Communication Technology

COMM 2913
Fall 2003 Syllabus (MWF)
Prairie View A&M University
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Languages and Communications

Instructor: Dr. Corinne Weisgerber
Email: cweisgerber@houston.rr.com
Office: 218 Hilliard Hall
Office Phone: 936-857-2229
Office Hours: MWF: 12:00pm – 1:00pm & 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Required Text & Course Material:
Wood, A., & Smith, M. J. (2001). Online Communication: Linking Technology, Identity, & Culture. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Introduction

Welcome to Communication Technology! This course will introduce you to critical concepts and hands-on skills related to new communication technologies by allowing you to engage in actual Web production while simultaneously exposing you to critical essays about these technologies and Internet culture. In this course we will examine a variety of new Internet technologies such as the World Wide Web and computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools (such as email, instant messenger, MUDs, etc.). My objectives for this course are:
1. To assist you in exploring new communication technologies
2. To provide you with an opportunity to investigate the implications of CMC within interpersonal, social, and corporate environments
3. To assist you in gaining basic web design skills
4. To help you gain theoretical insights and practical skills necessary to understand and use online media for your own purposes

Course Policies

Attendance
Prairie View A&M University requires regular class attendance. Excessive absenteeism, whether EXCUSED OR UNEXCUSED, will result in your course grade being lowered or in assignment of a grade of “F”. Absences are accumulated beginning with the first day of class.
There is no such thing as an "excused absence" except in the cases of illness (as confirmed with a doctor's note), documented death in the family, or pre-authorized university activity. Extended illnesses will be dealt with on an individual basis but the instructor MUST BE notified as soon as possible of such situations. Please be aware that absences on an exam day CANNOT be made up.
Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class. If you are not present when attendance is taken, or if you are more than 10 minutes late, you will be marked as absent. It is your responsibility to make sure that you sign the attendance sheet each class period before leaving class. You are allowed three absences (excused or unexcused). After three absences, your final grade will be affected in the following way:

4-5 absences (excused or unexcused) – drop one (1) letter grade (i.e. from an A to a B)
6-8 absences (excused or unexcused) – drop two (2) letter grades (i.e. from an A to a C)
9-10 absences (excused or unexcused) – drop three (3) letter grades (i.e. from an A to a D)
11 or more absences (excused or unexcused) – drop four (4) letter grades (i.e. from an A to an F)

Academic Dishonesty/Cheating/Plagiarism
Prairie View A&M University is dedicated to a high standard of academic integrity among its faculty and students. In becoming part of the Prairie View A&M University academic community, you are responsible for honesty and independent effort. Disciplinary action will be taken against any student who alone or with others engages in any act of academic fraud or deceit.
Some examples of academic dishonesty/cheating/plagiarism include, but are not limited to: using another person’s ideas without giving proper credit; making up supporting material by either inventing a source or pretending to have consulted one without actually having done so; making up research results without having conducted the research, etc. Representing someone else’s ideas as your own constitutes plagiarism. You therefore need to give credit to any source of information used as part of an assignment by either orally quoting your source, and/or identifying your source in the body of your paper. Ignorance of plagiarism is no excuse, so be sure to ask me if you suspect you may be bordering on plagiarism for any assignment in this course.
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will automatically result in failure of this course (no second chances given!). It only takes one act of academic dishonesty to fail the entire course.

Courtesy
Since everyone in this section will be encouraged to actively participate in class discussions, it is essential that full courtesy is awarded to your classmates. Intentional class disturbances–which may distract another classmate or a class lecture or discussion—that blatantly disrupt course study or a speaker’s concentration (for example: using the computer to do work not related to our class; distracting discourse, keeping your cell phone on during class, accepting a cell phone call during class, or listening to personal audio) will result in a penalty of absence from the class being recorded for those involved in the distracting behavior. As a courtesy to your teacher and to your class mates, please make sure at the beginning of each class period that your cell phones are turned off.

Assignments
All assignments must be typed or word-processed and turned in on time. Late or handwritten work will not be accepted and will receive an automatic grade of an F.

24-7 Rule and Grade Records
When graded materials are returned, you must wait 24 hours before discussing your grade with me. This is to allow you to think calmly about the grade and your performance and to formulate a rational basis for discussion. You will also only have seven days in which the grade is open for discussion. After these seven days have passed, you can no longer discuss the grade.
You are responsible for keeping all graded work until the end of the semester in case there is any question about grades or whether or not an assignment has been turned in. If you question a grade, or whether your grade has been recorded, you need to be able to provide me with the original, graded assignment.

Student Academic Appeals Process:
Authority and responsibility for assigning grades to students rests with the faculty. However, in those instances where students believe that miscommunication, errors, or unfairness of any kind may have adversely affected the instructor’s assessment of their academic performance, the student has a right to appeal by the procedure listed in the Undergraduate Catalog (pp. 49-51) and by doing so within thirty days of receiving the grade or experiencing any other problematic academic event that prompted the complaint.

American Disabilities Act (ADA)
Students with disabilities who believe they may need an adjustment in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disabilities services at (903) 857-2693/2694 as soon as possible. Once you receive a letter of adjustment from the office, please make an appointment with me to discuss appropriate adjustments for this class.

Grades Grading Scale
Online Resume 150 (15%) 90-100=A
Midterm Exam 200 (20%) 80-89=B
Webpage Analysis 100 (10%) 70-79=C
Course Project 350 (35%) 60-69=D
Course Project Presentations 100 (10%) Below 60=F
Quizzes/In-Class Assignments 100 (10%)

Tentative Class Schedule

Week 1
8/25 Introduction to the course
8/27 NO CLASS - Meeting with the new president
8/29 Introduction to new communication technologies
Readings due by 8/27: Preface, Intro to Part 1, Chapter 1

Week 2
9/01 NO CLASS – Labor Day Holiday
9/03 Understanding How New Communication Technologies Work
*Hand out Online Resume Assignment
9/05 Understanding How New Communication Technologies Work
Readings due by 9/03: Chapter 2

Week 3
9/08 Microsoft Word Version of Resume Due
Introduction to HTML
9/10 Basic HTML Coding
9/12 Basic HTML Coding
Readings due by 9/08: Appendix A

Week 4
9/15 Introduction to Dreamweaver
9/17 Creating Webpages with Dreamweaver
9/19 Creating Webpages with Dreamweaver

Week 5
9/22 Dreamweaver
9/24 Dreamweaver
9/26 Online Identities: Deception or Truth?
Readings due by 9/22: Chapter 3

Week 6
9/29 Online Resume Due/Forming Online Identities
10/01 Forming Online Identities
10/03 Relating Online
Readings due by 10/03: Chapter 4
Homework due by 10/03: Participate in a chatroom

Week 7
10/06 Online Relationships
10/08 Seeking Therapy Online
10/10 Seeking Therapy Online
Readings due by 10/08: Chapter 5
Homework due 10/08: Consult a website offering online medical help

Week 8
10/13 Search Engines
* Hand out Web Analysis Project
10/15 Exam Review
10/17 MIDTERM EXAM
Readings due by 10/13: Chapter 6

Week 9
10/20 Elements of Web Design
10/22 Critiquing Web Design
10/24 Carving Alternative Spaces
Readings due by 10/20: Chapter 9

Week 10
10/27 Web Analysis Project Due
Communicating in Virtual Communities
10/29 Accessing the Machine
10/31 Researching the Course Paper
Readings due by 10/27: Chapter 8 & by 10/31: Chapter 10

Week 11
11/03 View Example of Pop Culture & Online Expression
11/05 View Example of Pop Culture & Online Expression
11/07 Word Version of Course Project Paper Due
Discussion of Pop Culture Example
Homework due 11/05: TBA

Week 12
11/10 Web Design Workshop
11/12 Web Design Workshop
11/14 Presentational Tools Workshop

Week 13

11/17 Course Project Presentations

11/19 NO CLASS – National Communication Association Conference

11/21 NO CLASS – National Communication Association Conference

Week 14
11/24 Online Version of Course Project Paper Due
Course Project Presentations
11/26 TBA
11/28 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 15
12/01 Course Project Presentations & Course Evaluation
12/03 NO CLASS – Study Day

ASSIGNMENTS

ONLINE RESUME (15%)
In your future professional life, you may be required from time to time to create a web page. Many employers are interested in seeing an electronic resume or portfolio of your work. In this assignment, you will create a professional looking web resume. This assignment will help you develop and practice your HTML skills while at the same time allowing you to establish an online presence.

This assignment is split into two parts. For the first part of the assignment, you will (a) write a detailed and professional looking resume, (b) hand in a hard copy of the resume you created, and (c) save the resume as a Word document. This part of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on 9/08. Please note that I will expect a finalized resume (not a draft) at that time. Failure to submit this part of the assignment will result in a 2-letter grade drop on your final combined grade for this project.

For the second part of the assignment, you will create a webpage in HTML and post your resume on that webpage. This part of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on 9/19. You will need to hand in (a) a printout of your webpage, and (b) the URL of your webpage. When creating your webpage, keep in mind that you are building it for a professional audience (i.e. potential future employers). This may influence your color choice, layout, content, and overall design of the page. In other words, you may want to do some audience analysis before deciding about the design and content of your page. Before designing your web page, you should therefore ask yourself the following questions:

* who are you creating this page for?
* what do you know about your audience?
* what would your audience like to see on this page?
* how can you get your audience interested in your webpage and the content of your webpage?

Please make sure you carefully spell-check your resume. You will loose one letter-grade should the web version of your resume contain a mistake or typo. Here are some website resources on resume writing that you may want to consult.

MIDTERM EXAM (20%)
This is a comprehensive examination based on material from your assigned texts, lectures, and class discussions. The exam will be held during your normal class meeting time. The exam will primarily be made up of multiple-choice questions & fill-in-the-blanks. Click here for the midterm exam review sheet.

WEBPAGE ANALYSIS (10%)
For this assignment you will locate two websites, and analyze them from a critical perspective. The first site should be one that you think is ineffective. You should analyze the site for its aesthetic appeal (or lack thereof), its use of text and images, and its overall effect on its audience.

The second site should be one that you think is particularly effective or well constructed. You should analyze the site for its aesthetic appeal, its use of text and images, and its overall effect. You thus need to evaluate both websites’ use of text/graphics and debate its usefulness and usability. Please keep in mind that just because some of the websites you may chose to look at are commercial sites and well known, that doesn't necessarily make them examples of perfect web design and usability.

In your conclusion you should compare and contrast the two and offer suggestions for possible improvements the webmasters might employ. Your discussion should be no less than 4 pages, typed (12 pt. font) and double-spaced. Make sure you provide me with the URLs for the two sites you chose to analyze. Click here for the evaluation form I will use to grade this paper.

COURSE PROJECT (35%)
This assignment is designed to culminate your learning in this class. Your goal is to develop a reader-friendly, content-focused web site that develops and defends an original argument about CMC theory and/or practice. I urge you to pick a topic that is of interest to you. Here are two examples of potential thesis statements: "Online psychotherapy techniques can effectively help individuals maintain mental health" or, "Internet hate sites must be regulated by the federal government."

Your paper needs to be 5-6 pages in length (double-spaced, 12 pt. font, 1 inch margins) and needs to include the following sections:
1. an introduction that states your thesis,
2. a background section that explains key terms and provides a history of your issue,
3. an argument section that persuades the reader to accept your thesis (Build at least two credible and thoughtful arguments to support your thesis. This is not merely an informative section; it should be persuasive.)
4. a reference page that lists your sources (You need at least 6 sources. The textbook used in this class should offer background to your research, but does not count as cited evidence. Use in-text citation in your paper and link each citation to a references page in APA or MLA format in your online version of the paper.)

This assignment is split into two parts. For the first part of the assignment, you will (1) write the research paper according to the requirements listed above, (2) hand in a hard copy of the paper, and (3) save the paper as a Word document. This part of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on 11/07. Please note that I will expect a finalized paper (not a draft) at that time. The paper you hand in on 11/07 will need to meet all of the criteria listed above. Failure to submit this part of the assignment will result in a 2-letter grade drop on your final combined grade for this project.

For the second part of the assignment, you will create a webpage in HTML that contains your research paper. Your webpage needs to contain links to all of the outside sources you used. This part of the assignment is due at the beginning of class on 11/17. At that time, you will need to hand in (a) a printout of your webpage, and (b) the URL of your webpage. Remember, this project should not merely be a paper uploaded to a webpage. Rather, you should strive to employ the unique qualities of the Internet to communicate effectively with a potentially global audience and exploit the multi-directional opportunities of hypertext by offering internal and external links.

COURSE PROJECT PRESENTATION (10%)
For this assignment, you will put together a PowerPoint slide show, which presents your course project to your classmates. Your presentation should be 5 minutes long and should cover the three main components of your course project, which are: (1) an introduction that states your thesis, (2) a background section that explains key terms and provides a history of your issue, and (3) an argument section that persuades the reader to accept your thesis.

Requirements for the Presentation:
1. Presented the project using a PowerPoint slide show
2. Handed in a printout of the slides (to do so, click “print”, select Microsoft PowerPoint and then select “handouts”)
3. Presented the project on his/her scheduled day
4. Presentation covered all 3 parts outlined above
5. Presentation was 5 minutes long (anything shorter than 4 minutes will be penalized)

QUIZZES/IN-CLASS ASSIGNMENTS (10%)
Throughout the semester we will have short in-class assignments & quizzes. The quizzes will be given during the first 5 minutes of class and are intended to encourage you to come to class on time. Students who are absent, or who are late getting to class, will not be allowed to make up the quiz or in-class assignment they missed.