transformation that has been underway for more than a century.

Schedule Overview

In Weeks 1-6 we focus on "How does IT (information technology) work?." The course begins with this because I feel it is important to know what you are talking about when you discuss technology, and too often technology is treated as a "black box" that has an effect but how it happens is either immaterial or mysterious. As we will see in this part, technological systems and decisions are important and readily comprehended, if we put in the time to figure them out. We break for a midterm in week 7. The midterm is an in-class midterm and covers the textbook and the lectures from the first six weeks of the class. Format will be short answer, including some definitions and very short essays. In weeks 8-12 we look at “What does IT mean?” In the second part of the course, we consider new media technologies in a variety of contexts and from the perspective of a variety of people. Some of these include: new media in relationships, in communities, in politics, in education, and in business.

Technology

As a course about information technology and new media, it is probably not surprising that this course makes extensive use of both. All lectures are digitized and broadcast (audio and PowerPoint slides only, no video [yet]) live on the Internet and available in archive form until the end of the semester. All lectures have audio/visual components (web pages and PowerPoint slides, typically), and the class email list -- with web archive -- is used extensively. All course material is posted on the class web site and all assignments are submitted through the web site. The professor will read and respond to all student e-mail within 24 hours during the week and 36 hours on weekends. He is also available for instant message "office hours."

NOTE: This is NOT a course designed to train you in the use of information technology or the design of web pages. If you are looking for such training, check out the credit-free tutorials offered by Academic Computing Services.

Assignments and Exams

There are three graded short assignments, due in weeks 3, 5, and 9 worth 10% each. There is a final project for 20%. There is also an ungraded but “pass/fail” assignment due the first day of class – a “scavenger hunt” assignment that asks you to explore the course web site (http://webct.sfu.ca). One of the assignments is an o0ngoing “blog” assignment, in which you create and update a weekly journal of research, reflection, and observation throughout the course. Another asks you to do online research on an example of communication technology. The fourth is a project assignment in which you create a (short) new media piece (web, interactive video, audio) that contains insight or commentary on new media in society. The midterm exam is for 20%, and there is 20% allocated to participation in tutorials. The final exam is worth 10%. Detailed instructions on the grade breakdown and requirements for each assignment will be provided in the online version of the syllabus and in class.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. For details on the plagiarism policy of the school and the university, see the resources at the library web site: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/writing/plagiarism.htm). Plagiarism may result in a "zero" mark on the assignment or an "F" on the course. It may also result in expulsion from the university. It's not worth it. Here is the official word: The School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to "Intellectual Honesty" and Policy T10.03 on "Academic Discipline" (see the current Calendar, General Regulations section or http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-02.htm and http://www.sfu.ca/policies/teaching/t10-03.htm).

Grading

Assignments will be marked based on a balance of critical thinking, sound logic, and persuasive language. Correct use of spelling and grammar will be required in all assignments. Use the CMNS style guide in all submitted work, where appropriate, even when submitting online. That means proper titles, names and student numbers, the use of headings and subheadings, and a proper bibliography. Blog posts and journal entries (see detailed descriptions of the assignments, below), of course, do not have to adhere to the style guide. The CMNS style guide, along with a great deal of other useful information can be found in the Library's resource page for CMNS students: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/subjectguides/cmns/cmns.htm.

Please note “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.”