The Internet is pervasive in our lives, and has become so in a relatively short time. Of all it does, the single most penetrating part of the Internet that affects our personal and professional lives is computer-mediated communication. Even as the "Information Superhighway" was being contemplated, Jeff Johnson of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility observed,
All our experience with centralized commercial online systems suggests that high-tech consumerism in not the only thing, not even the main thing, that the public would use an information highway for.... Most importantly, it connects people with each other, one-to-one and one-to-many, and allows them to communicate in new ways.
Sure enough, the US National Science Foundation--which helped develop and eventually handed over the Internet to the public--looks back on the Internet as "changing the way we communicate."
But what does it mean to say that communication has changed or that we "communicate in new ways"? The proliferation of computer-mediated communication raises questions about its psychological, interpersonal, professional, social, and cultural impacts. Does Internet communication really change anything? Change everything? This course explores issues and questions about communication with technology in multiple contexts.
The objective of Communication and the Internet is to develop a critical understanding of online communication--how it differs and how it does not--by applying the processes and principles of social scientific theories and research to issues and patterns of Internet communication. Lectures, readings, discussions, and exercises address fundamental questions about the uses and impacts of these technologies in our everyday lives. The focus of the course on research and theories helps prepare students not only to understand communication technologies in their own lives, but to assimilate new technologies and new developments that have not yet arrived using meaningful analytic frameworks.
Required Readings
Each week's preparation involves several reading assignments. Readings consist of a chapter from the course textbook and/or related articles.
- Textbook: Patricia Wallace, 1999. The psychology of the Internet. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
- Related articles or Internet postings are available through ANGEL (see the Lessons tab) or on the World Wide Web. Each reading is listed on the course schedule, below. Some readings will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view them.
Questionnaire completion. We need you to provide us information about your background and experience with computer-mediated communication (CMC) in order to make course adjustments and enhance instruction. If we don't set a deadline, and if you don't meet it, we are distracted by this all semester. Therefore, completing the questionnaire is worth 50% of your grade, on a Pass/Fail basis. In other words, if you don't do this on time, you cannot pass the course. Due Sept 3 at 4pm. Follow this link to the questionnaire.
Weekly Assignments: Several weeks (7 times total) you will be assigned a homework exercise relevant to that week's discussion. Typically, you will go to the Internet to identify evidence or make comparisons of various phenomena or processes discussed in class. You will write up your findings in a 2-page summary plus an appendix providing examples (where applicable). The nature of the projects vary each week. The assignments are always due at the beginning of the class, on paper (unless notified otherwise). Late assignments will not be accepted. Each assignment is worth 5 points toward your final grade, with the lowest-scoring assignment being dropped, for an accumulation up to 30 points toward your grade.
Exams. There are two exams: a mid-term and a final exam. They will cover all material from readings and lecture up to the point they are administered. The format for each exam may include multiple-choice, true/false, matching, short answer, and essay format. More details will be given prior to the exams. Each exam is worth up to 20 points toward the final grade. Portions of the tests will be administered on electronic scanning forms; students must bring #2 pencils.
Virtual Groups Exercise. Students will work entirely online in groups of appx 4 members to complete a group decision-making exercise. Groups will be composed of students in this, and another, course. All communication for this assignment must take place using an Angel team discussion board. The exercise involves (a) reading a packet of background material and providing an initial response via a Web questionnaire, to be entered individually within a few days of the assignment's delivery, (b) active and frequent participation in the group discussion over the course of two weeks, in an effort to derive the best solution to the group's decision-making task, and (c) completion of a post-discussion questionnaire immediately following the deadline or early completion of the group decision. Significant out of class participation is required but no additional research is expected. Completion of this exercise constitutes up to 10 points toward the final grade.
Group Paper: Online Research Controversy. Working in groups of three or four, students will examine a case study of Internet research methods and Internet regulations, and apply the case to MSU policies, culminating in a written brief with recommendations (4 pages) and an in-class debate, earning up to 10 points toward the final grade.
Group Paper and Report: Social Spaces. Transformational social technologies. Groups of four will have most of the semester to explore a specific online environment by spending considerable time online interacting and observing the space. Groups will develop a 15-minute presentation about their experiences, incorporating at least 4 relevant outside academic readings (per instructor's approval), in which they describe the site and their experiences, relate their experiences to at least one other course topic, and identify connections to relevant theory(ies) of CMC. Sites may include Second Life, Webkinz, LambdaMOO, Twitter, Blogging, a MMORPG that most students in the group do not already know, an antisocial Facebook group, or a collaborative online course. Reports should be 4-5 pages. Powerpoint finesse is unappreciated, although multimedia may be helpful. The presentation and report earn up to 10 points.
Research participation. Students are expected to participate in two hours of research outside of class, earning a total of 5 points toward the course grade. Credit will be given only for studies that are presented via the Experimetrix system for MSU Communication (register via www.experimetrix.com/msucom/) or projects announced in class. Research opportunities vary in time and effort requirements, and may vary in the amount of credit associated with each one. Students who conscientiously decline to participate in research may see the instructor before the second midterm to arrange an alternative, equivalent effort for the same compensation.
The total grading scale that will determine your final grade is as follows:
Points Grade Points Grade
90+ 4.0 70-74 2.0
85-89 3.5 65-69 1.5
80-84 3.0 60-64 1.0
75-79 2.5 <60 0.0
Attendance
There is no attendance policy for this course and roll will not be taken. However, assignments will only be accepted if the student turns them in in person in class and remains for the entire class. Exams and assignments will only be administered collectively on the designated dates and times. The only exceptions to these policies include (a) when a religious observance conflicts with a graded assignment, which must be indicated in advance to the instructor by the second week of the course; or (b) in the case of bona fide hardships or medical emergencies which can be documented as such. In all other cases failure to complete an assignment or take an exam when it is scheduled will result in a score of zero for that assignment. Grades of Incomplete will be given only in the case of unforeseen emergency. This being said, if you are experiencing difficulty attending or studying for this course, please contact the instructors as early as possible; these things sometimes can get worse rather than go away, and if there a problem we can help with, we'd like to try.
Preparation, Participation, and Conduct
Students are expected to come to class prepared for study. This means that they have completed the readings that are assigned for that week (without specific reminder to do so). In order to have stimulating and reflective comments, students are expected to familiarize themselves completely with course materials prior to discussion. You are expected to have read, and thought about, each week's reading, and you must be prepared to describe key points, arguments, and questions, each week; you will be called on to do so.
Turn off all cell phones and pagers, music players, and recorders in class. No texting, no IMing, no websurfing or emailing. If you wish to use a laptop you may not use it for extra-curricular activities during class; it really really is distracting to others. You may be asked to forfeit any device that the instructor finds distracting, to be returned at the end of class.
Academic Integrity
Each student in this course is expected to abide by principles of academic integrity. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. For this course, collaboration among members of small groups is expected with regard to two group projects but in no other cases. Cases of plagiarism or other cheating will result in failing the entire course--not just the assignment in question--and a report to University-level channels.